I
believed Jesus when He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life”
puricarefiles
John 14:1 “Let not your hearts 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 go to
prepare a place for you? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know
the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” English Standard
Version (ESV)
“I am the way and the truth and the life” is one of the seven “I Am”
statements of Jesus.
On the last night before His
betrayal and death, Jesus
was preparing His disciples for the days ahead.
For over three years, these men
had been following Jesus and learning from His teaching and example. They had
placed their hopes in Him as the Messiah, the promised deliverer, yet they
still did not understand how He was going to accomplish that deliverance.
After the Last Supper, Jesus began speaking
about His departure, which led to questions from His disciples.
Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 13:33)
Jesus said, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 13:33)
This prompted Peter to ask where
He was going (verse 36).
Peter and the others did not
understand that Jesus was speaking of His death and ascension to heaven.
Jesus’ response was, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now,
but you will follow later.”
Peter still did not understand and
declared that he would follow Jesus anywhere and even lay down his life if
necessary.
Jesus patiently continued to teach
His disciples. He began speaking more plainly about heaven, describing the place
He was going to prepare for them (John 14:2-3).
Then Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am
going” (verse 4).
Speaking for the others, Thomas
said they did not know where He was going, so how could they know how to follow
Him there?
In answer to this question Jesus
uttered one of the seven famous “I am”
statements.
.
“I am” – (“Eigo Eimi”)- In the Greek language. “I am” is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying, “I myself, and only I, am.”
.
“I am” – (“Eigo Eimi”)- In the Greek language. “I am” is a very intense way of referring to oneself. It would be comparable to saying, “I myself, and only I, am.”
Several other times in the Gospels
we find Jesus using these words.
In Matthew 22:32 Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6, where God uses the same
intensive form to say, “I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say unto you,
before Abraham
was, I am.”
The Jews clearly understood Jesus
to be calling Himself God because they took up stones to stone Him for committing
blasphemy in equating Himself with God.
In Matthew 28:20, as Jesus gave the Great
Commission, He gave it emphasis by saying, “I
am with you always, to the end of the age.”
When the soldiers came seeking
Jesus in the garden the night before His crucifixion, He told them, “I am he.” His words were so powerful
that the soldiers fell to the ground (John 18:4-6).
These words reflect the very name
of God in Hebrew, Yahweh, which means “to be” or “the self-existing one.”
It is the name of power and authority, which Jesus claimed as His own.
.
“The way” – Jesus used the definite article “The” to distinguish Himself as “the only way.”
.
“The way” – Jesus used the definite article “The” to distinguish Himself as “the only way.”
A way is a path or route, and the
disciples had expressed their confusion about where He was going and how they
could follow. As He had told them from the beginning, Jesus was again telling
them (and us) “follow me.”
The exclusive nature of the only
path to salvation is expressed in the words “I
am the way.”
.
“The truth” – Again Jesus used the definite article “The” to emphasize Himself as “the only truth.”
.
“The truth” – Again Jesus used the definite article “The” to emphasize Himself as “the only truth.”
Psalm 119:142 says, “Your law is the truth.”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded
His listeners of several points of the Law. Then He said, “But I say unto you . . .” (Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44),
thereby equating Himself with the Law of God as the authoritative standard of
righteousness.
In fact, Jesus said that He came
to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17).
Jesus, as the incarnate Word of
God (John 1:1) is the
source of all truth.
.
“The life” – Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life.
.
“The life” – Jesus had just been telling His disciples about His impending death, and now He was claiming to be the source of all life.
In John 10:17-18, Jesus declared that He
was going to lay down His life for His sheep, and then take it back again.
He spoke of His authority over
life and death as being granted to Him by the Father.
In John 14:19, He gave the promise
that “because I live, you also will
live.”
The deliverance He was about to
provide was not a political or social deliverance (which most of the Jews were
seeking), but a true deliverance from a life of bondage to sin and death to a
life of freedom in eternity.
.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself as the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life.
.
In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself as the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life.
He was staking His claim as the
very God of Creation, the Lord who blessed Abraham, and the Holy One who
inhabits eternity.
He did this so the disciples would
be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of declaring the
gospel to the world.
We know from Scriptures that the
disciples still did not understand. It took several visits from their risen
Lord to shake them out of their unbelief.
Once they understood the truth of
His
words, they became a changed people. Since then the world has never been
the same.
.
So how do we follow Jesus today?
.
So how do we follow Jesus today?
The same way the disciples did
long ago. They heard the words of Jesus and believed.
They took His words and obeyed
them.
They confessed their sins to Jesus
and received Him as their Lord and Savior.
They believed that He died to take
the punishment for their sins and rose from the dead to give them a new life.
They followed His example and obeyed
His command to tell others the truth about sin, righteousness, and judgment.
When we follow Him in “the way,” we can be assured of
following Him all the way to heaven.
Entrust your life now to “the way, the truth and the life” by
saying this prayer:
“Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and my sins have separated
me from You. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and begin a new
life with You.
Please forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus Christ
as my Savior, my Master and my Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus Christ
died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead.
I want to receive all that Jesus Christ has provided
for me as my Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart
and be Lord of my life. I thank You that you have given me eternal life, and
according to Your Word, I am born again.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy
Spirit that is in me now. I surrender my life to You. . I promise to study Your
Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus Name. Amen.”
Related Posts:
“Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus”
Louisa M. R. Stead
Lyrics
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
'Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, "Thus saith the Lord!"
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
'Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
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