Following the Path of Jesus

John 14:1-14

May 7, 2023

When many people read and interpret this passage, they tend to overemphasize verse 6, in which Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This verse is often wielded as a weapon to condemn not only non-Christians to an eternity in hell, but many Christians often interpret this verse in ways that condemn to hell other Christians who are part of different denominations or churches.

This verse and a very narrow and specific interpretation of it has not only overshadowed the rest of the chapter and the book of John but also the gospels in general. This verse is often interpreted in such a way as to attempt to silence those who are preaching a gospel of liberation and justice over one of exclusion, and violence.

This verse has been twisted and abused in such ways to create death-dealing theologies that have justified the colonization and genocide of whole countries and continents.

This verse has been to justify the silencing and oppression of Jewish people, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, and anyone who doesn’t adhere to a narrow interpretation of Christianity.

This verse has been used to advocate for horrific laws that seek to deny queer people the right to love and exist.

But I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, those who interpret scripture in ways that bring violence, death, and destruction, may be the loudest voices, but they aren’t the only voices. They don’t have a monopoly on Biblical interpretation and scholarship. They also aren’t even necessarily the most accurate.

Biblical interpretation is a complex interplay of understanding the historical contexts of the passage, understanding the passage in reference to the other books in the Biblical text, being aware of differences in language end translation, and also the reality that our current socio, political, and theological realities influence how we read the Biblical texts.

When it comes to John 14, it is important to understand that the author’s community was struggling: not only with the death and resurrection of their savior but with intercommunity squabbles that eventually led to Jesus’ followers becoming a separate religion from Judaism.

This passage isn’t about individual adherence to a set of theological and political ideas that the early Jesus followers did not adhere to (because these ideas did not exist at the time) but it is a word of comfort and challenge for a collective that was struggling with the despair and loneliness of being separated from the synagogue and living in a society under Roman oppression.

Taking all that into account, it becomes difficult to defend interpretations of this passage and of verse 6 specifically, which state that accepting Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life means rejecting queer and trans people and condemning them to hell, or forcing women to live as second class citizens whose only purpose in life is to serve men and have children.

Or that following Jesus means following a specific political platform at the expense of the most marginalized and vulnerable. Instead, viewed in all its complexity, this passage becomes both a comfort and a challenge.

It is important to acknowledge that Christians living in the 21st century have many differences from Jesus’ followers living in the first century. Now, Christianity instead of being a subset of Judaism is a separate religion. Now instead of being a small sect, it is one of the major world religions. Christianity has gone from being a religion in contrast to empire, to the empire itself.

And despite evangelical persecution fantasies, Christianity, at least in the West, is often the one doing the persecuting, instead of being on the receiving end. (and in countries where Christians face persecution, other religious minorities, ethnic/racial minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ also face government oppression).

And yet there are some similarities. Christians now, just like in the 1st century are called to stand up against systems of death and oppression. Unfortunately, today, that often means pushing back against institutions and individuals who claim that the Christian faith justifies harm against women, queer and trans people, and people of color.

And standing up against forces of death and destruction is difficult. Then and now, Jesus’ followers are faced with the temptation to simply go with the flow, to remain silent, and to capitulate to the values of the empire. And then just as now, Jesus’ followers grapple with how to acknowledge the reality of the injustice we witness and experience while holding onto hope.

This passage reminds Jesus’ followers that we aren’t alone. The first half of the passage is often interpreted as heavenly houses up in the sky somewhere, but the metaphors could also be interpreted as representing a closeness to God, the Father. Dr. Karoline M Lewis in the Fortress Biblical Commentary on John explains that Jesus is affirming that the disciples know God the Father and that Jesus seeks “to reiterate his relationship with the Father are meant for the disciples to imagine themselves in that same relationship.” (188).

We, like the disciples, are not alone as we seek to fulfill Jesus' challenge of following the path of Jesus and God. And the paths we are to follow is not one of forcing others to accept theological concepts that the author of John and quite frankly Jesus, did not adhere to, (sorry but Biblical infallibility and hating on drag queens were not part of Jesus’ message) but it is a path that pits us at odds with empire and institutions of injustice.

In many ways, interpretations of this passage that rest on elevating Christians as superior to others, actually lead us away from the path of Jesus onto a safe, comfortable, and easy path. The path is easy because it entails seeing ourselves as better than others, endorses arrogance, and forsakes humility. It reinforces a drive for dominance and power.

But the path of Jesus eschews the easy way. It means rejecting power that is built on the exploitation of the marginalized. It also means walking humbly trusting that we don’t have all the answers and we don’t need to.

Image: group of people hiking in the forest. Text: The path of Jesus eschews the easy way. It means rejecting power that is built on the exploitation of the marginalized.