John 14:1-6: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 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. You know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Picture this in your mind... It's the night of the Passover Feast (the story of the Passover originating from the story in Exodus 12:23-27). This is a night that will go down in history as Maundy Thursday. Other names for it are Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great Holy Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, Sheer Thursday from the word: "shere" (meaning "clean" or "bright"), and Thursday of Mysteries. Jesus sitting with His Apostles, with Peter on His right side and John on His left. Jesus had washed His Apostles feet set an example to do as He had done (John 13:15). Jesus told His Apostles that one them was going to betray Him and was telling them this so that when it happened, they would believe that He is who He says He is (John 13:21). He told His Apostles that He would only be with them a little while longer and that where He was going, they could not come (John 13:33). After He gave His commandment to love one another as He loved them, Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Him three times (John 13:38). Can you imagine the silence that was in that Upper Room at that moment? I mean, He said that one of the Apostles would betray Him, and yet He didn't come right out and say who it was. Attaining the knowledge that somebody was going to betray Him was bad enough. But to hear that it was going to be someone from their own group? And even though Peter said that he would lay down his life for Jesus, Jesus told him point-blank that he would deny that he even knows Him before the sun even rises. It's hard to say what Peter was feeling at that moment. Shocked? Confused? Repudiation? Embarrassed? It's hard to say. But I think what weighed the most on everybody's hearts and minds was that Jesus told them that He was not going to be with them much longer and that they couldn't go with Him. They walked away from everything to follow Jesus. They left their homes, their jobs, and their families. And now, this Godly man who they followed and learned from for over three years; the mentor they all grew to know and love was about to go to His death? Of course, Jesus knew that they were saddened by the situation, not to mention apprehensive. But as we go to the 14th chapter, as you read above, we see that Jesus wanted to tame anxious hearts and uneasy minds. Jesus wanted to comfort His Apostles. He told them that He would go and "prepare a place for them" and that once that place was finished, H would come back and take them to be with Him so that they could be where He would be. Then, Jesus said something that I'm sure confused all of the Apostles. As you read, He said: "You know the way to the place where I am going." I'm sure the Apostles, in some way or another, thought that it was a peculiar statement. Makes you wonder if they were thinking: "What? We do? Did He tell us the way to the place that He is going and we forgot? When did He tell us this?" It would be like me making plans to meet my wife at the grocery store that's unfamiliar to her and simply saying to her: "You know the way to the place where I am going." And yet I never gave her any directions to the grocery store, let alone let her know that I was even going to the grocery store. But then, in John 14:5, Thomas jumps in. He asked the question that I'm sure was on all of the Apostles' minds. He said: "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" And it was a legitimate question. Thomas basically asked: how could we possibly know the way, if we don't even know the place? And that's when Jesus says something that would become one of the most notable Scriptures. First, He says: "I AM the way." He told them that He would go and "prepare a place for them" and that once that place was finished, He would come back and take them to be with Him so that they could be where He would be. In other words, all they would have to do is to know that the way is: to follow Him. But Jesus doesn't stop there. He then says that He is "the truth and the life" and that "No one comes to the Father," except through HIM. So, not only did Jesus say that He was the way, but He said that He was THE ONLY way.
“I am the way and the truth and the life” is one of the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus. They are all found in the Gospel of John. The other six are as followed:
1. I AM The bread of life. Jesus said in John 6:35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." He refers to Himself in this way also in John 6:48, when He says: "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But there is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die."
2. I AM The light of the world. Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus reaffirmed this in John 9:5 when He said: "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." And also in John 12:46 when He said: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." and said in John 1:4-5: "In him was life, and that life was light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."
3. I AM The gate. Jesus said in John 10:7: "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.” In John 10:9, He said: "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."
4. I AM The good shepherd. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." He says it again in John 10:14 when He says: "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—"
5. I AM The resurrection and the life. Jesus said in John 12:25: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
6. I AM The true vine. Jesus said in John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
Now, at this point, some may be thinking: "So what? I call myself a lot of things. What makes Jesus so different?" Well, it's not so much the person as it is the connotation of the saying: "I am" and the time period that it was said in. You see, in the Greek language, "I am" is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying: "I myself, and only I, am." These words reflect the very name of God in Hebrew, Yahwah (which means “to be” or "the self-existing one"). It is the name of power and authority, and Jesus claimed it as His own. This not only offended the polytheistic Romans, but also the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees who were strict when it came to Mosaic Law (or The Law of Moses) contained in the Pentateuch (i.e. the first five book of The Torah and The Old Testament of the Holy Bible). To the Romans, if you were to claim to be the Messiah or God, you would be insulting their Roman gods and saying that you were above (at the time) Emperor Tiberius Caesar. To the Pharisees and Sadducees, if you were to claim to be the Messiah or God and they didn't believe you, then you would be going against Mosaic Law and would be brought to trial in front of the Sanhedrin (i.e. the highest court of justice and the supreme council in ancient Jerusalem, consisting of 71 members) for blasphemy. In addition to the seven "I Am" statements, Jesus infuriated many religious leaders when, in John 8:58, He said: "Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!" After hearing Him say that, they were about to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself and slipped away from the Temple grounds.
So, what did Jesus mean when He said: "I am the way the truth and the life?" When He said THIS particular "I Am" statement, He referred to Himself as three things. Let's look at of them individually and to get a pretty good idea of what Jesus was talking about.
THE WAY
One might wonder if Jesus calling Himself "The Way" was foretold in the Old Testament. Well, it turns out, it was! Isaiah 35:8-9 says: "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there," Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as "the way and the only way." A way is a path or route, and the Apostles (particularly Thomas) had expressed their confusion about where He was going, and how they could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling them (as well as us): "follow me." There is no other path to Heaven, nor is there any other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth years later to the rulers in Jerusalem, about Jesus in Acts 4:12 saying: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Jesus is the Way to the Father and, therefore, one must believe in Jesus and follow Him if one is going to claim his place in the Father’s house. The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words "I am the way."
One might wonder if Jesus calling Himself "The Way" was foretold in the Old Testament. Well, it turns out, it was! Isaiah 35:8-9 says: "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there," Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as "the way and the only way." A way is a path or route, and the Apostles (particularly Thomas) had expressed their confusion about where He was going, and how they could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling them (as well as us): "follow me." There is no other path to Heaven, nor is there any other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth years later to the rulers in Jerusalem, about Jesus in Acts 4:12 saying: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Jesus is the Way to the Father and, therefore, one must believe in Jesus and follow Him if one is going to claim his place in the Father’s house. The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words "I am the way."
THE TRUTH
Again Jesus used the definite article to emphasize Himself as "the truth and only truth." Psalm 119:142 says: "Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is the truth." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law, then said: "but I tell you..." Matthew 5:22, 28,32, 34, 39, and 44, thereby equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of righteousness. In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17. Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God, mentioned in John 1:1, is the source of all truth. Jesus said in John 3:21: "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." In John 8:31-32, it says: "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" In John 18:37, when Pontius Pilate asked if Jesus a second time, Jesus replied: "'You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'" The Apostle John said in 1 John 3:19-20: "This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” The word of the Lord is true and abides forever, and whatever in this universe can legitimately make the claim to truth must find its ultimate source in Him. Nothing outside of, or contradictory to, the great mystery of Christ can be true, for He is Truth incarnate.
Again Jesus used the definite article to emphasize Himself as "the truth and only truth." Psalm 119:142 says: "Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is the truth." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law, then said: "but I tell you..." Matthew 5:22, 28,32, 34, 39, and 44, thereby equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of righteousness. In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17. Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God, mentioned in John 1:1, is the source of all truth. Jesus said in John 3:21: "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." In John 8:31-32, it says: "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" In John 18:37, when Pontius Pilate asked if Jesus a second time, Jesus replied: "'You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'" The Apostle John said in 1 John 3:19-20: "This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” The word of the Lord is true and abides forever, and whatever in this universe can legitimately make the claim to truth must find its ultimate source in Him. Nothing outside of, or contradictory to, the great mystery of Christ can be true, for He is Truth incarnate.
THE LIFE
Perhaps this is the most fundamental truth of all. Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life. In John 10:17-18, Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again. He spoke of His authority over life and death as being granted to Him by the Father. In John 14:19, He gave the promise that “because I live, you also will live.” The deliverance He was about to provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a life of freedom in eternity. So, when Jesus said He was "the life," He not only meant that He would be able to conquer death, but the life that He is: will always be the life we are given. And what kind of life is that? Eternal life! And how do we receive eternal life? By not only following Jesus, but believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus said in John 3:15: "that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." As Jesus was talking with Nicodemus during one of their late night chats, He said in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus said in John 5:24: "'Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." In John 6:47, Jesus said: "Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life." How is this possible? Well, we are sinful by nature. Nobody's perfect. We've ALL sinned and the penalty for those sins are death and eternal separation from God in Hell. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:20 that: "indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins." The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:10 that: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one;" and in Romans 3:23 says: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," He went on to say in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death...." But here's the good news! Jesus paid our "sin debt." He suffered and died on a Cross, so that each and every one of us could be forgive and set free. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that: "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus traded His righteousness for our sins, so that we could receive His righteousness. The Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 2:24: "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed,'" quoting Isaiah 53:5. When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, He defeated death and Hell, and He gives each one of us a chance at eternal life, if we personally receive it. So, how do we receive eternal life? Well, in Romans 10:13, it says: "'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" This excludes nobody. And how do you call upon the name of the Lord? Well, The Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:9-10 that: "If you declare with your mouth, '‘Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." So, when you accept what Jesus did for you, me, and everybody else on the Cross, repent of your sins, and profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you invite Jesus into your heart. Jesus will gladly accept the invitation and, therefore, Christ will be in you. And what will result in Christ being in us? Well, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:10-11: "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." Isn't that cool? If we are "the dead in Christ," as it is said in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the same Heavenly Father who raised Christ from the dead will also raise US from the dead as well. But not to stay on Earth, but to go to Heaven. Jesus said in John 5:25: "Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 that: "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him." So, whether we avoid Hell (after we die) or The Great Tribulation (before we die), the Lord Himself will take us up to Heaven to be with Him. Old Testament Prophets knew of this. For example, Isaiah 57:1 says: "The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil." So, Jesus is the Way? The way to where? To Heaven and to the His Father's House, not to mention the Lord Himself. By knowing the Truth? What is the Truth? Jesus died of our sins, and to accept that, we are following Jesus, who is the Way. When we believe in Jesus and have personal relationship Him, who is the Way and the Truth, what do we receive? The Life! What is that? Eternal Life!
Perhaps this is the most fundamental truth of all. Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life. In John 10:17-18, Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again. He spoke of His authority over life and death as being granted to Him by the Father. In John 14:19, He gave the promise that “because I live, you also will live.” The deliverance He was about to provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a life of freedom in eternity. So, when Jesus said He was "the life," He not only meant that He would be able to conquer death, but the life that He is: will always be the life we are given. And what kind of life is that? Eternal life! And how do we receive eternal life? By not only following Jesus, but believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Jesus said in John 3:15: "that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." As Jesus was talking with Nicodemus during one of their late night chats, He said in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus said in John 5:24: "'Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." In John 6:47, Jesus said: "Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life." How is this possible? Well, we are sinful by nature. Nobody's perfect. We've ALL sinned and the penalty for those sins are death and eternal separation from God in Hell. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 7:20 that: "indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins." The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:10 that: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one;" and in Romans 3:23 says: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," He went on to say in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death...." But here's the good news! Jesus paid our "sin debt." He suffered and died on a Cross, so that each and every one of us could be forgive and set free. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that: "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus traded His righteousness for our sins, so that we could receive His righteousness. The Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 2:24: "'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed,'" quoting Isaiah 53:5. When Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, He defeated death and Hell, and He gives each one of us a chance at eternal life, if we personally receive it. So, how do we receive eternal life? Well, in Romans 10:13, it says: "'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" This excludes nobody. And how do you call upon the name of the Lord? Well, The Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:9-10 that: "If you declare with your mouth, '‘Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." So, when you accept what Jesus did for you, me, and everybody else on the Cross, repent of your sins, and profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you invite Jesus into your heart. Jesus will gladly accept the invitation and, therefore, Christ will be in you. And what will result in Christ being in us? Well, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:10-11: "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." Isn't that cool? If we are "the dead in Christ," as it is said in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the same Heavenly Father who raised Christ from the dead will also raise US from the dead as well. But not to stay on Earth, but to go to Heaven. Jesus said in John 5:25: "Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 that: "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him." So, whether we avoid Hell (after we die) or The Great Tribulation (before we die), the Lord Himself will take us up to Heaven to be with Him. Old Testament Prophets knew of this. For example, Isaiah 57:1 says: "The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil." So, Jesus is the Way? The way to where? To Heaven and to the His Father's House, not to mention the Lord Himself. By knowing the Truth? What is the Truth? Jesus died of our sins, and to accept that, we are following Jesus, who is the Way. When we believe in Jesus and have personal relationship Him, who is the Way and the Truth, what do we receive? The Life! What is that? Eternal Life!
These three elements of Jesus’ identity are all related. He shares his divine and everlasting life with us, if we receive in faith the truth that He is the only way to the Father, and then live accordingly. Thomas and the other Apostles probably could not have understood all this at the time. It was up to the Holy Spirit; the Spirit of Truth to make all things clearly known to them, and to remind them of what Jesus had already revealed. Even with 2000 years of Christianity behind us, we still seem to be in the very same boat the Apostles were in that first Maundy Thursday night. The Lord has much to say to us, but we cannot grasp or contain it. We have difficulty understanding and remembering what Jesus has already told us, and so we flounder in our spiritual lives. We need to have recourse to the Holy Spirit, and we need to keep returning to the Gospels to hear the words of Jesus; words that are "spirit and life;" words that "will never pass away."
Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life, because all these things come from the Father. Jesus said in John 8:19 that: "If you knew me, you would have known my Father also." We have to keep in our awareness, as much as we talk about the distinct Persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (i.e. The Trinity), that there is only one God, and these Three are One. To know Jesus as the Way, and the ONLY Way, to the Father is already to know the Father; the same with the Truth and the Life. Living that Truth and Life is to do as Jesus did and do His Father's will. And what might that be? Well, Jesus said in John 6:40: "For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day." So, basically, God's will is for us to believe in His only begotten Son, so that one day, we will be in Heaven with the Lord forever. Let us make sure we are on the Way to True Life.
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