The Way

In John 14, the Lord Jesus told his disciples not to be troubled. He was about to leave them, to return to the Father, and to prepare for his church their eternal home. The disciples were not to be troubled because this in fact had always been the mission of the Savior. Without Jesus going to the cross, there would be no heaven for the children of God.

Jesus also told his disciples that they knew the way to go where Jesus was ultimately going. They knew the way to heaven. And that causes a bit of an odd question from Thomas. Thomas wants directions, since he does not think he knows the way. But Jesus has something far better than a map for Thomas.

John 14:4-6 – 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

What is the way to get to God? How do we become right with God? The way is Jesus. Verse 6, of course, is a verse that highlights the exclusivity of Christ. No person gets to God other than through the person and finished work of Jesus. And sometimes we focus on that aspect of what the Savior said so much that we miss the import of the first thing he said to Thomas. Jesus is the way.

How do you get to God? Go with Jesus. You do not need a set of directions. There is no series of ceremonies that you have to work through to make it to heaven. There is no secret handshake or mystery to unveil. No, if you want to be with God, you simply follow the way. The way is not a path, but a person. The way is Jesus. Follow Jesus, and you will arrive. Follow anything other than Jesus and you will miss.

How do we follow Jesus to heaven? We follow what he has told us in his word. Believe in the Lord Jesus in repentance to be saved. Believe that Jesus is the Son of god who lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, rose from the grave, and promises to return. Believe that he is your only hope for forgiveness. Entrust your very soul to the person and finished work of Jesus. That is the way to God. 

And once we are saved, we still follow Jesus as the way. He has shown us how to please the Lord. He has revealed himself and his purposes in the Scriptures. So we worship, we unite with the church, we serve the Lord, and we do it all based on the inspired word of God, the revelation of Christ to us. WE pray. We trust God to lead us through his Spirit. And we follow Jesus. We do not follow a map or a dead set of directions. WE follow the Lord, via his Spirit, through his living and perfectly inspired word.