The Way

The Way

 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:5-6

Jesus said that he was the way and that no one could come to God except through him. The phrase "the way" was also used by the early church to indicate believers who we now call Christians. These were the very first people who believed Jesus and followed his way. The Greek word for way is hodos. It literally means a road. As you can imagine, there are many ways or roads mentioned in the Bible. But there is only one that leads to God. This road has been under construction for a very long time. We can see throughout the entire Bible many of the steps God went through to create this road. One early indication of this came during the time that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. In his speech to the Jewish leaders of his  time, Stephen spoke about Moses. At one point in his life, Moses had told the Israelites that God would raise up a prophet like him from among them. This person would be Jesus, a descendant of David. God was telling his people through Moses that he was going to make a way for them. At the time, they believed this was the path to the Promised Land. But it also meant Jesus who would become the way.

"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. "Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.' "This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. "This is the Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.' 

Acts 7:30-37

During his ministry on earth, Jesus reminded the Sadducees about Moses experience at the flaming bush. He confirmed that the Lord is the God of today but also is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God of the living and has been working on the way for a very long time.

But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Luke 20:37-38

Throughout the Old Testament we see prophecy after prophecy describing the coming Messiah, the Savior. Returning to our analogy of the road, you could say that God was proclaiming to his people that he was building a road so his people could come to him. Roads are not built in a day. In our human viewpoint, it took thousands of years for God to send his son or the way. But in God's viewpoint, time was not a factor.

In his defense Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working."

John 5:17

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9

As the road neared completion, God knew that people would need to find out how to get to the road. In those days, people did not have GPS. So, the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to tell the Israelites there would be a voice in the wilderness to tell them how to find the highway to their God.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

Isaiah 40:1-3

God was telling his people that he was building a highway. On this highway their sins would be paid for and there would be a voice to lead them. In the New Testament, Matthew speaks of John the Baptist who came preaching in the wilderness pointing the people to the way.

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" 

Matthew 3:3

Jesus later told the chief priests and elders of the Jews a parable that confirmed what John the Baptist had been doing.

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. 

Matthew 21:28-32

Many people in that time were aware of existence of the way. Even the high priests, teachers and other leaders of the people were aware of this. Once they sent spies to try and trick Jesus. But even they admitted that Jesus taught about the way according to God’s word.

So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Luke 20:21-22

After Jesus resurrection, Saul came on the scene. He was at the time only in his thirties and more zealous about the Jewish religion than most of his peers. He feared that the way was going to destroy his religion. So he went about threatening those who followed the way. He even asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so he could arrest those he found who followed the way.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

Acts 9:1-2

At the same time, there were others who were willing to go out and speak boldly about the way proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the way.

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. 

Acts 18:24-28

On the road to Damascus, Saul met Jesus. The Lord asked him why he was going this way.

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 

Acts 9:3-5

Verse five in the New King James version is translated this way.

And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 

Acts 9:5 (NKJV)

Goads were sharp rods that people used to get cattle to turn around and go a different way. To get to Damascus and persecute followers of the way, Saul had to fight against the goads that were pointing him to follow the way or Jesus. A few days later in Damascus, Jesus showed him the light and he changed direction. He then went about telling people about the way. Some people though refused to believe that there could be a way like this to God. They publicly spoke out against those who believed.

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 

Acts 19:8-10

For some, this opposition was about dollars and cents. They thought that if everyone took the highway the Lord provided, people would not travel all the other small roads that had been around for years. The people who lived on those out of the way roads would lose their livelihood.

About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: "You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."

Acts 19:23-27

Then there is the story of Felix, the governor at Caesarea. The high priests, elders and a lawyer had brought charges against Paul there. They had all gone to Felix who was the judge in that vicinity. Paul then laid out his defense of the way to Felix.

However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. 

Acts 24:14-16

Felix had heard about the Way. In fact, he was well acquainted with it. However, when he listened to what Paul said, he became afraid. He decided he would put off any decision about the Way and come back to it later.

Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs. Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you." 

Acts 24:22-25

Two years later, Felix left office never having made a decision about the Way. Unfortunately, Paul remained in jail for some time because of this. We don't know what ever happened with Felix. But he is one of the many who put off deciding what to do about the Way to their own detriment. Jesus spoke about these people in the parable of the sower.

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." 

Luke 8:5-8

The seeds that fell among thorns were those people who heard the word that told them the way. Later, because of life's worries and fears, they would never make it to the Way.

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 

Luke 8:14

Then there are those who are just totally opposed to the way. They are false teachers who do not believe in God and have decided to go their own way.

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. 

Jude 1:11-13

Today, just like the apostles, disciples, and the early Christians, our job is to show people how to find the way. I volunteer at the local aquarium as a guide. I talk with the guests answering questions and pointing out facts about animals they are seeing on their way around the aquarium. One of the things I do is act as a way finder. When people ask about which way they should go, I tell them the way. This is really what we as Christians are to be doing. We are really way finders for those who have lost their way. As witnesses of Jesus Christ, we need to be pointing people to the way.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 18:30