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

We have spent this summer working our way through the Gospel of John to study the words of Jesus, as he walked around Israel speaking to the crowds, performing miracles, and teaching in parables. People were following him around everywhere, everyone wanted to know who he is. Who is this man who makes blind people see, and who makes paralyzed people able to walk again? Why is he here, what does he want, what is he going to do? Everyone wanted to know!

Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?” They said, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Everyone was guessing, trying to figure out just who this man is!

Today, lots of people have opinions about who Jesus is too. Some say he was a great moral teacher, here to help people achieve moral excellence, maybe even transcendence. Some say he was one of many prophets who have come over the centuries. Some say he was a liar, trying to gain a following and name for himself. Some say he was a revolutionary, here to bring social justice to the world as an activist, marching for peoples rights. And some people just think he was crazy, but that everyone around him was too superstitious to realize.

There are tons of opinions about who Jesus is, both in the first century, and today. And this series is all about ignoring all of those voices, and letting Jesus speak for himself.

So far we have seen Jesus reveal himself through five I AM statements, and with these I Am statements, he is revealing things about who he is and what his mission is, as well as declaring himself to be God. We talked the first week about how the phrase I AM is actually the name of God, and by using it in these ways, Jesus is also claiming to be God.

So for a quick recap, the statements we have studied so far are these: I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door for the sheep, I am the good shepherd, and then last week, I am the resurrection and the life.

So with that said, lets pray, and then we will dive into week six of this series.

So each week, I have been kind of filling in the blanks around these statements, to let you know what has been going on beforehand. The Gospels are a story, and just like you wouldn’t open up a novel and start reading in the middle, we need to understand what is going on before this section of the Gospel.

Last week we ended off with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany, and a lot has taken place in this gospel since then, I’ll just give you the coles notes. So right after that took place, the Pharisee’s called a meeting of the Sanhedrin in response, to try and figure out what they should do with Jesus. As a result, they began plotting to have Jesus killed.

In the meantime, Jesus and his disciples hid for awhile until the Jewish passover festival. Six days before the passover was supposed to take place, Jesus went back to Bethany, where a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor, and Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet.

The next day, Jesus left Bethany to head into Jerusalem, and this is that triumphal entry we looked at on palm Sunday, where he comes in on a donkey. He goes into the city, and while at the festival, he predicts his death and preaches about his mission.

After this, they went to the upper room for the passover meal, and Jesus washes his disciples feet. He predicts his betrayal, and identifies Judas as the one who will betray him. Then he predicts Peters betrayal, and tells them that he is leaving, but that they cannot follow him now, but that they will follow later one.

And then we come to this passage in John 14:

John 14:1–7 (NIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 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. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”