"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6
I'm taking a super intense bible study right now. It's through Village Schools of the Bible, it's a cover-to-cover on the bible. They help you understand it, see the threads, the purpose of each book and the correlation from old to new testaments. I highly suggestion it to anyone. It is absolutely fabulous.
A few weeks ago, we studied the Gospel John. John's gospel was impossible for me to read much less understand! In fact many times I skipped over. It wasn't until I was enlightened on his purpose and goal to write this gospel that things began to connect and click for me and once I had the framework, it has quickly become one of my favorite gospels.
John's goal in his gospel is to prove to us that Jesus is the Son of God. He doesn't give us a chronological order of Jesus' life or even share many of the teachings and miracles that the other Gospels use. He uses only events that help prove the holiness of Jesus. His book is centered around who Jesus is. He calls them the I AM statements.
- I AM the bread of life
- I AM the Light of the world
- I AM the gate for the sheep
- I AM the good shepherd
- I AM the resurrection and the life
- I AM the way, the truth and the life
- I AM the true grapevine
To understand who Jesus was/is, we need to understand these I AMs. So I put my interpretation on what I found these I AMs to mean. It is pretty straight-to-the-point, so if there are questions to further understand, I'd love to answer them or at least try. email carly@carlyddesign.com
Bread of Life (John 6:35) - as bread satisfies our physical hunger and as manna satisfied the Israelites as they wondered in the desert, Jesus will satisfy our spiritual hunger and give us life. A life of direction, leading and hope. A life with a heavenly purpose.
Light of the world (John 8:12) - As God was the light to the Israelites during their exodus, lighting and guiding their way to freedom, so is Jesus Christ to us. Guiding us on our path to eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
The Gate for the sheep (John 10:7) – Jesus is our only way of access to God. We no longer have to keep all 613 of the laws that Moses gave the Israelites (yes 613 which include ceremonial, feasts, moral, etc, crazy right?!) Jesus is now our way to our heavenly father. For it is by faith, not by works.
The Good Shepherd (John 10:11) – Jesus, like shepherd to his sheep, is so committed in his love for us that he laid down his life for us. He will lead us in our walk. He is our Psalm 23
The Resurrection and the life (John 11:25) – the creator of life who restores life. Jesus covered our sins, so sin no longer weights us down. We are reconciled in him and have life only in him. I lay my sin at the cross.
The way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) – The only way to God is through Jesus. The truth is that he is God’s promised Messiah. Only Jesus can give us an eternal life.
The true grapevine (John 15:1) – a grapevine has one vine that supports all its branches. Christ is that one vine and from him come the branches or the believers who claim to follow Christ. This reminds me to be a true believer in Christ, always following his ways and producing fruit for his kingdom.
Sometimes we simplify Jesus and other times we complicate him. I found this study to really challenge me to seek and understand who Jesus really is because when we understand who is and all that he is, we can begin to truly develop a strong and everlasting relationship with our Savior.
So I challenge you to read each passage and draw deeper understanding in your words. It won't take you long. I promise. And I promise it will be well worth it.