The Only Truth

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" John 14:6

This is a well known verse among Bible college students and for a great deal of Christians who orient themselves with apologetics. I feel that it has become so popular in defending against the cults and false religions that it may have lost its meaning in the sense of everyday life. While it is most certainly true that Jesus is the only way amidst the groups of Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, and the life, I don't feel that Jesus is really talking about that.

If you look at the context in which He said it, Jesus seems to be saying that the only way to where He is going (Heaven) is through Him. This is a greater truth than we make it out to be, I believe. We take this to mean that Joseph Smith can't get us to Heaven; that Mohammed can't get us to Heaven, or that Russel Taze can't get us to Heaven. While all those things are most certainly the truth, I feel that Jesus was more talking about other things.

Look through the gospels, and you will find the most frequent struggle He faced. He faced constant antagonation from the Pharisees and their traditions. I think it is more appropriate to say that Jesus was talking about those Pharisees, or at least had them in mind, when He made this claim. When He said He was the only way, He meant that the traditions and sacrifices of the Jews could not save them. When He said He was the only truth, He meant that the things the Pharisees had no place with Him, and so were not the truth. When He said He was the life, He may have meant that the lifestyles of the Jews, following the laws and being burdened by the traditions and laws of the leaders, were useless. The only life was to truly follow Him.

This brings to mind an important fact. Sometimes, we take the popular meaning of the verse because we are told to. I urge and challenge you to practice good hermeneutics. Interpret verses in light of verses and context.