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.

I am thankful for the question Thomas asked, This affirmation of Jesus is one the greatest philosophical utterances of all time! He did not say that he KNEW the way…He declared himself THE FINAL KEY OF ALL MYSTERIES.

We have computer programs which map out the best route to various destinations. There are two pieces of information which we must know before the map can be printed: 1. the point of departure, and 2. the destination.

The disciples actually did know the starting point (Jerusalem) but they think they do not know His destination…I’ll let Jesus tell us:

John 6:38 (ESV) For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 7:33-34 (ESV) Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. ³⁴  You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.”

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Ever been asked a question like this: “Are you one of those who believe that Jesus is exclusively the only way to heaven? They usually follow with this exclamation: You know how mad that makes people these days!”

My response: “Jesus is not exclusive. He died so that anyone could comes to Him for salvation.”

Jesus is inclusive! The Bible says Jesus died so that people of all social classes, ethnicities and backgrounds can come to him for salvation.  Jesus excludes no one!

Christianity is not an exclusive club limited to an elite few who fit the perfect profile. Everyone is welcome regardless of color, class, or clout.

When he was on earth, Jesus made many gracious, very “inclusive” offers to help all kinds of people. Here are a few offers of hope to any of Jesus’ hearers without “fine print.” I’ll use italics to emphasize the key words…

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

By the way, Jesus made this statement to a woman whom most of Jesus’ countrymen would have considered a societal outcast, unworthy of civil conversation, much less an offer of eternal life!

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:38).

Then, why “only through Jesus”?

Jesus does not simply teach the way or point the way; He is the way. In fact, “the Way” was one of the early names for the Christian faith :

Acts 9:2 (ESV) and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Acts 19:23 (ESV) About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.

Acts 22:4 (ESV) I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,

Acts 24:14 (ESV) But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,

Our Lord’s statement, “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me,” wipes away any other proposed way to heaven—good works, religious ceremonies, costly gifts, prestige, or power.

There is only one way, and Jesus Christ Jesus is the only way to God—it’s the truth and the only option that works. Think about it…God is the one we have all sinned against.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

Since we’re the “offenders,” it makes sense that God is the only one qualified to say how things can be set right with him! Even in our courts the offenders don’t set the amounts of their fines or the terms of their punishment! Why would we think the God of the universe would require less?

All of us are guilty before God. We are sinners in need of a Savior and we cannot help ourselves. Our sin had to be dealt with. Jesus, as God in the flesh, died to pay the penalty for our sins and then rose from the dead.

The Bible puts it this way: “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8).

Isaiah 53:6 goes on to say that “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” No other religious leader offers what Jesus provides in His victory over sin and death. And no other leader rose from the dead!

The gospel of Christ is offensive to some, but it is the wonderful truth that God loves us enough to come and take care of our biggest problem—sin.

John 3:17 (ESV) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus’ gracious offer to solve our basic sin problem is still valid today: “Whoever hears my word and believes him [God] who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

The Jews talked much about the way in which men must walk and the ways of God. God said to Moses: “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:32, 33).

Moses said to the people: “I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you” (Deuteronomy 31:29).

Suppose we are in a strange town and ask for directions. Suppose the person asked says: “Take the first to the right, and the second to the left. Cross the square, go past the church, take the third on the right and the road you want is the fourth on the left.” The chances are that we will be lost before we get half-way. But suppose the person we ask says: “Come. I’ll take you there.” In that case the person to us is the way, and we cannot miss it.

That is what Jesus does for us. He does not only give advice and directions. He takes us by the hand and leads us; he strengthens us and guides us personally every day. He does not tell us about the way; he is the Way.

Following are three reasons why people reject Jesus’ claim to be the only way to God:

1. They are satisfied with their own way or with doing nothing; they refuse on principle to examine Christ’s claims. Like people in a smoke-filled building who doubt that there is a fire, they insist that they will find their own way out.
2. They deny their lostness. These people in the smoke-filled building insist on debating whether there is a fire.
3. They are convinced that there must be several valid ways besides Jesus to get to God. These people in the smoke-filled building reluctantly agree that there may be a fire, but that any way of escape is as good as any other, even though they have not actually chosen a way themselves.

I have faith in a God who acts in history to uphold a particular truth, a vision of social justice and personal holiness that has clear definition and is anything but relative.

Despite my post-modern inclination to embrace nuance, paradox and gray areas, Jesus presents me with a yes or no decision: Will I follow him, or not?

The choice to answer “yes” is a direct challenge to the status quo. All of a sudden, I find that I can’t go along anymore with my culture’s competing truth claims.

Jesus has become not merely one option for my personal growth, nor just a great teacher whose wisdom I can mix and match with other teachers and paths. Instead, I am put in the uncomfortable position of following him as my Lord and my God.

By relating to Jesus as what could be ultimate concern, I shine a spotlight on the inadequacy of all other, less-than-ultimate concerns. Family, country, community, wealth, peace and progress, all these things are good and necessary for our well-being, but they fall short of ultimacy.

In Jesus, I discover that it’s not enough to be happy, healthy and wealthy if I’m not following the ultimate truth.

Despite how offensive and exclusive Jesus may seem to many, following him is ultimately the most inclusive, loving thing we can do.

Some explain it this way: our culture’s way of creating belonging is through shared affinity – for example, the kind of music we listen to, games we play, work we do, or pets we own. Our culture seeks to create unity through subcultures centered on shared consumption, rather than shared purpose.

These various subcultures – including many religious groups, I might add! – are an extremely exclusive way of forming community. They depend upon a group of people gathered around shared traits or interests. They gather around who we are and what we do rather than who God is and what God is doing.

Jesus does things differently. He draws us into community with people that we would not have chosen ourselves. Rather than coming together primarily out of shared hobbies, life experience or social/class backgrounds, Jesus calls people who are profoundly different. These folks might not even like each other; yet, in Jesus, they discover an irresistible love that unites them.

I’ve seen this play out many times: God draws together a bunch of misfits, folks who no reasonable person would have picked out, but who our unreasonable God designed to cohere in his Spirit.

This is the kind of community I want to be a part of: a community that stretches me to love folks I don’t like, to grow beyond the normal bounds of human affinity.

I want to be part of a community so radiant with Christ’s inclusive love that even those who are skeptical of our faith will be drawn to us.

When we are dwelling in the Spirit, others may perceive that we want to be friends with them – not because we like them, and not because they say the right words or believe the right things, but because Jesus already loves them and accepts them.

As Charles Hodge said: “Stick with those you’re stuck with.”

Jesus claimed to be the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying, “Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!

The claims of Jesus resound in the Holy Scriptures. He makes it clear that He is not a “good teacher” He is not a “good man” – a man slightly elevated and set apart from other men.

Jesus claimed and demonstrated that He is the holy God. He created the Universe, the Cosmos and the many distant world’s.

He is the Word of God made flesh. He is the Son of God incarnate, who came to save people from everlasting punishment. He alone is the way to God, the only mediator and Savior of human-kind. Only He is able and willing to sacrifice Himself for the destitute race that is human beings.

He has always been with the Father. He is an infinite being who never had a start and will never end. He is Eternal Life.

This is who He is. The way to freedom, salvation and forgiveness is through Him. Only Him. There is only one way to heaven, and that way is on His terms, not ours.

The path of repentance and faith is the only way to heaven. We face our sinful selves and bring our rottenness to Christ and He is able to forgive anyone who comes and trusts in Him. This is a supernatural process that only God the Son can perform.

Christ died so that humans don’t have to. He offers free salvation to anyone who will humble themselves and give up their selfish lives to Him. Our destruction is that we refuse Him and insist on our own way.

This is the only way to God. It is an exclusive way and has a single Savior. All honor, glory and praise is unto His name for ever and ever.

John 3:18 (ESV) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.