Jesus IS The Way, The Truth, and The Life (Part I - The Way)
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) It would have been easier to understand if He had said, “I can show you the way, teach you truth, and tell you how to have life (or even `I can give you life’),” and those would have already been some big claims. But Jesus’ claims are much greater. His actual words are an expression of His deity, so looking into them is no more of a simple matter than looking into the deep nature of God. Here are some thoughts about what it means that Jesus IS The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Jesus IS The Way. In order to see how Jesus is The Way, it helps to contrast Jesus with other people and other things which are not The Way.
Moses, David, Peter, John, Paul, along with all the prophets, apostles, and preachers of the true gospel have pointed us in the right way, but they were not and are not the way. The Bible reveals to us the way, but it is not the way. All of the above sources exist to point us to Jesus. Jesus is The Way. Jesus doesn’t say to us, “Go here, go there,” He says, “Come to Me”, and “Follow Me.” Jesus is not just waiting for us up in heaven at the end of the road. He is the road that leads to… Him!
The discussion between Jesus and His disciples which prompted this quote was
“My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there 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 do we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In reply to the sentiments of so-called agnostics, who claim to not be sure about God’s existence, but generally have a back up plan just in case, it needs to be noted that no one comes to the Father by saying, “At least I wasn’t a murderer, a bank robber, or a rapist.” You can’t approach God that way — not now, and not on the Day of Judgment. The only way to come to the before the Father and be accepted is through the Son, Jesus Christ.
But for our sake as Christians it also needs to be noted that Jesus said this to His disciples in a very theistic environment. Virtually everyone around them believed in God. And in that context Jesus said to Thomas, “*I* and the Way, … no one comes to the Father except through *Me*.”
So can I even dare to say that “belief in God” is not the Way? Yes, of course, because Muslims believe in God but they are not following The Way. The Pharisees believed in God but their way was contrary to The Way. Theism is not The Way.
Passing alongside Jesus, walking next to Him, or even following His example are not The Way (Matt 7:22-23, Lk 13:25-27). “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (cf. John 10:9). The fact that Jesus is the Way means we must abide in Him (John 15).