The Only Way: Jesus claimed to be the way and the truth and the life. He claimed to be the only way to know God and find salvation. But how can Jesus be the ONLY way? Isn’t that unbearably narrow? Isn’t that offensive to people who do not believe in him? Not only does this make sense through the lens of having a personal relationship with God, but Jesus points to his own words and works as evidence that he is who he claimed to be. Recorded on Mar 13, 2022, on John 14:1-14, by Pastor David Parks.
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This message is part of The Supremacy of Christ sermon series. The Christian gospel claims that Jesus is far greater than anyone or anything. And it’s true that his first coming was marked by humility, suffering, and even death on a cross. But is that how Jesus is today? Absolutely not. Jesus has risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God. Today, Jesus reigns and rules over all of creation and will one day return in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re focusing on, The Greatness of God. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series called The Supremacy of Christ. The Christian gospel claims that Jesus is far greater than anyone or anything. And it’s true that his first coming was marked by humility, suffering, and even death on a cross. But is that how Jesus is today? Absolutely not. Jesus has risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God. Today, Jesus reigns and rules over all of creation and will one day return in glory to judge the living and the dead. But if we fail to get this vision of Jesus, high and lifted up, supreme over all, we’ll have all sorts of problems in our life and faith. We started our series last week with the story of the transfiguration. And we saw that Jesus came into the world from the eternal glory of heaven, is raised today, in that same incredible glory, and will one day return in glory for all to see. No one is more glorious than Jesus. Today, we move to what some have called the exclusivity of Christ, the seemingly arrogant or at least offensive belief that Jesus is the only way to God. Did Jesus really claim this for himself? Let’s find out. If you have a Bible/app, please open to John 14:1.
John 14:1–14 (NIV), “1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
The gospel of John was written by one of the closest friends and followers of Jesus. Last week, we saw that Jesus only brought three witnesses to the transfiguration, and John was one of them. John started following Jesus as a young man and was appointed by Jesus to be one of his apostles or eyewitnesses of his life and ministry. John’s gospel is the result of that assignment by Jesus. Let’s work back through this text together, starting with v.1.
John 14:1-4 (NIV), “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” A great question, whenever you open the Bible is, “When is this happening?” Time plays a major role in understanding the context of any given passage which helps us understand and interpret the text. So John 14 is Jesus teaching his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. Before he would be falsely imprisoned, accused, condemned, beaten, and killed, whatever Jesus would say would of course be very important. And what do we find? Amazingly, Jesus isn’t looking for his friends to comfort him. He’s comforting them. Even to the end, he came to serve/love/give, not to be served. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He says. The truth is that there will be rough times ahead. There are going to be times of weeping and mourning. There will be expectations and hopes that you have that will be dashed. But there is hope. Jesus says, “You believe in God; believe also in me.” Put your hope in me and you will not be disappointed. Then he says, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” Jesus is talking about God the Father in heaven. His Father’s house is the kingdom of heaven. And in his house/kingdom, there are many rooms, many dwelling places, there’s room for all. Notice the heart of Jesus for us. That he would be with us, that he would be our God and we would be his people. In death, and then later after the ascension of Jesus back into heaven, Jesus would go away from his disciples. That might be scary. But he assures them, and by extension, us today, that if he goes to prepare a place for us, he will one day return and take us to be with him. He finishes this speech by saying, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” But the response of Thomas reveals something very interesting. Look at v.5.
John 14:5-6 (NIV), “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Thomas is known as doubting Thomas because of his response to the resurrection of Jesus which we’ll look at on Easter Sunday. But here, Thomas reveals that maybe the disciples are not tracking with what Jesus has been saying for at least weeks up until this point. On at least three different occasions recorded in the gospels, Jesus spoke plainly about needing to go to Jerusalem to die, but on the third day, he would be raised back to life. Here, he says he’s about to depart, but he’ll return. He’s talking about his Father’s house, the kingdom of heaven. But the disciples are wondering, where is Jesus going?? Sorry, Lord, but we don’t know what you’re talking about or where you’re supposedly going. How can we know the way?? Now, this is interesting to me because it is sometimes thought that the Bible was made up by the church in order to secure power and influence over people. But if you were making this up, would you include the part where the leaders of this early movement failed to understand the most important things the founder of the religion was going to do, the things that would bring salvation to countless billions of people? You’d never include that if you made this up. The only explanation for these little embarrassing details in the gospels is that they actually happened.
But how does Jesus respond? With contempt or ridicule? No. With grace and abundant patience. And with the amazing statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” How can you say that you don’t know the way? I am the way! Jesus is the way, the only way, because he is perfectly true and he is life itself. Jesus perfectly reveals what is the most important fact of reality, which is the fullness of the character and the works of God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. But also, Jesus is the source and sustainer of life itself. He says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” If this isn’t true, this would be an outrageous claim. Because Jesus is saying, all other truth claims about the nature and purpose of reality are false. I am the only way to God. Many people believe that Jesus was a great teacher or a great leader. I think many modern people have that picture in their minds of Jesus. But this would not make Jesus the only way to God. Maybe one way of many. Maybe even one of the best teachers or leaders in the history of the world, but not the only way. Other people today believe that Jesus was a great prophet. This is what many Muslims believe about Jesus, that he was a prophet, just like Moses or Isaiah. But they do not believe that Jesus is the only way to God. But this is what Jesus claims to be, this is who Jesus says that he is, the only way. But given the fact that the disciples, or at least Thomas, are confused about what he was about to do, what evidence does Jesus give them to help them understand? Look at v. 7.
John 14:7-11 (NIV), “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” Here, Philip gets in on the conversation. Maybe Philip heard about the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and wanted his own experience of the glory of God? Philip is looking for a dramatic, spiritual experience from Jesus. “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Oh, is that all, Philip? Is that all you need to believe? But that’s not all that hard to understand, is it? Have you ever thought how much easier it would be if God were visible to us? If we could just look over and see him or have our friends and family members who do not believe in God be able to just see him, even for a second? Maybe Philip’s question is one we would have asked. Can I just see God? But again, notice the patience of Jesus. “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” This is another outrageous statement. No one comes to the Father except through me. And anyone who has seen me has seen God. Again, this is who Jesus claimed to be. But Jesus goes on to say that if that is hard for you to believe, as it was hard for his disciples to believe at first, look at my words. Look at my deeds. Are these not the words and works of God? At least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Jesus never expects us to have blind faith. In the record of the Scriptures, we have evidence of God’s goodness and holiness and justice and love that span countless generations. We see God’s faithfulness from creation on down. Why? Because these things help us get to know God in a personal way. The faith we have in God is faith in a personal being who can be known through the person and work of Jesus. There’s more to say about this, but first, let’s finish with v. 12.
John 14:12-14 (NIV), “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This teaching ends with one of the most amazing promises of God in the Bible. That whoever believes in me. Not just the Apostles/pastors/theologians/heroes of the faith. Whoever. Anyone, even you! If you believe in Jesus, you will do the works he did, and, Jesus says, you will do even greater things than these, because Jesus is going to the Father. Now certainly nothing could be of greater importance than the salvation delivered once and for all by the death of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. So many people have sought to understand what Jesus means by saying that his disciples would do greater works. One possibility is that because of the sheer number of eventual believers, the volume would be greater than the volume of ministry done by Jesus alone. Another possibility is that by the time Jesus would go to be with his Father, after his death, resurrection, and ascension back into heaven, the whole mystery of the gospel would be made known. So the ministry that the followers of Jesus would do after Jesus returns to his Father would be greater because the mystery would have been revealed and the time of salvation was at hand. I think this final understanding of the greater works is the most satisfying and is supported by the example that Jesus gives in prayer. “You may ask me for anything in my name,” that is, you can ask anything that is in line with the gospel and with the character of God, “and I will do it.” Jesus says. What an amazing promise. Is that how you see your life/faith? As being able to do even greater things than these things we read about in the Bible? Why? Because Jesus is risen and is raised and is seated at the right hand of God. He has gone to prepare a place for us and will one day return to take us to be with him. But the only way that works is by faith in Jesus.
So, there is no other way. There are not many ways. According to Jesus, he is the way, the only way. No one comes to God, no one gets to the Father/salvation/heaven, except through him. So what does this mean for us today? Well, of course, this has wide-ranging implications for everyone, but let’s address the fact that this is one of the most offensive claims of Christianity to non-Christians. Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way? How can you say that? Isn’t that unbearably narrow and exclusive? How can you say you have the only way to God/truth/life? Isn’t it better to say that Jesus is just one of many ways to God? There are several things to say, first, in his book, The Reason for God, Tim Keller, writes, “It is no more narrow to claim that one religion is right than to claim that one way to think about all religions (namely that all are equal) is right. We are all exclusive in our beliefs about religion, but in different ways.” [Keller, Timothy. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (p. xiv). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.] Tim is right in saying that the belief that no one religion is the only way is in itself a statement of faith. You can’t prove it. Everyone, in a sense, believes that their way is the only way. If you don’t believe that Jesus is the only way, that just means you believe in your way more than his. So maybe it’s not as offensive as you might think, because everyone makes exclusive claims about what they believe, whether it’s Christians or secular atheists, or anyone.
But second, and finally, Christianity says that the way to be saved is by a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, said Jesus. There’s a personal knowledge of a personal God that is required. So do you see why this would have to be an exclusive type of relationship? This is just how real relationships work. For example, my marriage covenant was not made to just any woman or to women in general. My wife is not a concept, she’s a single person who, let me assure you, is very real. She has a name and a personality and specific expectations and rights when it comes to our relationship. How could it be any different in a relationship with God? We are not saved by a relationship with just any god or to gods/goddesses in general. Rather, the gospel says that we are saved by a relationship with a single God who is also very real. In fact, he is the basis for all reality. And he has a name and a personality and specific expectations and rights when it comes to our relationship, such as, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex 20:3). The only way to a personal relationship with God is through Jesus. You want to know what God looks like, what his character is like, or how he acts in the world? Look to Jesus. You want to know what God sounds like or cares about or how he would want you to live? Listen to Jesus. If you’re not a Christian yet, or you’re new to the way of Jesus, I would suggest that you spend a lot of time looking at the works of Jesus in the gospels and listening to his teaching. Look/listen and see what you think. Are these the words/works of God? Decide for yourself, but don’t reject him until you do. But if you are a Christian today, then commit yourself again to following his way and doing his works. Jesus is greater than anyone and anything. And he has promised to do even greater works through you because he has returned to his Father. Praise God.