“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.”
John 14:1-6
Chapters 13:31-17:26 of the Gospel of John are sometimes known as the “Farewell Discourse” of Christ. This is a long teaching by Christ following the Last Supper, presumably in the upper room. Two of the “I AM’s” are revealed in these chapters. Jesus begins the discourse by giving the disciples a new commandment to love one another, and He has loved them, and that love for one another would be the thing that identified them as Jesus’ disciples. (John 13:31-35)
Chapter 14 begins by Jesus comforting the disciples, telling them “Let not your hearts be troubled.” (John 14:1) He then changes course to tell them that He is going to prepare a place for them in heaven, which He describes as a house with many rooms. They shouldn’t be sad at His going away. The disciples are no doubt confused, is He referring to the crucifixion, which He has foretold, that He will suffer and die and rise from the dead? Or is this something else? Does this refer to what will become known as the Ascension, that He will ascend to the Father, prepare a place and then return at the second coming for all the disciples? He says in John 14:4 “And you know the way where I am going.” This is no doubt also confusing to the disciples—Is Jesus talking about the way to heaven, or the way to the cross which is now imminent?
Then Jesus says, in a tone that likely belies being emphatic, “I AM the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6) Less than twelve hours after this discourse, Jesus would stand in front of Pontius Pilate, and Pilate would look Jesus in the eye and ask Him “What is truth?” (John 18:38) This question still perplexes us today. We live in a world of “your truth/my truth” where we have lost sight of “THE truth” which is Jesus Christ. Many people see the truth of Christ as the antithesis of freedom; they see it as restrictive and encumbering. Yet, it is the truth of Christ that gets us to “the life” (John 14:6) that He is referring to. “The life” refers to an eternal bond with Christ, an eternal union in the Kingdom of heaven. The Truth is that there is Life after our life on earth is over. And in order to inherit this life, there is The Way to get there. There isn’t A way, but THE Way, which is faith in Jesus Christ, works that support the faith, and grace to fill in the gaps and empty spaces.
In the world, where we have people espousing A Way and A Truth, this seems to lead towards confusion, rather than comfort and confidence at THE Life we are assured follows life on earth. The most powerful word in this verse is the word “The”, used three times, for emphasis, that Jesus isn’t just a way, or a truth, and these don’t lead to a random life. He is THE way and THE truth which leads to THE life He has promised. He then continues that no one can come to the Father, except by Him, in others by The Way and The truth.
So much of what Jesus Christ teaches us runs counter to our contemporary culture. Contemporary culture is quick to cancel, withhold forgiveness, capitalize on our weaknesses and make us feel unworthy. Jesus teaches us different. Jesus tells us in Luke 15:7 that “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” In other words, Christ is rooting for us to repent and make it right, with Him and with others. There is no threat of cancellation. On the contrary, there will be great joy when we get it right. There is no withholding of forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” In other words, forgiveness is to be given generously, infinitely actually, there shouldn’t be a limit on forgiveness between two people since God’s forgiveness is limitless. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, St. Paul writes about how he has been tempted by Satan and how he asked the Lord to alleviate this suffering. He reports that the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” There is no capitalizing on weaknesses. In fact, this is where God demonstrates His greatest strength in us, by being with us and strengthening us in our weak moments. Finally, in Matthew 8 (among many other examples), Jesus encounters a centurion whose servant is sick. Jesus offers to come to the man’s home to heal him. But the centurion insists he is not worthy of having the Lord under his roof. Jesus admires the man’s faith and heals the servant by His word alone. Another person who feels unworthy is the woman caught in the act of adultery, the penalty for which is to be stoned to death. Jesus tells those who are seeking to mete out justice to her “Let he who is without sing among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Matthew 8:7) When everyone leaves in shame, Jesus tells her that He does not condemn her, but that she should go but sin no more. In other words, Jesus will help and even forgive but asks for repentance. He doesn’t endorse our bad behavior. He offers to forgive but expects repentance and effort in return.
THE way to Jesus involves humility, forgiveness, repentance and love, according to how JESUS defines these things, not based on how we define them for ourselves. Jesus has credibility precisely because he lays down His life with humility and love and even finds the capacity to forgive His murderers. Jesus points out that this is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.
Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as other men are; they are not stricken like other men. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out with fatness, their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore the people turn and praise them; and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken, and chastened every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have been untrue to the generation of Thy children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Truly thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes, on awaking you despise their phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast toward Thee. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou dost hold my right hand. Thou dost guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward Thou wilt receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides Thee. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For lo, those who are far from Thee shall perish; Thou dost put an end to those who are false to Thee. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works. Psalm 73
Jesus did not say He is “a way, a truth and a life.” Rather, He stated emphatically that He is THE way, THE truth and THE life. A life lived according to THE Way and THE Truth is what will get us to THE life, the life that God has set up for us, to be in one of the many rooms in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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