All of these devotionals are the result of my own personal reflection on God's word. If you find these devotionals helpful, please subscribe and share them! Thank you for reading!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Is Jesus using a metaphor here or is he being literal?

Hodos is a Greek word meaning way, path, road, or journey.  Coupled with the latter half of the verse, he is a roadway to the Father himself, a path upon which we can walk.  Traditionally people interpret this as "If we behave in the way Jesus did, we will come to the father".  Hodos can indeed mean a manner of thought or behavior when used metaphorically, but is this a metaphor?  Is it the traveler or the path that determines where the traveler ends up?

Lethe is a Greek word for "forgetfulness" or "Concealment" or "Oblivion".  It's counterpart is Aletheia (a-lethe-ia) literally meaning "un-forgetfulness" or "Un-concealment", just something that is not hidden or is evident.  It is the Greek word for "Truth".  Jesus is the invisible God made flesh, self-evident and fully disclosed.  He is the revelation of God himself.  When coupled with Jesus's statement of "I AM" at the beginning of this sentence, he is making a bold claim.  Or is he simply saying that he is the only thing that is true?

Zoe, which means life, is a bit tricky.  If literal, he is saying that He is the exact thing which animates all living things and the source of all life.  If it's a metaphor, he is that which brings true and everlasting life and is the sustainer of all life.

So which is it?  Metaphor or literal?  I think so.

No comments:

Post a Comment