John • #6 of 7 "I AM" Statements

Along with the 7 signs that John emphasizes in the Gospel of John, he also presents 7 "I AM" statements, that also give us a window into the character of Jesus. Each of these statements are uttered by Jesus Himself, and each also tells us specifically of something we need to know about Him.

For a review of the names of God, and the significance of His name "I AM", click here... NAMES

• Here is a list of all 7 of the I AM statements. They are...

► I AM #1 • I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER → John 6:26-58

► I AM #2 • I AM the Light of the World - Jesus ELIMINATES DARKNESS → John 8:12-9:5

► I AM #3 • I AM the Door of the Sheep - Jesus ELIMINATES DEATH & DESTRUCTION → John 10:1-10

► I AM #4 • I AM the Good Shepherd - Jesus KNOWS US → John 10:11-19

► I AM #5 • I AM the Resurrection and the Life - Jesus is the SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE → John 11:24-27

► I AM #6 • I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life - Jesus is THE WAY TO THE FATHER → John 14:1-6

► I AM #7 • I AM the True Vine - Because of Jesus WE WILL BEAR FRUIT → John 15:1-11

• I AM #6 • I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life - Jesus is THE WAY TO THE FATHER

• I think we need to set the stage for this particular event. Keep in mind, that in chapter 11, Jesus had come to Bethany, a village just outside of Jerusalem, from Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which is on the north end of the Dead Sea, and raised Lazarus from the dead. At the end of that chapter, while there is division amongst the people in regards to who and/or what Jesus really is, the leadership have decided that Jesus must die. So Jesus retreats to the village of Ephraim, which is about 15 miles north of Jerusalem.

• In chapter 12, first we see Jesus returning to Bethany, and people coming to not only see Jesus, but also to see Lazarus. The Miracle Worker and the miracle! Yet the leadership, is now set on killing not only Jesus, but also Lazarus. Can you even believe it? They need to eliminate ANY and ALL evidence to the work and words of Jesus. The next day is what is called "The Triumphal Entry", where Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on the colt of a donkey, while the people exclaim “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.” (John 12:12-19). This would have been Palm Sunday, the first day of the last week of Jesus' earthly life. He will be resurrected one week from today.

• Starting in chapter 13, through chapter 17, Jesus is spending His last "free" days with His disciples, giving them everything He can in what little time is left. In chapters 18 and 19, Jesus is arrested, tried, crucified, and buried after His death. And in chapters 20 and 21 we will see the risen Jesus.

• But now, in chapter 14, Jesus will give us His second to last "I AM" statement. "I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

John 14:1-6 → 1“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

• Jesus starts out with a simple reminder to His disciples to not fret over what is going to happen. I don't think they realize yet the magnitude of what is coming. He's encouraging them not to lose faith. Just as you trust the Father - trust Me also. There is a plan; just watch it unfold.

2In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3If 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.

• Jesus starts talking about His "Father's house", and telling them of the "many dwelling places" within it. And telling them that He's going there to get their rooms ready. And when that's done, He's coming back to bring them along to Dad's place. This means of course, that He has to go away.

4And you know the way where I am going.” 5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

• And then Jesus says "you know the way where I am going." And maybe they did, but were afraid to say what was really on their minds. Jesus has already told them several times that He is going to die. Thomas, always seeing the bottlenecks in the forward movement (I think I'm related to him), and maybe in a state of denial says "we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" It would be easy to be somewhat harsh with Thomas (he seems like such a nay-sayer, as we'll see again AFTER the resurrection), but let's be real. If we were there, and we saw all the miracles that Jesus performed, wouldn't you begin to think that He was somewhat untouchable? I mean, if He's got that kind of power, couldn't He just wipe out all of His enemies with just a word? So why does Jesus keep acting like He's going away???

6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

• Jesus then tells them that despite His going away, if you want to get to the Father, you have to do it "through Me." Jesus said...

► "I am the way,..." - the path, the road, the trail, the street, the freeway - there is no other option for getting to the Father except through Jesus. Our hope is totally in who Jesus is, and what He is about to do for us - die. And not just any death, but a public execution, for crimes WE committed, but He paid for in full. More than just the criminal charges placed on Jesus by the Jews and the Romans, but more specifically, and importantly, the charges applied toward us are now being paid for by Jesus on the cross.

► "and the truth;..." - there is no falsehood in Jesus. Everything He did, everything He said, everything He is, is true. He is truth by His very nature. He is the only thing that has ever existed on this planet that was completely true. This makes Him trustworthy, because His word will never fail.

► "and the life;..." - Jesus alone provides, not only eternal life, but also physical life. When you remember that He is the Creator of the universe, and you go back to Genesis chapters 1 & 2, you will remember that after He molded mankind from clay, He literally performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on us (actually, it would have been suscitation, since we hadn't yet had any breath to re-sus), breathing into us "the breath of life" (Gen 2:7). Jesus is both the giver of life and the sustainer of it.

► "no one comes to the Father but through Me." - There are not multiple paths to get to heaven. You can't do it on your own. You can't be good enough, pray enough, give to the poor enough, sacrifice enough, meditate enough, chant enough, etc., etc., etc. No other doorways to heaven. No other religions or creeds. Only Jesus. It's all about Him.

• When Jesus was talking to His disciples, on this last evening before His arrest and execution, I'm sure the disciples were a little weirded out by Jesus' words. They've walked with Him for 3 years now, seeing Him perform many miracles, hearing Him outwit the religious and spiritual leaders of the land, having Him constantly opening their minds and hearts through the probing and mind-opening dialogue, but now He's preparing them for His death. Do they really understand how horrible this will be? I doubt it. But they will experience it soon enough. Some, like John and Peter, from close proximity. Others from a distance, but probably still within earshot. And their world is going to come crashing down.

• But come Sunday morning, when it becomes apparent that Jesus is alive, that He has risen from the dead, maybe then it will all start to become more clear.

• I think it's easy for us today to become complacent about Jesus. It's not that we just outright ignore or compartmentalize Him, but we are so busy these days. Our families, our careers, our activities, our adventures, the issues of our very lives, can sometimes leave little room for Jesus. But please try to remember that Jesus should be the center of ALL that we are and do. When we reach the end of our lives, there is nothing that we've acquired, nothing that we've attained, nothing that we've amassed, that we can take with us. When we cross over, what will Jesus say to us? "Depart from Me for I never know you?" or "Well done, good and faithful servant?" My prayer is that each of us will have given our lives over to the One that gave His life for us, so that we can spend eternity with Him.

Photo • 5/04/2025 - Driving south on Barstow Rd (CA-247), between Bartow, CA and Lucerne Valley, CA

“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”