A verse you have likely heard your entire life is John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth and The Life and no man comes to the Father except through Me”. What I tend to find when this verse comes from the pulpit is that it just passes right on by most people and they “check out” of the service. Perhaps if we replaced some of the words, not as an attempt to change Scripture, but as an effort to clarify its meaning, then we could better understand this verse.
The Way: Instead of “the Way” we will call it “the Path”. A path is an established roadway of sorts made by continuous travel. Christ tells us that He is the Path, implying that it is through Him that we arrive at a certain destination. This is further demonstrated at the end of the verse when He explains that no man comes to the Father except through Him. The conclusion being that Christ is the Path to God.
The Truth
Christ says that He is the truth. Follow this pattern of thought with me for a moment. What is the truth but the opposite of a lie? And what is a lie but a falsehood? A falsehood is a fake, it is the opposite of reality, therefore, truth is reality. No Christ is the Path to God, and He is also the Reality. He is the One who existed from the beginning of the age. He is the consciousness that many of the “spiritual but not religious” group think exists in the universe (John 1:1).
During the trial of Christ, Pilate asks Him the pivotal question, “What is truth?” (John 18:38), but unfortunately Pilate did not stay long enough to hear the answer. We know that the Word of God is Truth (John 17:17). Meaning the Word of God is reality itself and in it is no falsehood (Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2).
The Life
Colossians 3:4 demonstrates that Christ is our life. He is our existence and our focus, or He should be. Christ as the Life is the defier of death who defeated death once and will do it again for all of His faithful.
The Light
One additional note is that Jesus is the Light. John 8:12 says that “I am the Light of the world”. The light is something that clarifies and reveals. The light can clarify and reveal The Path, and God’s word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
In summary, in John 14:6 Christ says “I am the Path, the Reality and the enemy of Death”, and in addition to this He is also the illuminator, the clarifier of truth. Remember who you are serving – it is He who is the defier and destroyer of death.
