Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
He offered this statement as a comfort to a small group of disciples who in their imagination couldn’t understand His talk of leaving them. He was talking about dying.We know what He meant theologically but perhaps we, inadvertently, lifted John 14:6 from its context, forgetting that Jesus’ words were directed at their sorrow and not their understanding. It was part of a dialogue with Thomas and Philip. The Savior was addressing their sadness! He asked them to simply trust Him when nothing else makes sense! (John 14:1).
The Savior’s interest was in redirecting—not quenching— their hope. Even after His resurrection [Acts 1:6] they held tight in their imagination to a very Rabbinic idea about the Messiah that never made His death and resurrection a part of the equation.
For one, Jesus did not have to tell them that He would be returning to get them because He went away to build them an eternal Home to be with Him. How else would they “get there”?
And He didn’t have to say, “If it were not so, I would have told you,” as He did—as if He were saying, “I am no liar!” They knew Him to be truthful! It’s called “faith.” Some scholars interpreted this as a question [NLT, NIV, ESV, RSV] though this is only an unwarranted attempt at an explanation.
So for their imagination all they need hear is “I am going to prepare a place for you.” But for their sorrow He added, “I’ll be returning to get you; I want you to hold on to this: Why I’m leaving and why I’ll return.”
Godet, A French theologian from the 19th century, said it best. Jesus was saying, “If our separation were to be eternal, I would have forewarned you; I would not have waited until this last moment to declare it to you; [Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) explained, ‘I would have taken away from you a vain (empty) hope.’]”
If Godet and Grotius are right, Jesus’ words, on the eve of His crucifixion, were not offering an explanation as much as they were rerouting hope, His disciples’ expectations, what in their imagination they anticipated could or should happen. He seemed to say, “In your sorrow: Don’t lose hope; you are looking at this in the wrong way! Here is what you can anticipate and allow your hearts to rise above your grief. This is not the end of our journey together—only the beginning!
And then He added, “I am the way, the truth, and the life….”
He didn’t say, “I’ll show you the way; I am telling you the truth; Let me encourage you to go on living now in my absence.” This might sound like good counsel offering them a way to “cope” with sorrow, to be reconciled to a trauma, to give them a different perspective. He didn’t say I offer you advice or counsel. He said I offer you .. ME! I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
He put direction in our lives when He became the way; He defined Truth for us in an absolute and eternal sense—not each one having their own truth, but every believer having His because we have Him! It is not academic but relational. And He gave us a life to live that we might have joy and peace with eternal purpose. And in this revelation lies our hope while we live for Him, with Him, and await His return:
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
