It’s likely that some time in your life you have heard the phrase where Jesus says he is the way the truth the life.
John 14:6 (NLT)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
It’s a pretty huge thing that Jesus is saying. He is the only way to get to God. Many would argue that there are lots of ways to get to God and that you need to find the one that works for you. Indeed, a loving God wouldn’t allow judgment on somebody just because they chose the wrong way.
I am the way
We always want to find our way. We want to choose what fits us. “I have to find what’s true for me.” “What’s true for you may not be true for me.” Jesus is giving us the very best GPS how to get to God. It’s him, and only him. We don’t get to choose the way to God.
It doesn’t matter what you think is correct. It only matters what is true. Either Jesus was telling the truth, was wrong or was lying. If you’re driving down the street and you come to a stoplight, it doesn’t matter if you believe it is green if it is red. If you jump off a diving board into an empty pool, it doesn’t matter if you think it has water in it. When somebody says that they need to find something that is true for them, they are opening themselves up to believing a lie.
I wish there were more roads to heaven. It doesn’t seem fair that moral religions that don’t find salvation through Jesus are destined to an eternity apart from God in torment. But if I claim to be a Christian that believes the words of Jesus, I have to believe him when he says that he is the only way. No matter how badly I wish, it was different.
John, chapter 10, gives us an idea of what it means to go his way. He compares himself to a shepherd. Sheep follow the shepherd and know the sound of his voice. They know the sound of his voice by spending time with him and obeying him.
I am the truth
So what is the truth, and how can we know what it is?
After being arrested, Jesus was standing in front of Pontius Pilate, the ruler of Judea. Christ had is accused of lying and encouraging the people to rebel, and that he called himself a king. However after speaking with Jesus Pilate did not find any evidence of any crime that was deserving of death, but was intrigued by the idea that Christ’s kingdom was not “of this world” John 18:36.
As Pilate is trying to figure out whether Jesus was a king or a carpenter Jesus responds, “everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
John 18:37 (NLT)
37 Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”
Pilate then asks the question that so many in our generation are asking, “what is truth.” The Scripture doesn’t record a response to Jesus’s question. Perhaps because it is evident, truth is whatever is right. Jesus doesn’t just tell the truth, but Jesus is the truth. He is the truest truth the truth has ever known.
I am the life
Jesus is the life that we lost with our sin. Sin means to miss the mark. It separates us from God. The essential truth about Jesus is that he died in our place so we can experience heaven forever. So many don’t want the truth. They only look at the information that confirms the bias that they already hold. Tragically, there is so little critical thinking in our culture. I don’t get to choose truth, but I can experience it. I can walk in the grace and life that is the truth of Jesus.
When Jesus refers to himself as the way the truth the life, he is showing us a way to live our lives for him. By following him daily and striving to be like him, every area of our lives will be better.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
At Rock Church in Fargo North Dakota, we would love to demonstrate to you what living in the truth means. We are not perfect people but together are striving to be like Jesus. We want a lovely love, hate what he hates, and our greatest desire is to put a smile on his face. I would love to meet you this Sunday, at 10 AM, at West Acres Cinema in Fargo.
