"I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE"

          “In the era of religious pluralism, Christianity’s exclusive claims are considered inappropriately narrow, even intolerant. What is more, pluralism itself, has ironically, become the criterion by which all truth claims are judged” (Köstenberger and Kruger 2010). First century Judaism prized law-keeping and scrupulous observance of religious customs. By contrast, Jesus claimed that allegiance to Him was the way. Some have tried to argue that “way,” “truth,” and “life” should be read together as “the way of life.” Yet John elsewhere uses multiple terms that remain distinct when linked with the conjunction “and” (e.g., John 2:14; 14:6). Carson rightly notes that in the larger context Jesus is claiming to be “the Savior (John 4:42) and the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 34), the one who speaks that those who are in the graves hear His voice and come forth (5:28-29). He so mediates God’s truth and God’s life that He is the very way to God, the one who alone can say, No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Carson, 1991, 491).

          “In the OT, people expressed their faith in God by keeping the law given through Moses; now that Jesus has come, [He] is the way. In the monotheistic Jewish world and polytheistic Greco-Roman culture of the first century, as well as in today’s pluralistic climate, Jesus’ message is plain: [He] is not one among many different options—[He] is the way” (Andreas Köstenberger).

          The reason some of the people reach the conclusion that because they are good they are destined for heaven is that they do not read the Gospel narratives. If they read the Gospels, they would have found out that one's goodness cannot be used as a passport to heaven. For example, the young rich ruler who came to Jesus and asked what must I do to be save? Jesus gave him a parable of the Good Samaritan. At the end the ruler realized that he loved money more than anything else. He left the scene with his head bow down, because he did not love God and his fellow man.

Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is uncontested historical evidence of the uniqueness of Christ.