Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me…’
John 14:6
If we are to understand Jesus, then we must understand there is a reason for him. We understand there is a reason for doctors. When we are sick, we go to see the doctor because it is clear the doctor is the person with the knowledge and expertise to treat whatever is wrong with us. Jesus compared himself to a doctor in Mark 2:17. Jesus after calling Levi (Matthew) as one of his disciples went on to his house to have dinner with him. Matthew was a tax-collector and so it wasn’t surprising many of his guests where also tax collectors.
Jesus was criticised for eating with such people and in response he said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’
In the past weeks we have thought about our own sinfulness and how we can never overcome the problem of our own sin. We need a doctor, but not a medical doctor – a spiritual doctor. The only one who is qualified to deal with our sin problem is Jesus.
Are we trying to deal with sin in another way? Are we hoping it is not that big a problem and so it will just go away? Do we think it is such a big problem that it cannot be dealt with and so we have given up and lost all hope?
Jesus said ‘I am the way the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.’ The cross is the remedy for all sin, big and small. It is the only remedy. Jesus said he was the way the truth and the life in the context of preparing a heavenly place for the disciples. (Read here) Jesus is the way to the Father and we access that way through believing in him.
We believe in Jesus by trusting he is the way to the Father and so we follow that way. There is little point going to the doctor and being told we need to take this medicine or that and then not taking it. When our condition worsens, we can hardly blame the doctor or the medicine. It is our fault for not following the way laid out for us. To trust in Jesus is to follow him, to be obedient to his teaching.
Jesus said, ‘I am the way the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father expect through me.’ Will we follow that way, have our sin dealt with or will we continue our own way with a worsening condition?
Prayer Lord Jesus, this morning I commit to following your way. Your way of repentance and change, your way of trust and obedience, your way of humility and love, service and sacrifice, love, and mercy. Lord help me to hear your call to follow and give me the courage to keep on following. Amen