Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 26
John 14:6
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Here is an uncomfortable truth.
And this text has been used often to show the exclusionary nature of Christianity. Only, I am not so sure that taking this text out of context, without putting into the greater flow of what was happening in John is appropriate.
The whole of the 14th chapter of John speaks to who Jesus really is, the Son of God, and to what happens when he leaves, the Holy Spirit comes. So actually, what we are seeing here is an incredible integration of the whole idea of the trinity in these texts. Let me simplify.
Jesus says, “If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father.”
They were unsatisfied, as they really didn’t understand the relationship between the three members of the Godhead at this point. And why should they? It is a difficult concept to wrap our heads around. So they pushed him and asked to see the Father himself. Jesus reminds them, that if they have seen him, then the father has been made known to them.
This is an uncomfortable truth to be sure, as they did not think they had seen the father.
What Jesus was trying to get them to understand was the relationship between himself, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. They are not LIKE one, they are one. And this means that each one leans into the other one.
So, if you are thinking about Jesus, the Holy Spirit brought you to that understanding. And if you are thinking about Jesus, then everything that Jesus uncovers is the same revelation about God that you would have. There is nothing that one reveals that is not part and parcel of the others. They are one, in unity, purpose and love.
So when Jesus says that no one can come to the Father except through Him, it means that when you see one, you see the other, there is no one without the other. Jesus is not the entryway into God, Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit does not bring to Jesus, then God, but to them both because one is not one without the other. We have understood this text in a process manner, when it is really to be understood in a relational manner. It is not one, two, three. It is all at the same time, forever.
And this text has been used often to show the exclusionary nature of Christianity. Only, I am not so sure that taking this text out of context, without putting into the greater flow of what was happening in John is appropriate.
The whole of the 14th chapter of John speaks to who Jesus really is, the Son of God, and to what happens when he leaves, the Holy Spirit comes. So actually, what we are seeing here is an incredible integration of the whole idea of the trinity in these texts. Let me simplify.
Jesus says, “If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father.”
They were unsatisfied, as they really didn’t understand the relationship between the three members of the Godhead at this point. And why should they? It is a difficult concept to wrap our heads around. So they pushed him and asked to see the Father himself. Jesus reminds them, that if they have seen him, then the father has been made known to them.
This is an uncomfortable truth to be sure, as they did not think they had seen the father.
What Jesus was trying to get them to understand was the relationship between himself, the Holy Spirit and God the Father. They are not LIKE one, they are one. And this means that each one leans into the other one.
So, if you are thinking about Jesus, the Holy Spirit brought you to that understanding. And if you are thinking about Jesus, then everything that Jesus uncovers is the same revelation about God that you would have. There is nothing that one reveals that is not part and parcel of the others. They are one, in unity, purpose and love.
So when Jesus says that no one can come to the Father except through Him, it means that when you see one, you see the other, there is no one without the other. Jesus is not the entryway into God, Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit does not bring to Jesus, then God, but to them both because one is not one without the other. We have understood this text in a process manner, when it is really to be understood in a relational manner. It is not one, two, three. It is all at the same time, forever.
Questions:
- Has this text ever made you think that some were not ever going to have access to God because they struggled with the idea of Jesus?
- Does this change your mind on how people discover God?
- What can you do to help others understand this relationship between the Godhead?
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