Life Without Mother

(Originally posted October 9th, 2023 on a different site. Reposted here for consolidation purposes.)

[Jesus said,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.

John 14:1-7 (emphasis added)

RELATIVISM v. CHRISTIANITY

My church has been preaching through a series of “Hot Topics” where we’ve been exploring various topics that inspire apologetic theology. Of course, with my love for apologetics and diving into theology through that lens, this has been a series that has really made my heart sing each week. A couple of weeks ago, the topic was the question: Is Jesus really the only way?

Now, I first want to articulate the current cultural moment that informs this question and a basic apologetic for it. Today, in western culture especially, we are surrounded with the idea of relativism. Basically, that truth is relative to the individual and we cannot know objective truth. (As a side note, this idea has a foundation in its objective truth claim that “there is no objective truth that roots all of humanity in how and why we exist,” which then refutes its own claim to relativism.) Out of relativism, culture has had to make sense of how we as an interconnected world of differing peoples and beliefs could “co-exist”. Thus, the religious branch of relativism is universalism — the belief that all will reach “Enlightenment” or “Heaven” or whatever each religion determines is the “end goal”. (The philosophical or metaphysical knows this as perennialism.)

So, the idea goes that whatever you believe is true is true for you, and if you are faithful to what you believe is true, you will reach whatever it is that your religion promotes as the height of belief or enlightenment. For almost any other religion, this could work. You could be a “universalist” or “perennialist” and a devout member of that religious sect. However, Christianity itself, in accordance with its basic, most essential doctrines that Jesus is the only way of salvation, makes the idea of relativism/universalism/perennialism impossible. 

For, if the Truth claim of Christianity is true, then, by its own exclusivity claims as the Truth, relativism (et al.) is falsebecause no other religion provides a way to “God”.

And, if the Truth claim of Christianity is false, then, by the definition of relativism (et al.) that anything believed to be true by the individual is true for them, relativism (et al.) is false, because Christianity would be false, no matter how devoutly the individual may believe it to be true.

SO, WHAT’S THE POINT? 

You may have noticed that the most essential of doctrines on which this Truth claim of Christianity hinges is nearly word-for-word articulated in John 14:6 (see quote above). Jesus says, “I am the way, […] No one comes to the Father except through Me” (emphasis added). I would say that up until that sermon a couple of weeks ago, I have always heard this verse used in two ways for the same purpose: either to clarify for new disciples or in the apologetic sphere — both to emphasize the exclusivity of Christ. However, ironically enough that this sermon was part of an apologetics series, the LORD opened my eyes afresh to the true emphasis of this passage. And what’s wild is that it’s also right there in what is often the subtitle heading of this passage: “Jesus comforts His Disciples.”

The true lens of “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” is one of assurance and comfort. The disciples were concerned. Jesus had been leading them the past three years from place to place, revealing Himself, His Kingdom, and (as He emphasizes in this chapter) His Father — the I AM who they, as Jews, longed to see and know. Now Jesus is saying He is departing, going from them to “go and prepare a place” — a place He claims that they know. 

Thomas asks a simple but valid question: “how can we know the way?” All they know from Jesus’ words is that it is His Father’s house with many rooms — so, a big place? It has many rooms, so it can’t be the temple, right? That only has two… I’m sure they were puzzled. And, though Jesus also says that He “will come back and take [them] to be with [Him],” His assertion that they know the way is what throws them off. (Like, honestly, they really didn’t even need to know the way because Jesus was coming back for them anyway; but, Thomas, I get you, brother. I also like to know the details, and I have to say I’m glad you spoke up and asked because now we have even more security from Jesus’ answer.)

And thus, Jesus answers Thomas’ question: the way is Himself. To know Him is to know the way. To know Him is to know Truth. To know Him is to know Life itself. Because to know Him is to know the Father. To know Him is to (as we learn later) to have His Holy Spirit living within our very being. His response is comfort and security for His followers, not simply an argument to those who do not know Him (though this purpose does not exclude the validity of this truth claim toward other worldviews). 

Twenty-plus years and I’ve never understood the fullness of this word, spoken from the very lips of Jesus! And what joy and comfort it brings, these two-thousand-plus years later! For, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life! I know Him! I am His and He is mine! Through Him, I can come boldly before the throne of the Father for grace and mercy! This was His emphasis! That He has torn the veil and we can know the Father! 

Y’all. This passage is so much more than a mere catch-phrase argument for the Christ-follower — it’s a divine promise. A promise that the writer of Hebrews illustrates for us in chapter 4:

Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet He did not sin. Let us then approach GOD’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16