Jesus: The Way, The Truth, and The Life

I. Introduction

I was sitting in House of Aromas downtown a few weeks ago and I overheard a very fascinating conversation. A guy and a girl were discussing their class work and politics when they made their way into the topic of Christianity. The young lady was carrying the conversation and when they began to talk about Jesus, she got very excited.

She made explicit reference to the scripture we are looking at this evening; she was telling this gentleman what she thought Jesus meant when he said, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In her mind, Jesus was a mere mortal who was telling his followers that because he is a human being, the way, the truth, and the life already exist in him. She made the claim that Jesus was implying that each disciple and every other human being was their own way and truth and life. “We just have to be true to ourselves,” she maintained, “and we are doing what Jesus told us to do.”

I listened on and very much wanted to get involved in the conversation. However, within a few moments, they had changed subjects and a few moments later, they exited the coffeehouse to go to another class. But I was left reflecting on what had been said. How many other people interpreted this saying in the same way? How did this distort what was really being said? I felt like someone had stolen my wallet, because something very important had been taken. I felt a bit violated. The question I had to ask myself is why?

II. OT Background

These three words have a great deal of OT background. Each term would have struck a chord in the hearts of the disciples as they listened to Jesus. Each word would have brought to mind images from God’s past acts of redemption. Each idea would have harkened back to other passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is fitting that after the Passover Meal during which Jesus instituted the Holy Supper through bread and wine, he would speak in such terms.

A. The Way – the Hebrew word derek means “way, path, road to” and it is used in a variety of ways. It can mean something as simple as the road/path from point A to point B (Jerusalem to Jericho, for example). In its fullest meaning, derek means a way of life. In scripture, everyone has a way of life and there are as many ways as there are people. It is as unique as a thumbprint or a snowflake. However, the OT is clear that all ways of life fit into one of two categories: the way of the righteous or the way of wicked. The things that make-up one’s way of life determine which category one fits into.

B. The Truth – the Hebrew word ’emet is an important word for us to look at. It is used not only in the sense of what is the opposite of false, but also of something that is trustworthy and reliable for people to base their lives upon. So when the LORD is described as being “true” in the OT (he is the most frequent reference), he is trustworthy and reliable in all his words, works, and ways. You can base your life upon what he says and upon what he does.

C. The Life – the Hebrew word hayah, like the other two, has a fuller meaning than its English counterpart. Yes, it means life in the sense of that which is the opposite of death, but it also means health and strength. This is the sort of existence exhibited by those in their prime. Those who are sick or injured, while not being dead, are no longer whole (shalom), no longer living life to the fullest extent possible.

III. Context

As I mentioned last week, the first four I AM statements were given to the public at large. Many different people heard Jesus say that he was the light of the world, the bread of life, the door of the sheep, and the good shepherd. It is only to a select few that he calls himself the resurrection and the life; the way, the truth, and the life; and the true vine.

The saying we have before us tonight is very important because it comes at the climax of John’s gospel. What Jesus says and does here in the upper room is preparatory for the trial and crucifixion that followed. His saying “I AM the way, the truth, and the life” came immediately after he shared the Passover Meal with his disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper which we continue celebrate in our churches today. He also took time to wash the disciples’ feet, showing them that the way of the Kingdom would be the way of service, or as one of my pastors used to say, “Membership in the royal order of the towel.”

IV. Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life

A. The Way – Jesus saw the world as a fragmented place. We are fragmented people and this causes us to have fragmented relationships with each other and fragmented relationships with each other. It is not surprising to see people described as being “lost” because these are people who do not know “the way” to God. They do not know the way of acknowledging sin and repenting and fleeing to God alone for reconciliation. They look for the way within themselves. Jesus shows us that way (which is outside of us) by himself being the Way. He shows us what price must be paid for sin. He shows us how much God cares to see humans repent and be reconciled. We see this through the price he has paid to provide us with the way.

B. The Truth – Often, religions have thought of “truth” as something that must be sought after by all, but found only by the elite few. Usually, these are the monks or the priests or the mystics. Arriving at truth, according to these other religions, is the way in which human beings rise up to god, or better yet, become god themselves.

Of the many uses of “truth” in the New Testament, John uses it more frequently than any other biblical author. When he uses this word, he is not talking about some secret knowledge that needs to be sought after by monks or mystics. He is not talking about going on some Da Vinci Code like adventure where we search for meaning in hidden places. The truth is not the element of life that helps a human being achieve divine status. For John, “the truth” is not an idea, but a person and that person has come down to us. For the disciples, the truth stood before them in flesh and bones. They did not go to him; rather, he came to them.

C. The Life – Two weeks ago, we talked about the topic of death. We mentioned that Jesus’ own resurrection is for us the paradigm and model and exemplar for our own resurrection. This saying is gloriously ironic to me for two reasons. First, it amazes me that he would mention this just a few moments after celebrating the Lord’s Supper in which he lifted up the bread and wine that signified his own broken body and shed blood. He is mentioning himself as the life knowing that his death was imminent.

Secondly, knowing that death is something common to all of us, I wonder what Jesus must have been thinking when he said this to his disciples, knowing that 10 of the 11 present in that upper room would be brutally killed for their faith in Christ. He says to them, “I am the life.” Another glorious irony! His saying alludes to the price of our faith in this fallen world. His saying alludes to the persecution and/or hatred we might incur because of our faith. His saying ultimately alludes to the hope we have in the resurrection beyond the grave.

V. Application

A. Postmodernism has waged a full-scale war on the exclusivity on these terms – How many of you have an idea what “postmodernism” is? How many of you understand what “exclusivity” means? Postmodernism is a philosophy which looks at the complexity and diversity of the world and comes to the conclusion that truth is not and cannot be absolute. All expressions of truth as such are culturally conditioned. What is truth for you is not truth for me. We can see the potential problems of this philosophical worldview as it applies to the truth claims of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Twenty five years ago, a person disagreeing with you about the truth claims of the gospel might have said, “You are not right to say such and such.” Nowadays, people are more likely to say, “You have no right to say such and such;” this is postmodernism. In an attempt to find something concrete in a very diverse world, it makes everything relative. Thus, this saying means “Jesus is a way. Jesus is a truth. Jesus is a life.” For a postmodernist, one must be allowed to say with equal certainty, “I am a way. I am a truth. I am a life.”

B. We must allow the person of Jesus as the God-man to define these terms –

1) The Way – Jesus Christ is not a mystical teacher like Confucius and Buddha. Postmodernism rejects the idea that any religious idea could be exclusive or dogmatic. Jesus is fine as a way, but no one is allowed to say (not even Jesus himself!) that he is the way. But this is exactly what he claims. He says that he is the way to God and in reality, there is no other way to God except through him.

Jesus is the way to God the Father. There is no other way. His ministry is completely unique and totally unrepeatable. He is not the first of many; he is not a trailblazer. Because no other person is God incarnate, because no other person has ever lived a perfect life, because no other person has ever died a substitutionary death, and because no other person has ever been raised from the dead do we say that he is the only way for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy God. Any other explanation of the person of Jesus Christ must water down either the sinfulness of man or the holiness of God or both.

Thus, Christian faith is a risk. Andrew Peterson calls faith “a burden,” something “brave and bitter sweet.” The Christian faith means placing all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. In our culture, we are frowned upon for this exclusivity.

2) The Truth – Postmodernism makes Jesus a form of truth, but in no way the form of truth. Any exclusive claims that he or any other person makes must be rejected. However, Jesus clearly speaks about himself as the truth. So what does this mean for us? I think it means two things: 1) the truth about mankind and 2) the truth about God.

Jesus is the truth about mankind. He is the truth about you and the truth about me. What do I mean by this? Well, Jesus, because he was human, tells us both what we are and what we are not. You remember that last week, I mentioned that fact that the creation and the fall must be kept separate in our minds. God made Adam and Eve and declared them to be “very good.” It was only after their sin that they became sinful and fallen. Jesus came as the Second Adam to show us what real humanity ought to look like. There is no question that Jesus was a human; the real question is whether we are human. We look at him and see the way in which he ministered to people and cared for people and always had the right word at the right time and we can see how far our sin has made us fall. We look at ourselves and see how tragic the fall really was, because none of us can exhibit absolute Christlikeness at any moment.

Jesus is also the truth about God. He and the Father are one; when we see Jesus, we see the Father. When we look to Jesus, we behold the attributes and the qualities of God. We see his care for creation as he became flesh in the person of Jesus and came to the creation to redeem it. We see his righteousness by the way Jesus condemned sin and demanded repentance and proclaimed judgment on all those who would not repent. We see his love and grace and mercy by the way Jesus offered himself up on the cross as a substitutionary atonement for our sins. We see his power in the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Gazing into the face of Jesus, we see the face of God.

3) The Life – Our culture, as it is influenced by postmodern ethics, has a very strange view of life. For example, it is illegal to tamper with the eggs of certain species of birds but it is legal to kill a human fetus. Most people within our political system that argue against capital punishment are also in favor of euthanasia. What this means is that a convicted murderer or rapist has a greater right to life than a person who is elderly or terminally ill. The only way I can explain this is that this view of life is the result of fallen thinking. The fact that such laws even exist in our society is clear proof that the world is a fallen place. Since Adam and Eve sinned and were evicted from the Garden of Eden, this struggle between life and death has been ongoing.

Jesus’ teaching about life is very profound in this shifty scene. He always valued life. He was always consistent with administering love and mercy. He refused to see one person as being better or more valuable than another. And in order to redeem his sheep, he sacrificed his own life for theirs. By laying down his life, he gave them new life. By subjecting himself to death, he defeated death for them. And why? So that these people, so that you and I who profess faith in Christ might have eternal life with God. Jesus went and prepared for us rooms in God’s house. Notice that there is but one house with many rooms. We will all live in the same house because we will all be of one bloodline, of one family. Through the death of Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, made his sons and daughters and then given a room in his house for eternity to come. This home will be a place of acceptance and love and fellowship in ways that you and I have never experienced in our families here on earth.

C. Walk in the Way of Love

I’d like to make just a few comments on this in closing. There are many ways in this world. Many people offer you roads to happiness or recipes for success. The girl in House of Aromas clearly expressed what way she was following. She thought Jesus was telling her to be true to herself and not to let anyone else lead the way or define the truth or dictate her life. She thought Jesus was telling herself “To thine own self be true.” But I hope you can see from our study tonight that Jesus is calling us to something much higher.

Both before (13:34) and after (14:15) this I AM statement, Jesus gives a commandment that his followers love him and love each other. He is not telling us to look after ourselves and blaze our own path through this world. Rather, Jesus is telling us to be true to him and as a direct result, to love one another. He said this right after telling the disciples that he would die for them, he said it right after he took up and towel and washed their grungy feet. This way of love which manifests itself through selfless sacrifice and service and compassion is clearly what Jesus envisioned for his disciples and for you and me. The way of Jesus is the way of sacrificial love.