I Am the Way
Notes
Transcript
In an article written in USA Today about Ted Turner, Turner explained his view of life: “You know, I’m not looking for big rewards. I’m not a religious person. I believe this life is all we have. I’m not doing what I’m doing to be rewarded in heaven or punished in hell. I’m doing it because I feel its the right thing to do. Almost every religion talks about a savior coming. When you look in the mirror in the morning, when you’re putting on lipstick or shaving, you’re looking at the savior. Nobody else is going to save you but yourself.”
Pretty bold statement, but that doesn’t give me much hope if I’m looking in the mirror at me…when you look in the mirror, are you looking at the savior? But what Turner stated is really at the heart of the philosophy of religion.
Let’s compare for a moment religion vs the Gospel.
The basic beliefs of the world’s major religious systems consist of the basic teaching that salvation is found within, that you can save yourself. Always following a set of rules like the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, or setting yourself free from earthly desires so that you reincarnate to a more prominent position the next time around, or following the five pillars of Islam, or following the Torah. They all consist of works and how you perform in life.
Now, the Gospel is different. The Gospel teaches that we are completely unable to save ourselves. The world systems say, “look within” and the Gospel says, “the only hope you have is without.”
In the OT, the Jews followed a religious system living as if their works would justify them before God by keeping the OT Law. This was supposed to be a walk with God through life, but the people turned it in to something different.
13 The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.
This is where Jesus comes in, and why Jesus is so very important.
Looking into the world’s systems of religion, or let’s get very postmodern for a moment and say that you pick and chose and set up your own religious system, you chose to live by your own truth because no one has the right to impose a set of beliefs on you…you’re going to be just like the hamster stuck in a cage. You can see the freedom on the outside, and you can jump in the wheel you think is going to set you free…and you’ll just keep spinning. Why?
Somebody bigger than the hamster has to reach down, pull him out, and set him free. Friend, human effort isn’t enough. Human ability isn’t enough. Jesus is The Way, and He is teaching His disciples this all important truth in our text this morning.
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one 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 the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
12 “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Remember Jesus told them that He is going away…the Disciples were troubled. So He is now going to put everything He has into their hearts so that they are ready for what is about to happen to Him…the cross, resurrection, ascension, and then the Holy Spirit.
In this He’s told them He is going away, but that He is going to prepare a place, and will come back for them. The disciples must believe, faith, in the Lord’s promise. They must trust Jesus as His disciples, just the way we trust Jesus today.
Believe the Promise of The Way
Believe the Promise of The Way
Thomas quickly asks Jesus… “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” He doesn’t know the where or the way. Even though Jesus just told them in verse 4, “You know the way (present tense). It’s a past action with future results.
Thomas wanted a road map. He wanted a step by step, 10 rules of the road to guide him to the final destination, which he didn’t know where that was. But what Jesus was offering was not a map of rules, instruction, and guidelines, but rather a way of life.
That life was found in trusting Jesus. If the way is based on a set of rules, law, it is then based on human effort. The way is Jesus Christ…it is a walk with God.
So in 14:6, we have the moment of truth given to Thomas and the rest of the disciples in what seems to be a crisis of belief. It is in these moments we must trust Jesus and His Word.
He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This is the 6th of 7 “I am” statements, each pointing the exclusivity of Christ Jesus. By that I mean when Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” He did not mean, “I am one of many...” but rather I am the only one. When He said, “I am the light of the world,” He meant that He alone is the only light that can shine into the darkness. He isn’t just one of many lights…He’s the only one.
So here again, Jesus makes the claim, and those who preach tolerance are quite intolerant of this exclusive claim by Jesus. If you are one who thinks that Jesus is just one of many ways, then you don’t understand what Jesus is offering to you. This where Jesus differs from the other famous historical religious figures...
Let’s look at these three claims:
I am the Way - The Mode
Jesus is the WAY to Reconciliation with God.
While Thomas is wondering about the where, the real issue here is the WHO. The where and way that Thomas is looking for is the One talking to Him…the Who is Jesus.
Without reconciliation, there is no relationship with God. He is the only mode, or way of life in which we now live and move and have our being. It is only Jesus.
John 10:7-9
7 Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
9 I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.
Acts 4:12
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
I am the Truth - The Reality
He is the reality through which we come to God. He completely fulfilled and embodied the revelation of God to the world. He is the standard for what is real and true about God.
We need this revelation of who God is because of our own ignorance. Paul explained in Eph 4:18 that we are darkened in our understanding and alienated from the life of God because of ignorance…because of the hardness of our hearts.
So we needed the truth of who God is, and Jesus completely revealed this truth.
A.W. Pink wrote, “truth is not found in a system of philosophy, but in a Person - Christ is ‘the truth’: He reveals God and exposes man. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
I Am the Life - The Source
He is the source of eternal life for those who believe and follow Him.
We need not only to be forgiven but to be reborn and that new spiritual life comes from Jesus Christ.
4. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
This statement gets those who don’t like Jesus, and don’t like His exclusivity fired up real quick. The arrogance, self-centeredness of this statement does not go over so well. In fact Jesus would’ve been cancelled off of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and cable TV for making such a claim in 2021.
Why is this so offensive? Because it strikes a blow to our pride.
He said you cannot make it on your own, and we do not want to hear that. To accept Jesus as the text present Him requires humility, heavenly humility which has always been in short supply in the human heart.
He isn’t trying to win popularity, He’s telling you the truth. But again, He embodied truth.
Christianity is EXCLUSIVE
Not because of who it lets in - Jesus taught “anyone may come” so in the sense the Gospel is for any and all no matter your station in life. Jesus died for sinners, which includes all of us.
No one is beyond His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
When Jesus declares that he is “the way and the truth and the life,” he offers to mankind - every single person - God’s gift.
It is exclusive though because there is ONLY ONE WAY IN…Jesus. He is the Way, not just a way.
36 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.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.
The postmodern belief that there are many paths to religious truth is a lie.
Listen to FF Bruce:
“He [Jesus] is, in fact, the only way by which men and women may come to the Father; there is no other way. If this seems offensively exclusive, let it be borne in mind that the one who makes this claim is the incarnate Word, the revealer of the Father. If God has no avenue of communication with mankind apart from His Word…mankind has no avenue of approach to God apart from that same Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us in order to supply such an avenue of approach.” (The Gospel of John, 1983, p. 298).
Believe in the Person
Believe in the Person
When is enough enough? You ever sat down to a meal that is so good that you eat too much? There were lots of times as a kid my mother had to tell me, “You’ve had enough. Be satisfied.” Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father and that’s enough for us.” We will be satisfied Lord if you just show us the Father.
How much is enough for you to be convinced or satisfied with Jesus’ claim?
Jesus response…Philip, I’ve been with you now for 3 years…you do not know me?
Philip is asking of Jesus something that perhaps you’ve asked a time or two in your life… Lord give me a sign! We want a tangible sign of God’s presence and reality in our daily life. Especially when the crucible of life continues to tighten.
In fact, Bruce Milne writes, “His plea articulates the longing of the heart of humanity across all the ages to see and to know the living God.” Think of the OT and the people who experienced God in fascinating ways…Moses and the burning bush, Elijah and many others.
Such an experience in Philip’s mind would certainly cement the claims and cause of Christ.
“Show Us” - Philip is asking for a demonstration of God.
Elijah - 1 Kings 18:36-39
36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things.
37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
Jesus replied, “The one who has SEEN me has SEEN the Father.”
To SEE Jesus here is not to see him in person, the flesh, although that is certainly true for Philip. He physically sees Jesus.
To SEE means to see and in so doing you understand/comprehend Him. So if Philip understood Jesus, then he would understand the Father.
From day 1, Jesus was doing exactly what Philip asked for…He had provided a demonstration of God…If Philip had fully grasped who Jesus was, they would have known the Father.
I kind of relate in marriage when I do something and my bride says, “uh…you sound just like your father.”
But Philip, at this point, had missed that…but he will understand soon.
The unity of the Father and the Son is vitally important…Jesus has unlocked the mystery of God.
He reveals God because He is God. He shows us the Father because the Father is in Him.
They are distinct yet united of being.
He isn’t just a messenger…He is The Message of the Father…or the WORD.
Jesus isn’t just a manifestation of God, He is God manifested.
This is the distinction of the ages that divides true from false views of Jesus.
What is Enough for you? Do you remember the story of Elijah when he went to Mount Sinai tired and worn down from the struggle with Ahab and Jezebel…he needed reassurance of God’s presence.
11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.
God put Elijah on the mountain and gave him what he asked for…demonstration of God’s power. But the Lord was not in them was He?
Where did Elijah “see” God? the soft whisper. The quiet revelation of His Word.
In fact, Jesus gives us two reasons to believe Him…We’ve heard these before...
His Word - His Word is authoritative. He isn’t speaking on His authority but on Gods.
His Work - His works reveal His authority.
Listen, you might think that is not enough…it was enough for Elijah to hear God’s Word in the soft whisper. It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me. It is enough when I open the Word of God to find the reassurance I need to sustain and strengthen the faith I have in Jesus. It is enough to abide and remain in Him forever.
Believe in His Power
Believe in His Power
Speaking of work…we have work to do. Jesus commissioned the disciples as we discussed last week, and here we see this promise of God’s power to get the work done.
Jesus is not withdrawing from the disciples. He isn’t calling them to this way of life, and leaving them high and dry without any resources to accomplish the mission. He stated He is going ahead of them, but the promise is that He is going to still be active in them.
Jesus is transitioning these guys from spectating to participating in God’s purpose and work.
Two things Here:
Greater Works - Some take this an immediately start comparing the work of Jesus against the work of the disciples and then today the church.
But the comparison is between what Jesus did before He left, and what He did after and does since He left.
The disciples are just participants in the work of Jesus.
The ministry of the church is the Work of God.
Greater doesn’t mean more spectacular…but they’re greater in extent...
The Gospel is around the world now.
The Gospel is for every nation, ethnicity.
The Gospel has grown in massive amounts of people.
The Gospel does great spiritual work.
The distinction is found in what Jesus did on earth, and what He is accomplishing now from heaven through the Church.
We do the Work as we Pray
Now, Jesus promises to do whatever you ask…He promises to answer the prayers of His disciples.
So run home and start praying for all those things you want…new boat, new Tacoma, more income, scholarships for education, health…recite the magical formula and pray in Jesus’s name so it will all come true…we might think prayer is like the famous song from Pinocchio… When you wish upon star…makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you...
No…Jesus taught us how to pray...
It is to pray with the understanding the request you bring is one that will show the World who God is and what He cares about.
1 John 5:14
14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
The confident prayer is the prayer requested in faith according to His will. What is it that we pray for that will promote His mission?
We’ll see this more in depth when we get to John 17, but for now, know that praying the Father’s will involves praying for the mission and purpose of the Father.
Believe in Jesus Christ - John 6:40
Give thanks in everything - 1 Thess 5:18
Submit in doing right. - 1 Peter 2:13-15
Abstain from sexual sin. Sanctification - 1 Thess 4:3
John Piper, “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as wealthy.” - Desiring God.
Prayer is our lifeline in the work Jesus has called us to do.
Perhaps the reason so many churches are in decline is because we don’t know how to pray and we are praying for the wrong things.
THE FACT THAT YOU AND I CAN PARTICIPATE AS BELIEVERS IN THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF THE RISEN JESUS CHRIST IS FOR ONE REASON AND PURPOSE (END OF 14:13) SO THAT THE FATHER MY BE GLORIFIED IN THE SON.
Hear the promises of Jesus this morning and find rest and peace in Christ Alone:
You don’t need to rely on yourself, for Jesus is the Way.
You don’t need to live in uncertainty, for Jesus is the Truth.
You don’t need to live in fear of death, for Jesus is the Life.
You don’t need to keep searching for more, for Jesus is enough.
You only need to trust Jesus. This Gospel was written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.