Walking before Talking

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.  John 14:6 NASB

Way – The Greek term, hodós, is used for both literal roads, streets, and pathways, and figuratively for the course of life.  In Greek mythology, hodós is connected to the choice between the path of good and the path of evil.  Greek philosophy adds another dimension: “A common idea is that there are two ways after death, but it should be noted that these are ways of destiny, not decision, and that sometimes we find three ways. hodós also occurs in connection with the ascent of the soul. The way to truth (right thinking) is a way to heavenly light. In Hermetic writings gnṓsis is a way.”^[1] You can see the transition to English in the word “exodus,” meaning “a way out.”  You’ll notice the emphasis on rationality (right thinking) in the Greek worldview.  But, of course, Yeshua is not speaking, or thinking, Greek.  He uses the Hebrew termderek, the very common word for following the path of the Lord.

Figurative use is common (cf. Dt. 8:2; Prov. 1:31). Life itself is viewed as a way (cf. passages like Prov. 4:10; Is. 40:27; Job 3:23), and dying is a way that all must go (1 Kgs. 2:2) and from which none can return (Job 16:22). Another common use is for “manner of life” or “conduct” (cf. Ex. 18:20; 1 Sam. 18:14; 8:3, 5 etc.; 2 Kgs. 22:2 etc.). More frequently we read of the way or ways of God. These may be God’s own dealings, but they may also be the ways that he commands for us (Jer. 7:23). The ways are thus equivalent to the commands (Ps. 119:15 etc.). Yet these ways do not have to relate to specific commandments of the law (cf. 1 Kgs. 11:33 with Dt. 5:33). Various descriptions are offered: they are good ways (1 Sam. 12:23), right ways (1 Sam. 12:23), the way of truth (Ps. 119:30), the everlasting way (Ps. 139:24), etc. Some passages assume that people can follow these ways (Job 23:11; Ps. 17:4, etc.), but others state that people neither observe (Mal. 2:9) nor know them (Jer. 5:4–5). Mostly they leave the right way (Prov. 2:13) and follow their own ways (Is. 56:11), which may seem right to them (Prov. 12:15). The self-chosen way is a wicked one (Is. 65:2); cf. such expressions as the way of the wicked (Ps. 1:6) or of sinners (1:1), or the ways of darkness (Prov. 2:13). The cry of the prophets is that we should return from our evil ways (Zech. 1:4 etc.). God sees all our ways (Prov. 5:21) and punishes wicked ways (Hos. 4:9). Yet we cannot turn from such ways unless God helps us. He has promised this help, teaching us his ways, and leading us in the way we should go (Is. 48:17). Yet if the thought of divine assistance is always present, the many imperatives show that we are responsible for our ways and for taking God’s way.^[2]

With this in mind, what does Yeshua mean when he claims that he is the way?  The Hebrew conception of a pathway of life is about practical applications.  It’s emphasis is not on what one happens to believe.  It’s emphasis is on what one does.  In this regard, God’s instructions to Moses are like a guidebook for living.  The right path is the path of Torah application.  As a rabbi, Yeshua’s example is a living testimony to this path.  He expects his disciples to do what he does, to take the same approach to living that he takes, to (in a word) mimic him.  All of this is abundantly clear in other statements he makes, like “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father,” that is, you have seen the character of God in my behavior, and the common theme, “Keep my commandments.”  We acknowledge this.

But perhaps we need to ask a different question.  Why does Yeshua use this particular order, that is, way-truth-life.  Wouldn’t we expect to hear “truth-way-life”?  In our Western Greek world, knowing the truth must come before choosing the way to life.  Why?  Because we still fundamentally believe the cosmos is a reflection of us, that is, it is rational, and if we know its rational order, then we can choose the correct path to follow.  This, by the way, is the offer of the serpent in the Garden.  “You will be like the gods, knowing good and evil,” is really an appeal to make up your own mind about what matters.  In the Western world, rules are for people who can’t make up their minds.  The underlying question of Greek ethics is “Why?”  “Why should I do this rather than that?”  So, in a Greek world, I must first know before I can decide.

But the Hebrew world is very different.  The “why” doesn’t matter (at least not much).  What matters is what God says, even if it doesn’t seem to “make sense.”  In the Hebrew world, divine command is the basis for “the way.”  Knowing why comes later, if at all.  In the Hebrew world, I must choose before I can know.  Revelation is not subject to my validation.  As Heschel says, the most fundamental question a man can every ask is “What does God demand of me?”  In the Hebrew world, I choose first, I know second, and because of this order, the path is revealed.

Yeshua is Jewish.  He thinks in Hebrew thought patterns.  “The way,” then “the truth.”  Is that how you think?

Topical Index: way, hodós, derek, truth, path, rationality, John 14:6

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 667). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

^[2] Ibid.