JOHN 14.4-6: And you know the way to where I am going.” (5) Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV)
Thomas gave the impression that he was interpreting what Jesus said about “the way” in verse four in literal terms. Like a path or a road. And it was not yet clear to him that Jesus was actually speaking of heaven. And this being the case, it looks like the reality of Jesus’ death on the cross was not really clear to Thomas’ comprehension.
Jesus told His disciples three times prior to the upper room that He was going to give His life in Jerusalem and He would be raised from the dead. After Jesus had told His disciples about this the second time, Mark 9.23 says, “But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask.” (ESV)
And so Jesus responds to the question of Thomas in verse five above with a declaration that is essential for us to be able to understand who Jesus is and what His mission on earth actually was.
When Jesus says, as it is translated, “I am the way,” what He is saying fully is, “I Myself am the way,”. The grammatical construction He uses makes it clear that He Himself, the person, is the way. You ask what difference does this really make? Well, I have had more than one person tell me that they think Jesus was saying that He came to earth to show us the way by which we follow His example, and thereby we make our way to God. They are in effect saying that Jesus exemplified the way for us to copy.
This is erroneous thinking. No one other than Jesus has ever lived a life without sin. And Hebrews 12.14 says, “without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (NIV) So there is no way anyone can actually copy Jesus and attain life in heaven by his or her own merits. The righteousness of Jesus is transferred to us by means of our faith in Him.
Jesus Himself is the way. And He is singularly the way to God the Father and a home in heaven. Jesus said in John 8.24, “If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” (NIV)