Session 3: A Life of Trust
Question 1:
What are some things in life you’ve come to really trust?
THE POINT
We can trust Jesus because He is the way, the truth, and the life.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Ten years ago, my wife almost died. She was pregnant for the first time, and the baby was trapped in the wrong place, in a tiny tube. One morning my wife woke up screaming, paralyzed with pain. We didn’t know it, but that tiny tube had ruptured, and she was bleeding internally. We were both terrified. I drove her to the hospital, where the doctors were able to save her life, but our baby never had a chance. It was a devastating day.
For the next several months, my wife was barely able to move, and we were both barely able to think. We wondered, What is God doing? Where are we going? Can He really take care of us?
That’s not the only season my family has struggled to trust God. You’ve likely had those seasons too, times when you seemed to have only questions. Thankfully, the work of Jesus is more powerful than our questions and doubts. Jesus is demonstrably for us. We can trust He is with us, bringing us to the Father, no matter what we face.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 13:36–14:1
13:36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.” 37 “Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly I tell you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. 14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
A lot of us can identify with Peter. Jesus had just delivered a profound statement about loving one another (see John 13:34-35), but Peter pushed right past the command to love and asked Jesus where He was going. Peter was more focused on what he wanted to know about God than on what Jesus wanted him to do for God. That might feel familiar to us.
Peter was like us in another way. He impulsively asked, “Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Peter was recklessly confident in his conviction. Peter believed in his ability to hold firm to his faith—but he was wrong. We, too, often think more highly of ourselves and our strengths than we ought.
Peter honestly believed he would fight to the death if someone tried to take Jesus from him, but Jesus knew that when the pressure came, Peter would deny even knowing Him.
Peter overestimated the strength of his trust. He believed he was strong enough, passionate enough, experienced enough, and dedicated enough to hold onto his faith in Jesus, no matter what. When the time came to stand up for Jesus, Peter fell down. He denied, denied, denied, and when the rooster crowed, he remembered that Jesus had told him this would happen. “And he went outside and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
Question 2:
When are you tempted to trust your own abilities over placing your trust in God?
Who hasn’t been there? At some point, I’m sure we’ve all believed we were strong enough, good enough, brave enough, or wise enough, only to find ourselves trapped under the weight of our sin or fear when we were challenged. Our abilities and efforts aren’t enough. We can’t trust in ourselves—but we can trust in Jesus.
Peter’s plan was that he would die for Jesus. But Jesus had the opposite plan. Peter’s faith wasn’t strong enough to follow Jesus to death at that moment, though he would, indeed, do so later. Why? Because Jesus would soon take Peter’s sin on Himself, die Peter’s death on a cross, and raise Peter to new life through His resurrection. Jesus made it possible for Peter to follow Him to heaven later.
What should Peter do for the moment? Trust Jesus. The Lord had just delivered an unsettling prediction, but Jesus also called Peter to trust. Any confidence we have isn’t in ourselves, but in the One we trust. Our hearts don’t need to be troubled; even when we don’t understand, we can believe in God. He’s got this.
John 14:2-3
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
The disciples had several reasons for their hearts not to be troubled. Believing in God could have been enough. And then there’s the added call to believe also in Jesus. God the Son was right there; they were in His presence!
But Jesus would soon be leaving. Yet as He prepared His disciples for His departure, He gave them another reason not to be troubled. He promised believers permanent residence in His “Father’s house.” He said His Father’s house contains “many rooms.” “Rooms” is sometimes translated “mansions,” which often makes us think of huge houses with an emphasis on wealth. This misses Jesus’ true meaning.
The emphasis is on the location of the Father’s house—in God’s presence. God has an eternal place for believers in Him. The grandeur of heaven is the presence of God! Jesus is preparing a place for us to dwell with Him, to be in His presence for all eternity. That's the ultimate benefit of heaven.
Jesus promised to come back for His followers, accompany them beyond death, and bring them into His presence as their eternal reward. No stately home could possibly be better than dwelling in the presence of Jesus.
Jesus pointed to His impending departure and its purpose. These short verses summarize His upcoming death, resurrection, ascension, and return—events that are essential in making heaven a reality for us.
Preparing a place has nothing to do with levels of reward in heaven, styles or sizes of houses based on our spiritual devotion, or any such earthly-focused misapplication of Jesus’ intent and work. Jesus’ redemptive work through the cross and resurrection was the way He was preparing a place for us.
Jesus also promised “I will come again.” Jesus likely meant His second coming, but it’s not unreasonable to think He may have been speaking of coming for every believer at the moment of death. Timing isn’t the main issue. The focus is on the Person who accompanies a believer through death, not the place where they’re going or the time when they arrive. No servant, angel, or other intermediary comes for believers in the moment of death. Jesus Himself will come for His followers!
Question 3:
What do you find comforting in these verses?
Jesus would make it possible for His people to be with God the Father. That was His mission from the beginning. Since we were made for a joyful, forever relationship with God, Jesus’ assertion that He can bring people to God is the best news there is.
Engage
TROUBLE NO MORE
Jesus said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1). In your notes, recreate the question below and fill in your answers.
List three things that have been troubling your heart, whether small or large:
1.
2.
3.
Reflect on times when Jesus has taken care of you in the past. How can you push into Him this week, believing Him to continue to care for your needs? Journal your thoughts.
John 14:4-6
4 You know the way to where I am going.” 5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 is one of the more well-known passages in the Bible, but it is also one that causes a lot of conflict. When Thomas asked how the disciples could know the way, Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. No one finds full satisfaction except through Jesus. No one finds ultimate hope except through Jesus. And no one finds his or her way to heaven except through Jesus.
Question 4:
What do these verses teach us about Jesus’ relationship with God the Father?
Unfortunately, not everyone accepts this truth. I have friends and family members—and you may also—who believe there are many ways to come to God. I recently spent a day with an old friend who doesn’t believe he needs a “way” to the Father, because he doesn’t believe there is a Father. In fact, he doesn’t believe there’s anywhere to go after death. For him, this life is all there is. We spent the day trying to convert each other, and neither of us was successful! I love this friend, and it breaks my heart to know that underneath all his activity and beliefs is an emptiness because he believes this life simply ends. Jesus says we have only one way for that emptiness to be filled. We have only one hope for life beyond this life. Only one truth gets people to the God they were created to enjoy.
This truth is heavy when we think of those we love who don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus, but it’s a comfort when that truth is aimed at ourselves. Jesus made this statement to His disciples to encourage them. For them, as it is for those of us in Christ, this is a promise that we have what we most want and need. “If you know me, you will also know my Father” (John 14:7). There is no better news for any heart.
When we’re connected to Jesus, we’re headed toward an eternal life with Christ. In one sense, we’re already there. Eternal life with Christ isn’t just reserved for the future. We have it now! As Jesus said at the close of the Gospel of Matthew, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The fact that Jesus is the only way should motivate us to share the truth and love of Christ with others. The fact that He is the Way who leads to the Father should cause us to celebrate.
Question 5:
How would you summarize Jesus’ teaching in verse 6 in your own words?
LIVE IT OUT
We are to live lives of constant trust in God, especially in those specific moments when life takes an unexpected turn. Consider these options for how you can live out your trust, remembering that no matter what you face, Jesus is for you, He is with you, and He brings you to the Father.
Trust Jesus. Make a list of the areas of your life where you tend to trust your own abilities. How can you rely more on Jesus and less on yourself in these areas? Journal your thoughts for each.
Learn more about Jesus. Write down some of God’s promises from the Bible. Then write how Jesus has fulfilled each of these promises in your life. Allow this truth to encourage you to trust God even when you feel unsure.
Share Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. Share this truth with someone this week, emphasizing what He has done in your life and the joy you’ve experienced by trusting Him.
The work of Jesus is more powerful than our questions and doubts. Jesus is demonstrably for us. We can trust He is with us, bringing us to the Father, no matter what we face. [Lifeway Adults (2021). (p. 36). Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. Lifeway Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
What are some things in life you’ve come to really trust?
THE POINT
We can trust Jesus because He is the way, the truth, and the life.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Ten years ago, my wife almost died. She was pregnant for the first time, and the baby was trapped in the wrong place, in a tiny tube. One morning my wife woke up screaming, paralyzed with pain. We didn’t know it, but that tiny tube had ruptured, and she was bleeding internally. We were both terrified. I drove her to the hospital, where the doctors were able to save her life, but our baby never had a chance. It was a devastating day.
For the next several months, my wife was barely able to move, and we were both barely able to think. We wondered, What is God doing? Where are we going? Can He really take care of us?
That’s not the only season my family has struggled to trust God. You’ve likely had those seasons too, times when you seemed to have only questions. Thankfully, the work of Jesus is more powerful than our questions and doubts. Jesus is demonstrably for us. We can trust He is with us, bringing us to the Father, no matter what we face.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 13:36–14:1
13:36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.” 37 “Lord,” Peter asked, “why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly I tell you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. 14:1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
A lot of us can identify with Peter. Jesus had just delivered a profound statement about loving one another (see John 13:34-35), but Peter pushed right past the command to love and asked Jesus where He was going. Peter was more focused on what he wanted to know about God than on what Jesus wanted him to do for God. That might feel familiar to us.
Peter was like us in another way. He impulsively asked, “Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Peter was recklessly confident in his conviction. Peter believed in his ability to hold firm to his faith—but he was wrong. We, too, often think more highly of ourselves and our strengths than we ought.
Peter honestly believed he would fight to the death if someone tried to take Jesus from him, but Jesus knew that when the pressure came, Peter would deny even knowing Him.
Peter overestimated the strength of his trust. He believed he was strong enough, passionate enough, experienced enough, and dedicated enough to hold onto his faith in Jesus, no matter what. When the time came to stand up for Jesus, Peter fell down. He denied, denied, denied, and when the rooster crowed, he remembered that Jesus had told him this would happen. “And he went outside and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
Question 2:
When are you tempted to trust your own abilities over placing your trust in God?
Who hasn’t been there? At some point, I’m sure we’ve all believed we were strong enough, good enough, brave enough, or wise enough, only to find ourselves trapped under the weight of our sin or fear when we were challenged. Our abilities and efforts aren’t enough. We can’t trust in ourselves—but we can trust in Jesus.
Peter’s plan was that he would die for Jesus. But Jesus had the opposite plan. Peter’s faith wasn’t strong enough to follow Jesus to death at that moment, though he would, indeed, do so later. Why? Because Jesus would soon take Peter’s sin on Himself, die Peter’s death on a cross, and raise Peter to new life through His resurrection. Jesus made it possible for Peter to follow Him to heaven later.
What should Peter do for the moment? Trust Jesus. The Lord had just delivered an unsettling prediction, but Jesus also called Peter to trust. Any confidence we have isn’t in ourselves, but in the One we trust. Our hearts don’t need to be troubled; even when we don’t understand, we can believe in God. He’s got this.
John 14:2-3
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
The disciples had several reasons for their hearts not to be troubled. Believing in God could have been enough. And then there’s the added call to believe also in Jesus. God the Son was right there; they were in His presence!
But Jesus would soon be leaving. Yet as He prepared His disciples for His departure, He gave them another reason not to be troubled. He promised believers permanent residence in His “Father’s house.” He said His Father’s house contains “many rooms.” “Rooms” is sometimes translated “mansions,” which often makes us think of huge houses with an emphasis on wealth. This misses Jesus’ true meaning.
The emphasis is on the location of the Father’s house—in God’s presence. God has an eternal place for believers in Him. The grandeur of heaven is the presence of God! Jesus is preparing a place for us to dwell with Him, to be in His presence for all eternity. That's the ultimate benefit of heaven.
Jesus promised to come back for His followers, accompany them beyond death, and bring them into His presence as their eternal reward. No stately home could possibly be better than dwelling in the presence of Jesus.
Jesus pointed to His impending departure and its purpose. These short verses summarize His upcoming death, resurrection, ascension, and return—events that are essential in making heaven a reality for us.
Preparing a place has nothing to do with levels of reward in heaven, styles or sizes of houses based on our spiritual devotion, or any such earthly-focused misapplication of Jesus’ intent and work. Jesus’ redemptive work through the cross and resurrection was the way He was preparing a place for us.
Jesus also promised “I will come again.” Jesus likely meant His second coming, but it’s not unreasonable to think He may have been speaking of coming for every believer at the moment of death. Timing isn’t the main issue. The focus is on the Person who accompanies a believer through death, not the place where they’re going or the time when they arrive. No servant, angel, or other intermediary comes for believers in the moment of death. Jesus Himself will come for His followers!
Question 3:
What do you find comforting in these verses?
Jesus would make it possible for His people to be with God the Father. That was His mission from the beginning. Since we were made for a joyful, forever relationship with God, Jesus’ assertion that He can bring people to God is the best news there is.
Engage
TROUBLE NO MORE
Jesus said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1). In your notes, recreate the question below and fill in your answers.
List three things that have been troubling your heart, whether small or large:
1.
2.
3.
Reflect on times when Jesus has taken care of you in the past. How can you push into Him this week, believing Him to continue to care for your needs? Journal your thoughts.
John 14:4-6
4 You know the way to where I am going.” 5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 is one of the more well-known passages in the Bible, but it is also one that causes a lot of conflict. When Thomas asked how the disciples could know the way, Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. No one finds full satisfaction except through Jesus. No one finds ultimate hope except through Jesus. And no one finds his or her way to heaven except through Jesus.
Question 4:
What do these verses teach us about Jesus’ relationship with God the Father?
Unfortunately, not everyone accepts this truth. I have friends and family members—and you may also—who believe there are many ways to come to God. I recently spent a day with an old friend who doesn’t believe he needs a “way” to the Father, because he doesn’t believe there is a Father. In fact, he doesn’t believe there’s anywhere to go after death. For him, this life is all there is. We spent the day trying to convert each other, and neither of us was successful! I love this friend, and it breaks my heart to know that underneath all his activity and beliefs is an emptiness because he believes this life simply ends. Jesus says we have only one way for that emptiness to be filled. We have only one hope for life beyond this life. Only one truth gets people to the God they were created to enjoy.
This truth is heavy when we think of those we love who don’t have a relationship with God through Jesus, but it’s a comfort when that truth is aimed at ourselves. Jesus made this statement to His disciples to encourage them. For them, as it is for those of us in Christ, this is a promise that we have what we most want and need. “If you know me, you will also know my Father” (John 14:7). There is no better news for any heart.
When we’re connected to Jesus, we’re headed toward an eternal life with Christ. In one sense, we’re already there. Eternal life with Christ isn’t just reserved for the future. We have it now! As Jesus said at the close of the Gospel of Matthew, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The fact that Jesus is the only way should motivate us to share the truth and love of Christ with others. The fact that He is the Way who leads to the Father should cause us to celebrate.
Question 5:
How would you summarize Jesus’ teaching in verse 6 in your own words?
LIVE IT OUT
We are to live lives of constant trust in God, especially in those specific moments when life takes an unexpected turn. Consider these options for how you can live out your trust, remembering that no matter what you face, Jesus is for you, He is with you, and He brings you to the Father.
Trust Jesus. Make a list of the areas of your life where you tend to trust your own abilities. How can you rely more on Jesus and less on yourself in these areas? Journal your thoughts for each.
Learn more about Jesus. Write down some of God’s promises from the Bible. Then write how Jesus has fulfilled each of these promises in your life. Allow this truth to encourage you to trust God even when you feel unsure.
Share Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. Share this truth with someone this week, emphasizing what He has done in your life and the joy you’ve experienced by trusting Him.
The work of Jesus is more powerful than our questions and doubts. Jesus is demonstrably for us. We can trust He is with us, bringing us to the Father, no matter what we face. [Lifeway Adults (2021). (p. 36). Bible Studies for Life: Young Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. Lifeway Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]