Soon before Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and crucified on the cross, he responded to a question from one of his disciples by saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That is an astounding claim. Just think about what Jesus was saying here.1
Jesus is the Way
In a world of many ways and religions, Jesus was claiming to be the way to God. This claim assumes what is taught throughout Scripture about our greatest need. All people everywhere, including you and me, have been created by God (Genesis 1:26–27), but we have all turned to our own ways (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:12). The Bible (and Jesus) calls this sin, and it separates us from God. Not only does it separate us from God, but it makes us guilty before God (John 3:19).
We all stand under the wrath of God due to our sin, and Jesus claims to be the only way to be saved from that wrath. John 3:36 puts it this way: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” By claiming to be the way to God, Jesus completely rejects the idea that all religions are fundamentally the same and equally valid.
We all stand under the wrath of God due to our sin, and Jesus claims to be the only way to be saved from that wrath.
Jesus is the Truth
Amidst a culture that questions truth, Jesus claims to be the truth. Our culture sets truth aside and says faith is a matter of personal taste or even tradition. So if you’re born in India, you’re likely Hindu. If you’re born an Arab, you’re likely Muslim. If you’re born in certain parts of the United States, you’re likely to be an atheist. If you’re born in other parts of our country, you’re likely to be a Christian. Faith is more a matter of tradition than anything else.
In a culture that sees faith as a matter of taste (whatever works for you) or tradition (whatever’s most acceptable around you), Jesus says that faith is a matter of truth: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). The exclusivity of Jesus’s claim to be the truth makes sense when you think about it because all religions can’t be true at the same time.
Either God does exist (which Christianity and other religions would claim), or God doesn’t exist (which atheism or agnosticism would either claim or lean toward). This is not a matter of taste or tradition; this is a matter of truth. Either God is or God isn’t. Either atheists are basing their lives on a lie, or Christians are believing a lie; they can’t both be right. Or think about Islam and Christianity. When it comes to the death of Christ, Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross. Muslims, on the other hand, deny that Jesus died on the cross. Regardless of which side you agree with, these belief systems cannot both be true at the same time. And our eternity hinges on whether we believe the truth.
Jesus claimed to be true—the true Son of God and who spoke the truth about God. A short time after Jesus said these words, he who had never once sinned against God went to the cross and died. He died in the place of sinners, taking on himself the just judgment of God due sin. Therefore, when you put your trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross, you can be forgiven of your sins and restored to God forever—not because this is your preference or your tradition, but because you believe in the One who is himself the truth.
The exclusivity of Jesus’s claim to be the truth makes sense when you think about it because all religions can’t be true at the same time.
Jesus is the Life
Many people in history have made astounding claims, but that doesn’t mean we should believe them all. Jesus claimed to have the authority to conquer death and come back to life, which sets him apart from other religious teachers. Whether it was Muhammad dying at 62, Confucius dying at 72, the Buddha dying at 80, or Moses dying at 120, the deaths of these leaders marked the tragic end of their stories. Jesus’ death, in a very real sense, was only the beginning. Three days after Jesus died, he rose from the dead. This makes Jesus utterly unique in the history of the world.
To all who long for peace and joy in life, Jesus claims to be the life. Which helps explain why he was always talking about eternal life.
- To a woman at a well, he said, “Everyone who drinks of this water [at this well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13–14).
- To a crowd of hungry people, he said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
- To a people looking at darkness in the world around them, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
- To people whose joy and peace were constantly being taken from them in this world, he said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Eternal life comes through Jesus alone. The question is, have you received eternal life through trust in Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life?
- This article is an adapted excerpt from David Platt’s message titled, “The Most Astounding Claim in All History.” ↵
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
