"Know" 10-26-25

Overview

Two Ways of Knowing

God has made us curious creatures who gather facts and figures to make sense of the world around us. From childhood we collect knowledge—about bugs, about weather, about relationships, about illness—seeking to understand why life unfolds as it does. This learning is good and given by God's grace. Yet there is a kind of knowing that the mind alone cannot reach, and the disciples discovered this on the night of the Last Supper.

In John 14:1-6, Jesus comforts His troubled disciples after foretelling His departure and Peter's denial John 13:36-38. "Do not let your hearts be troubled," He says. "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places"—not a hotel for a night, but permanent residences He Himself is preparing. When Thomas asks for a map, thinking concretely about directions, Jesus answers not with coordinates but with Himself: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The way is not information to be acquired; the way is a person to be known.

We often slip into Thomas's mistake, trying to earn the map. We tell ourselves that if we pray enough, read Scripture enough, or pile up enough good works, we will secure the route home. But Romans 3:23-24 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that we "are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:8-9 drives the point deeper: "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." No accumulation of facts saves us. Christ, truly God and truly man, lived the perfect life we could not, stretched out His arms on the cross to take our sin, and gave us His righteousness in exchange.

This is what the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to know—not merely about Jesus, but Jesus Himself. On Reformation Sunday, as confirmands affirm the promise made in their baptism, the whole congregation is reminded that God has claimed us, washed us, and sealed us with His Spirit. The simple confession of a child—"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so"—is the same confession that sustains the saint on the deathbed. We know the way because we know the Way. We know that Christ has prepared a permanent dwelling, that He will come again to gather His own, and that we shall tabernacle with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever. Hold to that concrete promise. It is not your grasp of Christ that saves you, but His grasp of you.

Transcript

If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of John, the 14th chapter. 2s

If you're using a Pue edition of the Bible, this can be found on page 95 in the New Testament. 9s

We are in the Gospel of John, the 14th chapter. 15s

I want to share a story with you of a little boy, a little boy who was raised in the church. 20s

His parents had him baptized as an infant. 25s

And as he grew in his toddlerhood, he would often sing the song with his parents at 29s

bedtime after saying, they're prayers. 36s

He would sing the song, Jesus loves me this I know. 39s

For the Bible tells me so. 42s

And as he continued to grow, and he learned about the world around him, and he learned 45s

that bugs crawl on the ground. 51s

And the sky when it's dark is night, or perhaps it's going to rain. 53s

He would every night say his prayers with his parents. 58s

And they would sing the hymn. 61s

Jesus loves me this I know. 63s

For the Bible tells me so. 66s

And he continued to grow into elementary school. 68s

And he continued to gather facts and figures that would help him to understand and learn 71s

and know about the world around him. 79s

And it was good and he was curious and he liked to learn. 83s

But as he grew and as he gained more knowledge, life started taking its toll. 89s

He had hurtful relationships with friends in high school. 96s

And he didn't understand why. 101s

And so he would seek out from the school counselor and from his parents. 103s

And he would try to understand why this was happening. 110s

And he continued on with his life. 114s

And he grew and went to college and continued to gain more facts and figures so that 117s

he would know even more about the world around him. 123s

And he got married. 126s

And then he experienced marital problems. 127s

And he didn't understand why. 130s

And so he started reading every book that he could find and talking to wise counselors 132s

so that he could know why this was happening and understand the world around him. 139s

And then his mother got diagnosed with a tragic illness. 148s

And he didn't understand. 153s

And so and so he turned to the doctors and turned to research this illness that his mother 155s

had and he wanted to gather the facts and the figures so he could know and understand why. 162s

God in his grace has created us to be a curious people. 175s

He has created us to seek out learning, to seek out knowing and understanding about the 179s

world we live in. 187s

And so we gather the facts and the figures, all the facts and the figures that we can find 190s

so that we can make sense of the world around us in our text for today. 196s

The setting is the last supper. 204s

Jesus is gathered with his friends. 206s

He has just told them that he will depart, that he will go away from them. 209s

He told them that he will suffer. 214s

Before we go to chapter 14, I want to back up a little bit and look at the end of chapter 13, 217s

please, in verse 36, where Simon Peter says to him, 224s

Lord, where are you going? 228s

And Jesus answered, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, 230s

but you will follow afterward. 235s

Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? 238s

I will lay down my life for you. 241s

Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? 245s

Very truly I tell you before the cop grows, you will have denied me three times. 249s

And then the disciples were very upset. 258s

They were agitated. 263s

They didn't like to hear this word. 265s

Peter did not like to hear from Jesus that Peter would deny his friend, deny the one that he has 267s

claimed to be the Messiah. 276s

And so the disciples are very troubled and Jesus brings a word of comfort to them. 279s

Where he says, looking at verse 1, do not let your hearts be troubled. 285s

Believe in God, believe also in me. 290s

In my father's house, there are many dwelling places. 293s

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 296s

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself so that 302s

where I am, there you may be also. 309s

When he begins to bring this word of comfort, he tells his disciples, don't let your hearts be 314s

troubled. And that word troubled there. It means agitated, stirred in angst. 320s

And Jesus is saying, don't be an angst, don't be agitated. 327s

I have a word of comfort. Believe in God, believe also in me. Remember, he had led them 332s

for the previous three years. He had taught them for three years and they knew 341s

they knew what they saw. And they knew that Jesus was who he claimed he was. 347s

They knew it. They knew it. And when Jesus says that his father's place has many dwellings, 358s

dwelling places, the dwelling place that he speaks of. It is not like a hotel where you just stop 365s

for a night. Jesus speaks of the dwelling places that have a permanency. 371s

They are a permanent residency that Jesus talks of and he says, my father has many, 378s

many residences, many places of permanence for you. And I am going to prepare your 385s

permanent dwelling. We know from Revelation that we read of how in the time to come, 395s

in the fullness of time, we will dwell in the midst of God, the father's son and holy spirit. 404s

And that God will tabernacle with his people, that he will dwell with his people. 411s

We know that this is an eternal dwelling, a dwelling of permanent residents for all who believe. 419s

Jesus promises that he is going to make ready these permanent dwelling places and that he will, 429s

indeed, come back and bring all his disciples with him. Look with me, please, at verse 4, 436s

where Jesus says, and you know the way to the place where I am going. And then Thomas 445s

pops up and he says, Lord, we do not know the way where you are going. How can we know the way? 453s

You see, Thomas is thinking very concretely. He doesn't understand. He wants Jesus to show 465s

him a map because Thomas does not know in his head the way. He does not know and he is thinking 474s

merely of the sight that his eyes see. He is not thinking with the sight that God gives us. 486s

We find so often that we too are like Thomas and we are like the disciples of Christ that seek to understand and know God in our minds. 498s

And we know that Jesus did walk this earth and we know that Jesus did die on the cross and we know 513s

we know that Jesus is who he says he is and yet in our lives we seek the facts and the figures. 523s

We seek after figuring out the directions to the place that is being prepared. 539s

And so we seek out facts and figures and we think, I know, I know if I pray this many times a day 548s

surely that will help me in the direction to know the way. And if I read the Bible this many times, 556s

if I read it at least all the way through once in my life, surely that will earn me the key to the map 564s

to know the way where Jesus has gone. But we don't know by seeking out 572s

Jesus in the mind alone. And so we seek out further facts and figures and we think, okay, 587s

this time I'm going to find the way to the dwelling place that has been prepared for me. Every good work 598s

opportunity that comes my way, I'm going to do it. And then I will prove that I have earned the right 605s

to be given the map to know the way to my dwelling place. And yet that is seeking to know 613s

with the mind alone. Well, what do we know? What do we know in Romans the third chapter 628s

Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes, since all have sinned and fall short of the 639s

glory of God. And we hear that and we know it and we put ourselves in that verse and we read, 646s

I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And I begin to know, 664s

I begin to know who I am. And I see that all the facts and the figures that we have 678s

sought out to know, we still end up that we have sinned and we know we have fallen short of the 689s

glory of God. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way 703s

and Jesus said to him in verse 6, I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the 716s

father except through me. And we turn again to that Romans verse, I have sinned and fall short of the 727s

that word alone. But he urged Paul on to write, they are now justified by his grace as a gift. 746s

Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a sacrifice of a tonement by his 755s

blood effective through faith. You see, we know that we have sinned and we fall short of the glory of God. 762s

And we know there is nothing that we can do or say that will make up that will allow us to climb 774s

out of the pit of despair of our sin. But you are now justified. You have been made as if you 783s

have not sinned by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put 797s

forward as a sacrifice of a tonement by his blood effective through faith. You have been made clean. 806s

As Paul says here, it is through grace as a gift in Ephesians, Paul under the inspiration of 819s

Holy Spirit says it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not your own doing. 826s

It doesn't matter how many facts and figures you gather, how many good works you heap upon your 833s

good work pile. Your salvation is through grace by faith and even that is not your own doing. 840s

But it is a gift from God. The Holy Spirit in His grace, He not only opens our eyes to know and to 850s

see what is before us, but He opens our eyes of the spiritual so that we can know and see who is before 866s

us. We see that Jesus the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, entered into creation, 879s

where we read that all have sinned in the fall short of the glory of God. We know that Jesus 890s

truly man, truly God, walked this earth never falling short of the glory of God. 896s

And He walked a perfect life in the glory of God perfectly under the demands of the law, 905s

taking His perfection to the cross, stretching out His arms, 913s

and gathering the sin of the world and the punishment of our sin to be placed upon Himself 922s

and in exchange giving us His own righteousness, His own perfection so that we know we know 931s

the way, the truth and the life. And we know that it is Christ and Christ alone, 948s

this is what we know. Today is Reformation Sunday and with Reformation Sunday we celebrate 966s

confirmation the affirmation of our baptisms where we have two students this year that have gone 976s

through their lives singing that beautiful song, Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells 985s

me so and in confirmation we take two years to study God's Word to study the Lutheran 992s

confessions so that we know and we gather the facts and the figures but we don't gather the 1000s

facts and the figures to remain only in our minds but we gather the facts and the figures so that as we 1008s

know Christ we know even more deeply Christ. In the affirmation of baptism we affirm the promise 1017s

that was made in our baptisms we affirm the promise that God has claimed these two boys 1032s

through the waters of baptism claiming them as His own making them and washing them in the full 1040s

righteousness, the salvation and the forgiveness of sins, sealing them in His own holy spirit, 1047s

the promise that their eyes will be open that they will know Jesus that they will know 1055s

Jesus. As little kids we are very concrete thinkers. If we were to say that Jesus drives the devil 1068s

out of your heart a little kid concretely would picture Jesus in a car driving the devil in the 1081s

back of the car out of the heart it may make for an odd picture but it's a very concrete way of 1088s

understanding and yet as we grow and we become more understanding and in seek to have more 1095s

abstract thinking we forget or we turn away from the concreteness of the promise that we have 1105s

in Christ and so today as we consider our baptisms as these boys affirm the promise that was made 1116s

for them in their baptisms. Let us hold to the concreteness of the promise that we have in Christ. 1127s

God is the way and the truth and the life which means that you know you are the one to know the way 1138s

the truth and the life and you don't just know it but you know it because you know Jesus. 1151s

That little boy from our story he grew up. He sees his grandchildren running around and playing. 1168s

He even sings that song from his childhood with his grandchildren. Jesus loves me this I know 1175s

for the Bible tells me so and he smiles and it's it's nice it's good and he continues to live 1181s

his life and his memory fades a little bit. His abstract thinking isn't quite as important to him anymore 1191s

and as he gets older and ages and lies on his bed he smiles and hums to himself. He hums a him 1200s

from his childhood. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so and it hits him all new 1211s

fresh. He knows Jesus but he realizes in God's grace he knows Jesus. 1222s

We know that Jesus has prepared a permanent residency for each and every one of his disciples. 1240s

We know that he will come again to call us to himself where we will tabernacle we will dwell 1248s

we will reside in the presence of the Father's Son and Holy Spirit for all of eternity. 1258s

When we close our eyes when we are transferred into that new reality when it is the time for Christ to call us home 1272s

We with this little boy with Thomas with all the disciples and all the saints 1285s

can sing with sure confidence. Jesus loves me this I know. 1295s