John 13–15: “I Am the Way & the Truth & the Life”

Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 36: Saturday

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told
you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be
also. And you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
John 14:1-7

Saturday’s Bible reading is John 13–15. As I mentioned last week, for a long time I’ve wanted to write about the Christian life based on John 13–17, but that’s a project that may have to wait until next year. These are rich chapters, and you’ll notice verses I have quoted many times:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35

And this passage as well:

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”
John 15:12-14

In John 13–15, there is challenge, and there is promise of help. May you find direction and comfort from the words of Jesus in these chapters.

In my post on the first two chapters of John I gave you an introduction to the book and below is a table of things to look for as you read. Other than that, in light of John’s purpose for writing, if you’ve never read John’s Gospel about Jesus Christ, I want you to discover it on your own.

“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
John 20:31–32

*“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”* John 8:58
The Signs and ‘I Am’ Statements of Jesus
	John 2:1–11	Jesus changes water into wine
	John 4:46–54	Jesus heals the royal official’s son
	John 5:1–15	Jesus heals the paralytic
	John 6:5–14	Jesus feeds the crowd of 5,000
	John 6:16–21	Jesus walks on water
	John 6:35ff	“I am the Bread of Life”
	John 8:12ff	“I am the Light of the World”
	John 9	Jesus heals the man born blind
	John 10:7ff	“I am the Door”
	John 10:11ff	“I am the Good Shepherd”
	John 11:1–46	Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
	John 11:25	“I am the Resurrection and the Life”
	John 14:6	“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”
	John 15:1ff	“I am the Vine”

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Isaiah 42 Photograph: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications
*The NASB Explanation of General Format explains their use of as asterisk in their translation:
“ASTERISKS are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurrence. However, the translators felt that it would be wiser to change these historical presents to English past tenses.”