In 1942 the U. S. government decided to carve a road from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Big Delta, Alaska.[1] Called the Alaska Highway, it would stretch 1,422 miles over the Canadian Rockies, through the Yukon Territory, and into remote Alaska. A recruiting poster made this promise to anyone applying to work on the job:
“Men hired for this job will be required to work and live under the most extreme conditions imaginable. Temperatures will range from 90 degrees above zero to 70 degrees below zero. Men will have to fight swamps, rivers, ice and cold. Mosquitos, flies and gnats will not only be annoying but will cause bodily harm. If you are not prepared to work under these and similar conditions, do not apply.”
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the government believed this road was needed to keep the Japanese from potentially invading Alaska. They sent 16,000 soldiers to help build the road. It cost $138 million—the most expensive construction project of World War II. The initial team, transported by plane and train, arrived with 174 steam shovels, 374 blade graders, 904 tractors, 5,000 trucks, bulldozers, snowplows, cranes, and generators. Conditions were miserable. One oft-repeated tale concerned a staff sergeant who, arriving in Dawson Creek during a blizzard, asked his superior officer, ‘Major, where do I sleep?’ The grinning major replied, ‘Take any snowdrift you like. This one is mine!’ In the winter, pick axes bent against the frozen ground. Any vehicle that got wet from a still flowing stream had to keep moving because the water on it could freeze and snap the axel in two. In the spring, rivers flooded and equipment and men were trapped in thick mud. Those familiar with the project claimed it was the most difficult construction project undertaken since the building of the Panama Canal. Yet, in the end, they were successful. They completed a road through the most difficult territory imaginable. They made a way when there seemed to be no way possible.
We are determined to create roads where it seems none can exist. We are determined to make a way where there seems to be no way. We have such fortitude, such technology, and such will that we humans have been able to carve roads in the most extreme environments.
Yet sometimes we face obstacles we cannot overcome. Sometimes we cannot make a way through. Sometimes there is no way. Sometimes, despite our courage, despite our ingenuity, despite our desire, there just is no way through.
This was spiritually true in the time of a man named Isaiah. Isaiah was prophet in the Old Testament. He wrote a long book of 66 chapters which is near the middle of your Bible. Isaiah lived and preached when the nation of Assyria invaded and exiled the nation of Israel. He also described the time when the nation of Babylon would invade and exile the nation of Judah. The nation of Israel and the nation of Judah were filled with God’s chosen people. No one could have ever imagined Assyria and Babylon overtaking these nations. No one could have imagined the holy city of Jerusalem being invaded. Yet this is exactly what happened. And this is what Isaiah recorded. The chosen people of God were trampled. The beautiful city of God was terrorized. Every aspect of the people’s lives was turned in its head. They were dragged away from all they had ever known into a place and among a people that was completely foreign. And there seemed to be no way out of it. There seemed to be no way of ever getting from the strange and uncomfortable place where they now were to familiar and comfortable place where they once were. There was no way return to that good life with God. All hopes, all dreams, all ways were blocked.
Have you ever felt that way? Felt like there just wasn’t any way out of your joblessness? Felt like there just wasn’t any way out of your marriage crisis? Felt like there just wasn’t any way out of your struggle with pornography? Felt like there was no way to get from a strange and uncomfortable spot in life to the familiar and comfortable spot where you want to be?
That’s how Isaiah’s readers felt. But Isaiah’s message was a remarkable message of comfort. We might summarize the whole book of Isaiah in this way: When there is no way God makes a way. One of the recurring images in Isaiah’s book is God’s “highway.” Throughout his book, Isaiah writes of a God who will plow a straight and level road from hopelessness to hope, from despair to dancing, from isolation from to intimacy with God:
- 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. (Is. 35:8 ESV)
- 3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Is. 40:3 ESV)
- 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters… 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Is. 43:16-19 ESV)
- 11 And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. (Is. 49:11 ESV)
- 14 And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” (Is. 57:14 ESV)
- 10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples. (Is. 62:10 ESV)
It was as if the people’s unfaithfulness and the circumstances of the invading nations had piled boulders onto the road, washed out the road and left deep valleys, and created unshakeable mountains blocking the path. The result was a spiritual territory that looked like Alaska. But God, through Isaiah, declares that he’s in the highway business. And he’s going to carve a road where none seems possible. Isaiah says “where there is no way God makes a way.” Just as God plowed a highway through the Red Sea to lead his people from Egypt to the Promised Land, so he will once again plow a highway from the pit to the peak, from hopelessness to hopefulness. God promises to find a way to get the people back to where they need to be.
When John the Baptist arrives on the scene in John’s Gospel, he grabs on to this very image and uses this very language. When the Jews demand to know who John the Baptist, he quotes from Isaiah: He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (John 1:23 ESV). “I’m part of God’s road crew,” John is saying. “I’m a paver. I’m a bulldozer. I’m here to join God’s ongoing work of making ways where there seems to be no way.” It turns out that the construction project God started in Isaiah’s day was still going on in John’s day. There were still people struggling with discouragement and with misery. There were still people who weren’t where they wanted or needed to be in life. And John was now part of that ongoing effort to pave a way where there seemed to be no way.
Not surprisingly, Jesus eventually identifies his mission using the same language. The only other use of this language in John’s Gospel comes in John 14. It comes in the context of troubling times. The people in John 14 are feeling very much like the people were feeling in Isaiah’s day. In John 13:21-30, Jesus indicates that he knows that Judas is about to sell him out, and Judas leaves their dinner gathering to do this very thing. Even Jesus, according to John 13:21 is now “troubled in his spirit.” Then, in John 13:31-14:14 Jesus makes repeated remarks about the fact that he is about to go—a reference to his impending death on the cross. At least 9 times we read about Jesus going away from them. He’s about to leave these followers of him. They will feel, according to John 14:18 like “orphans.” They will feel abandoned. Then, in John 13:36-38 Jesus has to tell Peter that he knows Peter is going to cave in when the time comes. Not even Peter will not stand his ground. Peter will deny Jesus and give in to fear and scatter just like everyone else.
The result, according to Jesus in John 14:1 is that their “hearts” are “troubled.” These are the toughest times Jesus and his followers have ever faced. Everything is coming unraveled. All the things they’ve been hoping for and planning for and working for are suddenly becoming impossible. Their team is falling apart. Their courage is melting. The future is cloudy. And Jesus himself is about to leave. It’s as if there’s been a landslide and the way forward has been blocked. There’s been a flash flood and the road’s been washed away. Spiritually, life looks like remote Alaska. And there seems to be no way forward.
It’s in this context that Jesus makes a remarkable statement: 6 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 ESV). This is the only other use of “way” in John’s Gospel. It seems certain that Jesus has in mind what John the Baptist had in mind. Both were thinking of the God who makes a way in the book of Isaiah. Both were thinking of God’s ongoing construction project to pave a path for people where no path seems possible. Jesus is saying that he is the highway Isaiah wrote about so long ago.
More specifically, I think Jesus is saying three things about the way in which he is the way. First, Jesus is saying that his way is sure—he will make a way when there seems to be no way. Against the background of God’s “highway” language in Isaiah, Jesus is reasserting that in him, God will find a way. When there seems to be no way, in Jesus, God always finds a way. God’s plans will persevere. God’s wishes will become reality. Especially in those times when there seems to be no way, in Jesus, God finds a way. Especially to these disciples whose hearts are troubled and who fear that everything’s falling apart, Jesus wants them to know that if they’ll just hang on to him, they’ll make it through. Jesus will make a way forward even though none seems possible.
While working on this message I had breakfast with a fellow preacher from another city. The story he shared with me overwhelmed me. A core staff member at his congregation had quit. But in leaving, this disgruntled staff member had spread all kinds of lies about the preacher. Now he had to clean up that mess as well as deal with major financial stress in the congregation. At times, as my friend shared his story, there was a part of me that wondered if there was any way to resolved all these issues. But I kept thinking about Jesus’ statement: “I am the way.” When Jesus says that, he’s speaking it in the context of a God who paved a way through the Red Sea, who paved a road back from Babylon to Jerusalem, and who, Jesus knew, would even pave a road back from the grave itself. No matter how dark things seem to be, no matter what obstacles seems to be in the way, no matter what challenges you or your family or your friends are facing, Jesus is the way. Through Jesus, God will make a way. Jesus is saying here that his way is sure. Where you are filled with doubt and wonder how you’ll ever make it through a situation, remember this statement: “I am the way.”
But I think Jesus is saying even more. Second, Jesus is implying that his way is sacred—his way will ultimately lead you closer to the Father. Jesus not only says, “I am the way,” but he adds “No one comes to the Father except through me.” He’s telling these troubled disciples that if they will just stick with Jesus, Jesus will make a way through all of this suffering and all of these challenges. And the result will be this: they will all be closer to the Father. If they will stick with Jesus, the result of the hard times will be that they get closer to God.
Jesus will not necessarily make a way through your illness so that you are healed for the rest of your life. Jesus will not necessarily make a way through your joblessness so that you get a job next week. Jesus will not necessarily make a way through your relationship struggles so that your marriage is renewed this weekend. But the most important way Jesus makes is a way to deeper intimacy with God. Jesus will make a way through whatever you are facing so that the result will be that you are closer to God.
Jesus may have a different destination in mind than you and I do. When we hit difficult times, the destination we want to reach is one where is no more difficulty. The destination is one where all the problems are resolved and all the pain is gone. But if Jesus is the way, his destination is our deeper relationship with God. That’s what Jesus is most concerned about. So when Jesus starts carving a path for us through difficult times, that path may not lead where we think it ought to lead. It may not resolve all pain. It may not resolve all problems. But here’s what it will do—it will lead us closer to God.
We Christians usually use this verse to discuss why Jesus, and only Jesus, and no other religious leader, is the way to the Father. That is an appropriate use of this text. We could legitimately take time this morning to explore from an intellectual perspective how Jesus is the only way to the Father. But the context for this statement was a pastoral one not an intellectual one. Jesus wasn’t addressing a group of religious thinkers trying to understand whether Christianity was superior or inferior to other world religions. Jesus was addressing a group of struggling disciples trying to understand what God was doing in the midst of some very trying times. And as Judas left to betray Jesus, as Peter would soon deny Jesus, as Jesus predicted his own death, what Jesus wanted these disciples to know most of all was that Jesus would lead the way through all of this and the result would be a deeper relationship with the Father.
Finally, Jesus is saying that his way is strange—his way will be unlike other ways. It’s not only sure. It’s not only sacred. But it’s strange. Eugene Peterson has written a book exploring the many facets of this simple statement “I am the way.” His book is called The Jesus Way.[2] Peterson argues that one of the most overlooked elements of Jesus’ statement is the kind of way Jesus was. Jesus’ way was very different from other ways of the day.[3] There was, Peterson says, the “way of Herod.” Herod used power and fear to control people and bend people to his will. Jesus’ way was just the opposite. And there was, Peterson says, the “way of the Pharisees.” The Pharisees majored in the minors. They made spiritual mountains out of molehills. The called critical what was truly marginal and marginal what was absolutely essential. Jesus’ way was just the opposite. Peterson argues that when Jesus promises to be our “way,” it’s going to be a way that’s unlike any other way we might follow.
John Dickson illustrates this further. He wrote a book last year entitled Humilitas.[4] It’s based on post-doctoral research he did on ancient societies. Dickson found that for an ancient person, to pursue personal honor was the greatest good. To suffer shame was the greatest harm. In the ancient world, the average person would always choose a way that led to greater personal honor. The average person would always reject a way that led to greater shame. And, Dickson writes, the most shameful and honor-less place in the ancient world was a cross. The cross represented a way that no one in the ancient world would take. Yet the cross was the way of Jesus. The cross was the way of Jesus’ followers. Thus, Christians in the ancient world began to redefine the greatest good in life. They started using a word that, up to that point, has been associated with servitude and indignity. The word is translated “humility.” Dickson found that “humility” only became a virtue after Christians began using it in ancient society to describe the counter-cultural way of Jesus. When Jesus says “I am the way,” he’s implying “My way is the way of the cross, the way of humility, the way of service, the way of lowliness.” It is a way unlike any other way.
Still reflecting on this, Eugene Peterson points us back to Isaiah.[5] We began our journey this morning in Isaiah and his “highway songs.” But there is another set of songs in Isaiah. They are called the “servant songs.” They are found in Is. 42, 49, 50, 52, 53. In them, Isaiah sings of how God’s great roadwork on the earth will be accomplished through a humble and lowly servant. Isaiah is singing that the way in which God works as he plows his highways is a strange way. God will pave his way through lowly and menial servants.
Is. 53 is perhaps the most famous of these servant songs. Isaiah sings this about the one through whom God will make a way: “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men… But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed… He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” This was the way of Jesus. And if we cling to Jesus, and let him make a way in our lives, a way that leads us closer to the Father, this will be our way as well. It is a strange and humble way. But it is truly the only way forward.
Is there something in your life that feels like a Dead End? Is there an issue in your life in which it seems there is no way forward? While we sing this morning, I invite you to write that issue down on the Dead End sign on your seat and then bring it up here and place it in this wheelbarrow. It’s a way of saying to Jesus, “Take this and make a way through it.”
[1] http://www.historynet.com/alaska-highway-the-biggest-and-hardest-job-since-the-panama-canal.htm
[2] Eugene H. Peterson , The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way (Eerdmans, 2007), 27.
[3] Peterson, 217.
[4] John Dickson, Humilitas (Zondervan, 2011).
[5] Peterson, 170.
