10.3 I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Jesus: The Path, the Revelation, and the Source of Life

Read John 14:5–6. What did Thomas want to know about where Jesus would go? How did Jesus respond?

The words of Jesus in John 14:6 are among the most powerful statements in the New Testament. They answer the fundamental question about the way to God and the significance of Jesus’ role in salvation. Thomas’ question and Jesus’ response illuminate several central truths:

1. Thomas’ Question: A Natural Uncertainty

Thomas expresses what the disciples likely all felt: confusion about the destination Jesus was referring to and how they were to get there. His question shows an honest, human uncertainty: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5). This uncertainty is often present in our lives as well when we seek direction, whether in faith or everyday life.

2. Jesus’ Answer: He Himself is the Way

Jesus turns Thomas’ question upside down by not pointing to a destination but to Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). This statement has several dimensions:

• The Way: Jesus is not just a guide but the way itself. Through His teachings, life, death, and resurrection, He opens the access to God.

• The Truth: He is the revelation of God in a world marked by deception and sin. Through Him, we recognize who God truly is.

• The Life: Jesus is the source of eternal life. He grants not only physical life but also spiritual life in abundance.

3. The Way to the Father

Jesus shows that the way to God is not achieved through our own efforts, religious rituals, or philosophical insights. Access to the Father happens solely through Him. He explicitly states, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This statement underscores the exclusivity of His work: He is the bridge between a fallen world and a holy God.

Conclusion

The words “I am the way, the truth, and the life” are an invitation to fully trust Jesus. They encourage us to align our life’s path with Him, seek our truth in His teachings, and find our lives through His closeness to God. Jesus’ response to Thomas shows that our greatest goal—the fellowship with God—is only possible through Him.

Read John 14:7–11. How did Jesus clarify Philip’s misunderstanding?

Philip’s request to see the Father is an expression of a deep human desire: to experience God directly and to understand Him. However, Jesus’ response shows that this desire is already fulfilled through Him. In these verses, Jesus clarifies Philip’s misunderstanding and reveals essential truths about His identity and His relationship with the Father.

1. Philip’s Request

Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John 14:8). This request reflects the need to experience God visibly and tangibly. It is a plea for a clear revelation, often echoed in the history of Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 33:18-23). However, Philip does not yet realize that he already has the complete revelation of God in Jesus.

2. Jesus’ Response: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”

Jesus gently rebukes Philip’s misunderstanding: “Philip, you have seen me, yet you do not know who I am” (John 14:9). He explains that He and the Father are perfectly one. Whoever sees Jesus sees God. This statement reveals:

• Jesus as the Revelation of the Father: In His character, words, and actions, God becomes visible (John 1:18).

• Unity Between Jesus and the Father: Jesus is not just an ambassador of God but God Himself in human form. His life is the living interpretation of the Father.

3. Faith Through Words and Works

Jesus urges the disciples to believe in Him—either based on His words or His works (John 14:10-11). The miracles Jesus performed testify to His divine nature and His close connection to the Father. His words, proclaiming the truth, demonstrate His authority as the one sent by the Father.

Conclusion

Philip’s request and Jesus’ response make it clear that God is perfectly revealed in Jesus. Whoever knows Jesus knows the Father. This truth encourages us to trust Jesus, recognize Him as the way to God, and live in His light. In Jesus, we encounter the truth and the life that securely lead us to the Father.

Why is it very comforting to recognize that Jesus is the best revelation we will have of God the Father?

1. God Becomes Accessible and Approachable in Jesus Jesus shows us that God is not distant, unreachable, or abstract. Through His life, teachings, and works, God becomes understandable and tangible to us. He meets us in a way that humans can comprehend. This knowledge brings comfort because it shows that God truly knows us, loves us, and has come into our world to save us.

2. A Visible Image of God’s Nature In Jesus, we see God’s character: His love, patience, forgiveness, justice, and mercy. Everything Jesus said and did reflects the Father (John 14:9). This revelation comforts us because we know that God is not a punishing judge but a loving Father who cares for His children.

3. Jesus Personally Conveys God’s Love On the cross, Jesus demonstrated the depth of God’s love for us. He bore our sins and redeemed us. Knowing that God loves us so much that He sent His Son (John 3:16) gives us hope and security, especially in difficult times.

4. God Understands Our Suffering Jesus lived as a human and experienced the challenges, pains, and temptations of this world (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, we know that God not only sees our suffering but also understands it. This comfort helps us find strength and trust in tough moments.

5. The Assurance of Eternal Life Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Through Him, we have access to the Father and the promise of eternal life. This assurance comforts us because it gives us a firm hope beyond the limits of this life.

6. No Further Searching Needed In Jesus, the revelation of God is complete. We do not need to seek additional signs or proofs to know God. Knowing that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God gives us security and peace in our faith.

Conclusion

Recognizing that Jesus is the best revelation of God comforts us because in Him we find everything we need to know about God: His love, His plan for us, and His desire to have us with Him. It shows us that God not only understands us but also actively seeks to save us and grant us an eternal future with Him.

The Statement of Jesus in John 14:6 is not only a theological truth but also a practical invitation that shapes our daily lives and our faith. Here are the central connections:

1. Jesus as the Way: Guidance for Our Lives

In everyday life, we often seek the right path, whether in career decisions, relationships, or our faith. Jesus’ words show that He Himself is our guide:

• In Faith: Jesus leads us to God without us relying on our own efforts or wisdom. He is the bridge that connects us with the Father.

• In Daily Life: His teachings and example help us live with integrity, love, and justice. By following Him, we find direction in an often confusing world.

2. Jesus as the Truth: Security in a World of Uncertainties

In a time when truth is often relativized, Jesus’ statement is an anchor for our faith:

• In Faith: Jesus reveals God’s nature to us. Through Him, we understand the absolute truth about God’s love, grace, and justice.

• In Daily Life: His word provides us with stability and clarity when we are surrounded by conflicting information or moral dilemmas.

3. Jesus as the Life: Fulfillment and Hope

• Eternal Life: Jesus gives us the hope of eternal life with God that transcends the limitations of this earthly life.

• Life in Daily Life: His life inspires us to live in joy and abundance, regardless of our circumstances. He gives us meaning and purpose, even in difficult times.

4. Connection with God in Daily Life

Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This statement shows that our access to God is not based on our performance or knowledge but solely through our relationship with Jesus. This connection shapes:

• Our Prayer Life: We can pray with confidence because Jesus has paved the way to the Father.

• Our Perspective: Knowing that Jesus is our mediator, we can approach God with full trust and without fear.

5. A Life of Trust

The assurance that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life encourages us to trust Him in all aspects of our lives:

• Making Decisions: His example and teachings help us make decisions that honor God.

• In Difficult Times: Jesus gives us comfort and confidence when we feel lost or uncertain.

Conclusion

The statement “I am the way, the truth, and the life” is an invitation to place Jesus at the center of our lives. It shows us that in Him we find everything we need for our faith and daily living: guidance, security, and hope. By turning to Him, we can live with confidence, peace, and joy in a world full of uncertainties.

Jesus is the way that leads us, the truth that frees us, and the life that fulfills us.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-10-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life-10-3-i-am-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life-themes-in-the-gospel-of-john-living-faith/

December 3, 2024

DAILY BIBLE READING – Romans Chapter 9

¹ I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

² That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

³ For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

⁴ Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

⁵ Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

⁶ Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

⁷ Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

⁸ That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

⁹ For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.

¹⁰ And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

¹¹ (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

¹² It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

¹³ As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

¹⁵ For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

¹⁶ So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

¹⁷ For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

¹⁸ Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

¹⁹ Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

²⁰ Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

²¹ Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

²² What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

²³ And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

²⁴ Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

²⁵ As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

²⁶ And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

²⁷ Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

²⁸ For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

²⁹ And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.

³⁰ What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

³¹ But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

³² Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

³³ As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

King James Version. Public Domain

 

Commentary

Introduction:

Romans 9 is a challenging yet profound chapter of the New Testament. Here, the Apostle Paul addresses the difficult questions of God’s election, Israel’s position, and the role of faith. During a time when many pondered their identity and place in God’s plan, Paul provides a clear, though demanding, answer: it is neither physical lineage nor works that matter, but God’s sovereign grace and the promise activated through faith. Let us approach this chapter with open hearts and a seeking spirit to better understand the message of hope and grace.

Commentary:

Israel’s Divine Sonship (Verses 1–5):
Paul begins with a personal expression of his love for Israel and his sorrow over their rejection of the gospel. He highlights Israel’s unique privileges: divine sonship, the promises, the law, and the glory. However, he makes it clear that these blessings alone do not lead to salvation.

Children of the Promise (Verses 6–13):
Paul demonstrates that God’s promises are not limited by physical descent. Instead, God works sovereignly, as illustrated in the examples of Isaac and Jacob. God’s election is not based on human merit but solely on His grace.

God’s Sovereign Election (Verses 14–24):
The question of God’s justice is raised. Paul emphasizes that God is sovereign and just in exercising election. This choice is not arbitrary but follows God’s plan to reveal His glory and mercy.

The True Israel and the Gentiles (Verses 25–29):
Using prophecies, Paul shows that God’s plan has always included the Gentiles. While Israel is not rejected, only a remnant will be saved.

Righteousness by Law vs. Righteousness by Faith (Verses 30–33):
Finally, Paul makes it clear that righteousness comes by faith, not by works of the law. The Gentiles have attained this righteousness through faith, while many Israelites have stumbled over Christ, the “stone of stumbling.”

Summary:

Romans 9 reveals the depth of God’s plan of salvation, which is based not on human merit but solely on His sovereign grace. Paul explains that God’s promises have never failed and that the true Israelite is one who lives by faith. The Gentiles have accessed righteousness through faith, while many Israelites have clung to works-righteousness. God’s sovereign election is a manifestation of His grace, and Christ remains the central “rock” upon which salvation is determined. This message encourages us to place our trust in God’s grace rather than our works.

 

 

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/3-11-2024-romans-chapter-9-believe-his-prophets/