Road, Unforgotten, Life-Form

This Sunday's passage is often used at funerals and has been a flashpoint for heated theological discussion.

We will focus on the three words of the I am saying: way, truth, and life. "Life" is a recurrent theme throughout the "I am" sayings.

In Acts, the earliest Christians were called people "who belonged to the Way" (Acts 9.2).

In John's gospel, Pilate asks, "What is truth?" (John 18.38). Jesus also says in John, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free." (Jon 8.32)

John 12 marks a distinct shift in John's gospel. Some scholars say that John moves from an account of the signs and wonders of Jesus (John 1-11) to an account of the exaltation of the Son of Man (John 12-21).

Read John 11.45-13.38. Raising Lazarus from the dead is the final straw for the authorities in Jerusalem. Jesus must die; the Palm Sunday/Good Friday/Passion narrative begins. The chapters following the foot-washing scene of John 12 read like a farewell address. The "I am" sayings are the bridge unifying the two sections of the book.

PS - there is a bonus "I am" saying in John 6.20.