THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE
A. "JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE; NO MAN
COMETH unto THE FATHER, BUT BY ME"
- The background to our text:
- Thomas's question, "Lord we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?"
- It was in answer to Thomas's question that Lord spoke the words of the text
- It is most significant:
- That our Lord uttered some of the greatest gospel truths to singly individuals; Examples, The emphasis of the new birth was made to Nicodemus - John 3:3-9. The true and accepted worship of the Father - John 4:22-23
- Here again we have Him state in a most direct way His mission in this world - "I am the way, the truth, and the life B. LET US CONSIDER THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORDS OF OUR OPENING TEXT
- It is must be noted:
- That the way spoken of by the Lord is not a set of rules or a code of ethics, but a person
- What He meant to say to Thomas was, "If you wish to know the way to God the Father, I am that way; if you want to know the way to eternal life, I am that way; if you wish to know the way to heaven, I am that way
- Again, when Jesus says, "I am the way, He does not mean, "I am your example"
though that be true; He simply means to say that there is no other way for a sinner
to be saved - Acts 4:12
- Christ is the visible representation of the Father and the kingdom of heaven
- We cannot have either the Father or salvation outside of Jesus Christ
- "I am the truth"
- Here, again, we have Him speak of His person, and not of a theory. He is the truth personified
- He is the Word of God; the articulate expression of the thoughts of God John 1:1-3; Rev. 19:13
- The Bible is the written word of God and the Son of God is the Word made flesh
- He was with the Father from eternity and He makes known to man the truth about the Father
- "I am the Life"
Note the setting of our opening text - "I am the way, the truth, and the life" - these
three realities are inseparable.
- He is the way, because He is the truth
- He is the life because He is the way and the truth C. THE WORDS OF THE SON OF GOD AS RECORDED IN OUR OPENING TEXT ARE
- The complete gospel of Jesus Christ in a nut shell
- Just like John 3:16 is a summation of the gospel of God:
- You can take the sixty-six books of the Bible and place all messianic predictions into that one verse - John 14:6
- There were times when the Lord read certain prophecy and then closed the book with these very memorable words, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" Luke 4:21
- By this we mean to say that the Bible by enlarge, focus upon the person of the Son of God - John 5:39; 46-47
- The essence of our subject is:
- "God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" - John 3:16
- "And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" - John 1:14
- That is the reason why the Son of God turns to a fallen world and makes this
sweeping invitation:
- "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else" - Is. 45:22
- "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"- Matt. 11:28
- "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink" - John 7:37-38
- "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" - Acts 4:12