The I AM sayings of Jesus

This devotional is written by Luke Johnson. Luke Johnson has two passions in life: evangelism and telling people about Jesus. In his spare time he works in Commodity Markets in an Investment Bank.

6 Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

My parents are always doing fad diets. If there is a diet out there, they've tried it - Weight Watchers, Atkins, Paleo, 5/2 etc. All these diets offer the same promise: follow this or that method and you will lose weight, and the extent to which you follow the method will determine your success. The same can be said of Rabbis in Jesus' day. They were a societal sounding board to ensure people followed the will of God. They would teach, train and mentor their disciples to lead them (and society) to God. Do this or follow that path and you will please God. This is where Peter and Thomas' stupid question "where are you going?" comes from. As their Rabbi, the disciples expected Jesus to point them in the direction that leads to God - so when Jesus says he's leaving them, the disciples feel lost. Which way do we go now? Is it this way or that? We see in John 6 that the disciples knew that what Jesus was saying was true and life-giving. What is shocking about Jesus' claim is its absolute nature: Jesus is "The (only) way". To put this in perspective it's like Weight Watchers or Atkins claiming not only to lead to weight loss, but to be weight loss itself. It's a ridiculous claim. Jesus isn't one path among many that lead to the destination, He is THE destination. Reflect. What about us? Is Jesus one of many solutions that we rely on to get by in life (alongside relationships, jobs, appearances) or is he THE solution? Spend some time thinking about where Jesus isn't what you are relying on and test His claim by inviting the Holy Spirit into it.