Jesus: The Way

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Today, I want to continue to look at Jesus' "I Am" statements.  This time in John 14, where Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  Now, back at the end of John 13, Jesus has told the apostles that he is going somewhere but they cannot follow, but that they would follow later.  Peter gets all hung up on the fact that Jesus is going somewhere and that he can't come with him now, but that is a story for a different day.  Then Jesus tells them in John 14 that he is going to prepare a place for them and that they knew the way to get there.

Thomas chimes in with a question.  In a Hughes' paraphrase, Thomas basically says, "Lord, we don't even know where you are going, how can we possibly know the way to get there?"  It seems like a legitimate question.  Jesus' answer is simple.  "I am the way."  Jesus is going to be in the presence of the Father, a place that they would be later, and Jesus is telling them that he is not pointing the way or leading the way to God.  He IS the way to God.  (In fact, He is God, John 1:1) After telling them that he is The Way, he tells them that "No one comes to the Father except through me."  Jesus is the one and only way to God.  He then tells them that since they know Jesus, they also know God.  Since they have seen Jesus, they have seen God.  The point is made further when Philip says, "Show us the Father and that will be good enough for us." (14:8)  Jesus responds, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you all this time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." Philip had spent three years walking around with God on Earth without really understanding that.  He was still asking to see God after spending three years with him.  It is likely that many, if not all, of the apostles where thinking along the same lines as Philip, and not really understanding what they were seeing.  

We all understand that later, all of these men, except Judas Iscariot, really do "see God."  By Acts 2 they are changed men, boldly declaring Jesus to the people of Jerusalem, and they continue through the book of Acts and for the rest of their lives. But for now, how sad is it that they see Jesus for three years without really "seeing" or understanding God?  In that light, is it possible that a person could be around the Church for several years without really seeing or understanding God?  We all know that it's possible.  (We all know some who are going through the motions, without really being close to God.  In fact, that could have been said of me at a few times in my life.)  So what can be done about it?  If that describes you, then understand that Jesus is the Way, and start digging deeply into a study of Jesus and see what you can learn.  Try to see Jesus in a new light.  Discover things about his character that you have never known before.  Believe me when I say that Jesus is a very deep well to draw from and none of us know it all.  If you are "seeing" God, then help others.  Be like John the Baptist and point the way to Jesus, because he is the way to God.