The Highway to Heaven

In John 14:6 Jesus made a great claim about Himself when He said to Thomas, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." I can imagine how Thomas and all the disciples were stunned by such a proclamation. What does Jesus mean? To understand what Jesus was saying, first let me set the scene, the context in which Jesus made this statement.

In John 13 Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples and washed their feet. He spoke of His betrayal. He then told them that He was going away and that they could not follow for now. Peter, of course, said, "Why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake" (John 13:37). It was then that Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times before daybreak.

In the midst of this discussion Jesus turned to His disciples to comfort them. And they needed to be comforted! Judas was going to betray the Lord. Peter would deny Him three times. Jesus was going away and they can't go with Him—at least not for now. Could it get any worse? No wonder they needed to be comforted.

Throughout the history of the church, Christians have encountered various trials, and today is no different. It is in times of trial and hardship that our hearts are troubled. We question what is happening and we don't see how anything worse could come upon us. Then it is that Jesus comes alongside of us and comforts us with these words:

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1). And He continued, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (vv. 2-3). Knowing that Jesus will return and take us to be with Him should certainly be a great comfort for us.

Having promised that He would care for our every need in this life and having promised that we would be with Him through all eternity, He went on: "And where I go you know, and the way you know" (v. 4). And this is where Thomas jumped in, saying, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" (v. 5).

Then comes Jesus' famous statement, a statement that sums up the whole gospel truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (v. 6). Jesus' great promise—when you trust in Christ you find God. The way to God is through Jesus. There is no other way.

Notice here that Thomas was thinking location, location, location. "Lord, we do not know where you are going" (v. 5a). "We can’t find the way if we don't know where to go!" Jesus emphasized the way to the location or the highway: "I am the way," Jesus said (v. 6a).

Isaiah said, "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness" (Isa. 35:8a, KJV). That way is Jesus! There is no other way. Jesus alone is "the way" of salvation (John 14:6a). Jesus alone is "the truth" (v. 6a). Jesus alone is "the life" (v. 6a)—the very life of God, and He offers that life to you!

To possess the Son is to possess life, for "He who has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12a). "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Jesus is saying, "Don’t worry about all the details of the kingdom of God or anything else, just stay close to Me. I am the way. Follow Me." Indeed, follow Jesus, stay close to Jesus, He is the only way to God. Come to Jesus right now and be saved. There is nothing of more importance to do right now but to come to Jesus and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Amen.