John 14:1-14
As we look up this Scripture we are (hopefully) remembering some of the sermon from last week when we saw that:
Jesus lived His life with the Father ever before His face
And that we have a natural inclination to take our eyes off of Jesus and look at the things of this world which influences our decisions in ways that are opposing to the way that Jesus would have us take.
OK, so please follow along in your Bibles as we read from the book of John.
John 14:6 NIV
“Jesus answered, ‘I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
There are some special words in the English language; those words are a, an and the.
“A” and “an” are called indefinite articles.
Examples of an indefinite article:
Would you like a banana? Would you like to eat an elephant?
Examples of a definite article:
Would you like the banana? Would you like to eat the elephant?
Jesus was the master of the definite article when it came to describing who He was and how to get to the Father!
John 14:6a NIV
“Jesus answered, “I Am THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life.”
“I Am” - Jesus is saying, “I always have been, I am at any point in eternity, and I will be in the eternal future.”
The Way - not “a” way but THE Way -
There is an old, loosely translated saying that says, “All roads lead to Rome.”
Actually the earliest English form of the saying from 1391 puts it this way,
“Right as diverse pathes leden the folk the righte wey to Rome.”
Well that may or may not have been true in the days of the Roman Empire but it is not true to day.
However, there is a saying that comes from the time of Rome that was true then and will always be true, “Jesus is THE way to the Father!”
John 14:6a NIV
“Jesus answered, “I Am THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life.”
Jesus is THE truth -
John 1:14 NIV
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:17 NIV
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Just try to imagine the despair that would overwhelm true Christians if one truth proclaimed by the Word of God were not true.
Look at the truths about Jesus!
The virgin birth of Jesus - True or False?
Truth - an act of God
False - an act of fornication, sex outside of marriage, a child born of an
illegitimate union (not an illegitimate child - the child carries no guilt)
The baptism of Jesus - True or False?
Truth - as Jesus came out of the water God the Father spoke from heaven
and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove validating Jesus as the
Messiah and He is the Father’s plan for salvation
False - a story fabricated by Jesus’ disciples in an attempt to make Him into
something He never was and we are living in eternal deception
The promised return of Jesus - True or False?
Truth - Jesus is our hope of resurrection and eternal life with Him
False - a lie made up by the disciples to keep the movement going and we are all hopelessly, eternally lost …
John 14:6a NIV
“Jesus answered, “I Am THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life.”
Jesus is THE Life -
What does the OT say about blood?
Why couldn’t the Israelites drink or eat blood?
Leviticus 17:13-14 NIV
“Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’”
The Son of God in the incarnation became Jesus the Son of Man - fully God and fully man and when that happened He not took on flesh and as a result He also took on blood and what did He do with that blood?
He voluntarily shed it on the cross of Calvary so at we might have what? LIFE!!!
Jesus is THE LIFE!
Here’s another GREAT absolute promise that Jesus said in truth and it is an absolute!
John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
This is absolute, right? There’s no wiggle room in these verses!
Let’s read this out loud together but let’s make it more personal!
John 3:16-18
“For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that if I believe in Him I will not perish but I will have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn me, but to save me through Him.
“If I believe in Him I am not condemned, but if I do not believe in Him I stand condemned already because I have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Is that the Truth???
Jesus doesn’t leave us any wiggle room.
The truth of the Gospel isn’t open to political correctness.
The world says we can “coexist” - all beliefs and non-beliefs intermingled as if all are truth. Can they all be true?
Can it be true that the god of Islam and the God of Christianity are the same?
Do you know how simple it is to answer that question???
(Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpc4ygCQePM)
Can it be true that the god of human-contrived peace represented by the so-called “peace symbol” is as valid as Prince of Peace?
Can it be true that the god of sexuality immorality written about in the first chapter of Romans is truth equal with the truth spoken by Jesus that “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife?”
Can it be true that the Jewish faith put into place by the Lord Himself is a path to salvation when they reject their own Messiah?
Can it be true that endless cycles of birth, death and reincarnation will finally unite us as one with the universe when Jesus said it is the destiny of a man once to die and after that comes the judgment?
John 14:6 NIV
“Jesus answered, “I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Do you really want a sad, dreary, painful, ritualistic life?
Then turn Jesus’ offer of living relationship into dead religious activity.
I gotta go to church today because it’s Sunday
I gotta read my Bible because that’s what we Christians are supposed to do
I gotta pray because that’s what the preacher said we need to do
I gotta tell someone about Jesus
I gotta drop my napkin so that no one sees me “giving thanks” for this food
I gotta, I gotta, I gotta … What a wretched life!
THAT IS NOT THE LIFE THAT JESUS BRINGS!
Fall in love with the only One who is the only path to the Father, with the only One who is the only Truth in this whole wide world, with the only One who can give you real life now and throughout endless eternity!
If you fall in love with Jesus you won’t be able to wait until Sunday to gather with others who love and worship Jesus!
If you fall in love with Jesus you won’t be able to stay out of your Bible because it is God speaking to You, His child!
If you fall in love with Jesus you will love times of meeting with Jesus in prayer.
If you fall in love with Jesus you won’t be able to keep your mouth shut about the One you love, the One who gave you life.
A great transformation will take place in your life. You will be transformed from a closet Christian into an ambassador for Jesus! Did you know that that is what the Bible calls true believers?
The Olympics are coming up and if you’ve ever seen an opening ceremony you have seen each national delegation proudly marching in under the flag of their country and it is a special honor to be the flag bearer.
We as Christians march under the name of Jesus. Each one of us has the honor of marching under His banner. We are delighted to carry the name of Jesus to those who are lost and spiritually dying so that they too can find true life.
Show the video, “Carry Your Name” (by Christie Nockles)
Closing comments and prayer
Benediction:
Jude 1:24-25 NIV
“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
