I Am The Way, The Truth, And The Life Series

Many cities in this land are multicultural. Over the years, people from all over the globe have found their way here. They’ve all brought with them their languages, their traditions, food and clothing—and they’ve also brought their religions. So when you drive around, you see quite a few Christian churches, and you also see Hindu temples and Islamic mosques and Buddhist temples. There are many kinds of people here, and many religions.

First, we shouldn’t take for granted how all these diverse people can exist alongside each other in peace. Freedom of worship is a good thing, because it means that we can lead peaceful and quiet lives of serving God.

But there’s also a danger in a diverse society like ours. The danger is that people sometimes think that all these many religions must lead in some way to the same God. We’re all looking in the same direction. Religions have different names, different scriptures and traditions, but they all amount to the same human quest for ‘salvation,’ or the Higher Being.

That sounds good and tolerant. And it could be a way to get out of an awkward conversation at university or with your coworker in the office—‘yeah, we all believe in God.’ But it just doesn’t agree with what the Bible teaches. There’s only one God, who is the Creator of heaven and earth, and there’s only one way to know him truly.

For Scripture says that Christ alone is the Redeemer of sinners. It says that before Christ every knee shall bow, and that no other name is given to mankind by which we must be saved. We love the hymn ‘In Christ Alone,’ but that message—the Christian message of hope only through Jesus—actually offends a lot people. It’s exclusive.

But this is what Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” You can take that negatively. Or you can focus on what’s positive about it: that there is a way to the Father, there is a truth that can be known about him, and that in Christ there is a life that lasts forever! This is our theme from John 14:6,

I am the way, the truth, and the life:

1) Christ is the way

2) Christ is the truth

3) Christ is the life

1) He is the way: Someone’s last words are important. When a loved one speaks to you just before he or she passes away, you better listen carefully. These might be things to remember always: maybe a last confession of faith, some words of encouragement, or instructions for when the person is gone.

That’s what is going on in our chapter. Jesus is with his disciples in the upper room, the place where they have celebrated one last Passover. Christ is just about to be betrayed and arrested, and soon He’ll be dead. In fact, by this point of the evening, Satan has entered Judas, and he has departed into night. Looming over John 14 is the dark shadow of the cross.

Yet these words are full of hope. All the way from 13:31 to the end of chapter 17, Jesus is gently teaching his disciples. He’s telling them important things about who He is, why He has come, where He’s going—and also about what they must do once He’s gone.

In this hour of his coming death, Jesus knows that his disciples are troubled. But there really is no reason for anxiety. Once all the suffering of the next few days is finished, Jesus is going back to the Father. That’s where He came from, and that’s where He’ll be returning to.

And here is the really good news that Christ shares: if heaven is the destination of Jesus, then it’s also the destination of his disciples! Listen to what He says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (vv 2-3). He won’t leave us orphans. His believers won’t be refugees forever. From the first moment we believe in Christ, we are homeward bound!

‘I will receive you to myself.’ It sounds simple, yet the disciples aren’t so sure about this. They question Jesus about what He’s saying exactly, not just once or twice, but three times. First Thomas does in verse 5, then Philip in verse 8, and Judas (not Iscariot) in verse 22.

For example, notice the question that Thomas asks just before our text. Jesus has just said, “You know where I’m going, and you know how to get there.” And then Thomas says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” (v 5). In other words, what on earth did Jesus mean about going to the Father? What did He mean about knowing the way to God and to glory?