6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, an
d the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
First, brief context and backstory:
This statement, among the most “radical” ever spoken by Jesus was made in response to a question that Thomas posed in the previous verse while Jesus and the disciples were gathered in the upper room for the last supper before His arrest:
John 14:5 – Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Jesus, being the only one with the knowledge of what was to come, answers in a very paradoxical fashion. His way was by the cross; His conviction was forced by liars; His body would soon lay lifeless in a tomb. Because he took the cross as the way to the Father, He is the way to the Father; because he did not validate the lies of his conviction, He can be believed as the truth; because He was willing to die, He became the avenue of resurrection, of our eternal life.
This however does not address why “No one comes to the father except through me” is such a “radical” or controversial statement. To some degree, this has always been controversial. However, in secular America in 2017, as a bible believing and practicing Christian, making such a “bigoted”, “closed-minded” statement of certainty is grounds for public ridicule, chastisement, sanction, and even figurative lynching. For the Muslim, Buddhist, Secular Humanist, and many others, “Jesus Christ and Christianity are fine for those who believe and accept Christ as the path to God, but we have our own path to God or mode of operation for the afterlife.” Of course for the Atheist, the conversation is simply ridiculous because nothing exists after we die. My heart hurts for all these folks because their confusion is a result of their permanent separation from the Father as they have denied a relationship with Christ and have not accepted Him as Lord and offer no repentance to Him.
More troublesome however, are the number of self-proclaimed, bible-believing, church attending Christians, whom when asked, believe that there may be other possible ways to get to heaven or to God the Father other than by the salvation provided only through Jesus Christ (some recent polling indicates that these numbers are as high as 40%). To these folks I would say simply this: Jesus is the only way to God. To deny so, means that you are NOT a bible believing Christian; you may subscribe to some watered-down, liberal, progressive Christianity which is nearer to spiritual suicide than salvation. Pastor David Guzik, author of the Enduring Word Bible Commentary offers this:
“The Bible tells us that Jesus is the only way to God. How can we say this? We begin with the basic truth that Jesus is at least a way to God. Was He a true or a false prophet? Was He at the very least an honest man? If Jesus is a true prophet – or at least an honest man – then what He said about Himself is true. Therefore, Jesus is the only way to God.”
“Simply put, if Jesus is not the only way to God, then He is not any way to God. If there are many roads to God, then Jesus is not one of them, because He absolutely claimed there was only one road to God, and He Himself was that road. If Jesus is not the only way to God, then He was not a honest man; He was most certainly not a true prophet. He then would either be a madman or a lying devil. There is no middle ground available to us.”
#RadicalMen – Heed this warning – if you and/or your family are attending a church, small group, bible study, or the like and are NOT operating under the truth that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father – GET OUT! Find a new church, a new small group, or a new bible study.
For every party involved in this conversation, the self-proclaimed liberal progressive Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Secular-Humanist, Atheist, and the like, here is the long and short of it: Jesus Christ IS “The way, and the truth, and the life” and NO ONE gets access to the Father GOD except through Him.
How do I know? He said so! And for me to proclaim this truth in the year 2017, in secular America does not make me a closed-minded, arrogant, bigot. In fact, my mind has been opened by the realization that all the trouble, confusion, and heart-ache I have ever experienced has been during times when my mind was closed off to the truth that Christ IS THE WAY. I am no longer arrogant in my belief that I have it “all under control” and can make my “own” truth to control my “own” life. And bigoted? Grace through faith in Jesus Christ and the resulting salvation and eternal life with God is available to ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE! Black or white, rich or poor, young or old, man or woman, gay or straight, slave or free, from any corner, crook, or crevice of the earth – ALL ARE ACCEPTED with the acknowledged common ground of the truth reveled through Jesus Christ. That my friends is NOT bigoted, but it is EXCLUSIVE as Jesus is the EXCLUSIVE way to the Father.
#RadicalMen – The enemy will continue to use the lie of moral relativism to confuse those not wearing the “whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). Christ provided the WAY for you with His victory on the cross; refuse to validate these lies of the enemy so that the TRUTH of Christ can shine through; remember that Jesus Christ is the exclusive way to the father – that is our LIFE.