"Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." I Peter 1:8
Finding Jesus, the Way
Following Jesus as the WAY means following His example and teaching. He said:
"If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed." - John 8:31
Jesus rebuked many people of His day who claimed to accept Him as Lord, but disregarded His teachings. There are those even in our day when shown the teachings of Christ choose to find a way to disregard, ignore or try to explain them away. Jesus watches many today as they do things supposedly in His name and Jesus still ask,...
"And why do you call me "Lord,Lord,' and do not the things which I say?" - Luke 6:46
The Bible is the only dependable source of information about Jesus. Producers of films and authors of novels take many liberties in dealing with stories about Him. Many parents have never made a serious study of the Bible. Often preachers and teachers who have studied the Bible for years add so many of their own thoughts, opinions and philosophies that we can scarcely know what is from the Bible and what is not when listening to them; the fact that they differ so widely within their differing churches and creeds of those churches is proof that many are mistaken. It is vital and eternally necessary, that each of us make his own study of the original source of truth concerning Jesus.
Jesus In the Old Testament
The Bible is divided into two major divisions: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The writing of the Old Testament was completed 400 years before Christ was born, it contains many things about Him.
The Old Testament provides glimpses of Jesus in a pre-fleshy state. When God was about to make a man, He said to another divine being:
"Let US make man in our image." - Genesis 1:26
The Bible has 66 books. Do you remember how many in the Old Testament? New Testament? How many in each Testament can you name?
The New Testament identifies this divine being as "the Word."
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." - John 1:1-3
The Old Testament predicts
His birth of a virgin.
"Behold , a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel - Isaiah 7:14
The name Immanuel (from the Hebrew word “עמּנוּ אל” (‛immānū’ēl) and Emmanuel (from the English translation of the Greek “Ἐμμανουήλ”
(Emmanouḗl) which is a translation of the Hebrew “עמּנוּ אל“ means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). The Old Testament even predicts the place of His birth in Micah 5:2.
Jesus In the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles
The New Testament records the fulfillment of the Old Testament predictions. John testifies:
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." _ John 1:14
Four writers give accounts of His life. There accounts are commonly called the Gospels, a word which means "good news.: Each of the writers seems to emphasize something different about Jesus.
No one can know Jesus, the Way who has not read these records carefully. Reading them, we may well be surprised to find how far the real Jesus differs from the imaginary one who has been created in our minds by the misinformation so commonly circulated among us.
The gospels do not contain all of the teaching of Jesus. They report only the teachings which He did while on earth. This had to be limited to what His disciples could comprehend in the short time that He was with them. He told them of the arrangement by which He would continue to speak to them:
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and Hew will tell yo things to come. He will glorify Me, for Hew will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." _John 16:12-14
The Holy Spirit came upon the soon after Jesus returned to heaven.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." - Acts 2:4
This means that the preaching and writing of the inspired apostles, which we find in the remainder of the New Testament, are as much the teaching of Jesus as what we read in the gospels. The apostle Paul wrote:
"If anyone things himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord," - 1 Corinthians 14:37
Matthew emphasizes His teaching, especially that concerning the "Kingdom of heaven."
Mark features the miracles of Jesus, showing His power.
Luke seems to stress the perfect humanity of Jesus without detracting from His divinity."
John seems to stress the perfect divinity of Jesus without detracting from His humanity."
No Other Revelations
The revelation of Jesus and His teaching in the New Testament is compete. . The writer in the New Testament is complete. The writers warned:
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." -Galatians 1:8
The writer of the last book of the New Testament gives warning:
"I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book." -Revelation 22:18
Though many things about Jesus are foretold and foreshadowed in the Old Testament, it is in the New that God speaks to us through Him.
"God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoke to us by His Son." -Hebrews 1:1-2
This means that we must not go back to the Old Testament to learn how to follow Jesus, the Way. The law was intended simply to bring men to Jesus.
"Therefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But AFTER faith has come, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOLMASTER." -Galatians 3:24-25
