Jesus is The Way, The Truth, The Life

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Scripture: John 14:4-6 (NLT)

And you know the way to where I am going.”

5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Devotion:

            Today’s scripture contains one of the most often quoted verses from John’s gospel. Before we get to that verse, however, we need to look at the setting and context given to us in the previous verses. Jesus states here that the disciples already know the way to where he is going. Thomas speaking for the group indicates that Jesus’ is wrong and that they do not know the way to where he is going. In fact, they do not know where he is going at all.

The disciples have been trying to understand all that Jesus has been telling them about his death and resurrection. But they are genuinely struggling to make sense of it all. We can only guess that all the disciples felt the same as Thomas. They were feeling confusion and grief because Jesus had told them he was going to leave them. If we had been in the disciple's sandals, we would have had similar feelings.

Jesus, attempting to clarify things for his disciples, launches into his explanation in verse six. The explanation that Jesus gives is as hard to truly understand as it is well known. We cannot possibly know the full meaning behind these words. They are simple, yet they are obscure. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to a correct interpretation.

The first thing to note is the pronoun “I” that begins this verse. This tells us that Jesus is not talking about a geographical place that can be physically traveled to. Jesus is instead claiming that He is the endpoint of their journey as well as the route to get there. This pronoun forms the base of the I AM statement included in this verse. This is the sixth of seven I AM statements in John’s gospel. All of them describing an attribute of Jesus.

Jesus is declaring these truths about himself. He is the way to the Father, the truth that dispels all falsehood, the life that exists eternally. Jesus embodies the way, truth, and life that is needed to reach heaven. Let us pray that we will be empowered to seek and find Jesus as our way, truth, and life.

Prayer:

            Heavenly Father, hear our prayer today. We ask you to help us pursue Jesus and find in him the way, the truth, and the life for our souls. We acknowledge that there is simply no other way to reach you dear Father. Lord, keep us from all wandering away from your precious Son our Savior, Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen. 

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