「神のもとへ行く道を備えてくださるイエス」二月第四主日礼拝 宣教 2026年2月22日
ヨハネによる福音書 John 14章1〜14節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. Welcome to Okubo Church, our guests. To those joining us online and to everyone in the sanctuary, welcome back to church. On this final Sunday morning of February, we thank God for the blessing of being gathered together in this sanctuary as worshipers.
Before I begin Today’s message, please allow me to briefly share our March church program. Next week, on the 1st, the Lord’s Supper will be observed after the worship service. The service on the 8th will be a “Memorial Service for 3.11,” where we will pray for three churches serving the disaster-affected areas as we mark the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. We kindly ask for your preparation of support offerings. At the worship service on the 15th, Missionary Nick Scott will deliver the message. On the afternoon of the 22nd, a Disaster Prevention Festival will be held at Yodobashi Church. The church’s business meeting will be held on the 29th. Please remember each of these events in your prayers and attend.
Well, something really interesting happened at our home the day before yesterday and yesterday. God has blessed us with two kind-hearted daughters, and one of them stood in line for an hour at the store the day before yesterday to buy my favorite Taiyaki. But after she got home, she remembered something. Then, the next evening, my other daughter bought donuts for the family—another thing I absolutely love. But the moment she walked in the door, she said, “Dad, sorry. I realized after I bought the donuts,” and apologized to me.
They had completely forgotten that Lent began on the 18th. After buying Taiyaki and doughnuts, they remembered that I abstain from sweets during Lent. While comforting my apologetic daughter, I thanked God for my daughters’ kindness. I have another kind son, but it seems he eats sweets secretly, thinking of me. But that’s fine too. A father is a father, a son is a son. All is grace from God.
I don’t want you to misunderstand: Lent is not 40 days spent suffering and inflicting pain upon ourselves. Lent is a period when, amidst our hectic days, we slow down the pace of life, press the pause button several times a day to quiet ourselves, turn our hearts toward the Lord, listen to His Word, and focus on what is most important. The most important thing for us is to remember that God loves us so much He gave us His only Son. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice to save us from sin—the source of life’s troubles, pain, and sorrow—and prepared a way for us to live in new life, eternal life.
The ways to observe Lent vary—some, like me, avoid sweets, others fast, skip movies, or refrain from social media. But the purpose isn’t to punish ourselves; it’s to focus on Jesus, who walked the path to the cross as our substitute. Lent is a time to pause and consider: If Jesus hadn’t walked that path, hadn’t died and risen, how would I be living now? Without Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, the world would be a completely different place than it is today.
Now, this February, we have been sharing messages from Genesis 22, Psalm 84, and Matthew 6 but this morning, we listen from John 14, we will hear together that “Jesus Christ, our Savior, prepares the way for us to come to God.” We will also listen that Jesus Himself is the way, the truth, and the life leading to God. We desire to believe this and be transformed into those who follow the Lord. Let us listen together to how Jesus is the ultimate Provider, giving us what we need most.
This chapter of John’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ words to His disciples in verse 1: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The same words from Jesus appear again in verse 27, sandwiching this entire chapter between these two phrases of “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
We all have various things that trouble our hearts in daily life, and among them is the anxiety and sorrow over the suffering of parting or separation from loved ones. The reason Jesus told His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” was because He knew He was about to be crucified and die, and that His disciples would have to walk through the depths of despair for a time. Jesus wanted to encourage them so their faith would not fail, saying, “Believe in God. Believe also in me.”
Some of you may be troubled by the difficulties of relationships, stressed by work, or burdened by health or financial anxieties—feeling as if you’re lost in a deep fog, your hearts agitated. I believe most people carry worries, suffering, anxieties, and fears within their hearts. Yet to us in such a state, Jesus encourages us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not suffer alone. Believe in God; believe in me.” He calls us to trust in the Lord.
The Lord Jesus promised His disciples, “I must now be crucified and die, and I must part from you. But this parting has a reason, a purpose, and meaning. I am returning to the Father to prepare a place for you where you may be with Me forever after your earthly lives end. When everything is ready, I will surely return. Until then, believe in God and in Me and wait. I will definitely come to welcome you.”
In verse 4, Jesus says, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” But the disciples cannot understand the Lord’s words. Therefore, Thomas speaks for the disciples, asking, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Here, Thomas and the others acknowledge their own lack of understanding. We too often face things we cannot comprehend, but we are taught that it is important to possess the honesty and humility to admit when we don’t understand.
Without reproaching His disciples for their weakness, Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He encouraged them, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in Me and follow Me, for I will help and guide you.”
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus, sent by God, is the only one who came from the Father’s presence to this earth. He alone knows the way to come to earth and the way to return to the Father. Therefore, if you sincerely desire to go to the Father’s presence and receive eternal life and blessings, there is no other way but to walk the “Way” that is Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, the “truth,” teaches us God’s will and instructs us in detail how we should walk through life on this earth and how we should live. The destination of the path we walk, guided by this truth, is the place where God dwells, the place where eternal “life” is granted. Therefore, this morning we are called and encouraged in the Lord’s love and mercy to believe in Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life—and to walk in the Lord’s path.
In verse 7, Jesus says, “If you know me, you will know my Father too. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip was the first to respond to these words. He said, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us,” asking to see God with his own eyes.
In response, Jesus says in verse 9, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” and in verse 10, “The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority. It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” In verse 11, he encourages his disciples: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” This teaches the unity between God and Jesus—that their will and work are always in perfect harmony.
Now, in verses 12 through 30, Jesus makes three promises to His disciples. The greatest of these promises is recorded in verse 15 and following: that the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, will be given to them as the Lord Jesus’ substitute. The other two promises are recorded in verses 12 and 13.
In verse 12, the Lord promises, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” This is because I am going to the Father.” This promise from the Lord does not mean performing miracles like Jesus did, such as healing the sick or casting out demons. Rather, it refers to the work of going out from Israel to the whole world, proclaiming God’s love and the gospel of Christ, baptizing those who believe in the Lord Jesus as Savior, training people connected to Jesus as disciples, and building up the church, which is the body of Christ.
For this reason, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and upon us, and from this Holy Spirit we are daily filled with guidance and the power to serve. And by this Holy Spirit, we are enabled to undertake the work of evangelism, which is Jesus’ command, and the words we need to speak are given to us at each moment.
Another promise is found in verses 13 and 14: “Whatever you ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus will grant.” We tend to assume that if we pray and ask God in the name of the Lord Jesus, God will grant that request. But here, the Lord is saying that Jesus Himself will grant it.
This is the same as what was said earlier: “Believe in God and believe in the Lord Jesus.” Since God and the Lord Jesus are one, your prayers will be answered whether you pray to either one. Therefore, instead of letting your heart be troubled, there is here an invitation to pray continually, with the promise that blessings accompany prayer. However, it is important to note that this does not mean every request will be granted. As it says, “in the name of the Lord Jesus,” the Lord grants prayers that align with the Lord Jesus’ will.
Our daily lives are filled with things that trouble our hearts and many worries. Yet when we believe in God, believe in Jesus Christ, and pray seeking the Lord’s will, He answers our prayers with power far beyond our imagination, proving that He is alive. When we pray, the Lord’s love pours abundantly into our hearts, filling us with rich peace. Therefore, let us believe in the God of great love, believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and follow Him. For there lies the source of peace.