JESUS, THE ONLY WAY
John 14:6-9 NLT
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?
Chapters 13-17 are some of the last and most profound words of Jesus. In our four verses for today are words that cannot be overlooked. For those who have defined Jesus as a great moral teacher, His words in these verses are too definitive and too strong to be ignored. You cannot be a great moral teacher and make the claims Jesus makes. He either is or is not exactly what He declares. Moral teachers do not claim to be the only way to God.
What Jesus says in verse six makes Christianity exclusive. For those who like to propose that there are many paths to God, the statements Jesus makes in this verse make Him either a crazy man or exactly who He says He is. He declares that He is the way, the truth, and the life. That is definitive. And His next statement goes even further. “No one can come to the Father except through me.” This is an extremely profound statement. This makes absolutely no room for any other religion. That may sound harsh, but Jesus was not trying to be harsh; He was stating a fact. There are not many paths to God. There is not a way for people to be good enough to be accepted in God’s sight. Jesus is the dividing line. Those who receive Him and go through Him have acceptance with God. Those who take another path are left out. This fact makes people angry. But their anger changes nothing.
And Jesus was not done with profound truths. Jesus declares that if you know Him, you know who the Father is. And here is the kicker. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. How about that for boldness. Jesus is not trying to be arrogant. He is telling the truth. Jesus is the revelation of the Father God. This is a key reason why, when people attribute some disaster or horrible event to God, I look to Jesus. Did Jesus hurt anyone during His time on earth? Did Jesus make anyone sick? Did Jesus steal or take from the poor? The answer to all of these questions is no. Jesus is the revelation of the Father. Jesus only did the will of the Father. Jesus went around doing good and healing those oppressed by Satan. Jesus calmed storms; He did not start them. Jesus fed the poor; He did not watch them suffer with hunger. Jesus did good because the Father is good.
Jesus seemed disappointed that Phillip did not recognize Him as the expression of the Father. But Phillip was not alone then and is not alone now. Many today do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God and the revelation of who God is. But we’ll keep proclaiming the truth. Some may scoff. Some may get angry. But some will believe. Jesus said the way to life was a narrow way, not a broad way. Our job is to point the way to the right path. Jesus, the only way!