I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

John 14:1–7 (ESV)

“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 if 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 to 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 except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

On multiple occasions Jesus talked about his death and resurrection. We discussed that over the weekend. Here, he seems to be couching that language in the context of a return to the Father.

“I go to prepare a place” with a promise to bring us to him.

We could debate a great deal about where this place is.

is it heaven? (a house with many rooms or mansions)

is it salvation?

is it eternal rest in the presence of God?

What do you think? Is he speaking of his second coming and bringing us to heaven and our eternal dwelling with God? Or is he talking about his resurrection as the means by which salvation is acquired - thereby securing an eternal dwelling with God?

Most commentators seem to suggest the former (heaven) and not the resurrection/salvation. I’m frankly torn on this.

So Thomas asks the question - “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (v. 5) - He seems puzzled about the destination - even though Jesus has just told them that (vs. 2-3) (Carson).

But then Jesus gets to the focus of our discussion tonight. he responds to Thomas’ question by stating:

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Thomas asked about a path - “how can we know the way?” To which Jesus provides a three-fold response - way, truth, life.

How do you interpret that? What is he saying?

Don Carson writes:

The Gospel according to John 3. Jesus as the Way to the Father (14:5–14)

Jesus is the way to God, precisely because he is the truth of God (cf. notes on 1:14) and the life of God (cf. notes on 1:4; 3:15; 11:25). Jesus is the truth, because he embodies the supreme revelation of God—he himself ‘narrates’ God (1:18), says and does exclusively what the Father gives him to say and do (5:19ff; 8:29), indeed he is properly called ‘God’ (1:1, 18; 20:28). He is God’s gracious self-disclosure, his ‘Word’, made flesh (1:14). Jesus is the life (1:4), the one who has ‘life in himself’ (5:26), ‘the resurrection and the life’ (11:25), ‘the true God and eternal life’ (1 Jn. 5:20)

How is Jesus the way to God?

as he said before, he is the door - he is the way/means by which people get to God.

What does it mean for Jesus to be the truth of God?

he is the “Word” made flesh

He is the revelation of God

How is Jesus the “life”? What does that mean? How do we walk/live in that?

Zoe (ζωή) - Strong’s enhanced Lexicon discusses Zoe/ζωή this way:

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 2222 ζωή

1A the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate. 1B every living soul. 2 life. 2A of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic “logos” and to Christ in whom the “logos” put on human nature. 2B life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.

In light of this, how should we pray?