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Have you ever been lost? Or have you ever had to look for someone who was lost? Ten years ago, I had one of the scariest experiences of my life. My sister and her family had just moved into a new house a couple days before. They had a new baby and three other kids. My nephew, who would have been 3 (almost 4) at the time, decided that he had so much fun at his aunt and uncle’s house (not me…a different aunt and uncle) that he wanted to go back there. They had taken him to Chuck E. Cheese, and he loved it!! So he figured out how to press the button to open the garage door, and he was gone.
I got a call from my sister in a panic, telling me that he had escaped and asking if I could come help look for him. Of course, I came right away, looking for him the whole time. We couldn’t find him anywhere. They even called the police to report him lost. Thankfully, three middle school boys found him and knew that it didn’t seem right that he appeared to be alone. So they also called the police to report a found child. The police put 2 and 2 together and we were able to go pick him up, about 6 blocks from home but in a direction that no one was looking.
When he told us where he was going, it was clear that he would have never made it. First, it was too far away, and he would have had to cross many busy streets. Second, he didn’t know the way. He wasn’t even going in the right direction. He was lost without someone to guide him and show him the way.
Knowing the way to where you are going is vital if you plan to get there safely. When it comes to your eternal destination, you don’t want to wander around aimlessly, hoping you’ll stumble onto the right path. That’s why Jesus said clearly, “I AM the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
John 14:1-14: 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; 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?”
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.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 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’? 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
1. What is the story surrounding Jesus’ I AM statement?
The book of John gives the most context for what Jesus and his disciples discussed during the Passover meal, what we normally call “The Last Supper.” That’s where we find today’s passage. In John 12, we read the story of Palm Sunday, when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey to the cheers of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (John 12:13).
Then John 13-17 tell us what Jesus found important to teach his disciples before his death. First, he washed their feet, taking on the role of a servant. Then he predicted Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial. Jesus also told the disciples that he would be leaving them. Even more disturbing was that Jesus said they would not be able to follow him to wherever he was going.
It is in the midst of this distressing news that Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Why? Because Jesus is going to prepare a place for them, so that eventually they will be able to join him. The disciples were confused by this. If they don’t know where he is going, how can they join him? That’s when Jesus says, “I AM the way and the truth and the life.”
2. What would this statement have meant to the original audience?
Unlike many of the I AM statements that we’ve looked at thus far in this study, where the audience was crowds of people, the original audience for this I AM statement was only Jesus’ closest 12 disciples (well, 11 at this point). The conversation went like this:
Jesus: “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 13:33)
Peter: “Lord, where are you going?” (John 13:36)
Jesus: “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” (John 13:36)
Peter: “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37)
Jesus: “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (John 13:38)
Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; 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.” (John 14:1-4)
Thomas: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5)
Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Both Peter and Thomas had the same concern: If Jesus was leaving, and they didn’t know where he was going, how would they find him again? They were so focused on knowing where Jesus was going that they missed the point: Jesus is the way. It didn’t matter where Jesus was going. What mattered is that they knew Jesus. As long as they knew Jesus and believed in him, Jesus would show them the way.
3. What do we learn about Jesus from this statement?
In his I AM statement, Jesus claimed three things: I AM the way, I AM the truth, and I AM the life. Let’s look at each one of these separately, and then we’ll discuss how they work together.
I AM the Way
Jesus claims to be “the way,” but the way to what? The way to the Father. Jesus doesn’t really even mention heaven here, which is how we often think about this statement. His focus is on the Father. Heaven is nothing if the Father isn’t there. The rest of Jesus’ I AM statement goes like this:
John 14:6: 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 to the Father. Jesus not only shows us the way to the Father, but he has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us in his Father’s house. Then he also promises to come back and take us to be with him in his Father’s house.
Jesus makes the point in several different ways that if we know Jesus, we also know the Father.
John 14:7: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:9-11: 9 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’? 10 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. 11 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.”
John 14:20: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
After reading about Jesus’ focus on his Father in these verses, you can almost hear the yearning in Jesus’ voice when he says:
John 14:12: “I am going to the Father.”
He finally answered Peter’s and Thomas’s question about where he was going. He was going to the Father. Jesus has such a close relationship with the Father, and he knows that the time for his death is drawing near. He knows that on the other side of death is the best outcome: He gets to be with his Father again. And if we believe in him, then we also know the way to the Father. That’s where the next part of Jesus’ statement comes in.
I AM the Truth
Jesus knows that the world is filled with truth mixed with lies. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to believe. But over and over, Jesus asks his disciples to believe in him.
John 14:1: “You believe in God; believe also in me.”
John 14:10-12: 10 “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. 11 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. 12 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.”
We can believe in Jesus because he is the Truth. We can believe him when he says that he is in the Father, and the Father is in him. We can believe him when he says that he is the way to the Father. We can believe him when he says that he is going to prepare a place for us. We can believe him when he says he will come back for us. We can believe him because he only speaks truth.
Not only is Jesus the truth, he also sends us the Spirit of truth.
John 14:15-17: 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. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
If we believe in Jesus, he will send us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to help us discern the truth from lies.
I AM the Life
We’ve seen this one in a couple other I AM statements: I AM the Bread of Life and I AM the Resurrection and the Life. This life isn’t referring to life on this earth, although he also sustains that. This life is referring to eternal life. Where do we experience eternal life? When we are in the presence of the Father.
But that eternal life starts not after death but right now, when you believe in Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living in you.
John 14:19: “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”
Because Jesus lives, we can have eternal life starting right now. When we have that life, then we can also do the work that God has planned for us.
John 14:10: “Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
John 14:12: “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.”
It is through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that God does his work through us.
Fitting it All Together
These three claims, that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, all fit together. Because Jesus is the Truth, we can believe when he says that he is one with the Father and that he is the way to the Father. If we believe in Jesus, then he will show us the way—indeed, he IS the way to the Father. When we believe, we also gain eternal life, not only after death but starting here and now. Because Jesus lives, we also live.
To help us as we live, when we believe in Jesus, we receive the Spirit of truth and we are empowered to do his work. As we do his work, we glorify God with our lives.
4. How should we respond?
If Jesus is the way, will you walk down that path?
If Jesus is the truth, will you believe in him?
If Jesus is the life, will you receive that life?
Those are the choices we have to make. If you believe that Jesus is the truth, then you must also believe that he is the one and only way to the Father. The world would have us believe that as long as we believe in a “higher power” or as long as we follow any brand of religion, we will find God and go to heaven after death. Some people believe all you have to do is be a “good” person to get to heaven. But that’s not what Jesus’ I AM statement says. He says that he is the ONLY way to the Father, the only way to eternal life.
Matthew 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.”
Jesus is the gate for the sheep, and he is the way that leads to life. The only way to enter eternal life is to believe in him. The only way to find the Father is to find Jesus.
So you can respond in one of two ways: You can reject the truth and try to find your own way. Matthew 7 says that choice will lead to destruction. Or you can choose truth and believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. That choice leads to life.
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