I am the way, the truth and the life
In the Bible, Jesus declares “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6).
John 14 is an emotionally heavy chapter. In it, the disciples are grappling with Jesus’ impending death, the fracturing of their group and their anxiety about the future. They had invested three years believing Jesus to be the Messiah, and now it seemed everything was falling apart. Amid their distress, Jesus urged them to trust in God and Him, offering reasons for hope.
He reminds them that God has good plans for them and that he is going ahead of them to chart the course — to make a way. Jesus promises that he will come back and take them home with him. This concept of home (what we call heaven) isn’t just a place up in the sky — heaven is wherever Jesus is.
When the disciples ask, “Jesus, we don’t know how to get there because we don’t know the way, Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Early Christians were known as followers of the way (Acts 19:23). That name didn’t come from the way they followed their sacred scriptures. It didn’t come from the way they lived morally upright lives. They were called followers of the way because they followed the way of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus is paramount; He is the only way to God. Jesus embodies the truth about God. Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father. Truth isn’t merely factual; it’s personified in Jesus, who is the perfect representation of God.
When Jesus talks about life, He often uses the word “eternal.” While we think of eternal life in terms of duration (something that lasts forever), Jesus understands eternal life in terms of quality (the kind of life we experience). Only God is both eternal and good, therefore eternal life is really the God life. True life, the life Jesus gives, is living in God’s goodness.
Jesus provides the way to God, reveals the truth about God, and offers the life of God. Our focus shouldn’t be on the destination, but on following Jesus. Who we follow defines our journey more than where we are going.
Eric Rust is the pastor of Cedar Hills Church. He can be reached at cedarhillschurch.com.