According to Psalm 119:30 “the way” was obedience to the laws of God:
“I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.” – Psalm 119:30
After the close of the Old Testament the Jews continued to consider the Law as “the way”
as seen in the intertestament book of Tobit (written around 150 BC):
“I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life in the ways of truth and justice, and I performed many charitable deeds for my brethren and my nation, who came with me to Nineveh into the land of the Assyrians.” – Tobit 1:3
The Qumran community considered themselves to be “the Way” to the extent that those
outside were not in “the Way.” And, like Jews before them, the Qumran community understood
that a very strict legal observance of the Law guaranteed that they were followers of “the Way.”
The Roman world of 30 AD was, like our society today, under heavy influence of multitudes of philosophies, world views and religions in a pluralistic culture where many claimed to have access to “a way” that would bring peace, purpose, fulfillment, prosperity, pleasure, joy or all of the above!
In 30 AD, at the Last Supper, Jesus spoke with his disciples concerning the future and tells
them he is going to his Father’s house. When he gets there Jesus promises that he will
prepare a place for these disciples. Then he tells them:
“You know the way to the place where I am going.” – John 14:4
Thomas, one of the disciples, has been trying to understand Jesus' dialogue in the Upper Room
and feels he has been tracking with Jesus’ words up to this point. But, when Jesus says,
“You know the way to the place where I am going,” Thomas realizes he is now completely
confused because he was still trying to figure out where Jesus was going. And, if Thomas
doesn’t know the where, how can Jesus say Thomas knows the way. So, as any sincere,
serious disciple would, Thomas stops the dialogue and says:
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Thomas speaks for the whole group when he uses the word “we” instead of saying, “I don’t even
know where you are going.” Before he interupted Jesus, Thomas could have looked around to
see if maybe Peter or John where understanding Jesus’ words. As we know, simple eye contact
by Thomas with John along with an expression that says, “Do you get this stuff?”, could have
caused John to give a simple nod, accompanied with a look of confidence, to reply back to Thomas, “Yea, I’ll explain it to you later. Just keep listening and taking notes.”
Surely the Gospels portray the disciples talking among themselves after class time with Jesus to compare notes, interpretations and insights. So, Thomas must have looked around the room and received no confirming nods of confidence from the other students, so he took the initiative to interrupt Jesus. Thomas says, “None of us understand where you are going, so we have no idea how to get there. Could you explain this again?”
To this Jesus answers:
“I am the way.”
It is not obedience to the law. It is not a religious sect living out in the wilderness community of Qumran. It is not any of the limitless philosophies and worldviews. It is Jesus. The person Jesus is the way. Notice how this simple statement elevates itself above all the other options. Jesus makes an exclusive statement, “I am the way.” He does not say, “I am a way.” There are no other options available to gain access to the Father, which is where Jesus is going. Jesus is going to the Father God in heaven and the disciples are going to follow him.
Then Jesus says, “If you really know me, you would know my Father.”
The verb “to know” is a covenant phrase in the language of Middle Eastern culture that carries the sense of “acknowledge.” Also, the word “if” communicates a conditional clause in the Greek that is the first class condition, (there are four; see details here) which means the condition is assumed by the speaker to be true. The first class condition is the condition of reality. Jesus is saying, "Thomas, if you guys knew me, and you do know me, you would know the way!" This is clarified by Jesus' next words:
“From now on, you do know him (the Father God) and have seen him.”
The personal acknowledgement of knowing who Jesus is provides that person “the Way” to God. Jesus is the only way. And, to know Jesus is to know the Way. |
