In the New Testament, Jesus is recorded as saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” in John 14:6. This statement is often understood as Jesus claiming to be the only way for people to attain eternal life and to have a relationship with God. It suggests that Jesus is the only path to salvation and that it is through him that people can come to know the truth about God and the world. This statement is one of the central themes of Christianity and is seen as a key part of Jesus’ teachings.

John 14:5-6 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how are we able to know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

I am the way – By this is meant, doubtless, that they and all others were to have access to God only by obeying the instructions, imitating the example, and depending on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the leader in the road, the guide to the wandering, the teacher of the ignorant, and the example to all. See Joh_6:68; “Thou hast the words of eternal life;” 1 Pet. 2:21; “Christ – suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps;” Heb. 9:8-9.

Jesus Is the Way

There is no Gospel where Jesus talks more about the Father than here in the Gospel of John. We have already mentioned in the Preface that Jesus tells us the only way to God the Father is through Jesus Christ the Son. Think about what this means for a moment. Jesus told us in Matthew 7:21, “‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” The apostle John tells us, “The world is passing away, and its lusts; but the one who does the will of God [i.e., the Father] remains forever.” (1 John 2:17) Therefore, Jesus is “the [only] way” we can enter into an approved relationship with the Father. Why is this the way? Jesus said, “The Son of Man came … to give his soul as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28) Yes, Jesus remained faithful unto death and gave his perfect life, which corresponds to the perfect life Adam lost, as a ransom for anyone who wished to trust in him. If it were not for this ransom, we would not have access to the Father. The prophet Isaiah says that the Father is holy and that imperfect humanity and our sinful state ‘that separate us from the Father when we try to worship him so that he does not hear us.’ (Isaiah 6:3; 59:2) However, it was the sacrifice of Jesus that removed this barrier, giving us the necessary covering, or atonement, for our sins. (Heb. 10:12; 1 John 1:7) If we accept the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus and trust in him, we can not only regain access to the Father but gain his favor as well. There is no other way or path to that reconciliation with the Father.

Romans 5:6-11 Updated American Standard Version (U ASV)

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man one would dare even to die. ⁸ But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. ¹¹ Not only that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Jesus is also “the way” when it comes to our prayers to the Father. The apostle John writes, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Jesus himself said, “… whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” He also said, “… if you ask of the Father for anything in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in my name; ask and you will receive so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23-24) It is because of “the way” that Jesus’ Father now becomes “our Father.” (Matt. 6:9) Therefore, Jesus said of himself, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son does likewise. He also said, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:19, 30) Therefore, imitating the Son is imitating the Father. The apostle Peter tells us, “… because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps.”―1 Peter 2:21.

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