Where is He now? John 14:1-3(mother’s day)
Where is Jesus now?
He’s seated at the right hand of the Father.
Mark 16:19; Colossians 3:1
His redemptive work is done.
John 19:30
His authority is supreme.
Colossians 1:16-17, 18
What is Jesus doing?
He is interceding for the redeemed.
Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34; Colossians 2:14
He is heading up the church.
Colossians 1:18
He is preparing a place
John 14:2
When is Jesus coming back?
John 14:3
Where is Jesus now? There have been lots of theories put forth thru the years. One immediately after the resurrection was put forth by the Jewish religious leaders, that the disciples had stolen his body and buried it in an unknown grave. That’s crazy because in the 40 days after He walked out of the tomb that 1st Easter morning, Jesus appeared to over 400 people, many, if not most, were killed for insisting they had seen the resurrected Messiah.
Another prominent theory was that Jesus went to other planets that had living beings on them and preached the gospel to them. This is crazy! There are no other planets with inhabitable life. God created the entire universe as a backdrop and the earth as a stage to display His redeeming grace and love. Said this a few weeks ago: I’ll eat every chair in here if they find life on another planet.
So where is Jesus? Turn to John 14:1-3. We conclude our series this morning entitled ‘Vintage Jesus.’ We’ve asked and answered 3 questions thus far: Why did Jesus come? Who is Jesus? What did Jesus say about Himself? And this morning, “Where is Jesus now?”
The context of this passage this morning is that Jesus is less than 12 hours from being crucified on a Roman Cross. He’s gathered His 12 disciples into an upper room to break bread and give some last minute instructions. And part of what He says gives us some direction as to where He is this very moment.
“Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
You’ll notice that Jesus encouraged them not to be troubled about this. Death and what happens after death is not something to be feared. Well, let me qualify that statement: if you have surrendered your life to Jesus and by faith asked that His blood shed on the cross cover and pay for you sinfulness, then there’s nothing to fear about death and what happens after it. On the contrary, if you’ve never surrendered and never asked that His blood cover your sinfulness, there’s PLENTY to worry about!
Also you’ll notice that Jesus again asserts His equality with God the Father. You believe in God the Father? Believe in God the Son. Believe in Me.
So on to the question:
Where is Jesus now? He’s seated at the right hand of the Father. (build)
Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to be with the Father. After His resurrection and after His appearances those 40 days, the Bible says: “Then after speaking to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19 Colossians 3:1 “So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.”
I had you fill in which word in the blank? Seated. The Bible refers to Jesus being at the right hand of the Father over 20 times and in 7 of them the Scripture says that He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Why seated? Because being seated indicates that His redemptive work is done. Remember His last words on the cross? It is finished!” My work is done. I’ve accomplished the redemptive act of paying for the sins of humanity and my work is done. Have you appropriated His redemptive act in your life? Your heart?
He’s also seated because His authority is supreme. In ancient times, and still in parts of the world, the person who sat on a throne had complete power and authority. If you were in the presence of a king, he would be sitting, and you would be standing.
We talked about this a couple of weeks ago when we studied Colossians 1.
“For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together…so that He might come to have first place in everything. Colossians 1:16-17, 18
Jesus is in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father, His redemptive work completed and His authority supreme above any created power.
I want to move on beyond where Jesus is to answer a two more questions.
If Jesus is in heaven, what’s He doing?
What is Jesus doing? Well, He’s not playing golf or taking naps!
He is interceding for the redeemed. Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.” Romans 8:34 “He is at the right hand of God (the Father) and intercedes for us.”
Intercede: to appeal and even intervene on behalf of another. Remember the movie, “The Fugitive”(pic) with Harrison Ford in it? He’s accused of murdering his wife and he’s sentenced to life in prison. He didn’t do it, but he couldn’t prove it. I’ve often thought, if I was accused of something I didn’t do, I sure hope I could get a good defense attorney.
Now get this: remember Colossians 2:14 “He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.” God’s charges against me, and believe me, there are some serious charges: idolatry, adultery, murder—the list goes forever. Those charges were nailed to the cross and Jesus paid for them with His blood. I’ve been forgiven.
But there is an accuser, isn’t there? The Bible says that Satan is an accuser. He keeps accusing me of my sins, even though they’ve been forgiven. But I’ve got the best defense attorney in the universe! He is interceding for me! The Son of God is on my side and He fights and appeals and intervenes on my behalf. Glory!
He is heading up the church. Colossians 1:18, “He is also the head of the body, the church.” Jesus is the head of the church. I’m not. Jesus is. He building His church. He is beautifying His bride. He is utilizing the church to accomplish His mission and bring glory to Himself.
I love hearing stories of how Jesus is building His church. Stories of Boston, Anchorage, Seattle, Vancouver. Fastest growing per capita? Iran. Muslims coming to Jesus. Jesus is building His church to accomplish His mission and bring glory to Himself.
He is preparing a place Did you notice what Jesus said in that upper room discourse? John 14:2 “ In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.”
Do you ever get house envy? We have a beautiful home, but I have to confess I drive by some houses and I get a serious case of house envy. Big houses, big estates, lots of beautiful furniture and decorations, nice pool, big yard, latest technology. (find me 3 pictures of estate type houses that are incredible)
But get this, the same guy who created all things, visible and invisible, the stars, the galaxies, the mountains, the oceans, who created all things, HE said He was going to prepare a place for me. I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be like, but I DO know that it will make the biggest estate in the world pale in comparison. No more house envy. The King of Kings is preparing a place for ME!
One more question before we go: When’s He coming back for me?
When is Jesus coming back?
Jesus said we wouldn’t know until it happened. But for 2000 years the saints have been waiting for His return. He promised He would return. John 14:3 “If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”
He’s coming back! Now listen, I understand that life here is pretty good. I get that. This evening my 3 kids and their spouses and our grandkids are going to come over and celebrate mother’s day with us. I’ll sit around the table and listen to how God is working in their lives, I’ll laugh at the stuff they’ll do, I’ll watch my gkids play—and honestly my heart will be so full, my eyes will well up with tears and I’ll think, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
But it’s not really true. As good as this life can be some time, it doesn’t begin to compare to the life that awaits us. I know that. I hope for that.
And there are times when life is hard, even ugly. 300 little girls in Nigeria stolen from their parents and sold into sex slavery. 260 Korean teenagers drowned needlessly at sea. Some estimates put the % of sexual abuse in our country at 25. ΒΌ children are being abused by a family member or close family friend. Parents aren’t really parenting any more—they’re managing schedules. The result is children have an anxiety level unseen in history. Marriages are falling apart—more kids are being raised in single parent homes than in 2 parent homes. Heart disease, cancer, Alzheimers… watching someone you love die with a disease is awful.
When I survey the pain and suffering in the world, I cry out with the saints of old, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” Come and make things right. Come and do away with the pain and the suffering and the hatred and heartache and the injustice. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Until then….until then, let’s be about kingdom business. Becoming more like Jesus so that we can be Jesus to the overwhelmed around us, the underresourced in our community, and those He has placed in our lives who are far away from God .
This is Vintage Jesus; the Jesus that we love. The Jesus who came to redeem and rescue us. The Jesus who created all things for His pleasure and holds all things together, the Jesus who is the Great I AM, who is Source, our Sustenance, our Strength, our Everything. This is the Jesus that we serve. The Lamb of God, crowned in glory and the object of our worship and praise and adoration forever and ever and ever. Amen!
