He also said “I AM THE WAY

Today let us study another one of His threefold pronouncement of His sixth I AM’s, which would brings us to another dimension of His eternal Godhead.

How amazing is this that we claim to know Him, but when studying His being we see how little we know about Him. On our third week of studying Jesus’s proclamation of His deity we must stop on this word that He said about Himself “I AM THE WAY”.

As we all should have known by now that He was the promised Messiah to Israel first and that the Old Testament had been leading the Jews to recognize Him when He would appear, but in all of that  the majority failed miserably so that salvation could come to us the gentiles. In recognizing their Savior the Jews had many leads as I said right from the Old Covenant scriptures.When Jesus said “I AM THE WAY” He was speaking first to the Jews, because they were first told about Him and that was why He was referring to the scriptures that were speaking about Him being “THE Way”.

Let us first look in proverbs where the scriptures said the following “In the WAY of RIGHTEOUSNESS is LIFE: and the pathway thereof there is NO death.” “Proverbs 12:28” Wow!  What an incredible lead to find the Messiah who conquers death through the way of righteousness. Here is where to a faithful Jew a sign for eternal life was offered even in the Old Testament, since they knew very well none were truly righteouss besides God Himself. Now let us walk to another word in the Old Covenant which says. “The man that wanders out of the WAY of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.”    (Provb. 21:16)  Do you see the references that were made in the Old covenant to lead men to the New Covenant in His own blood?

Do you see Church how true the scriptures are when they say those who were looking for it were blinded because they were not searching the truth from their hearts. That is why salvation came to those who were not even looking for it, and all this to make Israel of God envious? Here is the unfathomable God that you and I serve. Now brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus watch this verse and tell me if Jesus was not speaking to the Jews first of what they had been already shown of Him. In Proverbs 23:19 the scriptures of the Old Covenant say the following about Him. 

“Hear you my son and be wise, and GUIDE your heart in the WAY.”

Amazing Ha? You see Jesus said to the pretentious  Pharisees that you search the scriptures, but they the scriptures themselves speak of Me. Here is the most amazing truth that the Messiah had come for the Jews first and then to us where

His truth could embrace us too. Why? Because to them was given the oracles of the law and prophets and they were the ones waiting for Him. Yes they had all they needed to recognize Him when He suddenly came to His temple. But they in masses unfortunately missed His first advent. In the Proverbs we see this verse in which He says. “Righteousness KEEPS him that is UPRIGHT (or just) in the WAY: but wickedness overthrows the sinner.”

                                        ( Proverbs  13:6.)

Even prophet Isaiah in his heavenly visions I am sure saw and heard and, therefore wrote.” A highway shall be there, and a “WAY” road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the “WAY” road, although a fool,  Shall not go astray.  ⁹ No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,

And the RANSOMED of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

                                      ( Isaiah 35:8-10 ).

Even here I believe prophet Isaiah too was influenced by the words of proverbs which said “The HIGHWAY of the upright is to DEPART from EVIL. He that keeps his WAY preserves his soul.”

                                            (Prov. 16:17), The prophet having a greater revelation by the Lord Himself also saw Jesus being “ THE WAY” or better to say the “THE HIGHWAY” or “THE HIGHER WAY”.

You see Church, for you and me until now these were only words written in the gospels, but to a believing Jew they must have meant a lot more, that is why He was not sent to any but to the lost sheep of Israel. Today we are only privileged to have

 Been grafted in, yet they were the original true recipients of the Law and the prophets and covenants and its promises. A true Israelite in heart would be waiting for the fulfillment of all the written words in the Old Testament. Just Like Simeon who by the prompting of the Holy Spirit having waited for a lifetime recognized the Child carried by His earthly parents to the Temple and upon embracing Him said

“ Lord now You are letting Your servant depart in peace according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your  salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; A light to bring salvation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel”.

                                          ( Luke 2:29-32)

Do you see how This faithful prophet recognizes the child? Here is what I mean when I say to the elect He was the revelation of God Himself and the fullness of His deity. Christ Jesus actually being the way means much more ofcource. He is not only the only way to heaven and eternal life, but He is the only true way of life. That is why He proclaimed the threefold pronouncement about Himself in John chapter 14 verses 6 all in one declaration. People who received Him learned a new way of life based on His word of truth and thus experienced this new life of God in themselves. They by recognizing “THE WAY” did immediately embrace “THE TRUTH” that He alone represented and in doing this they embraced “THE LIFE” which was God’s life in their midst. This is why the early Church was called “ The people of “THE WAY”.

In Acts 9:2  when Paul was getting ready to go to Damascus to persecute the Church there we read that the people were called the “People of the WAY”, members of a so called cult and then again in Acts 24 verse 14 when Paul was defending his faith refers to the Church as the “People of THE WAY” once again.

They meaning the first century Church were called “The people of The Way” because they dropped all for Jesus and His truth. They were not only Sunday worshippers and devil worshippers the rest of the week. They were not lighting their own lights on the way to life on daily basis, they allowed the light of His Truth to shine on the way of their everyday affairs. They were not only Christians once a week or twice a month or when things went bad in their lives, like Christians today. They maintained the  standards of their faith in all their affairs that is why they soon were called “The people of The Way”.

They  began to completely mend their ways to God’s ways and began these revolutionary lives that amazed their fellow men. They began to not only see the Truth, but to practice it in their lives. No compromises were allowed While following “THE TRUTH”. Soon that standard became the norm for them and “THE WAY of life for them”. This kind of lifestyle brought them out from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. That is why Jesus kept on saying “ Seek My Kingdom and My righteousness and everything else shall be added on to you.” This laid the foundation of all their inner joy and contentment of their soul. Here is where they began to be transformed in renewing of their minds. What “THE CHURCH AT LARGE” needs today. God’s people instead of leading the way being followers of “THE WAY” are mostly even confusing the way for too many.  We claim to know “THE Truth” yet act exactly like the unbelieving.  Jesus spoke of the two road’s, one narrow and one wide. The narrow was in comparison to the former ways of our lives. Unfortunately many are walking still after being saved on that wide and slippery way saying my way or no way, but Jesus says “MY WAY” will leave no other way. Amen?