BACKGROUND

“According to the church fathers, John wrote during the last decade of the first century, when Domitian sought worship and persecuted the church.3 John was the last of the generation that personally experienced the earthly ministry of the Lord. John 14 promises a Trinitarian presence, through the indwelling Spirit, that carries obedient believers through trying circumstances with a gifted love, joy, and peace. This article expounds a portion of the chapter, where Jesus’s announcement of his departure had prompted in his disciples fear that they would be abandoned. Its governing theme is that believers’ greatest comfort in the world is the presence of God.” John Burns, “John 14:1-27: The Comfort of God’s Presence,” Bibliotheca Sacra 172 no 687, 300.

Addressing the hopeless feeling of being lost and alone…

Jesus knows the way and the disciples do not, they must rely on Jesus to show them the way. J A Du Rand, “A Story and a Community: Reading the First Farewell Discourse” Neotestamentica 26, 37.

READ SCRIPTURE John 14:1-6

Three simple truths today: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. So let’s talk about what that means…

JESUS IS THE WAY

“…Christ’s claim ran counter to what the religious teachers taught the people. They said that the way to God was through religious observance; Jesus said the way was through him. Indeed, Jesus had already indicated in this Gospel (and it will become even clearer later) that the way to God is through the death he would die on the cross. Faith alone in that gracious work is the way whereby sinners can be made right with God, not religious performance.” Opening up John’s Gospel, 121.

“In this context Jesus does not simply blaze a trail, commanding others to take the way that he himself takes; rather, he is the way. Nor is it adequate to say that Jesus ‘is the way in the sense that he is the whole background against which action must be performed, the atmosphere in which life must be lived’: that assigns Jesus far too passive a role. He is himself the Saviour, the Lamb of God, the one who so speaks that there are those who are in graves hear his voice and come forth.” Pillar Commentary John, 491.

“way” does not refer to directions for a journey, but rath er a commitment to follow Jesus in the Spirit as in John 12:26” Burns, 304-5.

I would say Jesus made a claim to being the exclusive way to God, contra Wallis.

He writes, “Given the historical context from which the Fourth Gospel emerged, one of a community under threat in search of self-definition,¹² it is unlikely to include an exposition of the role of the Logos outside the Incarnation so conceived. That said, 2,000 years on, we are invited to reflect on the intimations that can be discerned within its pages and explore their implications for a world where Christian witness coexists alongside the testimony of those who claim to encounter God through different manifestations … of the divine Logos?” Ian Wallis, “Difficult Text: John 14:6 – is Jesus the Only Way?” Theology 124 no 5, 364.

JESUS IS THE TRUTH

“Fundamental to Jesus’ response to Thomas’ question was that Jesus himself is the way – that he is the truth and life are supporting statements. Jesus is the way to the Father primarily because his death made access to the Father’s presence possible for sinful human beings. He is also the way to God because he is the truth: he brought the truth of God into the world (1:14, 17; 8:32, 40, 45-46, 14:6; 18:37), proclaiming it and embodying it. Therefore when people come to Jesus, they come to the one in whom the truth about the Father is found.” Tyndale Commentary on John, 293.

“Firstly, truth is not abstract or supra-historical but revealed in the actual personal life of the Word made flesh. This looks back to the point made with reference to the Synoptics about the correspondence between word and deed in the life of Jesus Christ. Secondly, Christ is also the truth because he is the revelation of God, and therefore his own witness is valid. Thridly, truth also stands in opposition to deception or falsehood. In the case of divine revelation, this means that Christ is both truth and reality.” NIDNTT vol3, 892.

“One of the most striking features of John 14:6 is that Jesus declares that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That is, these nouns are somehow personified in him. This is also a feature oftruth in Psalm 43:3, which is one of only two places in the OT where God’s “truth” is said to be “sent”. The other text is Psalm 57:3. In the latter Psalm there is a measure of similarity with the situation portrayed in Psalms 42 and 43 in that God will send his mercy (חסד (and truth (or “faithfulness”, אמת” (as it were, as his messengers” (Weiser 1962: 427) to aid the oppressed sufferer, but in this case it is not clear that these qualities are personified.” Alistair Wilson, “Send Your Truth: Psalms 42 and 43 as the background to Jesus’ self-description as ‘truth’ in John 14:6,” Neotestamentica 41 (1): 225.

Verbal Connections (truth, trouble); Conceptual Connections (truth sent to those in the midst of trouble, God’s house as a place of his dwelling). Wilson, 226-7.

“God’s Word is true, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14) So the truth is the life of Jesus – which is to be manifested in us. (2 Corinthians 4:10) When we compare His life to our own lives and see how enormously different the two are, then a light turns on for us. The truth is that light which shines into our lives and reveals what we are really like by nature. It reveals the way that we must walk on in order to be transformed into the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29)” ActiveChristianity. https://activechristianity.org/what-did-jesus-mean-when-he-said-that-he-was-the-truth. Accessed 6/23/2022.

^They argue that the “truth” of Jesus convicts, transforms, and glorifies believers…

Preaching points from Lifeway…

            “TELL THE TRUTH TO GOD

"I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity." 1 Chronicles 29:17

Do you know that repentance is agreeing with God. His word says that I’m a sinner. I might decide to say, no, I’m not so bad, I’m better than my neighbor, you ought to hear the whopper lies he tells. But if I’m honest, I’ll agree with God about my dishonesty.”

TELL THE TRUTH TO YOURSELF.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with being honest with myself. I deceive myself about how hard I work, about how pure my motives are, about how much time I really spend with God, how good I’m eating, etc.

Let me give you an example: (this is an excellent place for you to share how you struggle with being honest with yourself about your golf score, your actual weight, or another area)

TELL THE TRUTH TO OTHERS

Begin with those closest to you. If you and your wife are struggling in the intimacy part of your marriage – you need to try a little honesty.

Get honest with your kids.

Get honest with your co-workers.” Craig Webb. https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/sermon-jesus-truth-life-john-14. Accessed 6/23/2022.

JESUS IS THE LIFE

“Jesus speaks of himself as the ‘bread of life’, and in 11:25 he says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ All these texts reflect the fact that the life of God was found in Jesus. Therefore, when people come to Jesus they come to the one in whom the life of the Father is found, and in this sense also Jesus is the way to the Father.” Tyndale Commentary on John, 294.

CONCLUSION: End of the verse

Something about the Barmen Declaration as described in Dr. Richard Burnetts keynote at TM 2020. https://theologymatters.com/conferences/2020-conference-keynotes/2020/jesus-christ-is-the-truth/. Accessed 6/23/2022.

“it is totally inadequate to claim that one knows God, on the basis of the antecedent revelation of bygone epochs, while disowning Jesus Christ. Indeed, the test of whether or not Jews in Jesus’ day, and in John’s day, really knew God through the revelation from the Father, Jesus Christ himself, to which the Scriptures, properly understood, invariably point.” Pillar Commentary on John, 491.

This statement from Jesus flies in the face of the “live your truth” movement. From the research I’ve done on this movement, Jesus’ statement conflicts with at least three of the tenants of “live your truth” thinking. It conflicts with “Living according to your values; Sourcing your sense of power and self-worth from within; and honoring your gut feeling and intuition alongside analytical thinking.” Chad and Shelly Prevost. https://www.bigselfschool.com/post/how-to-live-in-your-truth. Accessed 6/23/2022.