Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
1) What does Jesus mean with the words ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’? (verse 6)
2) How is it that we can see the Father when we look at Jesus? (verse 9)
3) Why did Philip ask the question ‘show us the Father’ while he spent all this time with Jesus and when can we see the Father through His Son? (verses 8-11)
John 14:6-11
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
Original Intent
1) What does Jesus mean with the words ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’? (verse 6)
To answer this question, it’s best to read the previous verses as well. There, Jesus talks about His going away and preparing a place for His disciples, His followers. He tells them they know where He’s going, but Thomas protests, “Lord, … we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”. (John 14:5) The disciples often wondered what exactly would happen to them, and to Jesus. Especially because He tried to warn them about His upcoming suffering (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23), but they didn’t understand His words at that time. By stating that He Himself is the way, He tells them to look at Him as their example, to keep their eyes fixed on Him. Only then can they come to the Father too. If the Father was the finish line prize, Jesus was the runner’s pathway to victory. Previously, they already heard Jesus say to the Pharisees that His testimony and judgments were true (John 8:14), and that He spoke the truth which He heard directly from God (John 8:40, 45). He also said, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) The Son of God also referred to Himself as the Living Water through Whom everyone could obtain eternal life. (John 4:13-14) Those who would drink from this water would never thirst again; for the life that’s within the water is eternal and never-ending. How many times were these words proven when Jesus healed the sick (bringing new life) and raising the dead? Everything Christ did was in service to others as He was directed through the Father. Together with the Spirit, they worked as One.
Thus, Jesus told His disciples that if they would follow Him, they would know all truth and have everlasting life.
2) How is it that we can see the Father when we look at Jesus? (verse 9)
Jesus often made it clear that He only ever and always followed the will of God; they worked in perfect tandem. (John 6:38) The words He spoke were the words spoken by God the Father as they shared co-equal authority as God. Jesus claimed Himself as being the only begotten Son of the Father in heaven (John 10:36), representing His express image (Hebrews 1:3). The disciples also referred to their Master as ‘the Son of God’ (Matthew 14:33; 16:16). At the very end, even the unbelieving centurion cried out, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”. (Mark 15:39) So then, when anyone looks at Jesus and knows Him, they automatically see the Father and know Him too. Both are equal in power and authority as God, so too, the Holy Spirit as He speaks and binds them together in perfect unity. One divine being represented as 3 unique beings.
3) Why did Philip ask the question ‘show us the Father’ while he spent all this time with Jesus and when can we see the Father through His Son? (verses 8-11)
Philip was generally a little slower to fully believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We can see this when he approached Nathanael under the fig tree. He referred to Jesus as “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45) although he had just witnessed His baptism and thus also heard the words from God “this is my beloved Son”. (Matthew 3:17) Just like Thomas, he also needed to see with his own eyes in order to believe Christ was resurrected from the dead. (John 20:24-29) With Philip asking this question, it was almost like he needed extra confirmation that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Jesus even confirmed this unbelief when He said, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.” (John 14:11) After Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, Philip did many wonderful works sharing the gospel. A great example is the story the Ethiopian. An angel had led Philip to a man on the roadside and he heard the man reading from Isaiah. Phillip asked the Ethiopian if he understood the words he was reading. After confirming he really didn’t, Philip told him about Jesus! That same moment, the Ethiopian accepted Christ as the Messiah and was baptized! You can read this beautiful story in Acts 8:26-40. This story demonstrates how, through the Spirit teaching the Ethiopian in explaining God’s Word and the help of a believer, a heart was brought to see God through the works of Christ. In Jesus, through His Spirit, we can see and know God!
Everyday Application
1) What does Jesus mean with the words ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’? (verse 6)
Jesus is our number one example for life. It’s Him we are called to follow as He alone holds all truth, wisdom, and fullness of life. If we don’t, we will be lost both in this life and in the one to come. He gave us the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10 to remember that He indeed is the way. In this short story, Jesus compares Himself to a good shepherd who leads His sheep into safety. His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. His sheep will run away from a stranger’s voice. He also likens Himself to the Gate, “If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…”. (John 10:9) In other words, He alone is the way to safety for our souls. Jesus also refers to Himself as the Truth which is confirmed several times throughout the gospel of John. In the first verses, we see Jesus is represented as “the Word … full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) and “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) We also know “in [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) The Son of God gave His only life, “so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This entire verse is also reflected in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the Father but through Him. (John 14:6)
2) How is it that we can see the Father when we look at Jesus? (verse 9)
Since Jesus is the express image of God (Hebrews 1:3), the only begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16), and because our Savior only ever followed the Father’s will (John 6:38), we can see God the Father in His fullness when we look at Jesus. If we have a close relationship with Jesus, we’re automatically in a close relationship with God. One cannot believe in God while simultaneously rejecting His Son, or vice versa. Do you feel far from God? Do you wonder what He is like? Look at Jesus. Read His Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to the Father on your behalf, teaching you about God because of how Jesus lives and loves! (John 14:26)
3) Why did Philip ask the question ‘show us the Father’ while he spent all this time with Jesus and when can we see the Father through His Son? (verses 8-11)
When reading this passage, we may think it to be a silly question to ask, yet, like Philip, still many Christians wonder who God actually is. They seem confused with the loving character of Christ in the New Testament and the ‘harsher’ God of the Old Testament. We can think for example about the story of Joshua and Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27), or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) as examples of God’s judgement. Yet, we’re told that God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). The God of the Old Testament is still the same in the New Testament. We see this when we look at the Book of Revelation and its prophecy about the end of the world. Some might feel the destruction of the wicked is an act of hate, but instead the Lord is honoring their choice to reject Him. He is fully just and righteous. Our merciful and loving Savior can be found in every book, chapter, and verse of the Bible. If we want to know Him, we need to study His Word thoroughly, and pray without ceasing. Only then will we see the Father too!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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What a beautiful explanation of Jesus as the Way, The Truth, and the Life!