Is Jesus Really the Only Way?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever been lost? Not a little confused or you accidentally missed turned one street too soon, I mean like you have absolutely no idea where you are and where you’re supposed to go. Have you been there? Some of you can’t imagine being there because of your phone. You’re thinking, I always know where I am because my location services are on and I have Maps and Life360 and Find My iPhone and I’m good to go! Back in the day, long before cell phones, we had paper directions. Does anyone remember MapQuest? You’d get on your computer and you’d print off the directions. Or maybe you had an old Garmin GPS in your car and the robot voice would say, “In .5 miles, turn right…” or everyone’s favorite, “You missed your turn, recalculating!” Or, if you didn’t have those, you got directions that often included landmarks… like, “Take a left about a half a mile after the water tower.” Today is different… but we know just how important directions are, because if you get the directions wrong, you’ll miss your destination.
See, there have been times when I knew that I was going the right way… only to realize that I’m going the wrong way on a one way street - that’s not a good place to be! You can be sincere and wrong. You can be efficient and be in error. See, sincerity doesn’t change where you end up.
Gabriel loves directions and the dude is better at directions than some adults I know! He always has to have the plan and know where we’re going, how long it will take to get there, and usually he even knows the streets we need to take in order to get somewhere. Recently, Lindsey was teaching Gabriel about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead and how He is alive! Gabriel usually asks, “Where is Jesus?” and we respond that Jesus is in heaven… but a few weeks ago, Gabriel asked, “Where is Heaven? Can we drive there? How long will it take to get there?”
That’s a good question and it’s the question that everyone asks and answers one way or another! How do we get to God? Are there multiple ways? Are there multiple destinations? This morning, as we continue our “We Still Believe That?” series, we’re going to see that Jesus answers this question in John 14. He gives us one of the clearest and confrontational statements in the Bible - I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me. This morning, we’re unpacking is Jesus Really the Only Way? Let’s see what God says about this in His inspired and inerrant Word!
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
4 You know the way to where I am going.”
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Jesus provides an answer that fills us with hope. Whatever we’re facing today, Jesus gives us something to hold on to. We believe in Him and He promises that we will be with Him, forever! This morning, whatever you’re going through, don’t be troubled. Trust in the Lord. Let’s pray
We Are All Searching for the Right Way (1-5)
We Are All Searching for the Right Way (1-5)
Several weeks ago we saw Jesus tell His disciples in Luke 12 to “not worry about your life and to not be afraid or anxious.” Those are words in the Bible, in fact they are commands… we know that they are important, but we also know how difficult they can be to live out. This morning in John 14:1, Jesus says something very similar, “Don’t let your heart be troubled…” If you’ve been to church before, you’ve probably heard John 14:6 - and we’ll get there soon, but there can be a temptation to take that one verse and pin it as if Jesus is delivering a theological lecture in a seminary classroom as He debates the claims of other world religions. We can hear the confidence of John 14:6 and miss the confusion at the start of this passage in verse 1. Jesus is with His closest earthly friends. But they are struggling. Anxious. Confused. Worried. And the reason why is because at the end of John 13, Jesus told them that He would be betrayed by one of His disciples and that even Peter would deny Him 3 times. Can you imagine the shock on the disciples’ faces at this point? They worshiped Jesus. They followed Jesus. They loved Jesus. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, and teach God’s Word with power… and then Jesus says that from this same group, one would betray Him and another would deny Him.
36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.”
They had walked with Jesus for 3 years. They left their jobs. Their families. Their homes. They left it all to follow Jesus, and now Jesus says that He is going to a place where they cannot follow yet. Do you see why their hearts would be troubled? Why they’d be afraid? Downcast? We all know what it’s like to receive unexpected news. A phone call with a devastating message. A conversation that leaves you crushed. Something happens and you ask yourself: Where do I go from here? What do I do next?
See, sometimes we’re troubled because there are things going on in our lives and we want to know more information. A little over a year ago, my dad went to the doctor and was having some pain in his chest from time to time. The doctor runs some tests and before you know it, he’s scheduled for triple bypass surgery. I’d be lying if I said my heart wasn’t a little bit troubled whenever I heard that news because that wasn’t something I was expecting and something I didn’t know much about. This word is found in John 13:21 in reference to Jesus
21 When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in his spirit and testified, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
There are times in life where it seems like everything is falling apart and our spirit feels crushed. Darkness is advancing. Everything is lost. In these moments, when your worst seems to be your reality, Jesus speaks and says: Don’t let your heart be troubled - trust/believe in me!” Good news, friends, Jesus comforts the afflicted. His encouragement reminds them that the cure for a troubled heart is remembering we have a trustworthy Savior - and that’s exactly what we have in Jesus! We have to remember the God we serve. He is Sovereign. Omniscient. Omnipotent. Good. Gracious. Forgiving. Kind. Whenever we remember these things, we can have peace in the midst of our problems! He is faithful and look at the promise He gives in verse 2. He promises that He is going to prepare a place for His people and to bring them there. What do we often call that place? Heaven
We’re all searching for heaven - but lots of people want heaven on earth. Politicians make grand promises in order to try and bring about lasting peace and prosperity. Authors and movie directors illustrate a great utopian society where problems are a thing of the past and people get along perfectly. We long for this perfect place. Where pain and problems are no more. Everyone desires this place - but how do we get there? When do we experience this? Is this even possible? Different worldviews answer this question differently. It is popular in 2026 to say that there are multiple paths. David Platt was the first one that I heard talk about it this way, but in the 21st century the dominant worldview is that God is at the top of the mountain, and we are down here at the bottom. We look up and we see one summit - but there are many different paths to get to the top. So, everyone tries to find their own path that looks the best to them, and eventually if you work hard enough, climb long enough, and do enough good things along the way, you get to the top of the mountain along with basically everyone else who made it up their own way. This is how many in our world view heaven - and maybe you’re this way today. You think that there are different paths to God and as long as someone is good and tries hard, they’ll make it there in the end.
This sounds nice, doesn’t it? Compassionate. Tolerant. Accepting. Loving. But there’s just one tiny problem with that - look at verse 4. Jesus says that “You know the way to where I’m going.” How many ways? Jesus says, “The Way.” Thomas, often called doubting Thomas, asks a clarifying question, “How can we know the way?” He’s saying that they need directions to get to the right destination. We don’t know where you’re going, how can we know the way? Maybe today this is your question. You feel like you’re spinning your wheels, trying to figure out where to go and what to do… How do I know what is true? How do I know what happens after death? How do I know if I’m going to be with God? Everyone is searching for answers to these questions. Everyone is following directions. The key question is this: Who are we following?
There are lots of voices out there in 2026. Some are loud, some are lovely. Some are proud, some are popular. Which voice are you listening to today? Is the voice you’re listening to leading you to walk down the way that will lead you home? Look at the promised home that Revelation tells us about
16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal.
This is our ultimate home. Nearly 1,400 miles by 1,400 miles. That’s the distance from Dallas to New York City. That’s 2/3 of the United States! Everyone wants to end up at this destination. Everyone wants to have a room prepared here by Jesus. But how does that happen? How do we end up at the place Jesus says that He is going to? I’m not the sharpest knife in the kitchen - so I’m thankful whenever Jesus keeps things nice and simple. And this is exactly what He does in verse 6.
Everyone is searching for answers and purpose! Where are you searching today?
Jesus Is the Only Way That Leads to Life (6)
Jesus Is the Only Way That Leads to Life (6)
This might be the most comforting and confrontational verse in the entire Bible! Do you see how this verse slices both ways? On the one hand, Jesus comforts His people. He is the way to the Father… but at the same time, He is the way to the Father, and if you try to go another way outside of Jesus, He says that you can’t come to the Father. This is straightforward, but it’s of utmost importance that we make sure that we’re following Jesus here!
Thomas asks the question about where Jesus is going and if they can know the way in verse 5. He wants a plan and a map. Is anyone here a detail person? Like you don’t just want the route, you want the street names, the speed limits, all the details along the way. I’m that way! I’m a planner. I want to know all of the information that there is to know and then make a plan. Thomas wants the plan. He wants all the details. But Jesus in verse 6 gives him something even greater than a map… he gives him himself. He doesn’t tell Thomas - I know the way (I sure hope Jesus knows the way!). He doesn’t say, “I’ll show you the way.” That would have been great! He doesn’t even say, “Let me teach you the way!” He says, “I AM the way!” Understand this, church family, this makes Christianity fundamentally different from every other religion that is out there today. Jesus doesn’t say, “Look at that mountain and try your best and give God the rest.” He says, “I am the only way up, believe in me!” The Gospel is not that Jesus gives us better directions. It’s that He gives us Himself!
In the previous part of this passage we learned about heaven as Jesus promised to prepare a place for His blood-bought, born-again, glory-bound people! As you think about heaven, what are you looking forward to the most?
No more pain
No more goodbyes
No more sickness
Some people talk about how they can’t wait to see family members and friends who have already passed. These are sweet things that we all should look forward to! But what is the crown jewel of heaven? Jesus. What is the best thing about heaven? Living with Jesus, freed from the presence of sin. Today, while we long for that day, Jesus is telling us in this passage something incredible about salvation. He is the way there - we know the destination, and in between today and the day that we arrive there, we’re walking with Jesus. And the more that you walk with Jesus, the more you learn about yourself. Have you discovered that in your relationship with the Lord?
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
CS Lewis explained it like this as Lucy was talking with Aslan.
“Aslan, you’re bigger!”
“That’s because you’re older.”
“Not because you are?”
“I am not, but every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
As we walk with the Lord, as we experience good days, and especially as we experience bad days, as we walk with Him, we find His strength, wisdom, peace, and power bigger and bigger!
Jesus makes an exclusive statement about Himself in this verse. Have you realized that our society doesn’t really like exclusive statements? We love nuance. Feelings. Subjectiveness. We don’t like black and white, right and wrong. But Jesus makes one of those blanket statements in verse 6. John 14:6
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
This statement ruffles feathers, and some wonder, why would Jesus say this if it’s just going to upset people? Here’s why: Everything Jesus says is true. It is incredibly unloving to withhold truth from someone when their eternity hangs in the balance. It is incredibly unkind to lie about something that significant! So Jesus speaks and He speaks truth. And that’s something our postmodern world cannot stand. The foundational principle of postmodernism is that we cannot know any objective truth. We cannot say definitively that this is right and this is wrong. We have to tolerate other views and hold them in harmony, because we can’t say one is better or closer than the other. Understand this: A postmodern belief system that claims tolerance is incredibly intolerant of belief systems that make objective truth claims, like Christianity.
All Have Sinned
God Cannot Lie
God So Loved the World
No One Comes to the Father Except Through Me
There is Therefore Now No Condemnation For Those in Christ Jesus
Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God
It is a GOOD thing that Christianity makes objective truth claims! I recently heard a politician make this claim, “I always think of all the world’s faith traditions as a circle, with that divine mystery of the universe in the middle. We all have different names for that mystery, whether it’s God or Yahweh or Allah or Nirvana or Great Spirit. Whatever you call it, this is all different pathways to the same fundamental truth.” Understand this morning that John 14:6 is incompatible with whatever belief that is, and please don’t call is Christianity, regardless of how much this particular politician tries to claim Christ. You cannot be a Christian and believe that sentence. Isaiah 42 tells us this:
8 I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
Christianity is incompatible with Humanism. Secularism. Marxism. Islam. Atheism. Hinduism. Any other wasm, spasm, or ism that you can think of. People are searching for something, absolutely! But we will only find what our souls are searching for when we find Christ. The early church father Augustine put it like this, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.” Here’s really good news: Christianity is exclusive - there is only one way through Christ - but it’s not exclusive in the type of person that comes in. As the hymn reminds us, “The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives!” He says come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest! All may come!
Jesus gives 4 statements about who He is.
Way
If the mountain illustration helps us see anything, it helps us see that we are separated from God and the reason why in Scripture is because of our sin. This was true all the way back in the Garden as Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden because of their sin and a Cheribum was placed guarding the entrance, separating them from Eden. But even then, in Genesis 3:15, we see the start of the Way back to God’s presence as God made a promise. In the Temple, there was a veil separating the people from the Holy of Holies. Sin separates. But God makes a way! Do you remember what happened whenever Jesus died on the cross? That curtain tore from the top to the bottom, meaning that God ripped the veil. That there is a way into God’s presence and that way, according to the preacher of Hebrews, is through the finished work of Jesus Christ! There once was no way, but now Jesus makes a way!
Truth
We love the word truth, but we normally preface it with the word “my.” I’ll speak my truth. I’ll live my truth. And there are subjective things that we can view differently. If I were to ask you what your favorite burger place is, we might have a dozen or so answers to that question. Because that is a subjective answer that depends on your views. But if we’re saying that every person gets to determine their own reality, then truth starts to mean nothing. If I get on a plane, I don’t want the pilot to say that the check engine light is on and the fuel tank is empty, but there are many different truths about how those buttons feel today, so I think we’ll be fine. I want him to get us off the plane! Truth matters. And Jesus claimed to not only speak the truth, but to be truth. This means that we must know Jesus!
Life
This final statement is the real kicker. Many wrestle with Jesus being the only way and being the only truth, but Jesus being the life? This means that we’re dead. Not bad, not lost, not in need. Dead and in need of resurrection. That’s a struggle for many people because they think they’re fine. They are alive. They make decisions each day. They feel good. But spiritually speaking, Ephesians 2 says that before Christ we all are dead in our sins. A dead person doesn’t need motivation, or advice, or a second chance. He needs a resurrection. He needs a new heart. And there is one person who has the power to raise the dead and His name is Jesus!
Door (unpack)
Jesus concludes this with a simple sentence, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” People push back. That’s not very loving. That’s not very inclusive. That’s not very tolerant. That’s too exclusive. Every worldview makes exclusive claims - even the tolerant person who says that there is no absolute truth makes the exclusive claim that absolute truth absolutely doesn’t exist! The question for us this morning is this: Is Jesus right? Does sin really separate us from God? Is Jesus really the only way to God? If He is, then He is the door that we must enter through
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Today, have you entered through Jesus? Have you come to the realization that He is the way, the truth, and the life? See, Jesus loved these people enough to tell them the truth - that there is no way to the Father except through Him. Do you think that upset some people? Those statements got Him put up on the cross! People loved the miracles, but they hated that message. But friends, this is our message. Love helps people find their way home, and Jesus is that way. We must tell people about Jesus. We must trust in Jesus. We must be people of deep conviction and genuine compassion. We can’t water down the message to please others. And we must have compassion on others, just like Jesus did on us. See there was a time in your life whenever you didn’t follow the way, the truth, and the life. When you were separated from God and on a one way road to destruction. BUT GOD. He saved you. He changed you. Our responsibility as His people is to speak the truth in love and to share His message of salvation with a world in desperate need of transformation today!
Jesus Is the Only Way to Know the Father (7)
Jesus Is the Only Way to Know the Father (7)
Have you ever been told something that didn’t sit very well with you? Maybe you’re told to do something you don’t want to do or something you didn’t even think about doing. Maybe they even corrected you. I remember being a younger pastor and often being the quiet guy in the room, just listening and learning. I remember talking to an older pastor friend early on about a tough situation, and him saying, “Don’t do that, do this instead.” Internally, I’m thinking that this friend might not fully know what he’s talking about because I know the situation better, and my initial response seems good. Eventually, I realized that friend knew exactly what he was talking about. He had years of experience. He had walked that road. He had had that conversation before. He was trying to help me understand something that I didn’t fully understand myself. A suggestion from a person with years of experience and from a place of genuine concern hits differently than it does from someone who doesn’t know you and doesn’t know all the details.
Imagine walking into an operating room at the hospital and telling a veteran surgeon how to do a procedure. That’s arrogance! But if another surgeon with years of experience has the same conversation, that can be wisdom. See, Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. We have to ask ourselves who does Jesus think that He is? If He is just a religious teacher, that statement reeks of arrogance. If He is just a moral example, that statement is offensive. But if Jesus is who He said He was, then this isn’t arrogance. It is the best news in human history because He is God in the flesh! This is what Scripture tells us.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is God revealing Himself to us - that’s why He tells Thomas that if you know me, you also know my Father. The prophets in the Old Testament said, “Listen to God.” Teachers throughout Scripture said, “Learn about God.” Even Philosophers said, “Think about God.” But only Jesus is qualified to say, “Look and see God!”
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
One of the passages that rocked my world as a teenager was Colossians 1 - look at the power of Jesus here
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
He created all things. He sustains all things. He provides for all things. Today, the Son of the Living God is holding your life together. He knows you. He loves you. He cares about you. He displays the power, compassion, holiness, and grace of God and we see these things throughout Scripture, ultimately displayed on the cross. See, at the cross we see why Jesus had to come. Our sin was so great that it took the death of the sinless Son of God to save us from ourselves… and this is what Jesus was willing to do. To take our place and to bear our sin. Whenever we look at what Jesus did for us, we learn about the God that we serve. Yes, He is holy. Yes, He is all-powerful. Yes, He is just. And, Yes, He is rich in mercy. And that’s why He sent His Son. Jesus is the only way, friends. Not because we deserved it. But to make a way where there was no way. Only Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live. Only Jesus died the death we deserved to die. Only Jesus rose victorious over sin and death. Only Jesus can bring us to the Father. Only Jesus can raise the dead!
Our world loves to say that you can believe whatever you want, but don’t try to convince other people about your belief. That’s mean. That’s arrogant. That’s narrow-minded. Let me tell you what Jesus says about that - He says that is your mission! Before leaving, that is the mission He gave His disciples, and continues to give His Church. To go therefore and make disciples… how do we do that? We start with the Gospel. The Gospel has some bad news first. Each of us have sinned. Each of us fall short of the glory of God. We are broken people living in a broken world. But God! He didn’t leave us where we were. No, He sent His Son into this world to live a perfect life and to seek and save lost sinners like you and me and to die in our place on the cross. This is the best news of all! And this Gospel message has the power to change your life today. To give you purpose and peace, healing and hope! And the reason why is because it’s true. Each person is searching for something - and as Christians, we know what we all need, and the answer is Jesus. He is the Way. The Truth. The Life. And He alone gives us the hope of being with God for all eternity!
Maybe you’re like my son, Gabriel and you’re asking, “Where is Heaven? Can we drive there? How long will it take to get there?” I love the innocence of children to ask the questions that all the adults are too embarrassed to ask. We all wonder “How do we get to heaven?” “How do I get to the place where there is no more pain, death, and suffering?” “Can I do enough to make it there myself?” Jesus’ answer is a loud and firm, NO! We can’t drive there. We can’t earn our way there. So that’s why Jesus came here. He left the glory place to enter the brokenness of our world for us. And He says, “I am preparing a place for you and I will come again and take you there.” Jesus isn’t absent. He is always working. Today, He is doing a million things in your life and you might be aware of 3 of them. Today, have you believed in the finished work of Jesus? Have you placed your faith in Him? Today, are you living for Jesus? Because Jesus isn’t one way among many. He isn’t one option among several. He is the Way. The Truth. And the Life. And only Jesus has the ability to bring us home. Today - this is our call. Because Jesus is the only way, we must help others find their way home!
Today, come home to King Jesus!
