2026 Pentecost Devotions I
Friday, July 3
Festival of St. Thomas, Apostle
John 14:1-7
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
“… Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me …”
Many years ago, when I was studying as part of a church leadership program, one of the program’s participants was working on a thesis rooted in Jesus’ words from this passage. His premise was to take Jesus’ words literally, not just for Christians, but for all people. He posited that nearly every major religion has a “Christ-like” figure – someone who mediates between the supreme god and humanity, and who, in some way, offers a way to new life.
While my friend’s theory is not commonly held among all theologians and biblical scholars, it raises the question about what Jesus meant when he says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Is he saying that only those literally confess Christ are heaven-bound? Or that new life is only available for those who believe and follow the crucified and resurrected Jesus of the New Testament? Does that also mean that the billions of people on earth today (whom God created in God’s image), and those billions more who have come before us and will follow after are condemned to hell because they never heard of our Lord or practiced some other religious belief?
For those questions, I do not have an answer. What I do know is that, for me, Jesus is the way, the truth, and life; and if we want to know the way to the Father, it is through Him. Whether people of other faiths and belief systems have another way, I’m going to leave that question to the One who created us all out of the dust of the earth. Personally, I hope my friend is correct.
Prayer: Lord Christ, you alone are the way to the Father. May my life reflect Your wondrous grace in dealing with others who do not share my belief. Amen.