Introduction

There are those who say that Jesus Christ is a good man and a great teacher but He is just a man just like us. But if He just a man, how could He say the things He said about Himself. 

"I AM the bread of life."

"I AM the light of the world."

"I AM the door."

"I AM the good shepherd." 

"I AM the resurrection and the life."

"I AM the way, truth, and the life."

"1 AM the true vine."

No prophet, or apostle, or teacher, ever used such words as these. These are the words of One who knew that He was God. A great teacher would not claim to be God if he wasn't. Either He is a deceived or a deceiver or Divine. And we know that He is Divine. We know that He is the Almighty because of His life, His teachings, the way He treated His enemies and His own resurrection.

This morning we continue to consider one of the well-known statements of Jesus Christ ...

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

We live in a day where truth is ignore, where truth is rejected, where absolute truth is denied and even hated and as a result they do not discover the truth and do not profit from the truth.

Winston Churchill once said ...

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.

A good example of this is Pilate. 

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 

Here our Lord informs Pilate what was the great end and purpose of His incarnation - to bear witness of the truth!

John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 

Pilate asked the right question but he did not get the answer because he immediately walked away. He was standing right before the Truth Himself and did not find the truth! How tragic it is, after having stumbled upon the truth and not benefit from the truth.

Pilate's action in walking away and not waiting for an answer, only showed that he did not belong to the truth. 

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to voice of the Master. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21: But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Those who belong to the truth love the truth and desire to know more of God's truth. Every one that really and honestly desires to know the truth, receives Christ's teaching and follow Him as their Master.

Today let us ask the same question Pilate asked but let us not walk away and not wait for the answer. May we find and prove ourselves to be one of those who belongs to the truth.

What is Truth?.

Jesus Christ answer it for us in ...

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

Here our Lord Jesus Christ declares that He Himself is the truth. This is what separates Jesus Christ from every other religious leader. Other leaders have said, "I know the truth!", "I teach the truth!" "I proclaim the truth!" "I defend the truth!" That is true that Jesus Christ did all these but He comes and says, "I am the truth."

I - Jesus is the Source of Truth

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15: John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16: And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17: For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

We are not the source of truth. We do not invent truth. As sinners, we have no built in capacity to create truth, because sin has darkened our minds.

We are all without understanding, ignorant men and women.

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Because of our sins our understanding have darkened, our hearts are blind, and we are afar off from God but in the midst of these, Jesus Christ comes to us speaking in His words saying, "I am the truth."

God has not given us a mind to originate truth but to be a receptor of truth. God declares truth in His word; our mind is given to be a receptor of that truth. Not an inventor nor a judge over it but a receiver of it.

I like what one preacher said regarding his preaching - "I am proud to say that I have never had an original thought." 

That is what we are! We are just mere repeaters. And I am thankful that the word of God is not copyrighted. There is freedom to use His Word and there is no need for a written permission. 

I am glad that the Bible does not have a "Copyright statement":

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

II - Jesus is the Sum and Substance of Truth

Truth is reality. Truth is an accurate statement of reality. Truth is the way things really are. So when Jesus said, "I am the truth," He was making the claim that He is the ultimate reality. He is the sum and substance of truth.

The truth which the OT ceremonies and sacrifices were figure and shadow but the substance is Jesus Christ Himself.

The Old Testament refers to the Almighty as the "God of truth" 

Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4: He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (cf Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16)

When Jesus said of Himself, "I am the truth", He was thereby making a profound claim about His own deity. 

He was the Truth in human form. He is the Word Incarnate. He is truth incarnate—the perfect expression of God and therefore the absolute embodiment of all that is true. He is the sum and substance of truth.

III - Jesus is the Speaker of Truth

Not only is He the Source of all truth, the Sum and Substance of truth, Jesus is the Speaker or the Revealer of all truth. The Greek word for truth means that which is not concealed or that which is revealed. He is the Revealer of the character of God, of the plan of God and of the will of God.

He is exclusively the teacher and revealer of truth. But what about the prophets and the apostles? True, they spoke the truth, but what they spoke was the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their message did not originate from themselves. We have to remember that they are just repeaters of truth.

If you want to know the truth about: who God is, how you can know God, what is the way to Heaven, how can your sins be forgiven, what is the divine method of accepting sinners, what is the truth concerning the issues that really matters, you must come to Jesus who said "I am the truth."

He is the truth we need, by which we can answer the great questions of life - Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going when I die? How can I know the way?

God wants us to see the Truth more than we want to see it. God desires this more than we desire it.

1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4: Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

God wants to reveal Himself to us. How is He going to accomplish it? Holy Scripture and Holy Spirit!

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Closing Thoughts

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

This is one answer to one question. So why did He add truth and life?

He added truth and life, because these things inseparable. You cannot enter the way apart from the truth. The only way you can access the way is to receive and believe the truth. He is the only way because He is the truth and the life.

I like what Thomas a Kempis said about this ...

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou shouldst pursue; the truth which thou shouldst believe; the life which thou shouldst hope for."

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

No one can be saved unless they hear the word. No can be save unless they know the truth. That is why we proclaim the truth. That is why we have missionaries.

The only way to enter the way is to hear and believe the truth that Jesus Christ has come to save sinners.

You heard the truth, you know the truth, you are convince of the truth, but have you believed the truth?

Let me close with one implication. If He is the truth, then you have to come to Him in truth. He requires and desires truth from us. 

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 145:18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

2 Kings 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

AMEN!