Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
I Am the Way, the Truth, the Life with Ben Carruthers
Jesus' declaration "I am the way, the truth, and the life" isn't made during a theological debate or before a massive crowd. Instead, these profound words emerge around a dinner table as comfort for twelve confused disciples facing imminent loss and uncertainty.
The setting is crucial: the Last Supper has transformed from celebration to chaos. Jesus has washed their feet (a servant's task), predicted his betrayal by one of them, foretold Peter's denial, and announced his imminent departure. His friends are understandably terrified. Their world is collapsing. Sound familiar?
We too live in uncertain times, searching for direction amid overwhelming options and competing claims. Just as Jesus spoke peace into his disciples' chaos, his words offer us clarity today. When he says "I am the way," he doesn't merely point directions like a disinterested store employee. He gets in the car with us, guiding us personally to our destination. When we inevitably stray toward shiny distractions, he doesn't abandon us – he stays, patiently redirecting us back.
His claim to be "the truth" challenges our relativistic culture. Jesus embodies moral truth through actions that match his teaching. While we live in a world that prioritizes self-fulfillment, Jesus demonstrates that authentic living means loving God and others first. His truth isn't just spoken; it's lived out in his consistent love for the outcast, compassion for enemies, and sacrifice for others.
Finally, "I am the life" reveals that following his way brings both eternal life with God and meaningful life now. When we pattern our lives after his example of selfless love, we experience "kingdom moments" – glimpses of heaven on earth even amid our brokenness.
Consider joining us as we explore how Jesus' exclusive claims don't primarily function as theological barriers but as trustworthy promises offering comfort and clarity in our confusing world. Just as a big brother takes his younger sibling by the hand saying, "I'll show you" when the way seems too difficult, Jesus offers the same to us.
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It's great to be with you this morning. Like Pete said, my name is Ben Carruthers, I'm the director of student and family ministry and it is great to be with you as this Lenten worship series, as we go through this Lenten worship series called I Am, and we've been talking about the I Am statements of Jesus. I am the bread of life, I am the gate, I am the light of the world. And this morning that you heard in the passage read by Evelyn, that he makes these pretty bold claims about himself, saying I am the truth, I am the way and I am the life. He's making these very profound, concrete statements which today might rattle us a little bit. He's making statements where there aren't it isn't really black and white. He's saying I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life, and that rubs us against us a little bit.
Speaker 1:Wrong, because we are a culture that likes options. Right, we want options. You can leave and go down the street and you can have 20 different options from where you want to eat. You can go down to Maple Grove and all these options of where you can shop and, of course, you have all these options of what you want to watch, right, like on your TV screen. It probably looks similar to mine. You can go to the next slide there With all of these options of what to watch.
Speaker 1:I cannot tell you how many times my wife and I we go to bed. We have a little bit of time before I just, you know, fall asleep at like 10, you know it's pretty late for me and so we're like, let's watch a show, and we have all these options and we get into bed like 8, 30, 9 o'clock, and at 10 o'clock we're still flipping through all of the options, right, trying to figure out what to watch. We should have just watched Judge Judy right from the get-go. You can't go wrong with Judge Judy. It's sad, but that's honestly true. I watch her all the time. You have all of these options, right. What I loved back in the day my first job was a video store Looked something like this right, go ahead and go to the next screen, something like that. Right, it limited your options. Right, you went in there. It's like this is what was available and most of the time all the good ones were gone. But you still made that choice. You chose to pick a movie off the shelf and you went home and that's what you watched, because that was your only option, right? I love those days. Let's bring them back.
Speaker 1:But we are a culture that loves options. We love options where we go to church. We like to hear different words, different messages. We like to hear different styles of worship. Band what fits us better, what do we like better? What kind of kids program do we have? And that's good. Options are not bad.
Speaker 1:But we also search options for things like the way to live our life. We look for options when it comes to what is truth and we look for options of what it means to live a good life. And here Jesus comes and makes these bold claims that says I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. Now, these bold claims, you might think, come at a time where Jesus is maybe debating or facing off against the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day. You might think it comes at the lakeside of Galilee where he's preaching to hundreds of people and preaching this new, incredible teaching. But that's not what's going on here. That's not the context of which Jesus speaks these truth claims. He speaks these truth claims at a dining room table surrounded by 12 of his best friends, all who are confused, all who are uncertain about the future, all who are dealing with fear.
Speaker 1:What I love about this passage is I think it's very similar to what we are living in in our world today that we are looking and we're a little scared of what is going on in our world, a world so divided we're uncertain of what it looks like as a parent man. What kind of world will my kid inherit? We're living in this time of fear and confusion, maybe some hurt, maybe some pain, just like the disciples. In this moment of fear and confusion, maybe some hurt, maybe some pain, just like the disciples in this moment. And Jesus speaks these words I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. And he tells us that he speaks these words to bring comfort to his disciples. In a time of fear, in a time of worry. He speaks these words to bring comfort. And so that's our prayer this morning that, as we dive into the context of this passage and these words, to bring comfort.
Speaker 1:And so that's our prayer this morning, that, as we dive into the context of this passage and these words that Jesus spoke, that in a time of fear and unknown that these words may bring us some peace and comfort as well. So, before we dive into it, let's pray, lord. God, we give you thanks and praise for the opportunity to come together and worship, to sing songs of praise to you and to dive into your words, man, the words that you spoke, but not just spoke, but you spoke about who you are. So, lord, help us to dive into these true statements this morning. Help us to listen with an open heart and open mind. These are statements that some of us might be closed off to immediately when we hear words like the way, the truth, the life. But, man, knock down those walls of just for this moment and speak truth in our hearts. In your name, we pray amen.
Speaker 1:So what is the context here? Right? Why are the disciples all worried and fearful and uncertain about the future? Well, this is what's going on in the book of john is the disciples are gathered together for the Passover meal, the Passover festival, right, where they come together and they celebrate that moment where God led their people out of Egypt and out of slavery. And that's there. It's a celebration, right, it's a party atmosphere. Well, something changes in the room. Right, that party atmosphere is no longer happening, because the first thing that Jesus does is he gets down from his seat and he takes off his outer robe, wraps it around himself, kneels down and starts washing his disciples' feet, an act that the rabbi who Jesus was the teacher would never do. This was an act of a slave would do or a servant would do. They would be the ones to wash the feet of people dining at the table right Because they didn't have nice shoe wear. They were walking everywhere with sandals and dirty feet and you got to clean those feet before dinner. This is a slave or a servant's act.
Speaker 1:And Jesus, the teacher, the rabbi, gets down immediately, changes the vibe in the whole space. The disciples had to be looking at each other like what is going on, what is Jesus doing? The disciples had to be looking like what is going on, what is jesus doing? And then from there it just snowballs and gets worse and worse and worse. After he washes the disciples feet, they regather at the table.
Speaker 1:Then jesus says to him just so you know, one of you at this table will betray me, one of my closest friends, you will betray me, and the chaos that must have erupted around that table when all these disciples are pointing fingers and trying to guess. Who is it? Who is it? What's going on? And it gets worse than that because Peter someone who Jesus was really close to, maybe one of his top three buddies right, and he looks at him. He says Peter, you will say that you do not know me three times. And the disciples must have been what are you talking about? Peter is the guy who's going to go to battle for you. He's like your number one soldier. There's no way. What are you talking about? And it gets worse Because, after all of that, jesus tells them and, by the way, I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I'm leaving what we have been following you, learning from you, and now you're going, I'm going. Imagine that group who came there for a celebration and now are left, not knowing what the future holds, not understanding what Jesus is talking about. And Jesus, seeing the worry and the fear, says I'm going to speak these words to bring peace, to bring comfort to you that I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. So what does that mean? Why do these words bring comfort? What does that mean? Why do these words bring comfort? Well, the first thing he says is I am the way I am the way, the way to God. I am the only way to get to God, me, jesus. That's it, the way.
Speaker 1:I was recently at a store We'll just call it Walmart, not our lovely Walmart. No, I love that one. I was at a different Walmart because I had no idea in this Walmart, where anything was zero. And I used to work at this Walmart way back in the day and I still have no idea it's been remodeled. I have no idea. And I needed just 3m strips. You know the velcro things. And so I go up to a nice employee and I say, excuse me, nice employee, where are your 3m strips? And he said said it's in hardware. I said, that's great, where's hardware? And they said it's over there. And I said I know this might shock you, but I don't work here, right, I don't have the schmock, I don't have the name tag. Hello, my name is Ben, I don't work here, where is it? And this person really said well, you just go around that corner there and then you turn there and you can't miss it. I said I will miss it because I don't know where it is. I used to work at that Walmart and the very first thing I was told on day one I remember 20 years ago when I worked there was that when someone asks you where something is, you show them, you bring it. You bring that person to whatever they're looking for, even if you have no idea. You fake it until you find it. But you walk with that person and I remember that you show them the way, not by pointing, not by giving things that say, hey, look for this, then turn left, look for that, turn right. You show them the way.
Speaker 1:William Barclay says it in this story, that he says he went to a town that he had no idea. William Barclay was a theologian from the 40s, 50s and 60s, so this goes way back before cell phones and GPSs. And he was in a town that he did not know anything about. And he stops and asks a guy for directions and he says the same thing like we'd expect Yep, you go up there two streets, take a left, go up there, turn right. And the guy's like listen, I've never been here before, I have no idea what you're talking about. And instead of keep telling him, he got in the car with him and he brought him to where he needed to go.
Speaker 1:We get so distracted in life on the path that we want to walk that leads to God, the path that God has for you. And sometimes, when we ask for directions, we get answers like that. We get answers like oh man, I'm really searching for God, I don't know Will and you may hear it even from church that says well, if you just open your Bible to this page, well, if you just do this, if you just do that, you will find your way. That's not what Jesus says or means when he says I am the way. Jesus is the guy who gets in the car with you and takes you to where you need to go. So let's not relying on us and our GPS navigation and our thoughts and ideas of what it means to be the way or how to get to God. He says just let me show you, let me be the way, because there are things on our left and on our right that try to distract us and pull us away from the path that God has set for us.
Speaker 1:Here's the beautiful thing about this is that with those distractions that we get pulled away from and maybe it's the lies and deceit of this world, maybe it's even the lies and deceit of our own heart. But Jesus is saying listen, man, you go right here, this is the path. And you're like, yeah, but there's a real shiny object over there and I'm pretty curious about what that is. So I'm going to go that way. Or Jesus says, no, man, this is the path straight ahead. And you're like, man, that's dark, that's scary. I have no idea what lies ahead. There's no way I'm going way over here, a path that I've been before, a path that I know is safe. He's like no, come here. You're like, nope, I'm not doing it, I'm going this way.
Speaker 1:Here's the beauty about Jesus he doesn't get out of the car, he doesn't say well, if you're not going my way, I'm not going your way. He just, he just buckles up for the ride and as you get off this path or the way, and you go and see what's over here and find that it's not the way that you want it to go, or that you go over here, the pathway that you have been before, that you know leads to nothing good, that you know doesn't lead to a life, and Jesus says just come on back right here, because he's still with you. He doesn't leave you or forsake you, because he is the way. He's the way. Now, those things that distract us rolls right into what Jesus said, that he is the truth. Not only is he the way and embodies the way to God, the only way, he also says that I am the truth, I embody truth man, which for now, in today's world, for someone to stand up and say here's the truth man, you're getting ready to have bullets flown at you, you're on a dartboard, because if someone say this is the truth, that is not the culture that we live in today. But Jesus makes a bold claim here. He says I am the truth.
Speaker 1:I wonder how many things in our lives that we once upon a time thought was true? Right, when I was a kid, I believed in many things that aren't true. But there was two that stick out and I remember to this day One, and I can't tell you where I thought these or where these came from, I have no idea. But the first one was this I believe that if you got struck by lightning, you would not die, but instead you would turn into a werewolf. Yeah, so imagine me in middle school, elementary school, talking about. I remember talking in conversation with a kid about being struck by lightning, the worst thing that could happen is death, right? No, not that I say. The truth is you could turn into a werewolf, and that's much more scary. I have no idea what this thought or how this came into my mind.
Speaker 1:The other one that was truly very embarrassing was that I believed that if you had a birthmark, that meant that you were the first born. Does anyone else remember this or believe this? Not one supporter. Thanks, guys. All right, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I believe this to the point where I remember I was hanging out with my friend. His name was Scott and Scott had a birthmark and he was not the oldest in his family and I this is, I'm in middle school. I'm in middle school and I'm like Scott how do you have that? You're not the firstborn? And he looks at me and he's like what is wrong with you, man? And I'm like no, this is true Only because my sister Linda this is probably where the lie came my sister Linda has it and she's the oldest and none of us do. He's like man, you need some help. I have no idea where these came from, but I have an idea of why I believed them for so long Because no one told me the truth. No one stood up and told me the truth. I think it's what we have going on today and why we're so confused and so worried about the future, because no one's standing up and speaking truth.
Speaker 1:And Jesus says I am the truth, he embodies the truth. The truth is not our story, the truth is not our narrative, and our story and our narrative are so important. It's part of who we are. But that's just a piece of what fits into the truth that is Jesus. Because he doesn't say the truth is me plus something else. He says I am the truth and I embody it and he lived it out.
Speaker 1:Now we could have a mathematician, a math teacher, come up here and tell you all math facts, right, all math truths. Two plus two is four, four plus four is eight. That's where I'm done. I'm not a mathematician, right? We could have a scientist come up and tell us all about the science and facts of chemistry and biology. We could have a history professor come up and tell us all about the history of the United States and the history of the world and tell us all of these truths.
Speaker 1:But that's not what Jesus is claiming here. He is claiming moral truth. He is saying sure, two plus two equals four. That's great, but he's saying love the people who are unlovable, right? He's saying go to the people who no one invites in and invite them in. He is saying go to your enemies and show them love and compassion and what it means that he embodied the truth is he just didn't get up and say these truth claims. It's that he backed them up with his actions Because he went to the unlovable and showed love. He went to the people who were the outcasts, like Matthew the tax collector, and he said come and follow me and be a disciple. He showed love for his enemies as he hung on the cross and said Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He embodies this truth claim, he lives it out, which is why we can follow it, which is why we know it to be true, because no one else can say that.
Speaker 1:It's one of the biggest slams against Christianity. Right, I went to this church and I heard this pastor get up and say these things and that pastor's doing this and that pastor's doing that. Yeah, that's why pastors and people in churches are here, because we need Jesus. We know it, we know he's the way and we know he's the way and we know he's the truth and man. We are doing our best to not get blinded by the glitter that's trying to pull us off the path, to stay true to that and stay true to the truth claims of Jesus. Now, why is this pushed back so much in society? It's because the truth claims of Jesus revolve around God and other people.
Speaker 1:God said, or Jesus said, that we should love God with our whole heart and love others with our whole heart. It didn't say in there that we are number one. It didn't say in there that the universe revolves around us and our wants and our desires. He didn't say that you should live for whatever you want to live. Back in the day, anyone remember the phrase YOLO, you only only live once. My high school kid would just cringe if you heard me say yolo in front of a bunch of people. By the way, they don't say it anymore. I don't think you only live once is what it stood for, and I hated that. What a statement to say for young people that we only live once. No, man, it's so, not true, but it's the way that the world lives, that we live for ourselves and Jesus is saying no, the truth is that you live and love other people. This is what he was saying and this is what he was preaching, and this is what he was doing embodying the truth. And it's so hard in today's world because no one is saying it, no one is saying what the truth means To live and love and to follow God and to live and love God and other people, to live for other people.
Speaker 1:And that goes into the third thing. The third claim that he said is that I am the life, because when we follow the truth claims of Jesus, of who he is, embodied the truth, and live for God and live for other people, that's where life is found. Yes, in this passage Jesus says man, the only way to God, the only way to him is through me. That's it. It's not Jesus and it's not Jesus, but it's just Jesus. He is saying that he is the only way to God, but in this passage he is also saying that he is life, which means that if we are on this journey with him, on the way that he's going, if we embody the truth claims, like he did, and live for God, love God, live for others, love others, and our life shows that the kingdom comes here. That kingdom life, that life with God, is here just for a moment, when we put others' lives before our own and live and love others, those close to us and those far away from us, and our enemies, when we can do that. That's the kingdom here and that's what it means when he says I am the life, I am the life everlasting and I am the life here, even in a broken world with broken people, when we follow the way and live the truth of Christ, we can have kingdom moments here.
Speaker 1:Pastor Ryan loves his word shalom. We can have peace here. I don't get as excited about it as he does, but it's a pretty great word, right. Peace, shalom. Here in this time. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, the eternal life with God, the only way. And life here. Moments, kingdom moments, lived here. I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.
Speaker 1:William Barclay, the same theologian, has a way to sum up this passage. I thought it was pretty cool. I'll read it for you here. And there is one way of putting all of this no one says or no one says Jesus comes to the Father except through me. Jesus alone is the way to God. In him alone we see what God is like. In him alone we have access to God. He alone can show us God and he alone can lead us into the presence of God without fear and without shame. Because that's how this started. It started with his closest friends sitting around a table, scared, fearful of the unknown, confused about what was going on, and he spoke these words I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. We can have that same peace, that same calm today in our lives and in our world.
Speaker 1:I'll leave you with this funny story that happened this morning. My son, arlo, was doing the announcements at the 8.30, and he was far more nervous than I was about getting up this morning, so he was up at 5 am this morning and so then I was up at 5 am this morning and so I go out and brew some coffee and I'm going over my message this morning and we have the Easter stuff out for decorating the house and we have two bins of big plastic Easter eggs and yesterday they were just hiding them and having these Easter egg hunts and they were just loving life. It hide them and having these Easter egg hunts and they were just loving life. It was great. And so Arlo comes and he said hey, I'm going to make an Easter egg hunt for Ezzie. So Ezzie, his younger brother, when he wakes up he'll have an Easter egg hunt.
Speaker 1:I'm like that's awesome man. He's like, yeah, so he had, he hid all of these eggs. And then he wrote clues trying to find all the eggs. And Arlo told me he's like I'm going to make a couple of them really hard. I'm like, don't, he's six, leave him alone. No, he's going to be really hard. And sure enough as he, I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, as a big brother, it'd be kind of fun to be like well, that's the game, try to figure it out. But instead he took his hand and he said I'll show you. I'll show you. Central in this life, when things get really hard and we can't seem to find the way, when we have no idea where to start looking for the truth, and when we have questions about what this life means, jesus takes you by the hand and says I'll show you, amen.
