The Highway to Heaven

In John 14:6 Jesus made a great claim about Himself when He said to Thomas, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." I can imagine how Thomas and all the disciples were stunned by such a proclamation. What does Jesus mean? To understand what Jesus was saying, first let me set the scene, the context in which Jesus made this statement.

In John 13 Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples and washed their feet. He spoke of His betrayal. He then told them that He was going away and that they could not follow for now. Peter, of course, said, "Why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake" (John 13:37). It was then that Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times before daybreak.

In the midst of this discussion Jesus turned to His disciples to comfort them. And they needed to be comforted! Judas was going to betray the Lord. Peter would deny Him three times. Jesus was going away and they can't go with Him—at least not for now. Could it get any worse? No wonder they needed to be comforted.

Throughout the history of the church, Christians have encountered various trials, and today is no different. It is in times of trial and hardship that our hearts are troubled. We question what is happening and we don't see how anything worse could come upon us. Then it is that Jesus comes alongside of us and comforts us with these words:

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1). And He continued, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (vv. 2-3). Knowing that Jesus will return and take us to be with Him should certainly be a great comfort for us.

Having promised that He would care for our every need in this life and having promised that we would be with Him through all eternity, He went on: "And where I go you know, and the way you know" (v. 4). And this is where Thomas jumped in, saying, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" (v. 5).

Then comes Jesus' famous statement, a statement that sums up the whole gospel truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (v. 6). Jesus' great promise—when you trust in Christ you find God. The way to God is through Jesus. There is no other way.

Notice here that Thomas was thinking location, location, location. "Lord, we do not know where you are going" (v. 5a). "We can’t find the way if we don't know where to go!" Jesus emphasized the way to the location or the highway: "I am the way," Jesus said (v. 6a).

Isaiah said, "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness" (Isa. 35:8a, KJV). That way is Jesus! There is no other way. Jesus alone is "the way" of salvation (John 14:6a). Jesus alone is "the truth" (v. 6a). Jesus alone is "the life" (v. 6a)—the very life of God, and He offers that life to you!

To possess the Son is to possess life, for "He who has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12a). "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Jesus is saying, "Don’t worry about all the details of the kingdom of God or anything else, just stay close to Me. I am the way. Follow Me." Indeed, follow Jesus, stay close to Jesus, He is the only way to God. Come to Jesus right now and be saved. There is nothing of more importance to do right now but to come to Jesus and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Amen.

The Just Shall Live by Faith

Habakkuk 2:4 says, "The just shall live by his faith." Indeed, the just shall live by faith! That is exactly what Luke 17:6 says as well. If the just lives by faith, they can indeed uproot mulberry trees: So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you" (Luke 17:6).

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China, first went to China in a sailing vessel. When very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was becalmed and slowly drifting shoreward. The captain came to Mr. Taylor asking him to pray for God's help. Mr. Taylor agreed, but only "provided you set your sails to catch the breeze." The captain refused. He didn't want to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling in a dead calm. Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails." And it was done. While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. It was the captain. He asked Taylor , "Are you still praying for wind?" "Yes," responded Mr. Taylor. "Well," said the captain, "you'd better stop praying, for we have more wind than we can manage" (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, [Assurance Publishers: Rockville, Maryland, 1979], #1493, 403-04).

Like Hudson Taylor, those who live by faith can create a great amount of wind, or move any other obstacle that stands in the way of God's will for their life. The key is your faith, along with God's will.

Romans 12:1-2 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Present yourself to God for His use and let Him "transform" you, let Him change you into what He wants, so that He can use you for His purpose. That is living by faith.

Again, in Luke 17:5-6 we read, "And the apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith.' So the Lord said, 'If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea," and it would obey you.'" Jesus told them even the smallest faith does great things, and then compared their faith to a mustard seed.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. It is used to develop mustard spice. The thought here is that it is so small it is within your reach. Compare that to the Mulberry tree. It is actually the Black Mulberry tree that is in view here. This tree often lives 400 to 600 years. It grows thirty-five feet tall, and has an extensive root system that spreads out forty feet and goes quite deep into the ground, making it nigh impossible to uproot. Jesus told them that even with that little bit of faith they could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea.

That is quite a statement! Faith, even when developed only to the size of a mustard seed, it is enough! That is what Jesus said! Faith, in the Greek, is a word that can be translated either "faith" or "faithfulness." It depends on the context. When referring to "head knowledge" becoming "heart knowledge," or in other words, "belief," it is usually translated "faith." When the context refers to "heart attitude" or "heart obedience," it is usually translated "faithfulness." Here the context is "heart obedience," and should be understood as "faithfulness."

Luke 17:1-4 speaks of forgiveness as an attitude of the heart. Note especially verses 3-4: "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

Luke 17:7-10 again speaks of "heart obedience" toward God. When you have done all that you are supposed to do, have the attitude as found in verse 10: "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty" (RSV).

When you have this "heart obedience" toward God, then you will find that you have drawn near to Him. When you are near to God, He will guide you as to what you should do and how you should pray. Follow His guidance and even that big mulberry tree can be uprooted. When you trust the Lord Jesus in everything, great things will happen. Amen.

The Lamb of God

John 1:29 says, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" John the Baptist was being questioned by "priests and Levites from Jerusalem" whom "the Jews sent... to ask him, 'Who are you?'" (v. 19). John "confessed, 'I am not the Christ'" (v. 20). Being questioned further concerning who he was, John denied being "Elijah" or "the Prophet" (v. 21). Exasperated, they finally asked him straight out, "Who are you?" (v. 22a).

Note John's reply. He quotes Isaiah 40:3, saying, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD,' as the prophet Isaiah said" (v. 23). "Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, 'Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?'" (vs. 24-25). His reply: "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose" (vs. 26-27). Then we are told, "This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing" (v. 28, NIV).

You might note here a very important truth spoken by John the Baptist and likely missed by the priests and Levites: In verse 27 John referred to Jesus as "coming after me" yet being "preferred before me." What does that mean? It can mean only one thing; that Jesus is none other than the eternal Son of God! Then he adds in verse 29, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Continuing on, John the Baptist said. "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water" (vs. 30-31). Explaining further, he said, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God" (vs. 32-34). "Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'" (vs. 35-36).

Jesus is the Son of God! Jesus is the Lamb of God! Hebrews 9:12-14 explains it all: "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Jesus, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, shed His blood for you. He died for the forgiveness of your sins. He rose again to give you eternal life. Give your heart to Him and trust Him above all else for all eternity. Amen.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

The little book of Lamentations in the Old Testament is a worthwhile read. Though the author remains nameless, there is ample evidence both within the text and from Jewish and Christian tradition to ascribe authorship to the prophet Jeremiah. Written in Hebrew, the original title was taken from the book's first word, ʾêk̠âh, translated "Alas!" or "How," which gives the impression of weeping or lamenting over some hard time or sad event (Charles H. Dyer, "Lamentations," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck [Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1985], 1207). The Septuagint and Vulgate translators named the book Lamentations to better describe the contents (Ibid).

In these five chapters we see the prophet agonizing over the Babylonian invasion of 586 BC and the destruction of Jerusalem. He is lamenting and weeping over what he witnessed firsthand. Yet right in the middle of the book, in chapter three, he speaks words of hope. He begins in this way, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope" (Lam. 3:21). And the prophet concludes in verse 24, "'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'"

In the midst of hard times, sad times, the prophet finds hope! The two intervening verses reveal what gave him such hope. First, in verse 22 he says, "Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not." God is a compassionate and loving God. Moses told God's people, "For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath" (Deut. 4:31, NIV). As Nahum 1:7 says, "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him." God is your stronghold. He pours out His mercies upon you every day to lead you through the hard times. Trust Him because your hope is in Him.

Verse 23 finishes the thought: "They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." God's mercies are there every moment of every day. All we have to do is rest in Him. Trust in the Lord in every circumstance. Get out of the way and let Him work. He will meet the need and bring you through it to a closer walk with Him. His faithfulness is great. It never fails. And God will never fail you. He is your hope. Trust Him. Amen.