In John 14:6, Jesus makes the epic statement, “I am the way”, and not surprisingly, we read in Acts (Acts 9:2; 19:23; ) that the early believers were called followers of the Way. In his defence to Felix (Acts 24:14), even Paul says that the follows serves God according to the Way, which the Jews call a sect. But how does Jesus get to this mind-numbing statement in John fourteen? And, how does this section fit into the Jesus that John reveals in his gospel?
Many people are told to start reading the Bible in John’s gospel, especially when they see its size and are unsure where to start. Ironically, this is a question that rarely occurs to us when we pick up any other book, even Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Most people would answer the question, “why there?” by saying that John is easy to follow and understand; well, that’s true and not so true!
It seems that John’s gospel was the last book of the New Testament to be written down. All John’s fellow apostles were already dead, most of them executed for their faith in Jesus, starting with his own brother in Acts 12:2. Not only was this the case, but also a philosophy, which would plague the Church intently for the next four hundred years (and has continued to pop up again throughout history with different names but the same core beliefs) called Gnosticism, was starting to infiltrate the Church. Especially the churches he was working most closely with in Western Turkey. This Gnostic heresy was the product of trying to mix Jesus with the ideals of Greek philosophy. The result was a philosophy, and a group that believed it, which claimed a secret knowledge of Jesus while denying his core values.
John writes his gospel in a style that parodies the writings of the Gnostics. This parody can be seen easily in the opening section of the gospel, “in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Simple sentences that build logically on one another in a most logical way. However, this simplicity of structure and logical thought is a thin veneer over a profound understanding and appreciation of who God is.
It is not always apparent that John is starting his gospel with the same words that start Genesis. And his reason is the same: Jesus is the same God who met Moses in the back-side of the desert (Ex 3:1-2). For twelve chapters, John confirms that Jesus is the same God through his miracles and public ministry. So, this leading us to the beginning of Jesus primary teaching, starting in John chapter thirteen.
Matthew 5-7 is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus lays out his Kingdom manifesto by describing what life is like in God’s kingdom. This is repeated in Luke 6:27-49, but John takes a different approach and sets Jesus’ main teaching in the upper room where he shared his last supper with his disciples before going to the cross.
Starting in chapter 13, Jesus’ John starts teaching his disciples about his departure and the Spirit’s arrival. He never mixes his own identity with that of the Spirit in a way that we might when we try to reconcile the Trinity’s identity(s). Instead, he highlights the benefit of the Divine plan for his immediate disciples and all of us who will follow. His teaching begins at that point in the meal when Judas leaves to start the chain of events that would be Jesus betrayal. Even this section begins with Jesus washing his disciples’ feet – an opportunity for him to start his teaching on the subject of the attitude and exercise of Kindom authority.
It is into the flow of this part of his teaching that Jesus drops the bombshell of his departure. As elsewhere in John, he introduces this idea with a metaphor, a word picture; and it is this word picture that the disciples pick up on. Jesus uses the Father’s house’s imagery to reassure the disciples of their eternal connection with Jesus: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6). Not ‘a’ way but ‘the’ Way; and therefore Way, Truth, and Life—the real ones.
John 14:1-14
1 Do not let your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, [good then], believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if this wasn’t so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I should go and prepare a place for you, [then] I am coming to you again [and] will bring you to myself, so that where I myself am you also might be. 4 You know the way [to] where I am going.
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going; how will we be able to know the way?”
6 Jesus [answered] him, “I myself am the way; and the truth; and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 7 If you have known me, [then] you know my Father; and from now you will know Him and hear Him.”
8 Phillip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father [then], and it will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus replied to him, “How much time [have I spent] with you and you don’t know me [yet], Phillip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you [then] say, ‘show the Father to us’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you I do not speak from myself, but the Father who remains in Me is doing His works. 11 Believe in Me because I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or if not, believe because of these works.
12 Truly, truly I tell you the one who believes in Me the works which I myself am doing these also [they] will do and greater than this will [they] do so that the Father might be glorified by the Son. 14 If you ask me something in my name, I myself will do it.
(Own translation)