Sunday Preview: The Way, The Truth, and the Life

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus' disciples were deeply troubled by His impending departure. They had walked with Him, learned from Him, and placed their hopes in Him as the Messiah. Now, the prospect of losing Him left them feeling uncertain and afraid. Sensing their distress, Jesus reassured them, aiming to fill their hearts with confidence and trust. He told them, “You know the way to where I am going.” However, Thomas, confused by Jesus’ words, asked, “How can we know the way?” In response, Jesus made one of the most profound and exclusive statements of His ministry: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This assertion was nothing short of astonishing. But what exactly did Jesus mean when He said this?

Jesus is the Way
Jesus declared, “I am the way.” This was not just a direction but an absolute statement about His role in humanity’s relationship with God. Every person has rebelled against God and stands under judgment because of sin. John 3:36 affirms this reality: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” Jesus does not merely show the way—He is the way. There is no alternative path to God apart from Him.

This truth is echoed throughout Scripture. The Samaritans, after encountering Jesus, declared, “We have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus, proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). His testimony continued with, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). Even at the end of time, Jesus’ authority remains: “A time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28–29). Jesus alone provides the way to eternal life.

Jesus is the Truth
Jesus also claimed, “I am the truth.” He is not just a teacher of truth—He embodies truth itself. In a world filled with deception, half-truths, and uncertainty, Jesus stands as the supreme revelation of God. John 1:17–18 emphasizes this, saying, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.”

This is reinforced by John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the visible, living manifestation of God’s truth, and because of this, we can completely rely on Him in all that He does and is. There is no falsehood in Him, no misleading words—only the absolute, unshakable truth of God.

Jesus is the Life
Jesus also said, “I am the life.” Without Him, we would remain forever separated from God—spiritually dead and without hope. But in Jesus, God sent us “the life.” John 1:4 declares, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” This is not just physical life but the eternal, abundant life that only Jesus can give.

The Father has life in Himself, and He has given the Son this same divine ability: “For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). Jesus further emphasized this truth when He told Martha, grieving over the death of her brother Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26). Because of Jesus, death is not the end for those who trust in Him. He alone offers true and eternal life.

He is the Only Way
Jesus' words in John 14:6 leave no room for ambiguity: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” If you take away Jesus, you take away the way, the truth, and the life. There is no salvation apart from Him. Acts 4:12 affirms this exclusivity: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” No philosophy, no religious system, no amount of good works can provide salvation—only Jesus can.

As We Close…
This brings us to a personal question: What will you do with Jesus? There is no neutrality when it comes to Him. Either we accept Him as the way, the truth, and the life, or we reject Him and remain lost.
Will you receive His love? Will you call Him Lord? The choice is yours, but the truth remains the same—only through Jesus can we come to the Father.

Questions:

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the way and not just a way to God? 
2. In what ways does Jesus reveal the truth of God? 
3. How does Jesus bring life to those who follow Him? 
4. How do you respond to Jesus’ statement that “No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
5. What impact does Jesus’ claim—being the way, the truth, and the life—have on your faith?

OPENING / WELCOME
Rich Jacobs
SONG LEADER
Dru McLaughlin
PRAYER OF PRAISE
Nathan Armstrong
LEAD LORD'S SUPPER
Paul Braden
 ASSIST LORD’S SUPPER
Chris Terrian
Bob Hoopes
Josh Childers
Matt Ringle
SCRIPTURE READING
Boyd Hastings
John 14:1-6
PREACHING
Matthew Allen
CLOSING PRAYER
Dave Pennington
CLOSING COMMENTS
George Wacks
WELCOME CENTER
Tina Jacobs
USHERS
???
SONG DEVOTIONAL
Mark Ringle
COMMUNION PREP
Jeri Hastings
CLOSING THE BUILDING
Dan Spargo