Jesus Is The Life
By Andrew Ready
Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. Jn 14:6. As we look at the topic of ‘the life’ we cannot go past this critical verse. Jesus Himself is the life. This verse goes on to say ‘no man comes to the Father except through Me’. Jesus was saying that, as well as being the life of God personified, He was also the one who can bring us to God the Father so that we too, can receive life.
So, what do we see of the life as we look at Jesus?
Before His death and resurrection Jesus had the same need for food and shelter as we do. Yet He said, ‘man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’. Matt 4:4. He knew what it meant to live by the word of God. That is, He lived by the things that God the Father said of Him, and asked of Him. Once He had been raised from the dead, however, Jesus was no longer mortal. He was still in a body of flesh, as demonstrated by His capacity to eat with the disciples, but He had conquered death. The life He was demonstrating at this point is ‘resurrection life’, life over which death has no power.
Paul the apostle wrote of the resurrection. He was referring to the prophet Hosea when he said, ‘Where, oh death, is your victory? Where, oh death, is your sting?’ Hos 13:14; 1 Cor 15:55. Paul had just finished saying that the mortal is to be clothed with immortality, and death is to be swallowed up in victory. What a wonderful statement of the life of Jesus! All the efforts of men in putting Him to death were not enough to stop Him in His victory! There is a great encouragement to us in this. We may not face literal, physical death each day, but no matter what life throws at us, God has a greater plan. As we learn to live by ‘every word that comes from the mouth of God’ we too, can know how to live a victorious life. This may not mean everything in life goes our way. It does mean, however, that we can go through each day secure in the knowledge of God’s love, and with a joy and peace as we live out His will for our lives.
A further aspect that we need to consider is Jesus’ statement, ‘I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.’ Jn 5:30. When Jesus willingly died on the cross it was the culmination of the whole way He lived His earthly life. He was not living out of selfish ambition, but instead He lived to bring life to others. He said, ‘as the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep’. Jn 10:15. Jesus demonstrated a capacity to live in a way that brought life to others. This is more than just doing good deeds. Many good deeds can bring people short-term relief or comfort, but often these things only prolong existence. Existence is different from life. Jesus healed people and provided for their physical needs, but He did not just stop at providing for their existence. He brings LIFE, joy, peace, comfort, relationship and reconciliation. By restoring us to the relationship with God that we have lost, these things go beyond just the needs of food and shelter. He calls us into a relationship with Him which equips us, not just for this life, but for the endless life to come once our mortal life has finished. Truly, when Jesus said ‘I am the life’, He was saying more than just ‘I can bring you life’, or ‘I can take care of your existence’. He IS the life, and He was declaring the wonderful truth that we too, can receive this life in the context of a relationship with Him and His people.
