“When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:3-6 NLT
Was Thomas just a bit slow on the uptake or did he voice what all the disciples were thinking? It would usually be Peter who would act as their spokesman, but perhaps he was still smarting a bit after Jesus’ rebuke with the rooster crowing comment. Jesus had previously warned His disciples about His death and resurrection, as we read in Mark 8:31, “Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead“. But the Gospels don’t record what Jesus might have said about events that would follow. From Thomas’ question the disciples genuinely might not have known about Jesus’ intention to return to His Heavenly home, but they surely must have had some idea. After all, they knew that they were in the presence of the Son of God. Their expectation, however, was still that Jesus would usher in a Kingdom bringing autonomy to the Jewish nation, something that they had yearned for, for centuries.
Jesus then went on to utter the profound and far-reaching statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. To the Jews, the phrase “I Am”, was the name of God, and by using it Jesus was in fact saying that He was, and is, God. Previously, the Jewish leaders had accused Him of blasphemy, as we read in John 8:58, “Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”” Jesus then went on to say that He is the Way. The word “Way” implies that He is the only way to Heaven. There is no other way. All the other religions will fail to find the pathway that leads to Heaven. There will be no Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or any other religions or sects there unless they renounce their previous faiths and instead embrace the One who is the only Way, through believing in Him and repenting of their sins. I know a man who claims that he had a revelation from God, who told him that there are many different compartments in Heaven, one for each faith group. Deluded?
We pilgrims must also be careful when other Christian groups or sects make claims about Jesus. For example, the JW’s believe that Jesus is the Way, but they don’t believe He is God. They conveniently overlook verses such as John 10:30, when Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.” The Mormons have an even more confused approach to Jesus’ deity, claiming that anyone can be a “god” like Jesus.
Jesus is the only way to the Father. This is a statement that many around us, who claim to be more “enlightened”, find divisive and even offensive. But we need to be clear about the reality that Jesus is the only Way to Heaven. There are no short cuts. There are no alternatives. And when we share our testimonies about the love and grace of God, we must emphasise the exclusivity of our faith
Dear Lord Jesus. You have revealed to us Your glory and all we need to follow You to Heaven. You are the only way to the Father, and we announce the truth to all at every opportunity. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 