“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples a few hours before His crucifixion. He is making a profound announcement regarding His unique and solitary role in the Father’s redemptive plan. Our Lord makes several bold statements here in this verse.
First, He claims to be “The Way”. This means that He alone is the sole mediator and bridge between humanity and God. His way is the only way to the Father. Jesus didn’t say He would show them a way or merely prepare them a pathway; He said that He Himself is the way.
Next, He claims to be “The Truth”. This signifies that Jesus embodies absolute divine truth, in contrast to human reasonings, opinions, or falsehoods. It appears that most people in our generation do not place a high value on truth. Although researching a matter is probably easier than ever with all the resources at our disposal, most people do not put much effort into finding the truth. This is evidenced in how we vote in our elections. We believe things that simply are not true. We accept faulty logic, blatant lies, and foolish impossibilities as fact, often without question.
Jesus did not claim to be a truth. He claimed to be the truth. He is the definitive, eternal, and supreme truth. It’s not that Jesus merely states the truth; He is truth incarnate. And the validity of His claim means that we must surrender every one of our “truths” to His perfect and absolute truth. To put all this in a nutshell, it means that Jesus is the only way to salvation, forgiveness, and access to the Father.
This brings us to the third term. Jesus states that He is “The Life.” There is a very logical and natural progression in the text. We find that He is the only way to find the only truth, which leads us to the one and only authentic life. He clearly establishes the exclusive nature of what He offers. Jesus is the exclusive and only source; there is no life apart from Him. He is the sustainer, as all life depends upon Him. He is the Creator of life; therefore, life can only be correctly defined by Him.
John begins his Gospel by saying, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” John 1:4. He draws to the end of his Gospel by saying, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” John 20:30–31.
When the Lord uses the word life, He was not speaking about mere physical existence, or about meeting ordinary physical needs, but about real life, life in its fullness. He was speaking of life to the highest degree as God originally intended. That is why He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10.
In Acts 17:25, when Paul spoke to the people gathered at Mars Hill, he viewed all their pagan gods, and then he made an astounding point. He noted that, unlike their gods, the one true God did not need to be maintained, looked after, and kept in good repair by human hands. Every few months, you have to polish your gods up, or they will tarnish. If you have a storm, they may topple over. If you have an earthquake, they might even crumble to the ground. Our God is dependent upon no one; however, our lives are totally dependent upon Him.
We are not indestructible! There are many things in this world that are quite capable of ending our physical lives. It could be a disease. Perhaps an accident. Or, it might be an act of violence. And, even if we do not meet a premature end, and should we be blessed with a full and carefree life, one day, if Jesus tarries, we will still die.
So, my life, the life I have in this flesh, is not sustainable, and no matter how hard I try, it is never going to be consistently abundant. Yet, Jesus offers me “The Life.” The only real life that God originally intended for us! He offers me an independent, self-sustaining life. His life is everlasting and indestructible, and it is the kind of life that Jesus freely offers to give us through simple childlike faith. Any other life is not real. I must be honest with you, if the life you possess right now did not come from Jesus, it is not real life. It is a pseudo-life. It is death masquerading as life. That’s why becoming a Christian is likened unto passing from death to life (John 5:24).
I believe in a literal heaven. But you need to know that when Jesus promised eternal life to those who follow Him, He was thinking of more than just a life in heaven when you die. Remember again what Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have (present tense) it more abundantly” John 10:10. He was talking about a life He could give you right now, plus the life awaiting you in glory!
There are multitudes of people on this earth right now who are dead. They are dead because they do not have authentic life. Listen to how Paul described them. He says they are “without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” Ephesians 2:12. He also spoke of certain people who, looking for pleasure and fulfilment in the things of this world, are “dead while they liveth” I Timothy 5:6. The life which Jesus offers us is not just life after death, it is life in the right now. You do not have to wait until you close your eyes in death to experience an abundant life. Jesus wants you to comprehend and claim a quality of life you can have right now. He wants you to be truly and thoroughly alive, with real life. Let me tell you how the Bible describes human life, the life you have in this flesh.“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” Job 14:1.
If the only life you have is the life given to you by a natural birth, it will be a life of a few days and full of trouble. Would anyone dare argue with that? If so, wait until you get a little older. Your arguments will cease as your shoulders begin to bow over, your eyes begin to dim, your face shows the lines, your hair displays the gray, your hearing begins to diminish, and your knees begin to tremble. What do you call that? I call it life, but it is the life the flesh offers. It is the life, the only life, my dear mother could give me. If she could have offered better, she would have. But it is the best she could give. Even if you have successfully maneuvered all the pitfalls of your first few decades on this earth, more troubles down the road are the best ordinary human life has to offer. None would dare call that abundant life.
John sets the tone of his entire Gospel for us as early as John 1:4: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” In His prayer of intercession, Jesus reveals His own definition of life, John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Listen to what else Jesus says about the life He offers. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10.
“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” John 6:35.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4:14.
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” John 11:25-26.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life” John 3:36.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” John 10:27-28.
Christ is indeed the manifestation of true life; real life. Jesus is the one who has come down from heaven to give life to the world. D. L. Moody once said, “Someday you will read in the papers, ‘D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead.’ Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment, I shall be more alive than I am now.”
Jesus Christ is the life. He is the Creator of all life. Jesus imparts authentic life, a life that nothing else can offer. To those who believe in Him, Jesus gives a quality of life which begins now and continues into eternity. It is a life that even death cannot quench. Jesus gives us life, but that life is not “something”; it is someone. It is Jesus Himself. He “is our life”, as Paul declares in Colossians 3:4
So, may I ask you in closing, do you believe this message? Do you believe the Scriptures? Do you believe that Jesus is able to give you life, and, at the same time, to set you free so that you may enjoy the life He offers? Do you believe He can enlighten your way, and show you life at its very best
Without the Way, there’s no going.
Without the Truth, there’s no knowing.
Without the Life, there’s no living.
If you have never received Christ, won’t you receive Him now? Then, and only then, can you begin to experience life…real life.
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry nearly fifty years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries and Christian Bible College.