The Message, May 3, 2026: "Believe!" John 14:1-14
Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
May 05, 2026
“Believe”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
John 14:1-14
“Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
I do not know the exact count (I
could go back through my files and look it up) but I have read this passage at
numerous funerals. They are intended to be words of comfort, words of
assurance, words of faith. They speak to the Presence and the care and the
concern of God, especially when we find ourselves in the darkest valleys
through which we will walk.
We know that these words that Jesus
offered to his disciples were necessary because their hearts were definitely
troubled. How could they not be troubled?
As is typically the case, the
scripture passage is lifted out of its context. And, as is always the case,
context is important. Jesus spoke these words to the disciples as they sat
around the table following the Last Supper. In fact, this section of John’s
Gospel is sometimes referred to as “The Table Discourse.”
So, recall what John shared in his
telling of that sacred meal.
Jesus had washed the disciples’
feet, and then said to them, “I have set for you an example that you should
do as I have done for you.”
Jesus was very troubled in spirit.
(John 13:21) He declared that one of them would betray him, then identified
Judas by giving him a piece of bread.
He told them something that they
already knew or assumed. He said, “Little children, I am with you only a
little longer … and where I am going you cannot come.” (John 13:33)
Then he told them that he was giving
them a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them. By this
everyone would know that they were disciples. (v.34)
Chapter Thirteen concludes with
Peter saying that he would lay down his life for Jesus, and then Jesus telling
him that he would in fact betray Jesus three times before the cock crows.
(vv.37-38)
Without a doubt, all of that was
extremely troubling for the disciples. They had tried to discourage Jesus from
going to Jerusalem. They knew what fate awaited him. He had told them himself.
And there they were, with that reality hitting home. Their anxiety, their fear,
their troubles were undoubtedly deepened by the revelations about Judas and
Peter. And as we heard, even Jesus was troubled in spirit.
“Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
Some of you have likely had the
experience of trying to get someone that you love to calm down or relax by
saying, “Calm down. Relax.” And you also probably found that often times those
words have the opposite effect. But … we are not Jesus.
“Believe in God, believe also in
me.”
In the ancient Hebrew tradition, “believe”
had a deep meaning in the practice of their faith. To believe meant to
rely upon someone or something, especially in the case of God. To believe suggested
a deep, experiential confidence that led to obedience or action. To believe spoke
to trust, and reliability, and steadfastness.
It is not all that different today.
If we believe in someone, it means that we feel that we can count on them, that
we can place our trust in them. Even as Jesus himself was troubled, he spoke to
those troubled and anxious and heartbroken disciples. Believe in God. Believe
in me. Place your trust in us. You can rely on us. And let your belief then
result in faithful obedience and action.
“Love one another as I have loved
you. By this everyone would know that you are disciples.”
Of course, in our passage this
morning, we saw and heard the uncertainty in the words and questions of Thomas
and Philip. “How can we know the way, Jesus? How can we possibly know?” “Lord,
show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
“You do know the way, Thomas. I have
shown you ‘the Father,’ Philip.” I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am the Life.
Everything that I have said is of God. In everything that I have shown you …
everything that I have done … you have seen God.
This portion of the Table Discourse
was not something that Jesus invented. Jesus tapped into four of the great
foundational concepts of the Jewish religious tradition and then made the
proclamation that all of them were completed or fulfilled in him.
The Hebrew tradition spoke
frequently about the way in which faithful people must walk with God. Moses
told the People of Israel to ‘walk in the way God has commanded you.’ (Deut.
5:32-33) The Prophet Isaiah said to the people: “And when you turn to the right
or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This
is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21) And in their ancient hymn book they
sang: “Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of
my enemies.” (Psalm 27:11)
In the Sermon on the Mount, we heard
Jesus say to the listeners, “You have heard it said … but I say to you.”
(Matthew 5) That night, as they sat around the table, Jesus was saying to them,
you have heard about the way of God, the way to live, the way to be faithful,
and now I say to you I AM the way. I have shown you the way to live. I have
shown you the way to be faithful.
Was there ever a time … before the
advent of GPS … that you were hopelessly lost and had to stop for directions?
Perhaps you had the experience of traveling through the country and stopped to
ask one of the locals if they could give you directions, and they did but they
used references to old family farms and local landmarks. Renee and I were lost
one time in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. I went into a little
store and asked the gentleman working there how to get back to the highway. He
said, “Well … you can’t get to the highway from here.” Well … I got from the
highway TO here, certainly there must be a way back.
Jesus does not give us a vague or
confusing set of instructions. He says, “Here … let me show you. Follow me.”
There was a similar understanding
when it came to “The Truth.” Psalm 86: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that
I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”
Psalm 119: “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your ordinances
before me.” Psalm 26: “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I
walk in faithfulness to you.”
Many people have spoken the “truth,”
but only one person embodied it. Only one person WAS it. Jesus said, “I AM the
Truth.” Jesus did not just teach it, or preach it, he lived it. He IS God’s
truth.
And finally, the Life. We read in
the Book of Proverbs: “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a
light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” (6:23) And: “Whoever
heeds instruction is on the path to life, but one who rejects a rebuke goes
astray.” (10:17)
In the ancient world, no one had
seen the Face of God. The Glory of God was immense … massive and magnificent.
It was powerful and beyond comprehension. But Jesus said … “Wait. Look and see.
You have seen God. You have seen me. God is in me and I am in God. Recognize
God in all that you have seen and heard. Believe.”
In just a few minutes, we will
gather around the communion table as Jesus and the disciples did on that night
long, long ago. And I will say those familiar words, “As often as you eat this
bread, do this in remembrance of me. As often as you drink this cup, do this
also in remembrance of me.”
When we are troubled, when our
spirts are anxious … remember. Believe.
When the world distresses us and
everything seems to be crumbling around us … remember and believe. Be comforted
by remembering that God is steadfast and faithful. Be comforted by loving and
serving God and one another.
We know the way.
We have seen God.
Let us do as Jesus has done for us.
When our hearts are troubled … believe.
When our hearts are troubled … love.
When our hearts are troubled …
serve.
Amen.
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