Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- KJV Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- NKJV Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- NASB Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
- NLT Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus declares, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. It is a foundational claim to His exclusive role in salvation.
Overview
In one of the great 'I am' sayings, Jesus identifies Himself as the only path to God, the embodiment of truth, and the source of eternal life. He is not merely a guide to the way but the way itself. The verse stands at the heart of the gospel's exclusivity: access to the Father comes solely through the person and work of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- Acts 4:12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- John 10:9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
- Eph 2:18For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
- John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- John 1:4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
- 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- Isa 35:8–9And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- John 8:32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
- Heb 7:25Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
- 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- John 5:21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- 2 Jn 1:9Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.
- Rev 20:15And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- John 15:1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
- Matt 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
- John 5:25–29Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
- John 6:51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- John 8:51Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
- John 17:2–3For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
- Heb 10:19–22Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- John 6:33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- John 18:37“Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
- John 14:19In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
- John 6:57Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
- John 10:7So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
- 1 Pet 2:4As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Col 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
- Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- 1 Cor 15:45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
- John 6:68Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
- Rom 5:21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- 2 Cor 1:19–20For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 14:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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