John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except thr ough me.” ESV John 14:6

Over these past few weeks, as we’ve prepared to celebrate Christmas, we’ve also been looking at some names of Jesus as they appear in the Bible. First, we looked at the name Immanuel, which means God with us. How marvelous and fascinating it is that God became a man and walked with us.

Last week we looked at the name Savior which aptly describes Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth; to save repentant sinners from certain death and reconcile them with God the Father. What a wonderful gift from heaven; a Savior.

This week’s name is The Way which aptly describes an attribute of Jesus that no other person can copy. Here in the gospel of John, Jesus plainly tells us that he is the way to heaven; the only way. There is no other road to heaven.

Have you ever been lost in a strange city? Sure, without clear direction we all occasionally lose our bearings; especially those of us who are map averse and too proud to stop and ask. Legend has it that even Daniel Boone, though he claimed never to have been lost, did confess to once being bewildered for three days. Either way, lost or bewildered, the confusion that ensues isn’t a good feeling is it?

In today’s hyper-sensitive, politically correct world, it is easy to become bewildered about spiritual matters; particularly salvation, heaven and reconciliation with God. Our society encourages us to be accommodating towards everyone. So, with regards to salvation and reconciliation with God, it would be easy to surmise that there must be more than one way (perhaps many ways) to heaven. Society would have us believe that Christians have their way to heaven and that every other faith possesses an equally effective way of escaping judgment for sin and being reconciled with God.

But that bewildered pattern of thought is in direct contradiction of the teachings found in the Bible. The Bible teaches plainly that there is only one way by which man can be reconciled with God. There is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Christ Jesus.

In our text, a bewildered Thomas has just asked Jesus: “How can we know the way [where you are going?] Jesus responds with comforting words, “I am the way…” These are words of comfort because they take away the unsettled anxiousness that naturally accompanies bewilderment. The matter is settled. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Do you know the way?

This Christmas, don’t lose sight of who we are celebrating. We are celebrating the arrival of God in human form; the Christ child. We are celebrating the birth of a Savior, capable of delivering us from the penalty of sin and reconciling us with our heavenly Father. We are celebrating The Way to heaven. We are celebrating Jesus; Merry Christmas!

-Ken Askew