The 7 “I Am’s” of Jesus
Pt 5
“I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”
John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father but by me.”
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This powerful “I am” statement Jesus made is packed with meaning.
The context is that, back in chapter 13, Jesus has just instituted the Lord’s Supper.
After that He washes the disciple’s feet.
He then informs the disciples that He would soon be leaving them to return to the heaven He came from, which confused them.
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Then in chapter 13:21 He drops a bomb–“One of you shall betray me.”
We’re told in verse 2 of chapter 13 that the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him.”
Then, mere moments after announcing his upcoming betrayal, Jesus turns to Judas and says, “What you do, do it quickly.”–13:27
It says Judas “went immediately out; and it was night.”–13:30
Jesus then turns to his disciples and tells them he is about to be glorified and then says something that further confused them–“Where I am going, you cannot come…”–13:33
This statement immediately peaks the interest of Peter, who asks “Lord, where are you going?”
To which Jesus replies, “Where I am going you can’t come now, but you will come later.”–13:36
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Then beginning in chapter 14, Jesus delivers the universally cherished words:
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas then steps up and says, “But Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; and how can we know the way?”–13:5
And that question from Thomas is where we get our text–Jesus responds:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life: No man comes to the Father but by me.”
So the Lord drops three important things about who he is to us as Lord and God.
HE IS:
The WAY
The TRUTH
The LIFE
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I. The way
Remember, Thomas said “We don’t know where you’re going, and we don’t know the way!”
So Jesus uses an emphatic THE–I’m not merely one WAY among many ways;
I am THE one and only way–THE narrow, exclusive way.
Way where? To the Father!
If you want to truly know God,
genuinely enjoy His presence,
and be guaranteed an eternal life with Him–I AM THE WAY!
And in saying this, Jesus slammed shut all other doors claiming to be the way to God!
He’s it, the one and only way to God and heaven!
FACT: You can go to Heaven without health,
without riches,
without honors,
without learning,
and without friends–but you can never go there without Christ!
As I thought about this it struck me that Jesus is the Way in many ways!
He’s…
the way to the Father,
the way to a better life,
the way to forgiveness,
the way out of sin,
the way to God’s peace,
the way out of hell and
the way into heaven!
He’s the narrow way that leads to life
The high-Way to holiness
The Way-maker when there is no other way
When you’re in trouble he’s the Way out
When you want heaven he’s the Way in
When you need a path he’s the path-Way
Jesus is the WAY!
There is no other!
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And then, He claimed to be:
II. The Truth
“I am…the truth…”
The word for truth here means “true to fact, reality.”
In ancient Greek culture (alḗtheia) was synonymous with “reality,”
the total opposite of illusion.
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I have debated with a fair number of non-Christians and atheists online, and they refer to Jesus as my “imaginary friend.”
They claim that we Christians are like children that believe in fairy tales, tooth fairies, and unicorns.
In other words, something that is NOT REAL.
But Jesus said, “I’m the TRUTH–The genuine, touchable, knowable, provable reality from whom all true truth flows!
–He’s the opposite of an illusion!”
Peter wrote, “For we have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendor and his glory:”–2 Pet 1:16
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So Jesus is the TRUTH–the summation, essence, and perfection of all that is called TRUE.
And as the TRUTH, he always TELLS the truth!
One of his favorite openings when speaking was “Truly, Truly, I say to you…”
Jesus tells us the truth about…
heaven, hell, God,
morality, finances, marriage,
relationships, forgiveness, love,
hate, sin, eternity,
humanity, you, me…everything!
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Now, In contrast to Jesus, TRUTH in our world today is on the endangered species list!
We have become strikingly similar to the society of Isaiah’s day, who wrote:
“Our courts oppose the righteous man; fairness is unknown. Truth falls dead in the streets, and justice is outlawed.”–59:14
America is practicing exactly what Paul said in Romans 1:18,
“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who in their wickedness suppress and stifle the truth.”
The truth of Jesus Christ and the truth the Bible teaches are what is on the devil’s hit list!
Nevertheless, Jesus is TOTAL TRUTH!
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Jesus is the WAY, and the TRUTH, and lastly:
III. The Life
“I am…the LIFE.”
We’ve all seen a movie or been with someone, say, on a beach in some tropical location, sitting in a lounge chair enjoying the sea breeze when they say, “Ahhh, this is the LIFE!”
Well, it’s for sure a great experience IN life, but it’s not THE life Jesus talked about.
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The fact is that, for most of the human race, life is not a tropical paradise by any stretch!
Most people today don’t have LIFE, they have EXISTENCE:
They’re drawing their breath and drawing a salary, but not enjoying true LIFE.
–One pessimist wrote of life, “Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret.”
Yet the Bible says of Jesus, “In him was LIFE; and the LIFE was the light of men.”–John 1:4
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Now, if I were to ask you to define LIFE, how would you answer?
–You might say, “Well, life is when you’re biologically alive–your heart is beating, you’re breathing, you’re alive…that’s life!”
But being biologically alive is not what Jesus meant by LIFE.
–Then someone else might say,
“I feel alive when I achieve a GOAL, get that new JOB, purchase the HOUSE of my dreams, get that hot CAR I’ve always wanted…for me that’s the LIFE!”
But Jesus said, “Real life and real living don’t come from the many things you own.”–Luke 12:15
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Non-religious people often hold a very negative view of life!
–The literary genius Shakespeare wrote, “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”
–The guitar genius Jimi Hendrix said in one of his songs, “Life is but a joke.”
Some college students were asked to give their definition of life for the school news paper:
One wrote, “Life is a joke that isn’t even funny.”
Another said, “Life is a disease and death is the cure.”
One more said, “Life is a jail sentence that we get for the crime of being born.”
No wonder so many poor souls these days are checking out!
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So what kind of LIFE was Jesus talking about–the LIFE he claimed to offer?
FIRST, He is the AUTHOR of it!
In Acts 3 Peter is preaching to a crowd in Solomon’s porch that included the religious leaders when he says: “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”–3:15
Notice how Peter describes Jesus as–the AUTHOR of life.
Jesus is the AUTHOR of a brand new life!
ILLUS: When we see the word author we think of a writer.
What does a writer do?
He takes blank sheets of paper and puts words on them.
He starts with nothing and brings something from it; his words give LIFE to the page.
And that’s what Jesus does!
He takes the pages of our life that are empty of meaning, purpose, joy, and fulfillment, and gives them life–writes a brand new story!
He is the author of a brand new LIFE!
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SECOND, the life Jesus spoke of is ABUNDANT life!
John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
It is superabundant in QUANTITY,
and superior in QUALITY,
rich, full, fulfilling,
the opposite of empty, meaningless, and dull.
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And finally, He gives ETERNAL life!
Jesus literally resurrects you from spiritual death and makes you alive by pouring the Holy Spirit and the love of God into your heart!
Eph 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,”
How did he do make us alive?
Ro 5:5 “…the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
And now…
2 Cor. 5:17 “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
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Jesus is the WAY to God
The TRUTH of God, and
The LIFE of God!