I am the way, the truth, and the life

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus aid to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

- John 14:1–14 

 

In our previous reading and commentary, Jesus spoke of the light and the darkness in this world, as He approached the certainty that the religious leaders would have Him put to death.  He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.    

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you."  Our lectionary readings today begin at chapter 14.  The setting is the Last Supper.  The lectionary has skipped over John 12:37-50, and John 13, which included the washing of the disciples' feet by Christ, the revelation of His betrayer, and His prediction that St. Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.  Jesus also taught the disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."    This commandment of love is new because of the standard it sets:  the love Christ shows.  He will die not only for His friends, but even those enemies who might be saved by His death.  My study bible comments regarding the image of many mansions that this is a word-picture of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus aid to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Similarly to the way He spoke of Himself as the light of the world, here Jesus speaks of Himself as the way, the truth, and the life -- the One by whom all may come to the Father.  My study bible comments that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Christ is the life who became Man so that we might have life, and as He is our life, not even death can hinder us from coming to Him.  It says that only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  The way is a translation of a Greek word that also means "path" or "road."

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"   On the statement, he who has seen Me has seen the Father, my study bible observes that our response to Christ determines our relationship with the Father.  It notes that if we reject Christ then we will never find the Father; but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," living eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  My study bible explains that while human beings are made "in" God's image (Genesis 1:26), the Incarnate Son "is" Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ doesn't say, "I am the Father," for He is not the First Person of the Trinity.  But He declares that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature, while being distinct Persons of the Godhead.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the My Father."  My study bible elaborates that the greater works indicate Christ's working through mere humans after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works, which are attested to in the Book of Acts, will include spreading the gospel throughout the world, miraculous healings, and even raising the dead.

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   To pray in Christ's name, my study bible says, doesn't mean simply to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  Instead, to pray in Christ's name means to pray according to His will.  Just as an emissary of a king could only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ if we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here, it says, is not to get God to do our will, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).

As we go through our days, our thinking is mostly centered around ourselves.  This is natural to human beings.  What would I like to do? What are my goals?  What do I need to do right now, or what are my needs?  We are, in some sense, self-directed beings.  But Christ calls on us to augment our thinking.  Rather than being merely self-centered, we are asked to become God-centered.  As Christians, we are asked to become Christ-centered, informing our lives, and thereby living our lives, "in His name."  This is an important, essential concept to Christianity.  This does not mean merely asking ourselves, in some sort of intellectual capacity, "What would Jesus do?"  To have faith in Christ is something deeper than an intellectual decision.  Prayer involves something much deeper than a rational discourse about what I want and how I might justify it and that I desire God to do something for me.   To live as Christ is the way, the truth, and the life is to live in a much deeper kind of participation in the life of Christ.  To truly pray in Christ's name involves a mystical kind of closeness that is much deeper than the intellect can fathom.  It is not that the intellect is left out of anything in our relationship with Christ, but that the whole of the person becomes a part of this participation, not simply a part of us.  To pray in Christ's name, and to live with Christ as the way, the truth, and the life is to involve ourselves in a mystical participation in which our focus in life becomes centered around Christ in a deep way within ourselves, within the heart.  Prayer can come as close as the breath, an abiding sense in which prayer stays with us throughout the day, and we have a silent sort of assent within asking for guidance, and for the light of Christ to illuminate the way for us, our path in life, even in the smallest choices.  This is not simply a negotiation of rules or principles, or a philosophical disposition toward something.  It's not about following political or social slogans, things that sound good and virtuous just because they make us look good socially, or even in our own eyes.  The depth of conscience is much more than an embedded pattern of social participation, what is acceptable and what is not.  Rather it involves an orientation not simply to "self" alone, but orientated to Christ as the One closer to us than a breath, made closer by Christ's love and spiritual adoption.  This is what it is to live and pray "in Christ's name."   This is not even something we can do or achieve by ourselves, but as we will read in the following verses, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who will help bring us into this awareness and understanding.  It is our assent we give in a kind of mystical union with Christ, a growing closer and deeper through time, in which we find ourselves changing internally, by discarding accepted behaviors of understanding that conflict with the path Christ asks us to walk.   It is a way of living life face-to-face with Christ, who gives us a perspective on ourselves not possible otherwise.  As Christians, this is the way to find "true self" -- our image as given by Creator.  We are meant to negotiate an imperfect world with the light of Christ, and find ourselves in so doing.  In this perspective, identity -- the true sense of ourselves -- is a dynamic journey, a way of discovering, while building faith.   We find a growing dependency on God, wherein we become part of not simply our family home once upon a time, or our chosen society, but a much bigger house:  the house of Christ.  This is what it is to seek His way and live what is, in effect, a life of prayer "in His name."  People often speak of repentance as a reorientation toward God.  But a life in which we seek to "remember God" is a constant such reorientation, a reminder that we do not live to ourselves alone.  When Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," He is offering to us an open hand, a journey of faith, the way to find our truth and meaning.