Dear Friend of BCS,
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
—John 14:6a
Perhaps no other single sentence ever spoken or written has such sweeping power and weight to it as this one. It is a stunning pronouncement which must reorient the reader’s entire understanding of reality. This is the ultimate,
game-changing truth. With this description of himself, Jesus captures the totality of his essence and the
target of our ambitions.
As he so often did in his interactions with his disciples and with the wider audiences, Jesus took Thomas’ naIve question and answered him with this unexpected, profound statement that went far beyond what Thomas was asking. Thomas was looking for directions to an unknown location. Jesus instead gave him directions to the path of eternal life. By describing himself as “the way,” Jesus puts an end to any speculation about any other possible path to heaven. And in case there would remain any doubt about him being the only way to eternal life, he clarifies this truth with the immediately following statement: “No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6b).
In making the claim that he is also “the truth,” Jesus rightfully proclaims that he is the ultimate reality of the universe. He is Truth with a capital “T.” No one can claim to know ultimate, absolute truth apart from knowing Jesus. And this is perhaps the primary reason why truly Christ-centered education is so critical for training the rising generation. Knowing Jesus, and therefore knowing ultimate, absolute truth, is what enables him to say in John 8:32: “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This truth-knowing freedom is unlike any other. It surpasses political, social, intellectual, or any other kind of freedom and makes them rubbish by comparison. Jesus is the only source of this truth.
And by claiming to be “the life,” Jesus is simply summing up the logical result of him being the way and the truth. If believers follow “the way,” and embrace “the truth,” they will have “the life.” It’s that profound, and it’s that simple.
This stunning pronouncement by Jesus is worth a lifetime of study, reflection, meditation, and worship. At Bethlehem College & Seminary, we want our students to be stunned by the magnificence of this Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life.
May the Lord reveal himself to us in this profound manner.
Tim Tomlinson
President, Bethlehem College & Seminary
Prayer Requests
- Praise the Lord for the good start to the school year. Our new students seem to be adapting well, but please continue to pray for them as they learn what it takes to be a successful college or seminary student.
- Please pray for the preparations for our Fall Preview Day on September 25th. This is our single most important event for attracting students to our school. We are very encouraged by the advance registration for this event, but we ask that you pray for an even greater response than we could have imagined.
- Please continue to pray for our preparations for the accreditation visit. As I’ve mentioned before, we will be hosting a formal evaluation team from the Association for Biblical Higher Education from October 8–10. Their visit will determine whether or not we will receive accreditation status.
- Please join us in praising the Lord for a large, unexpected gift dedicated to helping us establish a financial reserve fund for the school. This is a critical component of financial stability in the eyes of the accrediting association as well as in our own thinking. Please pray that the Lord would increase this gift many times over in the coming weeks.
