Posted by Al Garza PhD

For over 25 years of studying the Bible there are always believers who come to me and ask if I know for certain that Yeshua-Jesus is the only way to heaven. For students of the Bible this question is easy to answer with a, “Yes!.”  But for others, who maybe don’t have much knowledge of the Bible, this question might be difficult to answer with certainty.  We do know Yeshua-Jesus stated, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Yeshua-Jesus made the greatest claim of all time. The only way to the Father is through him and him alone.  That means that there is no other person in history who can lead you to God.  Yeshua-Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life that leads to God.  Regardless if you read this in English or in Greek the plain meaning of what Yeshua-Jesus said is clear.  Now there are some scholars in the west who think Yeshua-Jesus spoke to his disciples in Greek.  Unfortunately this is assumed by outdated sources.  Jewish scholars in the east, namely in Israel, have no doubt that Yeshua-Jesus, being a Jew and Rabbi, spoke and taught his disciples in Hebrew.  For more on this please go to link, Jesus spoke Hebrew, R.Steven Notley.

I personally believe Yeshua-Jesus spoke Hebrew to his disciples because the type of parables he spoke are only found in one language, Hebrew.  Rabbis spoke parables to their students in Hebrew and only Hebrew.  The reason I am making this point is because if we take Yeshua-Jesus’s words and translate them back to Hebrew we can see a hidden message within the statement.  In Rabbinic and Jewish studies it is common to look for hidden words that might give a more deeper meaning to the what is being said in Hebrew.  The words of Yeshua-Jesus in Hebrew would like this,

אנכי הדרך והאמת והחיים

The Hebrew above is the phrase “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”  I put three bold letters in the Hebrew for a reason.  Those three Hebrew letters, dalet, aleph and chet are the first letters for the words “way”, “truth” and “life.”  The way in Hebrew is derek, the truth in Hebrew is amet and the life is chayim.  Rabbinic Hebrew scholars look at Hebrew words and letters to find hidden and deeper understanding.  In this case, we can look at what Yeshua-Jesus said and find something deeper in the phrase.

Every Hebrew Bible reading Jew knows Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O’ Israel, YHVH our God, YHVH is One.”  Yeshua-Jesus made the claim in John 10:30 to be one with the father, “I and the Father, we are one.”  The Hebrew word for “one” is echad in both Deuteronomy and in John 10:30.  God is not only one but he is the one way to salvation.  So, when we look at what Yeshua-Jesus said in John 14:6 regarding being the only way to the Father we find the Hebrew word for one, echad, in the statement.

If we take those three Hebrew letters for way, truth and life and put them together they spell the Hebrew word echad or one in English.  Yeshua-Jesus is not only one with the Father but he is also the “ONE (echad) Way” to the Father as he stated to his disciples.  God is one.  Yeshua-Jesus is one with the Father and he is the one way to the Father.  All of which spell the Hebrew word echad for one.  This is why it is important to look at the words of Yeshus-Jesus in the language he spoke when he was teaching his disciples, namely Hebrew.  With great certainty we can know as a believer that Yeshua-Jesus is the only way to eternal life and to the Father directly.  If we believe and trust in Yeshua-Jesus then we can have peace, hope and life in him. Shalom.