Saturday, January 16, 2010

THE WAY!

Jesus did not leave us guessing about the way to eternal life. Jesus made it clear, though the way to eternal life is not seen, it is certain! Jesus has already prepared the way to eternal life, for He is the Way! There is only one issue left, our willingness to believe!

In the fourteenth chapter of John verse four Jesus told his disciples “you know where I am going and how to get there.” What Jesus was doing was to invite them to stand up and declare their ignorance, so that they might be willing to receive the truth.

It was Thomas in verse 5 who expressed lack of understanding by saying, “ We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way? It is obvious that the disciples just like people today are thinking in the terms of this world—time and space. So going means to move from one place to another in a physical sense. So in John 14:6 Jesus replied by saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” Jesus wanted them to understand that the destination is not a physical place but a person (the Father), and that the way to that destination is another person (the Son).

Therefore, Jesus is the Way to the Father, It is clear that Jesus is the Truth, the reality of all God’s promises; and Jesus is the Life as He joins His divine life to ours, both now and eternally. Jesus is the Way leading believers to the truth and life.

In the end, the disciples did finally get the message. But at first they were thinking very worldly, that Jesus was about to lead them to set up the Kingdom of God on earth, freeing Israel and establishing it as the greatest nation on earth at that time. Then, all of a sudden, Jesus began to talk about going away, and telling them that they could not follow Him. They were very disappointed to say the least.

There is a difference between pointing the way to a particular place and taking someone by the hand to lead him there. The person who guides someone to his destination literally becomes the way Himself. Jesus Christ not only points out how to walk through life and how to reach the Father. He personally shows the person the way. Therefore He Himself is the Way.

The disciples needed to understand that Jesus opened the way and is the way to the Father for them then and there, and not to be preoccupied with the thought of Jesus going away. They needed to discern the meaning of Jesus’ time with them and respond to Him as their Savior. Jesus is the way and the way is open for all people if they will accept Him as the Son of God the Father and accept the Sacrifice He made. The death and resurrection of Jesus had not yet occurred at that time and the Holy Spirit had not yet been made available to help the disciples understand.


to be continued

No comments:

Post a Comment