God has an amazing life of adventure and purpose waiting for us all. But very few people find it. A lot of people think “I tried the God thing, but it didn't work.” The problem is that the promises of God don't happen without the practices of Jesus. AND Most people aren't taught what those practices are. OR how to live them out in a busy life in the real world. Good News! Jesus promised, “I am the Way.”
In other words, if we learn to do what Jesus did, we’ll discover the pathway to purpose THAT God has for all of us. This Lent season we will explore the practices of Jesus to help you grow spiritually. Religion doesn’t lead to real life– following Jesus does. This is “The Way” is our series leading up to Easter
The followers of Jesus for the first 100 years were known as the followers of The Way - The way of Jesus. The pre-christian label was a by-product of Jesus' famous statement from John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
The problem is many people don’t understand what this means. Jesus tried to let us know how difficult it will be to stay focused in his most famous teaching when he said Matt 7:13-14.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it
This week I’d like to unpack - The Way of Jesus - by going a little old school and diving into John 14.
Early in the service, we heard about Moses' encounter with God on a mountain. It is there He tells Moses to call himself, “I AM.” Or as we like to sing, The Great I Am. Little did anyone know then that God would use the same words to identify himself when He decided to come from heaven to earth in the person of Jesus.
The scene is set. Jesus has once again shared with his disciples that He’s going to be killed in Jerusalem. A truth they are having a hard time fathoming. You can read it in John 13. Let’s pick up the scriptures in John 14:1
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 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? 3 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. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
As Jesus patiently teaches His disciples, He speaks more and more directly about heaven, describing the place He was going to prepare for them (John 14:2–3). Then Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am going” (verse 4). It’s clear from John 13 where Peter asks about the next phase of the mission and now Thomas, that the disciples were still not getting the full implications of what was about to take place. It was in the answer to Thomas' question that Jesus uttered another of the famous “I am” statements.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Let’s unpack Jesus’ words
“I am” in the Greek is a very intense way of referring to oneself. In the Gospels, we find Jesus using these words to reference his claim that he is God incarnate - god in the flesh.
In Matthew 22:32 Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, where God uses the same intensive form to say, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews clearly understood Jesus to be calling Himself God because they took up stones to stone Him for committing blasphemy in equating Himself with God.
In Matthew 28:20, as Jesus gave the Great Commission, He gave it emphasis by saying, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In John 18:4-6, When the soldiers came seeking Jesus in the garden the night before His crucifixion, He told them, “I am he,” and His words were so powerful that the soldiers fell to the ground.
The words “I am” reflect the very name of God in Hebrew, Yahweh. It means “to be” or “the self-existing one.” It is the name of power and authority, and Jesus claimed it as His own.
I am the way. In saying these words, Jesus is distinguishing Himself as “the only way.” As Jesus had told them before, He was once again telling them to “follow.” There is no other path to heaven, no other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth years later to the rulers in Jerusalem, saying, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The exclusive nature of the only path to salvation is expressed in the words “I am the way.”
I am the way, the truth - Again Jesus is emphasizing that he is “the only truth.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law and then said, “But I say unto you . . .” (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). In so doing, He elevated Himself to be equal with the Law of God as the standard by which we all are made right with God - righteous. In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God (John 1:1) is the source of all truth.
I am the way, the truth and the life – Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life.
In John 10:17–18, Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again. He spoke of His authority over life and death as being granted to Him by the Father.
In John 14:19, He gave the promise that “because I live, you also will live.”
Jesus was on a rescue mission! He was not looking to offer a political or social release from the oppressive Roman rule that most of the Jews believed would happen when the Messiah came. Jesus was about to save all of humanity from a life marred by sin and death to a life of freedom for all time.
I am the way, the truth and the life. And no one comes to the father except through me. Jesus couldn’t have been more clear. He was telling the world for all time that He is the only way to eternal life and the source of both physical and spiritual life.
Many will claim an all loving God, who was intimate in the creation of all humankind, would never be so exclusionary. However, their opinion fails to see the larger narrative being played out in real time all around us. God created us out of an abundance of love for relationship with Him. Our actions separated us from him and created an imperfection that needed to be corrected. As such,
Jesus was “chosen by God” to be the Savior (1 Peter 2:4).
He is the only person to have lived a perfect human life (Hebrews 4:15).
He is the only sacrifice for sin (1 John 2:2; Hebrews 10:26).
He alone fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17).
He is the only man to have conquered death forever (Hebrews 2:14–15).
He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
He is the only man whom God has “exalted . . . to the highest place” (Philippians 2:9).
Don’t get derailed by the world as you consider the way of Jesus. All are welcome to choose to follow Jesus. Just as he called the first disciples to come and see. He calls everyone to investigate. It's mind blowing for us today and we know the whole story. We know of His death, resurrection and ascension. The disciples didn’t. Peter didn't understand in John 13, Thomas in John 14 and now philip.
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
The rest of this paragraph has Jesus reminding them of all that has happened so far and emphasizing their relationship, as well as for all who believe after, as favored brothers and sisters of the most high. It’s a stunning promise. If you repent and believe, you are related to the creator of the universe.
Have you ever been really blessed by another person to the point you felt you needed to do something in return? I think Jesus anticipated this response to what God has done so Jesus said,
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.
What are His commands, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength and love your neighbors as you love yourself. The way of Jesus is Love. It sounds simple enough. But it’s not easy is it and it's the reason He doubly blessed us by sending His Holy Spirit to us. To love like Jesus requires a strength we don’t naturally have. It requires a supernatural transformation of our perspective. The way of Jesus is one of Love empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His will in this life.
It’s the same way His disciples did. They heard His words and believed them. They obeyed them. They confessed their sins to Jesus.They believed He died to take the punishment of their sins and rose from the dead to give them new life. They followed His example. In so doing, we can be assured of following Him all the way to heaven.
Creative: Reading of Moses and the great “I AM” before the message
References: Quest Bible Commentary - p1577-1579., Warren Wiersbe Commentary - https://www.gotquestions.org/way-truth-life.html
