'I Am the Way, the Truth, & the Life'

One of the prominent features of the gospel is that it's forward looking, it confronts the future with clarity, hope, and confidence.  The Bible certainly has an appreciation for the past because it's firmly grounded in history, and it also has very important things to say about the present; and yet, its expectation of future things is what makes it a gospel of hope.  If there is any single aspect of the biblical message that needs to be underscored today it's this element of hope.  There are literally hundreds of people around us who are hopeless.  To them life is painful and senseless, and it holds out no bright future to them.  As a result, they're anxious, despairing, and hopeless!

The opening paragraph of John chapter 14 speaks to this dark side of the human condition.  Jesus had rebuked his disciples for their personal ambition and informed them that one of them would betray him.  He also told them that he was going to leave them and and they couldn't follow him, at least not immediately.  In addition, he predicted Peter's denial.  So the disciples' expectations were crushed; it was a very confusing time.  The disciples needed to hear what Jesus was about to say - “Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  And you know the way to where I am going.  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (vv.1-6).”

Apparently Jesus sensed the disciples' confusion and anxiety; he knew that they were disturbed by what he said. So he confronted them quite firmly.  He actually commanded them to not be anxious - “Let not your hearts be troubled.”  “Stop being troubled!”  How?  By trusting me, Jesus said.  Shift your attention away from the problem and fix your confidence in me.  Trust my ability and my faithfulness.  This isn't always easy; life can be overwhelming at times.  How is this done?  The Psalmist gives us some insight into this - “Why are you cast down , O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God (Ps.42:11).”  There's what we might call 'self-talk' going on here.  The Psalmist is speaking to himself.  Why am I anxious?  He wants to identify and acknowledge the problem, and then turn his attention to the Lord.  Faith isn't a denial of the problem.  We're to face life squarely, but the focus of our confidence is in the Lord and his faithfulness.  Then we also learn to pray and praise the Lord in the midst of the storms of life.  

The verb forms in verse 1 of the passage are important.  The verb 'believe' in the phrases “Believe in God; believe also in me” is a present imperative; it's a command.  What's being called for is that we keep on believing and trusting in Christ no matter how tough the circumstances of life may be.  Job's a good example.  He'd lost everything: his wealth, his family, and his health.  While sitting in an ash heap covered with open sores his wife told him to 'curse God and die' (Job 2:9).  He refused - “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.  Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil (Job 2:10)?”  This doesn't mean Job didn't struggle and complain....he did!  He questioned God's goodness and justice.  But he continued to believe!

Jesus now shifts the focus of the conversation to the future - “In my Father's house [habitation] are many rooms [dwelling places] (verses 2&3).”  Apparently, heaven is spacious and there's room for everyone.  It's one house with many rooms!  Jesus gives his disciples the assurance that he was leaving in order to 'prepare a place' for them, and that he would return and take them to where he presently is.    This is a wonderful promise, making it clear that the purpose of his departure was to prepare for reunion (v.3)!  The separation would not be permanent!  The joy of heaven flows out of our reunion with Christ, when we'll be brought into a new kind of relationship where we'll know him as we're known by him.  And this new relationship will last forever!  What Jesus assures us of is his Second Coming.  This promise is the grounding point of our hope.  Christ will come again and with his return will come the general resurrection of the dead and the end of human history.   

Here's the crucial question: “How can we be ready for this great event?”  The answer's given to us in verses 4-6, and there's a veiled invitation given in verse 4 - “....you know the way to where I am going...”.  The inference is that they know the way and will be joining him.  And yet, it's clear that 'the way' isn't apparent to the disciples.  Thomas responds - “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way (v.5)?”  This is the pressing question we all need to answer.  Jesus gives a straightforward answer - “I am the way, and the truth, and the life...(v.6).”  What we have in this statement is a series of nouns each strengthened by a definite article....'the way'...'the truth'....'the life'.  Jesus doesn't simply point the way or express a body of religious ideas that are on par with many other religious teachers; he's making exclusive claims.  He's 'the way', 'the truth', and 'the life', to the exclusion of all other religious claims.  This is what makes the Christian gospel so offensive to the modern mind.  The gospel challenges the popular pluralism of our day.  The claims, when plainly understood, invalidate all other religious truth-claims.  Jesus is saying that there's no life-giving truth found anywhere else; it's found only in him.  So if you want to know what will bind you to God and give you true hope and eternal life, you must embrace the gospel, turn away from all other religious and self-saving ideas, and trust Christ alone for salvation.  There's absolutely no other way to come into a right relationship with God the Father except through Christ, God the Son!

To the modern mind, Christ's claim to be 'the way', 'the truth', and 'the life', is radical.  But, to us who believe, they're the claims that give us hope and eternal life.  We need to have these lines of text impressed upon us - “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”