John 14:6: “…and I am the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Do you ever judge how good your life is by your immediate circumstances? Depending on your success or your challenges, you claim that life is good or life is bad. It can be tempting to think that life is just something that happens to us. Jesus reveals to us that life isn’t found in our achievements or the things we do, but all life is found in Him. Reading that Jesus is the life draws us back to earlier verses in the Gospel of John, where Jesus says “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25). It reminds us of the Good Shepherd, who has “come that you may have life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).
At this point the disciples had followed Jesus for three years when He said these words. Three years of witnessing Jesus perform miracles. He had opened the eyes of the blind, healed the sick and raised the dead. Three years where they have experienced the Messiah showing them a new way of living. But the most important thing he showed them was the relationship He had with the Father. A revelation of Abba. He showed them that He was sent to save us, so that we can be connected to God forever. Loved eternally and alive forever.
Jesus says that you too can come to the Father, but you must go through Him. Jesus was making two claims in this verse. One, that all life is found through Him. And two, that He himself is the life that was sacrificed in your place. When He said this toward His disciples, Jesus was pointing toward His impending death on the cross. It was another way of saying “I am the chosen one to die in your place so that you will receive redemption; the gift of life to live free forever. Believe in my finished work and you will be connected to God”. The Greek word for life that Jesus uses is ‘zoe’. Zoe means eternal life. Spiritual life. It is life that is abundant, everlasting and full. And Jesus came that you can have just that! It is through him that you will live. Zoe can be interpreted as vitality. Right throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus has said that when we believe in Him we will live. To experience His life we simply believe in His words.
Church, how freeing to know that the life God has called you to is possible because of the work of Jesus. He has dealt with sin and separation. Nothing will ever separate you from God. Living this ‘zoe life’ is not dictated by your circumstances, it is not dictated by your performance or your ability. It is based solely on the righteousness of Jesus. Because of his righteousness you are now called righteous. You have access to the Father and his unconditional love and grace. You are a child of God. And a by-product of this connection is that you can experience all that the disciples did. Mark 16 talks about the signs that come when you believe: miracles, power, protection. Move forward into today, knowing that you are connected with Life itself. Choose afresh to trust that He is the Life.
Declaration: I choose today to trust in the life in Jesus. The life that has brought me to God. I choose to believe in his finished work and experience ‘zoe’. Lead me in your everlasting love and abundance of grace.
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Who Do You Say I Am Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2020