John 14:6 – The rubber meets the road! The line is drawn! The gauntlet is thrown down! “What a ridiculous thing to believe! That’s the most narrow minded thing I’ve ever heard. Christians are a self-centered, intolerant group. I can’t believe that anyone can honestly believe that there is only one way to Heaven.” I sat in a restaurant in Buffalo, New York, and heard these words come out of the mouth of a person that I have the utmost respect for. It nearly broke my heart to hear her say that. It hurt more when several people at the table agreed. That was 5 years ago. I have witnessed to them since but am not sure they have changed their perception of Jesus. With that one statement in John 14:6, Jesus drew the line in the sand. He clearly stated that to get to spend eternity with the Father in Heaven, that He was the way and we had to come ‘through Him’ to reach the Father. His statement caused chaos among the religious ‘leaders’ of His day!
To those who say “All roads lead to God”, I agree. “All roads do lead to God”. I believe Scripture clearly tells us that one day EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue profess that Jesus is Lord. However, NOT ALL roads lead to Heaven. We will ALL come face to face with God – regardless of our belief. We will all NOT enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity. Again, this is important - all roads lead to God – but NOT all roads lead to Heaven. The world will argue believing Jesus is the only way is much too narrow! But, in reality, the way is as wide as it needs to be to let all those who want to enter to boldly step in! Believers rejoice and thank God that He did clearly provide a way to Him! The way is narrow and few find it. In verse 5, Thomas asked a question that is one of the most basic – but one of the most IMPORTANT questions in all of Scripture – “…so how can we know the way?” Jesus told the group that He was going ahead to prepare a place for us and that when all was ready He would come and get us. Jesus told His group ‘you know the way to get there’. But, Thomas, the ‘doubting Thomas’, told Jesus no, he didn’t know where He was going and asked what the way was. Jesus very clearly answered – unless you come through Me, you will not see the Father in heaven!
From the time Adam sinned, an abyss was created between us and God. We became separated from Him. The only way to cross the abyss is over a bridge. God already had a ‘bridge’ plan for us. His ‘bridge’ is Jesus. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the sacrifice for our sins was made. Through Jesus, we can come into the presence of a Holy God! That’s awesome! When Jesus died on the Cross, the tapestry that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple split from top to bottom signifying we no longer need an earthly priest to intercede for us. Jesus Himself – our High Priest - is our intercessor! Praise God for His plan! Jesus is the tangible proof of an invisible God!
Rebellious hearts are not new to God. God is familiar with being held at arm’s length. God knows the hurt inflicted upon Him when people say “Jesus simply cannot be the only way to God”. God gave His Son to die for us. Jesus was God’s gift to us. I cannot imagine what Heaven was like the moment that Jesus died. I cannot imagine what God felt at that moment in history. I cannot imagine the deafening silence that must have existed in Heaven at that time. I can see in my mind’s eye the multitude of angels ministering to the Almighty God as He watched His Son die. God’s tears must have caused the angels to feel a sorrow that had never been felt – and will never again be felt. I cannot imagine God’s sorrow when one of us is presented with the Good News, the Good News of Salvation through Christ Jesus, and we push it aside because the ‘way’ seems too narrow to us because we do not want to feel ‘restricted’. The fact is that Jesus is the way to God.
For over 2000 years, the world has awaited the return of Jesus. For over 2000 years, people have tried to predict when Jesus will return. Although Jesus Himself said that only the Father knew the time of the Second Coming, folks continue to try and analyze Scripture to predict the time of the event. I believe that people want to know when the Second Coming is because they feel like they can better prepare for it! Scripture tells us all we need to know to be prepared! That is, believe in Jesus. Accept Him as your Savior, the Son of God, the Light, the Truth, and the Way. There is no other. From the beginning of time, God knew that Adam would take the fall. From the beginning of time, God’s plan to send His only Son to be our Redeemer was put in motion. Yes, for all you doubting Thomas’s in the world, you do know the way – His name is Jesus! Don’t deny the ‘way’ to heaven only to find your road ending at the judgment seat of God!
Papa Joe Mac's Commentary:
John 14:6 – The rubber meets the road! The line is drawn! The gauntlet is thrown down! “What a ridiculous thing to believe! That’s the most narrow minded thing I’ve ever heard. Christians are a self-centered, intolerant group. I can’t believe that anyone can honestly believe that there is only one way to Heaven.” I sat in a restaurant in Buffalo, New York, and heard these words come out of the mouth of a person that I have the utmost respect for. It nearly broke my heart to hear her say that. It hurt more when several people at the table agreed. That was 5 years ago. I have witnessed to them since but am not sure they have changed their perception of Jesus. With that one statement in John 14:6, Jesus drew the line in the sand. He clearly stated that to get to spend eternity with the Father in Heaven, that He was the way and we had to come ‘through Him’ to reach the Father. His statement caused chaos among the religious ‘leaders’ of His day!
To those who say “All roads lead to God”, I agree. “All roads do lead to God”. I believe Scripture clearly tells us that one day EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue profess that Jesus is Lord. However, NOT ALL roads lead to Heaven. We will ALL come face to face with God – regardless of our belief. We will all NOT enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity. Again, this is important - all roads lead to God – but NOT all roads lead to Heaven.
The world will argue believing Jesus is the only way is much too narrow! But, in reality, the way is as wide as it needs to be to let all those who want to enter to boldly step in! Believers rejoice and thank God that He did clearly provide a way to Him! The way is narrow and few find it. In verse 5, Thomas asked a question that is one of the most basic – but one of the most IMPORTANT questions in all of Scripture – “…so how can we know the way?” Jesus told the group that He was going ahead to prepare a place for us and that when all was ready He would come and get us. Jesus told His group ‘you know the way to get there’. But, Thomas, the ‘doubting Thomas’, told Jesus no, he didn’t know where He was going and asked what the way was. Jesus very clearly answered – unless you come through Me, you will not see the Father in heaven!
From the time Adam sinned, an abyss was created between us and God. We became separated from Him. The only way to cross the abyss is over a bridge. God already had a ‘bridge’ plan for us. His ‘bridge’ is Jesus. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the sacrifice for our sins was made. Through Jesus, we can come into the presence of a Holy God! That’s awesome! When Jesus died on the Cross, the tapestry that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple split from top to bottom signifying we no longer need an earthly priest to intercede for us. Jesus Himself – our High Priest - is our intercessor! Praise God for His plan! Jesus is the tangible proof of an invisible God!
Rebellious hearts are not new to God. God is familiar with being held at arm’s length. God knows the hurt inflicted upon Him when people say “Jesus simply cannot be the only way to God”. God gave His Son to die for us. Jesus was God’s gift to us. I cannot imagine what Heaven was like the moment that Jesus died. I cannot imagine what God felt at that moment in history. I cannot imagine the deafening silence that must have existed in Heaven at that time. I can see in my mind’s eye the multitude of angels ministering to the Almighty God as He watched His Son die. God’s tears must have caused the angels to feel a sorrow that had never been felt – and will never again be felt. I cannot imagine God’s sorrow when one of us is presented with the Good News, the Good News of Salvation through Christ Jesus, and we push it aside because the ‘way’ seems too narrow to us because we do not want to feel ‘restricted’. The fact is that Jesus is the way to God.
For over 2000 years, the world has awaited the return of Jesus. For over 2000 years, people have tried to predict when Jesus will return. Although Jesus Himself said that only the Father knew the time of the Second Coming, folks continue to try and analyze Scripture to predict the time of the event. I believe that people want to know when the Second Coming is because they feel like they can better prepare for it! Scripture tells us all we need to know to be prepared! That is, believe in Jesus. Accept Him as your Savior, the Son of God, the Light, the Truth, and the Way. There is no other. From the beginning of time, God knew that Adam would take the fall. From the beginning of time, God’s plan to send His only Son to be our Redeemer was put in motion. Yes, for all you doubting Thomas’s in the world, you do know the way – His name is Jesus! Don’t deny the ‘way’ to heaven only to find your road ending at the judgment seat of God!