“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV)

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (NIV)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

This is one of those statements from Jesus that is guaranteed to ruffle the feathers of the unbeliever in today’s culture. He’s bringing the sword that He mentions in ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭34‬: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These words are clearly divisive. More than that, they’re exclusive.

To the self-proclaimed “spiritual” individuals who don’t claim Christ as King, these words are offensive. The Christian faith bets its entire life on one man, and He is saying Heaven is only attainable through a relationship with Him. All other religions are wrong. They’re false, leading you not on the path to life but to death. But here’s the catch: while this reality is controversial and exclusive, all are invited! It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. Someday, when you die and if God were to ask you why he should allow you into Heaven, all you have to do is point at Jesus and say, “I’m with Him!” Your resume of moral deeds, faults, and failures go out the window, and you are handed Jesus’ perfect resume to use as your own. 

Here’s what’s important to remember in these three attributes describing Himself: you have to surrender to His way, you have to believe that what He declares as truth is the truth, but in doing so, there is life. Following Jesus and giving up things in your life becomes much easier when you realize that you will share an inheritance with Jesus. Eternal life. Following Him becomes light and easy when you experience glimmers of that eternal life here on earth as you step out of the fractured patterns of destruction you were stuck in and start living according to His design meant for our flourishing. 

This verse is a promise: place your faith in Jesus, and you will get the Father. And in Him our longings and desires are satisfied, because they were placed there by Him, for Him.

Written by Keaton Hewitt