Am the Way and the Truth and the Life

Forth Wednesday in Lent

February 27, 2008

John 14:6

"Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’"

As we work our way through these sayings of our Lord, in which He begins each with the two words, I Am, we keep ourselves grounded in this: Jesus begins each saying with I Am because of who He is. He is God, having come into the flesh of man. He is the same God, who came to Moses, telling Moses that His name is I Am.

If Jesus is not God in the flesh, then He can’t be any of the things that He says He is. As we have already examined this Lent, if He isn’t God, then He couldn’t exist before Abraham lived; if He isn’t God, then He can’t be the Light of the World.

Indeed, if Jesus is not God in the flesh, then He can’t even be your Savior. If He isn’t God, then He is a man, just like every other man, with the same condition you have and not able to perfectly fulfill His Father’s Holy Law in place of all humans.

So, this is no small thing, when Jesus calls Himself I Am. He is telling us who He is—the vitally important truth that He is God, having come into the flesh of the human race. Indeed, we hear that word, truth, in today’s I Am saying.

It was the Thursday night of His arrest, when Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples, eating His last supper with them. He washed His disciples’ feet. He predicted His betrayal and Peter’s denial. He told His friends that He was going somewhere, where they could not now follow Him.

He said, "In my Father’s house are many rooms . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you. ... You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas was doubting: "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Sometimes, noticing what a person does not say is just as important as hearing what they say. Take note that Jesus does not say that He will show the way. Rather, Jesus is the way.

At this spot, a lot of preachers would talk about maps, and following the exact route of roads and turns to reach one’s destination. And, we all know about maps. And, we all know about watching road signs. And, we all know about missing a turn and getting lost. And, we probably also know that, when a person uses a map as an example of the way to heaven, there’s always more than one way to get where one wants to go.

When I drive home to Montague, because there is no straight shot from here to there, I have a host of roads from which to choose. I can go to Imlay City, and get on I-69, which takes me to I-96, which takes me to US-31, which takes me home. But, even going to Imlay City, I have choices. I have a handful of routes to reach M-53 and, because I like variety, I use all of them. But, I don’t have to go by way of Imlay City and the Interstate. I can wind my way to Saginaw and take M-46 most of the way home.

Suffice it to say, there are many ways to the good side of the state. But, are there many ways to heaven? . . . That’s the problem with using a map. Even with a map, you can get lost.

Again, notice what Jesus does not say. He does not talk about Himself as if He is a map. He doesn’t say that He will show the way, but that He is the Way.

Here, this preacher loves pointing out how Christianity is shown to be the only true religion by being different from every other religion in the world. In every other religion, you are given a map to follow, to find your way to eternal life.

• In Islam, the Muslim is instructed to be obedient to the Five Pillars of Islam.
• In Buddhism, one reaches Nirvana by following the Noble Eightfold Path.
• In Hinduism, the Hindu pursues The Way of Action, The Way of Knowledge, The Way of Devotion, and The Royal Road.

They all are maps. Jesus, however, does not lay out a map. I Am the map.

While preparing for this sermon, I wondered why Jesus gives us three I Ams in one. Why didn’t He only say, "I Am the Way." Why did He add, "and the Truth, and the Life." In this, we find the reason that He did not say to Thomas, "I will show you the way," when Thomas said that He didn’t know the way to His Father house.

Jesus is the map, and not only the roads on the map, because He is the Truth and the Life.

Last week, we heard Jesus tell us that He is the Light of the World. We noted that light was the first thing God cast over His new creation. Then, we noted that one of God’s characteristics—one of the things that makes up His being—is that He is light.

Therefore, when Jesus says that He is the Light of the World, He doesn’t mean that He is the one who shines the flashlight. He is the flashlight. And, He is the batteries, and the bulb, and the whole reason the flashlight shines light.

In the same manner that Jesus does not only show the light, but is the Light, He does not only show the way, but is the Way, and does not only tell the truth, but is the Truth, and does not only give life, but is Life.

Because Jesus is both Truth and Life, He is the Way. These go together like crust and sauce and cheese. If Jesus is False, He cannot be Way. If Jesus is Death, He cannot be Way.

John begins His Gospel by speaking of the truth which Jesus is, and it is all about His life. Indeed, it sounds just like the opening words of the Bible: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men."

"That life was the light of men." Ah, like good gravy, the plot just thickened.

Jesus is the Life because Jesus is the Light. Since life and light are the cornerstones, that makes Jesus the Truth. Because Jesus is the Truth, the last one is no-brainer: He is the Way.

When you are baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are baptized into Jesus Christ. That means that you are baptized into God—into I Am—into the Truth and Life and Light of the World. Him, the Way, becomes your way of life.

Now, you are a child of God. Now, you are a member of the Way. You possess the Truth, you bask in His Light, you partake of His Life.

Notice how I strive to make this all very concrete. We are not talking about philosophical concepts or theories of economics. We are talking about things that God has built into us.

• We know what truth is. We know that false is its exact opposite, and we know how a lie does nothing but bring us harm.
• We know what light is. We know that darkness is its exact opposite, and we know how we cannot remain in darkness and live.
• And, we know what life is. We know that death is its exact opposite, and we know that death is the greatest evil we face.

Being members of God’s family—children of God—you are baptized into, and fed upon, real things—real good things. Truth. Life. Light. Way. This is God. I Am. He is.

So, we see how Jesus can make the outrageous claim, that no one can come to the Father, except through Him . . . who dies . . . so that you live.

Jesus is I Am . . . the Way, the Truth, the Life. Amen.