Years ago, my wife and I sat down for breakfast at a hotel in Morocco when we received the most unexpected question. We had made friends with one of the restaurant staff and invited him to join us at our table. That’s when it happened.
“Do you know that Johnny Cash song that says, ‘Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die?’ ” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“How do you get to heaven?” he asked seriously.
My wife and I looked at each other. Was this really happening?
“I’d be glad to tell you,” I said with a smile.
Throughout history people have understood heaven as the dwelling place of God. It’s the paradise to come, the eternal home we all long for. Jesus was constantly announcing the kingdom of heaven and preparing people to go there. In one conversation with his disciples, Thomas said to Jesus, “How can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus claimed to be the only way to heaven. His claim was not that he knew the way to heaven, but that he is the way to heaven. There are many roads that lead people to Jesus, but only one road that leads people to heaven.
The root of every problem with humanity is that we all like sheep have gone astray, each of us turning to our own ways. We separated ourselves from God and each other through sin. We cannot be in God’s holy presence as unholy people. The light of his glory would burn us up. We’d be undone. We’re in desperate need of a solution.
The solution is both exclusive and inclusive. There is only one way, but that way is freely offered to anyone and everyone, no matter what age, race, nationality, education, intellect, and status. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
Jesus didn’t just make a bold statement; he backed it up when it cost him everything. Historians from the time of Jesus tell us that crucifixion was “the most wretched of deaths.” Crucifixion was the death of slaves, thieves, prostitutes, and rebels. It was so gruesome that most ancient writers avoided describing it.
A battalion of soldiers stripped Jesus naked and tied his hands to an upright post. Then, a short whip called a “flagrum” was violently swung against Jesus’ bare back, butt, and legs. The iron balls embedded in the whip pounded into Jesus’ flesh, severely bruising his body. The pieces of bone tied into it ripped open the skin on his back.
The soldiers pressed a crown of thorns into Jesus’ scalp and then struck him in the head with a reed. They clothed him in a purple robe, mocked him, spit on him, and beat him again. At last, they marched him out to publicly crucify him.
Nails like railroad spikes were pounded through Jesus’ wrists and feet. Now immobilized, Jesus was again stripped naked, and his cross was tilted upright for all to see. The pain of crucifixion was so unequaled that a new word had to be invented to describe it — excruciating — which in Latin literally means, “out of the cross.”
While Jesus hung between heaven and earth, the only way he could breathe was to push up on the nail driven through his feet. This allowed his lungs to collapse but also scraped his mangled back against the splintery wood of the cross. Dripping with blood and gasping for air, Jesus prayed for grace to be shown to his murderers, saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He knew his death was a sacrifice for sin. Jesus died to open heaven to all who would believe in him.
I’ll never forget that day in Morocco when our friend surrendered his life to Jesus. After we finished praying together tears of joy streamed down his face. God had met him and answered his deepest question and fulfilled his greatest hope. Heaven was now his future and he knew it.
If this is true, what will you do?
© John Rinehart 2026