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This is the manuscript of the sixth sermon in a series titled "The Adequacy of Jesus Christ", which is a study of the seven ‘I am' sayings of Jesus found in the gospel 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’”.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life. He was staking His claim as the very God of Creation. He declared this fact to His disciples so that they would be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of declaring the gospel to the world. Once they understood the truth of His words, they became changed people, and the world has never been the same.
So how do we follow Him today? We follow Him the same way the disciples did. They heard the words of Jesus and believed them. They took His words and obeyed them. They confessed their sins to Jesus as their Lord and God. They believed that He died to take the punishment of their sins and rose from the dead to give them new life. They followed His example and command to tell others the truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment. When we follow Him we can be assured of following Him all the way to heaven.
Scripture Reading:
John 14:1-14 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.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Introduction
We are continuing our series on the seven I Am declarations that Jesus made that are recorded in the book of John.John consistently shows the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God when He walked the earth.
As we have learned, in this series, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence.
The first I am statement in John’s Gospel was
John 6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The second was
John 8:12 NIV When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The third was:
John 10:9 NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
The fourth
(John 10:11 NIV) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”
Last Sunday we talked a out the amazing statement found at
John 11:25 NLT Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life.
Now today we are going to look at Jesus' declaration that He is the way, the truth and the life.
Our text is
Text: (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’”.
Let me start by saying that summer vacations that involve long trips by car often include the need for directions, and today we use GPS installed in an app on our phones or a feature in our cars. We really need and use GPS when traveling to a city or state or location that is unfamiliar to us. Most GPS applications in use today talk to you. But if your guidance system is outdated or inaccurate, it is still possible to get lost. It is easy to take a wrong turn or fail to see some highway marker. This has happened to me a number of times. When that happens, you either have to backtrack or wait for the GPS to reroute you to your destination. The best possible thing is to travel with someone who knows the way, because that nearly eliminates the chances of missing a turn or taking a wrong turn.
A few years ago I wrote a blog post titled "God's Word is Your GPS. This is some of what I wrote in that post;
"How many times has a friend suggested a restaurant, or a beautiful spot to enjoy God's creation that's off the beaten path?”. The only problem is that this friend is horrible at giving directions. all they know is the name of the place. How many times has the GPS application installed in our cars, or on our phones taken us on roundabout way to our destination? Once we get there we realized that we could have taken a more direct route. .
When you use God as your GPS you can be sure that He will guide you to your destination by the most direct route. The route that He takes you may not be free of hazards but if there are hazards, but if God is also your driver, your driver will never panic, He will remain in control, and you will arrive safely. God is the perfect driver and He’s the perfect GPS.
This Scripture says that few people find the narrow road and gate that lead to eternal life. Those who find it use God as their GPS.
Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
In the scripture that Jean read today, from John 1:1-14 Jesus had been instructing his disciples that he must leave. But he reminded them that they knew where he was going. Thomas interrupted Jesus to ask, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5 NIV).
Jesus answered with our text for today.
(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’”.
Here, Jesus makes three three statements about himself.
Jesus said He is the Way, He is the Truth and He is the Life.
He is saying that He is the only way.
Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as “the only way.” A way is a path or route, and Thomas had just expressed the disciples' confusion about where He was going and how they could follow. However from the very beginning Jesus told them and kept telling them (and us) to “follow me.”
Matthew 4:18-22 NIV As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 10:37-39 NIV “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
John 12:23-26 NIV Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
That’s just three instances of Jesus saying follow me but there are others. You may want to take your concordance and find them.
The point is that there is no other path to heaven, no other way to the Father. Peter reiterated this same truth later to the rulers in Jerusalem.
Acts 4:12 NIV Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Christianity is exclusive in that.
Jesus is the only way to be saved. That rules out the possibility that someone can come to eternal life by any other means.
Jesus is either the only way to the Father or he was a liar.
If he was a liar, then he wasn’t God. And if he wasn’t God, then everything he taught is suspect, because he told us he was God. Remember what I said earlier John consistently shows the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God when He walked the earth.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
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.
Jesus is the only way to the Father. That means it is incumbent on us to tell everybody that Jesus is the only way.
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.
Jesus is the way and He is the only truth.
Truth is a valuable commodity in our world.
We live in a time when mankind desperately needs a true standard. Science, mathematics, music, and other disciplines offer true standards, but these are not helpful to us in establishing moral and spiritual behavior. We need a standard outside ourselves that is true for our spiritual lives.
Again Jesus used the definite article to emphasize Himself as “the only truth.”
Psalm 119:142 says, “Your law is the truth.”
Psalms 119:142 NIV Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.
Now follow me here, I'm going somewhere with this.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded His listeners of several points of the Law, then said, “But I tell you . . .” for example;
Matthew 5:21-22 NIV “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Or
Matthew 5:27-28 NIV You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
When you get some time also look at verses 32, 34,39, an 44 for more "but I tell yous".
The point is that Jesus was equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of righteousness.
In fact, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the prophets
Matthew 5:17 NIV “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus, as the incarnate Word of God is the source of all truth. We just read
John 1:1 NIV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Many people may teach truth, but only one person is Truth. Jesus not only teaches truth; he embodies it. He is the Truth by word, action, and thought.
The revelation of God in Christ is the sole standard for moral and spiritual conduct. All claims to truth must be judged by the life and teachings of Jesus. Some teachings in other religions are true by the standards of Jesus, but no religion outside of Christianity can stand the complete scrutiny of Jesus. False ideas about God, eternal life, and moral conduct will be exposed when Jesus is the standard by which they are judged.
Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life.
Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life. Jesus declared that He was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again.
John 10:17-18 NIV The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Jesus made the promise that “because I live, you also will live.”
John 14:19 NIV Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
The deliverance He was about to provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a life of freedom in eternity.
Romans 6:1-10 NIV What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
Life for many people is a poor existence at best.
Life is going to work at a job they hate, living in a marriage or family they find hard to tolerate, and seeking material possessions they cannot afford and that do not make them happy. Life has no meaning, no purpose, no joy, no assurance, no satisfaction.
We live in a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world. We have fine health care, freedom, possessions, and a world of entertainment possibilities. Yet people are not happy. They seek meaning in drugs, alcohol, sex, technology, possessions, career advancement—and still those things do not satisfy.
Jesus announces that He offers the only life worth living.
It is the only life that has meaning and satisfaction that lasts not just a lifetime but forever.
John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
He promises an answer to why you are here. Millions have given their lives to Christ and have found unlimited reasons to go on living.
Conclusion
(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’”.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life. He was staking His claim as the very God of Creation. He declared this fact to His disciples so that they would be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of declaring the gospel to the world. Once they understood the truth of His words, they became changed people, and the world has never been the same.
So how do we follow Him today? We follow Him the same way the disciples did. They heard the words of Jesus and believed them. They took His words and obeyed them. They confessed their sins to Jesus as their Lord and God. They believed that He died to take the punishment of their sins and rose from the dead to give them new life. They followed His example and command to tell others the truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment. When we follow Him we can be assured of following Him all the way to heaven.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’”
Let's pray.
Lord you are The way, the truth and the life!
Don't let us stray from your path, For you are our way.
Do not let us distrust your promises, For you are the truth.
Do not let us rest in anything other than you, For your are our life.
Lord, You are the one to believe, You are the path to follow,
You are the hope for life, And the One in whom we rest.
Amen.
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