‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’ ~ John 14:6
Jesus says he is the truth and the life, but what does this mean? Context in John chapter 14 reveals Jesus is speaking about himself as the truth and life in relation to the way to draw near to God, seen in the verse above. Commentators agree that the truth and life Jesus speaks of are descriptive of the way, which was discussed in the last two posts.
Jesus' words make sense when we consider the Bible’s teaching that life on earth is filled with spiritual deception and death. For example, passages like Ephesians 2:1 say to Christians that before they became Christian, they were “dead” in sin. This is not saying that if people are good enough, they can be accepted by God. In fact, this idea of morally 'earning' salvation is unbiblical. Instead, Ephesians chapter 2 is saying that only Jesus can bring new spiritual life and a restored relationship with God to those in a dead and powerless spiritual state, who are unable to achieve it themselves.
In this sense, life here and now, without a right relationship with God, is not true life. It’s not the life and right relationship with God that Adam and Eve had in the garden before they rebelled against God. It’s not the promises of life in heaven that Jesus gives people by representing them in rising from the dead (Eph. 2:4-5). This means that everything broken by sin—our bodies, minds, hearts, relationships, and the world we live in—while they do exist, their existence is caught up in being intrinsically untrue and without the fullness of life. We breathe but aren’t fully alive. This represents a radically new perspective for those who don’t know much about Christian teaching.
While there’s more to say, and I can’t cover too much here, this view is no doubt offensive to our secular culture. As people constantly and desperately chase the ‘next thing’ to find their truer self and a truer life, Jesus says these can only be received by faith in him. Can life here and now offer a fullness of truth and life? Many would agree, even those not Christian, that it never does. Life on earth may break our hearts, but it never really satisfies them. Instead, the lie that true life can be found without God dangerously leads people away from relationship with their creator for their whole lives. This looks like chasing empty promises of fulfilment that endlessly fail, instead of turning to the God who offers true and eternal life through the death of his son.
This post was written in advance and automatically published.