God & Savior

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
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Study notes

Jesus says He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.

Explanation

Thomas says the disciples do not know where Jesus is going or the way there (14:5). Jesus answers that He Himself is the way to the Father.

Theology

Jesus claims to be the only way to God the Father. Christians have understood this as a claim that salvation is found in Him alone (compare Acts 4:12).

Original language
  • ἐγώ (egō): I/we
    Greek · Personal pronoun, 1st person, nominative, singular · Strong's G1473 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    I myself am (egō eimi): an emphatic "I am". John records seven "I am" sayings with a picture like this one.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 5

  • ὁδὸς (hodos): road
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G3598 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Way, road.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 8

  • ἀλήθεια (alētheia): truth
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G0225 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Truth.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 11

  • ζωή (zōē): life
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G2222 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Life.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 14

  • πατέρα (patera): father
    Greek · Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · Strong's G3962 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Father.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 19

  • δι᾽ (di᾽): through/because of
    Greek · Preposition · Strong's G1223 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Through.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 14:6, word 22

Cross-references
  • John 14:5 · Surrounding passage

    Thomas asks, how can we know the way?

  • Acts 4:12 · Same theme

    There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

  • Hebrews 10:19-20 · Same theme

    A new and living way.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή. οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ δι᾽ ἐμοῦ.

  1. λέγειlegei“Says”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from λέγω · “to speak” · Strong's G3004G
  2. αὐτῷautō“to him”
    Personal pronoun, dative, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  3. ὁho“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, masculine · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  4. Ἰησοῦς·Iēsous“Jesus;”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · from Ἰησοῦς · “Jesus/Joshua” · Strong's G2424G
  5. ἐγώegō“I myself”
    Personal pronoun, 1st person, nominative, singular · “I/we” · Strong's G1473
  6. εἰμιeimi“am”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 1st person singular · from εἰμί · “to be” · Strong's G1510
  7. ἡhē“the”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  8. ὁδὸςhodos“way”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁδός · “road” · Strong's G3598
  9. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  10. ἡhē“the”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  11. ἀλήθειαalētheia“truth”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · “truth” · Strong's G0225
  12. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  13. ἡhē“the”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  14. ζωή.zōē“life.”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · from ζωή · “life” · Strong's G2222
  15. οὐδεὶςoudeis“No [one]”
    Adjective, nominative, singular, masculine · from οὐδείς · “none” · Strong's G3762
  16. ἔρχεταιerchetai“comes”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from ἔρχομαι · “to come/go” · Strong's G2064
  17. πρὸςpros“to”
    Preposition · from πρός · “to/with” · Strong's G4314
  18. τὸνton“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  19. πατέραpatera“Father”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from πατήρ · “father” · Strong's G3962
  20. εἰei“only”
    Conditional · “if” · Strong's G1487H
  21. μὴmē“except”
    Particle, negative · from μή · “not” · Strong's G3361
  22. δι᾽di᾽“through”
    Preposition · from διά · “through/because of” · Strong's G1223
  23. ἐμοῦ.emou“Me.”
    Possessive pronoun, 1st person · from ἐγώ · “I/we” · Strong's G1473
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)