John 14:1-14

Have you ever been lost? Before the days of satnav used to get lost frequently, especially if
there was a diversion in a strange town. I often went round in circles trying to find my own
way back onto the correct route. Other times I would ask and get incorrect instructions.
Occasionally some kind person would say follow me I will show you.
Jesus says follow me because “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.” Jn.14:6

In fact early followers of Jesus were known as people of ‘The Way’
This verse gives us 3 great reasons why we should follow the Way of Jesus.

1. Jesus wants us to follow him because He is the way without exception.
   This may not be very PC today but Jesus said, “I am the way.” The word picture is a road or
   some route to take for a journey, and there is no other way to Heaven but Jesus. “No one
   comes to the Father except (by or) through Me.” Says Jesus. The Apostle Peter later echoed
   this truth in Acts 4:12, when he said: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no
   other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.“
   Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, though many people try other ways.
   For example Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism require achievement of perfection in
   this life, in one way or another, to attain ‘heaven’.
   All these require us to perfectly live our lives through our own efforts. But no-one except
   Jesus has been able to live such a perfect life. So what are we to do?
   Without a way to Heaven, we are hopelessly lost. But Jesus IS the way! Jesus said the
   way to Heaven is not a principle, not a practice, not a precept, and not a philosophy. . . The
   way to Heaven is to know him as a person and to have a relationship with him.
   Many people are like the man who said that getting to Heaven was like getting to London.
   There are a lot of roads that will get you there. But a wise Christian told him: “No, getting to
   Heaven is much more like flying into the Heathrow airport. The pilot has to land that plane on
   just the right runway, at just the right speed, at just the right time, at just the right angle.
   There is only one way to land that plane. And there is only one way to Heaven. It’s through
   Jesus. He is our pilot!
2. Jesus said “I am theTruth”. Jesus is the True revelation of the Father Jn.14:9 He
   has been given to us so that we can find restoration through Him alone.
   It is the Truth that Jesus was born as a Man manifestation of God. In Jesus you see God the
   Father.
   It is the Truth that He came to release us from the grasp of satan, whose way is death.
   It is Truth that He defeated death on the cross by rising again and opening the gates of
   heaven for us. He paid the price of our entry fee. We do not have to reach perfection.
   It is Truth that He came to set us free from the curse of sin and sickness and the shackles of
   this world so that, in this freedom, our hearts need not strive or be troubled, but be assured
   of a place with Him in the glory of His Father. And believe in Him, because He is the truth
   without error.
   Jesus is the source of all Truth.
   Sadly, we now live in a post-modern society that no longer believes in absolute truth. Truth is
   now considered to be relative to the person. Today if you told someone that Jesus died for
   us. You might hear someone reply, “That may be true for you, but it isn’t true for me.”Many people today are putting their faith in their own opinions rather than the rock-solid truth
   of God’s Word. Life is all about me, the religion of Me-ism. Just my own little voice. That’s
   tragic, but it’s nothing new. The last verse of the Old Testament Book of Judges says: “In
   those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
   Judges 21:2). If we do not recognise Jesus as King then we do what we think is right in our
   own eyes. And this, as it did in Israel, can lead to disaster.
   Many people try to live by their own truth. We see this at present as we fight the Covid19
   pandemic; we are faced with false information masquerading as truth. But in the end they
   who who were hoodwinked by false information will see that they were living by a lie.
   Only Jesus Christ can honestly and boldly say, “I am the truth.” So believe in and follow the
   way of Jesus, however narrow the road; because He is the truth without error.
3. Jesus said He is also the Life — He is the source and giver of both natural and
   everlasting life.
   Everyday we are confronted with death and our own mortality and our own fragility. Even the
   strongest crumble before the onslought of Covid 19. The numbers that have fallen before its
   path are staggering. We are now well past 120,000 deaths in the UK and counting. The
   Wordwide toll is currently more than two and a half million.
   In my generation it is almost taboo to talk about mortality. We keep death at arms length. We
   go about our business as if we would live forever; never giving death a second’s thought.
   We are now forced every day to confront death and talk about deaths but do not discuss
   death itself. Most of us still look upon death as something to be feared and avoided at all
   costs. But of course we cannot avoid it. And it is this fact that should motivate us to consider
   if anything and what lies beyond our death. Jesus, in his agony, said to the thief dying with
   him on the Cross “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” He said this because the thief
   believed in him, and, this is important, because Jesus knew there was a continuation beyond this
   mortal life.
   So believe in Him, because He is the life without end.
   Jesus said, “I am the life.” Jesus is the life, so the only way for us to have life is through Him.
   Jesus gives His abundant, eternal life to all who trust in Him. But we must understand that
   this life is a relationship with Him.
   In John 17:1-3 we read that later the same night, Jesus: looked towards heaven and
   prayed: “Father, the time has come, Glorify your Son, that Your Son may Glorify you.
   For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all
   those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
   true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
   “You can be a Buddhist or a Muslim without knowing Buddha or Mohammed. But you cannot
   be a Christian without knowing Christ. A personal experience with Christ, who knows you by
   name and loves you, is the essence of Christianity, and the only way to live life to the full.
   That’s because Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
   the Father except through Me.” And “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
   believe also in Me.”
   As we approach Passion Week I recommend that you to ponder these questions?
   Do you believe that Jesus is the only Way to eternal life, and are you prepared to follow the
   narrow way he taught and demonstrated?
   Do you believe that Jesus is the source of all truth?
   Are you willingly prepared to trust your life into His loving hands to use you in accordance
   with His will, which is the will of the Father?