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Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6 · King James Version · underlined terms are tappable
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.
  • BSB Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through 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 4:12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
  • John 10:9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
  • Eph 2:18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
  • John 11:25–26Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
  • John 1:4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • John 1:14And 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.
  • 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
  • Isa 35:8–9And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
  • John 1:17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
  • John 8:32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
  • Heb 7:25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
  • 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
  • John 5:21For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
  • 2 Jn 1:9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
  • Rev 20:15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
  • John 15:1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  • Matt 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
  • John 5:25–29Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
  • John 6:51I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
  • Rev 22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
  • John 8:51Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
  • John 17:2–3As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
  • John 10:28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
  • 1 Jn 2:23Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
  • Heb 10:19–22Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
  • John 6:33For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
  • John 18:37Pilate 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.
  • John 14:19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
  • John 6:57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
  • John 10:7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
  • 1 Pet 2:4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
  • Col 3:4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
  • Rom 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
  • 1 Cor 15:45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
  • John 6:68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
  • Rom 5:21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • 1 Jn 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
  • Rev 1:5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
  • 2 Cor 1:19–20For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 14:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.