Jesus Said, "I Am the Way."

Photo of pathway by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash.

Once I arranged to meet a friend for buffalo wings in the neighboring state. I left work late and couldn’t go home to grab my phone to get directions. I was unfamiliar with the area, but I’d looked at a map that morning. I believed I could forge my own way to the restaurant.

My plan didn’t work.

I drove in circles for thirty minutes before stopping at a gas station and asking the attendant to use his phone for directions. After writing down the way, I took the correct route. Because I was late, we hurried through our meal before the place closed. The next time I brought my phone to ensure I knew how to get where I was going.

Similar to how I didn’t know where to find the food, Jesus’ disciples were confused about where He was going the night before He died. After Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus shared words of wisdom before the crucifixion. Jesus explained that His Father’s house had many rooms, and He was going to prepare a place for them. The disciples didn’t understand that Jesus was talking about His death.

John 14:5-6 says, “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (NKJV).* Thomas voiced the problem many have today. They have no idea who Jesus is or the way to reach Him.

Sadly, many people will spend eternity in hell because they spent their lives seeking pleasure instead of focusing on knowing God. Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Jesus clarified that He is the narrow way which leads to life.

When Jesus died for our sins, He made the way by which we can enter into the presence of the Father. He removed the sins which block our entry into heaven by nailing them to the cross (Colossians 2:14). The door to the Father was opened by Jesus.

We boldly approach the Father because Christ shed His perfect blood. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.” We walk through the sacrificed body of Christ and step into the presence of God. The blood of Jesus is the only path for anyone to get to heaven.

Jesus said He was the way not just a way.

Some people want to argue that Jesus is one of many methods to get to heaven. Jesus’ own words refute this notion. The Bible states no other name can offer the salvation we find in Christ (Acts 4:12). No other religion provides the security we have in Jesus. We serve the only God who sent His Son to die for us. We can’t earn our way into heaven. God gave us the gift of salvation which none of our good works could ever deserve (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Before people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah were called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26), they were originally called people of “The Way” (Acts 9:2). I imagine this naming convention linked back to Jesus calling Himself “The Way” and because His followers declared the way of salvation (Acts 16:17). May we be people of “The Way” who obey Christ and share with others to the only true path into heaven – through the blood of Jesus.

• How does knowing Jesus is the only way to heaven bring freedom from striving?
• Who in your life can you point to Jesus?

*All verses are in NKJV.