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Sermon by David Groves at Wonersh Church on 30^th July 2006

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

John 14:6

Sermon 36

Tonight we continue our series in the names of Jesus. The name for this evening is ‘I am’. I want to talk about the impact of Jesus name on his statement ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’.

When I was a youngster, some time ago, my friends called me ‘Woody’. They also called me other names from time to time but the main name was ‘Woody’. I guess it had something to do with my surname of ‘Groves’. But the name ‘Woody’ immediately and uniquely identified who I was.

I tell you this because Jesus is referred to by over a 100 names in the Bible but there is one name which uniquely identifies who he is, that is the name ‘I am’.

In the Old Testament Exodus 3:14 Moses asks God what he should tell the Israelites if they asked him the name of God. God replies ‘tell them that ‘I am’ sent you’. God’s name is ‘I am’ which is pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah in Hebrew.

Jesus uses his name ‘I am’ in the Bible many times. This incensed the unbelieving Jews of his day. In John 8:58, when the Jews question Jesus’ authority, he tells them that ‘before Abraham was born, I am’. They were so infuriated they tried to stone him because they thought that Jesus was blaspheming and saying that he was equal to God. What they did not know is that he was God.

So in John 14:6 when Jesus said to the disciples ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’, Jesus is identifying himself as God in human form talking directly to his disciples and directly to us through the Bible.

So let’s look at the three things that Jesus says he is:-

Jesus said ‘I am the Way’

Jesus is the Way. But the way to where?

In the previous verses of John 14:6 Jesus says that he is going back to his Father’s House – that is heaven - and Thomas does not know how to follow Jesus there. Jesus replies that he is the Way to heaven.

How can a person be the way?

A number of years ago I was driving in Mexico with my family and looking for the Holiday Inn in Monterrey. It was getting dark and I was getting concerned that we couldn’t find it. So I stopped a taxi and asked him to drive in front of us to the Holiday Inn. He drove through some dark narrow streets and we followed. I was a little concerned about where he was leading us when suddenly we entered a brightly lit square and there was the Holiday Inn. The point I want to make is that if the taxi driver had given me instructions of how to get there I would have got hopelessly lost, but the taxi driver was the way.

So when Jesus said ‘I am the Way’ he is asking us to trust him and follow him. We may go through some dark alleys with him but providing we follow him we will be safe.

Following Jesus and obeying his commands is therefore the key to eternal life. Are we doing that? Do we really strive to follow him? Or do we believe that following Jesus is OK when he is going our way?

But of course we don’t always follow him or obey all of his commands and we sin. How often when we ask forgiveness of our sins are we asking forgiveness for the same sin? Sins which we consider ‘small’ or even ‘inconsequential’ and have become habitual in our life. Have we become so complacent to disobeying Christ regarding these sins that we unwittingly rely on his grace to save us? If this rings a bell with you, you need to ask yourself if you are abusing his grace.

But following Jesus is also about working for him. In James 2:17 he says that faith if not accompanied by deeds is no faith at all. In other words faith and deeds go together hand-in-hand. It is impossible to have faith without deeds. So do we really live our lives as Christians doing holy work as instructed by God? If not, what differentiates us from those who don’t know Christ? Ask yourself in all sincerity, who do you serve first in your life?

At the end of the Communion service we say the prayer which contains the sentence ‘Through him we offer our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice’ – the liturgy has its root in Rom 12 1-2. What exactly is a ‘living sacrifice’ that we are prepared to give our body and souls for? The passage in Rom 12 v 1 and 2 is all about sacrificing our own will and serving Christ first. In other our offer is to become Christ-centred and not self-centred.

So Jesus is the way to heaven – no other person can take you there because Jesus said that no one can go to the Father except by him - only he has accepted the death penalty for our sins on the cross so only he has the authority to decide who will enter heaven – there are no other ways to heaven and eternal life!

I was talking to a golfer the other day who said he was a Christian. His daughter was asking why he believed that Christianity was the right religion. He answered saying that all religions are like spokes in a wheel with God at the centre. This view is obviously contrary to Jesus teachings. But this incorrect view is not the only lack of understanding of the Christian faith. It’s surprising how many people who believe they are Christians because they never intentionally did anything wrong to anybody, or because they give to charity, or because they go to church on Sunday. They need to know that only faith in Jesus can save them from the ultimate death penalty and take them to heaven.

There can be no doubt that Christianity is an exclusive religion and many people I have met who say they Christians are unable to accept this – but although Christianity is exclusive it is open to all the people in the world.

But what about other religious faiths like the Muslims. Muslims don’t accept that salvation is through belief in Jesus so are they going to hell? And what about your children and friends who have not accepted Jesus as their saviour? This is why I feel it is so urgent that we use every God given opportunity to explain to our children, our friends and our neighbours the deadly position they are in so that they have the opportunity to turn to Jesus.

Jesus said ‘I am the truth’

Jesus said to Pilate ‘Everyone on the side of truth listens to me’. Pilate replied Jesus ‘What is truth?’

Reading the papers recently about what goes on in political circles you actually wonder what the definition of truth is. Truth seems to be whatever will give the person the power or protection they need.

Politicians are not alone in the truth stakes, telling little white lies often avoid problems. What answer do you give if your wife asks if she looks young in a dress?

So telling the truth all the time can be hazardous to our comfort zone if not our health.

Jesus said that he is the truth. He told the truth all the time regardless of the consequences and regardless of how unacceptable the truth may be. Jesus embodies the truth because he is God. Absolute truthfulness is part of God’s unchanging character. Many times we read in the New Testament that Jesus says to his listeners ‘I tell you the truth’ as he explains the relationship between man and God and what he expected of them and therefore expects of us. If he had lied to us then there is no hope for our eternal future, but his sacrifice on the cross, his resurrection and holy spirit prove he was telling the truth.

So do we really understand the truth of the situation we are in? The truth is that our short earthly life is our sole opportunity to know God. And in seeking God it is Jesus who tells us the truth about the relationship between God and man and the opportunity we have to receive the gift of eternal life.

Jesus said ‘I am the life’

What is life all about?

The answer could well depend on your circumstances. Thirty years ago I would have replied that life was all about career progression, supporting my family and paying the mortgage. But if I was living in Lebanon now the answer would be that life is all about finding peace and security

For many people in the UK life is about accumulating wealth. They measure their status in life by the possessions they own, and keeping up with the Joneses is the treadmill they’re on.

I remember a TV interview with Paul Getty when he was asked when he would have enough money and he replied he always needed to make just one dollar more. There are many people who have the same view and they never have sufficient to make them content. Others believe that living life to the full is about enjoying yourself – if it feels good for you then its OK.

Jesus said that he had come that we might have life to the full if we trusted and followed him. Paul said that those who are spiritually alive would exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control – these he called the fruit of the Spirit. And these are the virtues of a life that is lived to the full in following Jesus.

But the life that Jesus was talking about goes beyond our earthly life and includes life eternal with him. In John 3:16 the Bible says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him have eternal life. It does not say ‘will have’, it says ‘have’. In other words eternal life is Jesus free gift at the moment of belief in him. It surprising that many of us find it difficult to believe this and we think in terms of dying before we have eternal life. Jesus gave us a guarantee that he grants eternal life at the moment of belief.

When we buy electrical goods we are given a guarantee that it will work for one year or will be repaired or replaced free of charge. In fact by paying more you can get this guarantee extended. But there will come a day when the guarantee runs out and your own your own. The guarantee of eternal life that Jesus gives us never runs out and he promises never to leave us on our own. The fact that he is the life confirms that his eternal spirit within us is the guarantee that we will live forever.

I often think that if someone invented pills which enable people to live for ever he could sell them for a fortune as people clamored to sell everything they had to get the pill. But what Jesus is offering is eternal life as a gift and there are few takers.

Amen