February 21, 2021

John 14:5-7, “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

These are some of the most famous words that Jesus ever uttered. They are one of seven “I Am” sayings in the gospel of John. In each of them, Jesus declares, “this is who I am, definitively.” So if you want to get to the essence of Jesus, go through these “I Am” sayings. This one is crucial. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In the early Christianity, the faith was called “The Way,” (Acts 24:14) based on this saying. The name “Derrick” is Hebrew for ‘the way.’ It’s an astonishing claim by Jesus - I am, individually, the way to be reconciled to God. And to call oneself The Truth is either accurate or the most arrogant claim a person could make. He affirms that to have Life is to know him. Jesus is the only person in the history of the world who could ever say these statements and not be a jerk. But they are his statements - and it helps us to understand the centrality of Christ, the centrality of the cross, and the unique path to salvation that we find in Christ.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Help me to contemplate the vastness of that claim and make it personal to me. Help me to believe this is true - that you are the only way a person could be made clean before God the Father. Thank you, Jesus, for offering your life for mine. Amen.”

40 Days of Joy: I think this song is best listened to with eyes closed, free from any distraction. But you can also watch it with this video attached. Your choice! But it’s Brian Eno’s An Ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlaTeXX3uH8