Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 ESV1
Read John 14:4-6
Recently, as I walked down the main street of my hometown, I noticed a sign in a shop window that read:
If You Love What You Have, You Have Everything You Need.
I considered the validity of that statement. It makes sense that if one truly loves what one has, he/she will not seek contentment elsewhere. Then I pondered if such a truth applied equally in the spiritual realm as in the physical. I concluded that the prerequisite of loving what you have is knowing what you have. I believe realizing what they had, or more accurately, Whom they had, was the purpose of Jesus’ final lesson to His disciples.
Chapters 14-17 of John contain the last teaching of Jesus given to His disciples just before His arrest. This instruction has traditionally been called The Upper Room Discourse. Jesus’ final exhortation was intended to comfort His disciples and prepare them for the future.
Jesus shared the Upper Room Discourse During the Last Supper after Satan had possessed Judas, and Judas had gone out to fulfill the plan to betray Jesus (see John 13:21-30). Jesus spoke these comforting words to His remaining disciples:
“‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 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? 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’” (John 14:1-3).2
Likely, before His disciples even processed Jesus’ revelation that He would be leaving them and then returning for them, He announced:
“‘And You know the way to where I am going’” (John 14:4).
This comment was also supposed to give strength and hope to His disciples, but it initially caused confusion.
“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, ‘I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:5-6).
Asking the Wrong Question
Thomas asked where; Jesus answered with Who. It was in answer to Thomas’ question that Jesus uttered one of His famous I AM statements.
I AM is the personal name of God which He shared with Moses at the Burning Bush:
“Now Moses … led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. [Moses] looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.’ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ … And He said, ‘I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob … I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey … Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘But I will be with you.’ … Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”’ … This is My name forever, and thus I AM to be remembered throughout all generations’” (Exodus 3:1-4, 6a, 7-8a, 10-12a, 13-14, 15b).
Understanding Who God is would settle Thomas’ questioning heart and overcome Moses’ hesitancy. Believing God is Who He declares Himself to be gives every Believer the needed comfort and power to prepare them for the unknown future.
Who Is He?
I AM, in Hebrew, is Yahweh, which means to be or the Self-Existing One. That means the true God exists independently of all other beings and all the rest of the Universe. No one created Him; all other things were brought into being and continue because of Him. He does not need anything from anyone else. Instead, everything else in all of Creation needs Him.
Yahweh is usually translated as Jehovah in English. In Scripture, this Name is often coupled with a specific action or character trait of the Self-Existent One: Jehovah-Jirah, the LORD who Provides; Jehovah-Rapha, the LORD who Heals; Jehovah-Shalom, the LORD of Peace; etc.3
Jesus claimed this Name of power and authority as His own. By using I AM to identify Himself, Jesus declared Himself God. In a heated discussion with the Pharisees, before Jesus asserted most of His specific claims to deity, using I AM, He announced:
“‘Truly, truly I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM’” (John 8:58).
The Pharisees had no doubt Jesus was calling Himself God. They intended to stone Him for committing blasphemy in equating Himself with God.
Another time Jesus’ claim to deity caused a strong reaction was during His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane:
“Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to [the band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees who came to arrest Him], ‘Whom do you seek?’ They answered Him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I AM He.’ … When Jesus said to them, ‘I AM He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground’ (John 18:4 & 6).4
Seven I AM statements of Jesus are recorded in the book of John. Each of these statements is a reflection of Jesus’ divine nature and proof of His ability to meet the spiritual needs of humanity. Those in attendance, when Jesus made these statements, would have clearly understood Jesus was claiming to be I AM, Yahweh, Jehovah Himself.
The Great I AM
First, after The Feeding of the 5000,5 when people flocked to Jesus expecting more free meals, He said:
“‘I AM the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35, emphasis added).
Jesus didn’t come to fill stomachs temporarily. He came to satisfy the spiritually hungry forever. Everyone who ate the physical food Jesus provided eventually died. But all who, through faith, take advantage of Jesus’ Bread of Life live forever.
Second, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus had made this statement:
“‘I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life’” (John 8:12, emphasis added).
The Feast of Tabernacles included lighting a large candelabra to remind the Israelites of the Pillar of Fire that guided their ancestors as they wandered in the Wilderness. Jesus came to provide light to a world that was darkened by sin. Through faith in Him, all who desire to no longer stumble in sin find the guidance they need to live a holy life.
Third, in a conversation with the religious leaders who refused to believe in Jesus though they witnessed miracle after miracle, Jesus made this statement:
“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM the Door of the Sheep. All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I AM the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:7-10, emphasis added).
Those to whom Jesus spoke would have been familiar with shepherding. They would have known that sheep only obey the voice of their specific shepherd. The fact that the religious leaders didn’t listen to Him, proved that they were not of His flock. Unless they repented and joined Jesus’ flock, they wouldn’t find the spiritual refuge they needed.
“Sheep pens of that era were constructed with high walls and a single narrow opening. This was the only legitimate means of entry or exit … To control access, the gatekeeper would stand or lay across the opening: he would physically serve as the door. Jesus claims to have that same role, spiritually. He is ‘the Door’ the one and only means by which sheep can enter the pen and find rescue from harm.”6
Those and only those, who through faith, enter through the exclusive Door Jesus provides find sacrificial care, undying love, and spiritual protection.
Forth, in that same discourse, Jesus continued with:
“‘I AM the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I AM the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep’” (John 10:11-15, emphasis added).
Unlike the religious leaders, who were more like unfaithful hired men than true shepherds, Jesus does not abandon His sheep under any circumstance. In fact, Jesus sacrificed His life to provide for and protect His Followers. Jesus’ death paid for all of the sins of all of the world for all time and gave all who believe eternal protection from the great wolf, Satan, preventing him from snatching and scattering them.
Fifth, to His friend, Martha, who was mourning the death of her brother, Lazarus, Jesus said:
“‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world’” (John 11:23-27, emphasis added).
Jesus is victorious over death. He proved that by resurrecting His friend, Lazarus. Shortly afterward, Jesus showed the world that He conquered the grave when He, Himself, rose to life. All who believe in Christ have victory over sin and the ultimate consequence of sin–death. Because Jesus overcame the grave, all who are in Him will rise and live with Him for an eternity.
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
Seventh, later, as part of His final teaching to the Eleven, Jesus said:
“I AM the True Vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit … Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I AM the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing … By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love’” (John 15:1-2, 4-5, 8-9, emphasis added).
Right before His arrest and impending death, Jesus made this I AM statement. Again, Jesus used a metaphor with which His disciples would have been familiar, viticulture. Additionally, several times in the Scriptures God referred to Israel as His vine (see Psalm 80; Isaiah 5:1-7; Ezekiel 15; Hosea 10:1-2). Israel had refused to stay connected to the LORD and had become unfruitful. Jesus came to be a Faithful Vine. Everyone who believes Jesus is the Savior, the Fulfiller of God’s Original Plan, and chooses to adhere him/herself to Him, is saved. Everyone who continues to abide in Christ by remaining attached to Him and submitting to the Father’s tending and pruning will have Christ’s life flow through him/her. By default, he/she will display the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and produce a harvest that honors God and proves he/she is a Christ Follower.
The Exclusive Route
The sixth I AM statement Jesus made was in response to Thomas’ question. ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” It was then that Jesus announced:
“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6, emphasis added).
When Jesus claimed, “I Am the Way … No one comes to the Father except through Me,” He asserted that there was a singular means for peace with God through Him and Him only.
The Way
As the Way, Jesus made it clear there is only one way to find forgiveness, only one path to Heaven, and only one means of salvation. That exclusive route to the Father God is Jesus.
Though the disciples had spent three and a half years under Jesus’ teaching and had heard all of His I AM statements, this claim was revolutionary to them. Judaism taught that the flawless keeping of the Law was the way to God. They believed if they were good enough they would find favor with God and earn a place of comfort in the afterlife.
Righteousness is indeed the way to God, but humans can never in their power muster up the ability to justify themselves morally before God. More good deeds than bad will not swing wide the doors of Heaven for any human to enter. Jesus came because we can’t be good enough to earn a place in Heaven. But everyone who believes in Jesus for salvation receives His righteousness. It is Christ’s righteousness that opens the door to Heaven for all who are willing to enter through Jesus.
Later, when Peter clearly understood what Jesus meant by, “I AM the Way,” he shared this truth with the rulers in Jerusalem:
“‘This Jesus … there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).
Entering the passageway of Christ to Heaven means following Jesus along the way He went. Jesus taught:
“He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).
Jesus went the way of self-sacrifice and death. Jesus’ coming to Earth was an act of self-denial:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped [or held onto] but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus’ return to Heaven was through the door of physical death. Disciples of Jesus must follow Him through the door of death. We are familiar with the idea that one must die physically to get to Heaven. But there is a spiritual death that must precede the physical death of every Christ Follower. The death that Jesus and Paul referenced was that of self-sacrifice. It was self-denial for the glory of Christ that prepared the Eleven to face their physical deaths. In the coming years, each of the Apostles was martyred because of his stand for Christ.7 Self-denial is the necessary preparation for all Believers to rise to the call that God has on their lives.
Jesus’ return to Heaven also included His resurrection and ascension to eternal life. Likewise, The Way of Jesus means resurrection, ascension, and eternal life for those who follow Him.
“We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Romans 6:4-5).
“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).
The Truth
Truth is a major theme in the Upper Room Discourse. Truth is mentioned twenty-seven times in the Gospels. Twenty of those references are in John. Jesus used the word, truth, nine of those times in the Upper Room Discourse.
When Jesus also referred to Himself as the Truth, He claimed to be the only source of truth and knowledge about God and the only true measure of morality. By living a perfectly flawless human life, Jesus proved that He is the only standard for righteousness.
Before Jesus, the only model for right living the disciples would have known was that of the religious leaders. But Jesus taught:
“‘I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 5:20).
Humanly speaking, there was no way anyone’s morality could be superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees. But through faith in Christ, any Believer has as his/her own the righteousness of Jesus.
“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
By declaring Himself the Truth, Jesus indicated that He is the incarnate Word of God. Later in the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus prayed and commented to His Father:
“‘Sanctify [My disciples] in the Truth; Your Word is Truth’” (John 17:17).
John eventually understood Jesus’ declaration and aptly began his Gospel, explaining about Jesus:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him, was life and the Life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome It” (John 1:1-5).
When Satan, the father of lies (see John 8:44) tricked Eve in the Garden, truth was tarnished. Jesus came to restore and revive truth through His sacrifice. In Christ, we don’t have to be plagued by Satan’s lies anymore. Jesus instructed those who chose to follow Him:
“‘You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free … If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:32 & 36).
In this statement, the word Jesus used for know is the Greek word, ginosko, which means to intimately and experientially know something or someone.8 Through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can intimately know Truth. The Spirit of Truth is a Person who lives in all Believers.
The Life
Jesus again used the word, ginosko, when He prayed for His disciples later in the Upper Room Discourse:
“‘This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’” (John 17:3, emphasis added).
When Jesus claimed to be the Life, He stated that knowing Him intimately was the only way to receive eternal life. In Christ and with Christ in them, Jesus endows once spiritually dead people with the very life of God! In an act of love, parents give their children physical life. It was also in an act of love that the Heavenly Father gives Believers eternal life.
“‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God’” (John 3:16-18a).
The One who created life has the authority over life and death. The Creator took on human life so that in sacrificing that life, all who believe in Him might receive His everlasting life.
“‘I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep … For this reason, the Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father’” (John 10:14b-15, 17-18).
Jesus is the source of all life, both physical and spiritual. Eternal life with God was the thing that was lost for humans in the Fall. Jesus came to restore that life. As the One who inhabits eternity, the life that is in Christ will last forever.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Jesus overcame death to provide eternal life for all who believe in Him for salvation. Believers don’t have to wait for their physical deaths to begin to enjoy everlasting life. Eternal life starts immediately upon deliverance from the power and effects of sin.
Jesus ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for His Followers. The place Jesus made ready in more than rooms in Heaven to be occupied upon Believers’ deaths. It is also a place for Himself in the hearts of all who know Him intimately. That indwelling relationship begins at the moment of belief and lasts for an eternity. That is eternal life.
Encouragement for the Future
Jesus’ purpose in giving the Upper Room Discourse was to console His disciples concerning His coming departure and to give them hope and courage to face the difficult days that lay before them. When He said, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He declared to His disciples that He was God-Almighty in the flesh, the Messiah they had been awaiting. In Him was found everything they would ever need.
When the disciples finally understood what Jesus meant by this I AM statement, they knew that gaining access to God’s favor was not through good works but through Christ alone. They had the assurance of truth and salvation and the promise of eternal life. They became changed people with everything they needed to thrive during persecution and to victoriously face death. And they had everything they needed to boldly declare the Gospel wherever they were sent. Because they knew Whom they had they loved Him and were not in need of anything.
With that, I come back to the statement mentioned at the beginning of this article:
If You Love What You Have, You Have Everything You Need.
All too often we, like Thomas, ask, “Where?” when we should be focusing on Who. Then again, we are like Moses and ask, “Who am I?” instead of, “Who is He?” If we truly know Whom we have, we can’t help but love Him and in turn, have everything we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.
Like the Eleven, we too live in a world where people are trying to earn God’s favor and obtain eternal life by their own merit. People in our day and age also need to know that Jesus is the sole means of salvation and the only Way to enter eternal life. We are surrounded by people who need assurance of Truth and salvation. People need to know Whom they can have to love Him and have the power to thrive in life, victoriously face death, and enjoy eternal Life. Will we point them to the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2 For my commentary on these statements, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/hope-for-troubled-hearts/
3 For more on the names of God, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/know-your-god/
4 For my commentary on this event, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/what-will-you-give-me/
5 For my commentary on this event, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/rest-assured/
6 https://www.bibleref.com/John/10/John-chapter-10.html
7 For more on this, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/you-might-as-well-ask/
8 See https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1097/kjv/tr/0-1/