Scripture: John 14:6
In Nazareth lived Jesus—no flashy cape, but His love shone like the sun. One afternoon, children gathered around Him, eager for His stories. Kneeling to their level, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” A little girl asked, “How do we follow You?” Jesus smiled and replied, “Show love to everyone you meet. That’s how you share My power.”
He then healed a sick man and comforted the sorrowful, gathering helpers—ordinary kids and grownups—inviting them to become superheroes of compassion. Jesus taught that the greatest superpower is love, and when we share His love, we bring light into the world.
This lesson for adult VBS is a blend of two separate biblical accounts. While Jesus did say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” he spoke those words to his adult disciples, not to children.
The events differ in the following ways:
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life”: Jesus said this to the apostle Thomas during the Last Supper in John 14:6, as he was preparing his followers for his upcoming crucifixion.
- Jesus and the children: In Mark 10 and Matthew 19, people brought young children to Jesus so he could pray for and bless them. The Bible records that he took the children in his arms and blessed them, but he did not make the “way, truth, and life” statement to them.
Instead, on that occasion, Jesus told his followers that the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like children.
Jesus is the way; the way of the cross.
He tells them that he is the way his way is the way that is, the same way that Jesus is walking (the way of the cross) is to be their way too. “Way” (hodos) is used only here in John. It’s the same term for the Christian movement in Acts 9:2, 22:4, etc. It can mean not only a road, a path, but also a practice. This Gospel ends with Jesus telling Peter, “Follow me” (21:19). Elsewhere Jesus has used the image of a path to speak of his own movement from God and to God. Now, the path becomes a road, a practice, an insight whereby Jesus’ disciples get to God.
In this Gospel, Jesus comes forward, looks his followers in the eye, and declares that he is the way. “I am… “ His declaration is graciously simple and absolute.
“I am the way… “ A person, rather than a doctrine or a belief, is the way. It’s similar to what he says elsewhere about being the Door and the Shepherd (10:7, 11), a saying much like Matthew 7:13f. Because Jesus is uniquely related to the Father, he is our way to the Father. Verse 14:7 is a statement about destination. When we see Jesus, we see the Father. To know Christ is to at last see God.
John 14:1 dares to assert that the one standing before us— this Jew who is soon to be crucified by an unholy alliance is our access to God. Here, standing before us is not only the “way” but also the “truth” about God.
Here, in this rich, expansive Gospel, is a faith that has “many rooms.” Jesus reassures his disciples that there is room for them in the Father’s house (v. 2). “House” (oikia) can also mean “household” or “family.” Jesus is the way we are adopted into God’s rapidly expanding family.
(There is no way for people like us to get to the Father—but now Jesus has generously opened one (Heb. 10:20). In fact, in verse 7, Jesus gives explicit reassurance of the openness of his embrace. In his Father’s home, there are many rooms (v. 2). Thomas can’t figure out how to get there (v. 5). To this, Jesus reiterates, “I am the way…” (v. 6). To Philip’s obtuse, “Show us the Father” (v.8) Jesus reiterates, “I am in the Father.”)
He is the way. For all those earnest seekers who have longed to see God, Jesus graciously reveals the way. He is the way that God has made to us; he is the way that we get to God and God gets to us.
Jesus ends what we thought to be an exclusivistic discourse with an inclusivistic bomb: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold” (10:16). What? You mean that we—a persecuted minority who are giving our lives to follow Jesus are not the only “sheep” God has got?
There are a number of possible ways to preach this, “I am the way…” One way is to think of this as the extravagant poetry of love. The community that first heard these words and recorded them in John’s Gospel is a group of people who are swept up in loving infatuation of Jesus. They have suffered dearly for their love. Most people in love are firmly convinced that their beloved is “the one and only” for them. These words are written by followers of Christ to followers of Christ to strengthen their love and fidelity to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. The language is passionate and personal, centered not on a set of doctrines or beliefs, but rather on a person, a Savior who is the Beloved.
Our great evangelistic challenge as preachers is not to exclude—it’s not up to us to decide who are and are not his valid “sheep.” Rather it is our tough task to keep pointing toward Christ’s peculiar way as the way, the truth, and the life, to pray that in our preaching more sheep might hear his voice.
