MONDAY
This devotional is adapted from David Habrat’s sermon on Sunday June 29. Sorry, there is no audio version of the devotional this week.
JOHN 13:33- 14:8 AMP Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for Me and as I told the Jews, so I will tell you now, Where I am going you are not able to come. I am giving you a new commandment that you love another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another. Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You Going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will be able to follow later”. Peter said to Him, “lord, why cannot I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You”. Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before a rooster crows you will deny and completely disown Me three times.“ Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God and trust in Him, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to make a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. And to the place I am going you know the way. Thomas said to Him “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can 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.”
In our busy lives, we're often preoccupied with mundane concerns—yard work, social gatherings, professional challenges. Today, let's set aside these worldly distractions and embark on a spiritual journey to the Temple of God with Jesus as our guide.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus shared final teachings with His disciples. He spoke of love as their identifying mark, warned of coming trials, and promised to prepare a place for them. When Thomas expressed confusion about their destination, Jesus declared: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
This statement—one of seven "I Am" declarations in John's Gospel—carries extraordinary weight. In Greek, "I am" (ego eimi) is an emphatic assertion of identity, essentially saying, "I myself, and only I, am." Jesus makes an exclusive claim that challenges our culture's preference for multiple spiritual paths.
For those raised in Jewish tradition, Jesus' words held additional significance. The Tabernacle (and later the Temple) consisted of three sections with profound spiritual meaning:
- The gate to the outer court: known as "the Way"
- The door to the Holy Place: called "the Truth"
- The veil before the Holy of Holies: represented "the Life"
When Jesus proclaimed Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life," He wasn't offering a simple metaphor—He was declaring Himself to be the living Temple, the ultimate meeting place between God and humanity.
Consider what this means for us:
Jesus as the Way: He provides our only legitimate access to God. In a world offering countless spiritual paths, Jesus stands as the singular route to genuine communion with the Father.
Jesus as the Truth: After entering relationship with God through Christ, we're invited into deeper knowledge and intimacy. Jesus embodies divine truth—not merely teaching it but being the standard of what is real and right.
Jesus as the Life: When Jesus died, the Temple veil tore from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), symbolizing our newfound access to God's presence through His sacrifice. In Christ, we find not just existence but abundant life (John 10:10).
This devotional invites you to travel spiritually through this Temple pattern:
- Enter through the Way: Acknowledge Jesus as your only path to God.
- Embrace the Truth: Allow Jesus to challenge and transform your understanding of reality.
- Receive the Life: Move beyond religious activity into the intimate presence of God.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being my Way, Truth, and Life. Help me move beyond distractions and enter through You into fellowship with the Father. Guide me from the outer courts of initial belief to the intimate Holy of Holies of Your presence. Amen.