The Way, The Truth, & The Life

John 14:6-7

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

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Verse six is easily the most familiar verse in this chapter. It is the clearest statement of the exclusivity of the Christian faith - that there is only one path to know the true and living God. In the 1st century then, and in the 21st century now, this statement continues to shock and confound. How could a poor Palestinian man claim to be himself the only way to God? This is ludicrous! How could millions of people believe this?

The short answer is: the empty tomb and the witnesses thereof. The only way that such a ludicrous claim could be justified is if it was true and proven true by the public defeat of death itself. There are many arguments I could dive into to defend this narrow belief - the sacrificial martyrdom of the disciples, the journalistic quality of the four Gospel accounts, the simple beauty of the God-made-flesh offer of reconciliation. And I strongly encourage you to research further, for these questions are worth far more time than this space affords.

But, what I want to meditate on here is to take this verse a step further than the question of exclusivity. There are three obvious questions that are begged from this verse:

1. The Way, to what?
2. The Truth, about what?
3. The Life, how?

The first question might be the easiest to answer, since the verse itself explains: no one comes to the Father except through me. The goal of this way is to get to the Father. Likewise, verses 2-5 preface this statement by describing the Father's "house" where Jesus is going to prepare a place for us.

So, beyond the topic of exclusivity, where is this "way" taking us and why do I want to go there? Simply put, the end goal of this "way" is reconciliation with our Maker and entrance into his presence, with no more sin separating us - this will be the fulfillment of our hearts' deepest need. The idols we have craved will pale in comparison to the vision of glory that awaits us. And Jesus himself is the way to this reunion, because he is in the Father and the Father is in him, as the chapter goes on to say.

The second question is not as obvious, but it too is answered in this chapter. For Jesus to call himself the Truth, he must embody the truth itself. This should remind us of John 1, where Jesus is referred to as the Word, the "Logos." He is claiming to be the message of God in the flesh. And what does God want to tell us? What is this truth we need to hear and believe?

The message is that God has come to be near to us, so that we can then be brought home to him.

Verses 23-24 further elaborate, stating that the word, the commandment, that Jesus gives us will be our guide on the path to restored unity with the Father:

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

The third question is closely connected to the last: what is this Life that Jesus offers? We know from John's theme verse that he wrote this whole book so that we might know that Jesus is the Christ and that we might have "life in his name" (20:31). We also know that Jesus offers a "new birth" after hearing his conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3. So, what is the nature of this new life? Why should I want it?

Again, the context provides the answer. Jesus is here comforting his disciples, who are starting to realize that their leader is leaving them soon. He tells them that he will not leave them as orphans - that he will send a Helper. And here we start to understand what is meant by the Life that he offers.

Jesus is promising that his very spirit will live inside of us!

We may be familiar with this idea, but have you really just stopped and thought about that? The life that I could not find or create for myself, Jesus is offering to put into me. And not just any life, but his very own perfect, loving, God-glorifying life. This includes reminding us of his own message, the truth of his words resounding in our hearts (v 26). And this includes comforting us with his very real presence when we feel abandoned, never again to be orphans as we so deeply fear.

The Way home to be with our Father.

The Truth that is a message of love embodied in Jesus.

The Life that is fueled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus offers these to us in his very nature. When we get lost, he himself becomes our way home. When we doubt, he himself reminds us of the true message of God's heart. And when we feel dead to the world, his Spirit within us makes us truly alive!