The Way, the Truth, and the Life

The Gospel of John quotes Jesus as follows, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 ESV)  

Christians frequently use this verse to assert that Christians, and only Christians, will enjoy the eternal bliss of Heaven.  They use these words to exclude Jews, Muslims, and others from among people who God accepts. 

Regarding Jesus’ words in John 14:6, I raise these questions: Is the claim to exclusiveness an accurate understanding of Jesus’ words? Do these words of Jesus represent eternal truth?  Or, were they only true at the moment of time in which Jesus said them?

After his encounter with Cornelius, the Apostle Peter rejected such exclusion. He observed, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34-35 ESV) I agree with the Apostle Peter’s understanding.  So, I must disagree with the idea that only Christians exclusively will enjoy the eternal bliss of Heaven.

To my Muslim friends, this blog post focuses on this issue because it is one of the major issues that promotes Christian bias against Muslims and others.  It is an issue that prompts God’s Divine wink about the ignorance that separates good, God-fearing people who take their faith in God seriously. 

When Jesus said these words, he was answering a question that Thomas asked, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (Note that Thomas did not ask: Do all non-Christians go to Hell.)  Jesus then said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:5-6 ESV)

Jesus was simply answering Thomas’ question. So, I suggest that these words were only true at the moment of time in which Jesus said them, that they are not eternal truths.  Otherwise, the words tell a lie because others do come to God through other people. 

To illustrate, I begin with Abraham.  The one great contribution that Abraham made was to lead the Hebrew people to embrace monotheism and to shun polytheism and idolatry.  His own father was a polytheist and idolater.  According to Joshua, “Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.” (Joshua 14:2 NIV)  Abraham, in this sense, was also “the way, the truth, and the life.”  And nobody came to the only true God, but by him.

We could say the same thing about many of the Old Testament prophets, whose common warnings were to lead the Hebrew nation out of polytheism and idolatry.  They too were solitary voices that proclaimed “the way, the truth, and the life.”  And only through their prophetic voices did the repentant come back to the only true God.

Then we have those who came after Jesus–the Apostles and disciples that spread the Gospel after Jesus’ departure.  The book of Acts repeatedly referred to their message as “the way.”  Their work showed many people how to get right with the only true God, so they too were “the way, the truth, and the life.”  Most evangelical churches today use the Apostle Paul’s words far more than Jesus’ words to proclaim the Gospel.  So for many today, Paul’s words are the way, the truth, and the life, and they do not come to the Father, except through Paul’s words.

So God has used many people, both Christians and Muslims, to bring others to know the only true God, which is the way, the truth, and the life.

Note also that, right after Jesus says the words in John 14:6, he then says “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV)  These words show us that the words in verse 6 are not eternal truths, but truthful only when Jesus spoke them.  He essentially promises that others will exceed his efforts by showing the way, the truth, and the life, and thereby will bring people to God, our Heavenly Father.

In Jesus’ day there were basically two religious options:  Greek and Roman polytheism and the Jewish religious hierarchy.  A major portion of Jesus’ ministry was renouncing the excessive, oppressive absurdity of the Jewish religious hierarchy that existed in his day.  There were no other options, except the message of the Messiah.  So, yes.  At that time, Jesus could truthfully say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 ESV)

What examples does Jesus himself give that help us understand his assertion that he is, “the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me?”

Jesus’ words were, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27 ESV)

Jesus taught us how to pray.  He gave us the beatitudes.  He taught us to love our enemies. He taught us to practice our religion as a manifestation of our worship to God and not for the hypocritical purpose of attracting the admiration of people around us.  He taught us many eternal truths.

So with respect to leading people to know the only true God at that time, Jesus truthfully tells us in John 5:24 ESV, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

In John 17:3 ESV, Jesus prays for us, saying, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

These are the eternal truths that arise out of Jesus’ words when he says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 ESV) But we should not understand the words in John 14:6 to be eternal truth.  Many others have shown themselves to be the way, the truth, and the life, and have led people to know the only true God. I aspire to be one of them.

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