STUDY QUESTIONS - John 14 ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life’

STUDY QUESTIONS - John  14 ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life’

1. Despite the comfort and assurance offered by Jesus in this passage, its unequivocal exclusiveness – his claims both about himself and about his being ‘the only way to the Father’ – some people do find a touch disturbing if not indeed very hard to accept. Why is this so and how would you reassure them about the wholly inclusive nature of Jesus’ exclusive claims?

2. Can you pick out in the passage the claims, direct or indirect, which Jesus makes about his identity that support the doctrine of the incarnation – that Jesus was ‘God come in the flesh’?

3. Is Jesus saying here that there is nothing good in other religions? Can you think of some of his encounters with gentiles during his ministry? What bearing do these have on our understanding of those of other religions or those who have not heard the Gospel? What can WE do about it?

4. In what ways can our preconceptions about God and about how He acts or ought to act affect our understanding of God’s self-revelation in Jesus? How strong an influence are other world views, religious, scientific, cultural, or otherwise on our faith? How might these adversely affect our call to evangelise, for example?

5. Why is doubt the easy way out? How can we guard against it?

6. Why are we in many respects in a more advantageous position then the disciples to understand who Jesus was and the purpose of his coming?

7. Doing ‘greater works than these’ and ‘asking anything in my name’; how do you understand these phrases in this passage? What does it mean and require of us to share in his ministry of reconciliation?