Text: John 13:34 - 14:3

33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."
36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.!"
14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father's house; otherwise, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Let me set the scene for this conversation. Just outside, in the halls of religious establishment, anger and treachery have been building in the hearts of the Jewish leaders, and they have already decided to kill Jesus. The contract they have made with Judas to lead them to Jesus has been sealed with the exchange of 30 pieces of silver. The time of Jesus' betrayal is approaching and the tension is building inside both Judas and the leaders. At the same time, a quiet calm has settled over the city. It is as though all of heaven is holding its collective breath at what is about to happen. Judas is still with Jesus and the others.

Inside the Upper Room, however, the disciples are experiencing safety, warmth, security, and assurance, as they are together with the Master. Jesus has come there to celebrate the Passover with His twelve disciples in the Upper Room. The hearts and minds of the Disciples are alternating between the joy and warmth of Jesus' presence, and the sense of impending greatness of some sort. All the while they are concentrating on the meaning of the Passover, as well.

Jesus has just washed their feet, and shared the piece of bread with Judas, who receives it with betrayal in his heart, and slips out of the room with freshly washed feet to betray the One who washed them. At this point in the narrative, Jesus has been telling the eleven that he will be leaving them soon. It is here that we pick up the story... 13:36 - 14:3.

Verse 36 - Simon Peter asked him the question, "Lord, where are you going?"
And Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
And Peter asked the question we all would ask, "Why not?" Then Peter added with his characteristic bravado, "I will lay my life down for you!"
Then Jesus replied, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth. Before the rooster crows you will disown me three times."

Can't you just see everyone's jaw drop? - especially Peter's? But Jesus does not stop there. He sees their astonishment, so He continues, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me...[read to the end of verse 3].

O my! I don't believe there ever was a Christian funeral where these words were not read. "Do not let your hearts be troubled." I have quoted these verses at the funerals of my church family. They are wonderful words of comfort to those who are left behind.

But let me remind you that these words were not spoken at a funeral. They were spoken at a failure. Peter said, "I will lay my life down for you," but Jesus knew otherwise.

The fact is that Peter didn't give his life for Jesus - Jesus gave his life for Peter.

I have been thinking about this whole thing, and have thought of some questions we need to ask here:

Our instinctive question is, "Why?"
My instinctive answer is, "Beats me!"

Right here in full awareness of Peter's failure; unwanted - unexpected - but real, Jesus said, now to the group, all of whom are sitting around the table with their mouths hanging open, "Let not your hearts be troubled..."

Oh my goodness. Think of it. That's good news. "Peter you are going to fail me, but don't let your heart be troubled. Only the good news of the Gospel can bring together the concept of our failures and then tell our hearts not to be troubled. Only the presence of Jesus can create that kind of Divine chemistry.

I've been wondering how can Jesus say these words, to Peter who is unable to fulfill his own promises - unable to keep his own dreams and vows? Here is the answer, "Trust in God; trust also in me." The enemy of our souls laughs at us and tells us to give it up - Jesus is saying to us, "let your failure drive you into My arms."

Remember, this whole conversation is about Jesus going away. Now in verse TWO Jesus tells them where He is going - He is going to the Father's house to prepare a place for us. OK Let's recap. We know that Jesus is going. We also know where Jesus is going.

BUT it is incredibly significant HOW Jesus goes away. 13:31--"When Judas was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him." Jesus is talking about His death. How did Jesus go away? By way of the cross. Some of us know the Apostle's Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord.
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilot,
Was crucified, dead and buried,
He descended into Hades.

Do you see that? How does Jesus go away? He goes away by going DOWN, DOWN, DOWN. Can you see His awesome descent in those words?

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord,
Conceived
Born
Suffered
Crucified -- Why isn't that enough?
Dead
Buried
Descended into Hades

I don't know very much about Hades - but I have found out this much -> It's the pits! It is the Abyss. Jesus was there. How did Jesus go? It was through Hades.

And what we know is that God in Jesus has come DOWN, DOWN, DOWN all the way to the bottom. You can't go any lower than Hades.

What all of this means is that there is nothing we have experienced in our lives, there is nowhere we have been in our lives (or can go for that matter) that is deeper, or farther, or darker than Jesus has already gone. There is no place in our human existence that is beyond or outside or separate from God's awesome identification with us through Jesus. He has gone farther than we have gone, could ever go, or ever need to go, deeper than we can ever know, and there is no one here in this room that has experienced anything outside or beyond His experience in Hades.

And I just can't help but ask, "Where are you this morning?" All of us are in there somewhere, aren't we? Some of us are new Christians and are still very much in love with Jesus and like Peter say, "There is never any way I would ever deny Jesus." Others of us have let the cares of daily life squeeze Him to the edge of our lives. There may even be some who, like Peter, fully intending to follow Jesus -- never wanting to let Jesus down or deny Him -- but have. Still others of us may be thinking, "even God can't identify with what I have been through."

Well, here we are -- we're all in here somewhere. And folks like us who know something about failure, perhaps not as grievous as Peter's failure, but something we really need to ask forgiveness for and make right - we need to realize that Jesus has come all the way DOWN, DOWN, DOWN. Wherever you are, Jesus has been there and beyond.

That is Good News. The Gospel is not bad news. It is Good News! And the Good News is that God did not leave Jesus in the grave. On the third day He raised Him UP, UP, UP! Amen.

Jesus told His disciples, "I will go away -- but I will come again -- Peter you will deny me -- but let not your hearts be troubled.

When I think of Jesus in this way, and see Him in this situation, He gives me the impression of someone who is in complete charge. "I know who I am -- I know what I have to do. I am in charge here. I go to prepare a place for you by way of the cross, to save and redeem.

Isn't it beautiful? Jesus identifies with us all the way DOWN - DOWN - DOWN, and He picks us up where we are and carries us with Himself all the way back UP, UP, UP. Praise God!!

So the victory we cannot win -- He has won!!
The promises we break -- He keeps!!
So it is within the context of our inabilities and our failures that we hear these marvelous words... "Don't let your hearts be troubled."

Believe! You know - it occurs to me that the way to deal with our failures is not to hate ourselves more - to stir up our troubled hearts, or to let Satan tell us we'll never make it, or even try harder.

Jesus is telling us here that He is sufficient that we should:

• look away from ourselves -
• and look to Him -
• to trust Jesus
• to flee to Jesus - who has gone to the very depths - farther than we will ever go -
• and tell Him our weaknesses,
• ask His forgiveness,
• and renew our vows to Him -
• to trust Him and LET HIM LIFT US BACK UP!

That is why He could say in the context of failure - don't stir your hearts all up with trouble -- but believe in God and also in me.

And Jesus was saying to Peter and the rest of the disciples -- with all of his difficulties and failures, there is a place for you in my Father's house - just believe in me. I am going - I will return - and take you to be with me.

And I am grateful that as we continue to flee to Him, confess our sins to Him, tell Him our failures, and believe Him to help us, there is a place for us in the Father's house, too. Amen!

Yes, Jesus is speaking to us this morning as well. He is telling each one of us, "There is a place for you in my Father's house." In the context of our human inability, Jesus uses a promise as He calls us to trust Him -- There is a place for you in the Father's house.

Let me say personally to each of you this morning - There IS a PLACE for you in the Father's house. Am I speaking today to someone whose heart is all stirred up with trouble? When we sing in just a moment, maybe you would like to:

• come and tell your past to Jesus and accept Him into your life
• Perhaps you have been trying to deal with failure in your life and you want to come forward to confess it and renew your vows to Jesus.
• It is also possible that you are troubled, because you have lost your joy in Christ. You may want to come and by coming say, "I want to take my eyes off myself and set my gaze on Jesus and trust Him alone and not feelings."

In sending Christ - God has given us good news. Through faith in Jesus - the good news of the untroubled heart.

J.T. Kauffman