What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”? (John 14:6)

In John 14:6 Jesus says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” is one of the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus Christ. In this particular Bible verse, Jesus reveals Himself as the exclusive path or route to the Father and to Heaven.
Christ’s emphasis is that without Him, humanity cannot have a relationship with God.

I am the Way
Jesus Christ is the exclusive path to salvation. He is the exclusive route to Heaven. Jesus is the only means by which our sins can be eternally forgiven. Furthermore, without Christ in our personal life, there is no eternal contact, reconciliation and relationship with God.

Acts 4:12 says: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

The way to salvation is personified in a Person – Jesus Christ. There is no pastor, religion, ideology, institution or religious sect that can save anyone. Instead salvation is through the Person of Jesus Christ alone.

By becoming “the way” Jesus is also the exclusive Mediator between God and man.

1 Timothy 2:5 reads: For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

I am the Truth
Jesus Christ is the personification of truth. Jesus does not identify Himself as a truth among other truths, but He declares that He is the truth.

By proclaiming Himself to be the truth, Jesus was not ranking Himself as just a mere teacher who disseminated religious doctrine and information. Truth is not just data or information or an abstract concept. Instead Christ declared that He was the embodiment of truth. Truth cannot exist without Him. Therefore to know Christ is to know the truth.

The validity and truthfulness of all ideologies, philosophies, concepts and teachings are measured against the Person of Jesus Christ and His teachings.

Colossians 1:25 says: See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

To be in relationship with Christ is to escape the claws of deception and ignorance because we have been edified and exposed to the truth.
By becoming “the truth” Jesus declares that His words and teachings are the ultimate reality and reliable source of divine wisdom. This statement underscores the belief that Truth is found in the Person and teachings of Jesus.

I am the Life
Jesus Christ is the source and giver of eternal life. Without believing in Christ as our Lord and Savior, we cannot receive everlasting life.

John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In John 10:28 Jesus says: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Without Jesus we are spiritually dead; We have no connection to God; We are at enmity with God.
Ephesians 2:1-2 says: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

However from the moment we believe and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are given spiritual life. We are regenerated and spiritually alive. This means that we become spiritually connected with the Giver of spiritual and eternal life who is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-6 reads: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

When Jesus says that He is “the life”, He is declaring His divinity and the fact that He is the source and giver of spiritual and eternal life. Jesus is the personification of true life.
Even death could not keep Jesus Christ in the grave because on the third day after His crucifixion, He resurrected to prove that He is truly the embodiment of abundant life.

Conclusion
The importance of Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life is realized when we understand the Gospel or the gravity of what Jesus Christ accomplished at the cross.
We are all sinners who deserve eternal punishment in hell before a just and holy God (Romans 3:23).
However, God loves us and He sent Jesus His Son to become our Savior from eternal punishment (John 3:16-17).

Christ lived the life we should have lived, obeyed the laws we could not fulfill and took the punishment meant for us. As God in the flesh, Jesus lived a sinless life and then shed His blood on the cross to become the perfect sacrifice that could quench the wrath of God against sin. Jesus became our perfect Substitute by taking the punishment and wrath that we deserved. He paid the price for sin that we could not pay.

Then on the third day He resurrected to prove His victory over death and He alone can give eternal life to whoever believes in Him.
When we believe in Christ we become forgiven eternally and have Christ’s righteousness imputed on us. We become children of God (John 1:12).

Jesus Christ is exclusively the only way humanity can be saved. He is the only Mediator between God and humanity.