Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life

“I will lay down my life for you.” These words are boldly declared by Jesus’s disciple Peter into a tense and heavy atmosphere. Jesus and his disciples are gathered to practice the Jewish Passover meal, and Jesus has just announced his foreboding betrayal and upcoming departure. John 13 tells us that Jesus is troubled in spirit, as he knows his death is impending. “Where I am going you cannot follow me,” Jesus states in John 13:36.

Jesus is referring to the reality that the disciples are not yet ready to follow him in his suffering, and they cannot yet follow Jesus into the Father’s presence. Jesus must face the suffering before him alone.

The self-confident Peter claims he will give his life to follow him, but Jesus replies, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”

Though Jesus is about to walk into the greatest agony imaginable, and though he knows that his disciples will abandon him, his heart goes out to his followers, and he seeks to strengthen them for what lies ahead. “Let not your hearts be troubled,” Jesus says in John 14:1. His words that follow are the antidote to the disciples’ fear, and they can serve as a source of peace to us in our fears and anxieties as well.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus says,

“Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Jesus is encouraging his disciples: Even when you don’t understand the circumstances, believe in me. In your confusion and fear, knowing and trusting me for your future is enough. Jesus speaks of a future place prepared for his followers, and he pronounces that the way to this place is through him. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus says in John 14:6. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus will secure his followers’ eternal home in the Father’s presence.

In Jesus’s words, we are met with 4 notes of assurance.

First, God’s mercy is personal. Jesus says he has uniquely prepared a place for each of his people. We have a future hope in Jesus as his known and loved child.

Second, Jesus himself will bring us home. “I will come again and take you to myself,” he says (John 14:3). Jesus doesn’t leave our destiny up to us but rather saves us by his power and grace. Our future hope is secure within the all-powerful hands of God.

Third, Jesus will be with us forever. We will live in eternal fellowship with the one who satisfies our souls with himself.

And fourth, along the journey home, nothing can separate us from God’s love. Jesus took the way we will never have to, death on a cross under the wrath of God. Jesus states that he is our way, and therefore, we don’t ever have to fear God’s wrath or abandonment. Our path to eternal life lies within the love of Christ.

In the Passover setting, even with Jesus’s words of assurance, the disciples do not yet see the full picture. Despite Peter’s brazen claim to follow Jesus to his death, fear gets the best of him. As Jesus is arrested, questioned, and tortured, Peter denies Jesus three times, just as Jesus had predicted.

We, like Peter, do not possess the needed faith to trust Jesus and his words of assurance on our own. But Jesus’s death and resurrection changes everything! Jesus’s death and resurrection not only secure our eternal home with God but also fill us with the power to trust in this hope and courageously follow Jesus in our suffering. Through the post-resurrection gift of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to face fear with faith!

In the life of Peter, we see fear transformed into courage. Former Peter rebuked Jesus for declaring that the path to his glory would be through suffering, but post-resurrection Peter writes in his epistle to not be surprised at the fiery trial but to rejoice in sharing in Christ’s suffering! Former Peter denied Jesus three times, but post-resurrection Peter is recounted in the book of Acts as boldly declaring Jesus to all who would listen! The transformed Peter boldly lives for Christ in the face of opposition and persecution. Likewise, in whatever we face, we can press forward faithfully because Jesus has given us faith to believe in the future he secured for us!

Think about the things we endure on a long travel day when home is the destination. Through turbulent flights, lost bags, exhaustion, and weariness, we don’t give up on the journey. Why? Because home is worth it. If I’ve been away, I picture the bliss of hugging my babies and husband; the exhale of sinking into my own bed; the comfort of home’s familiar sounds, smells, and routines. The hope of home strengthens us for the journey.

A home greater than any we can imagine, prepared for us by Jesus, is waiting on the other side. We can press on. We know The Way.

RESPOND: Think about an area in your life where you’re experiencing anxiety and fear. Then, reflect on the ways your future hope in Jesus brings hope to this area. Take a moment to praise God for the faith and power he has given you to endure.