If you've been a follower of the Messiah, then I'm sure you have heard this quote before,
"Yeshua is the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), but what does that really mean.
"Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Yeshua answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7)
For starters, what we fail to realize is that the people of that time knew that they were Hebrew. They knew the language (i.e. Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek...), but most importantly, they knew the culture. For them, they knew exactly what Yeshua was saying and what He meant. Since we are away from the Hebraic culture, we have to rely on what the Bible says is true. That is why it is so important to study scripture precept upon precept, here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:10).
If you do this, you will soon realize that Yeshua quoted the TaNaKh (Old Testament) when he spoke with the exception of parables. This saying is no exception; it is actually a compilation of many different scriptures (way: Psalm 1:6, Ezekiel 18:25-29, Ezekiel 33:20, Proverb 15:24... truth: Isaiah 26:2, Psalm 119:142, Proverbs 22:21... life: Isaiah 38:16, Proverbs 15:24, Jeremiah 21:8, Psalm 16:11).
By understanding this, I wanted to take a closer look at these words in Hebrew to digest what He was really saying.
The Way
The Hebrew word for, "way" in is Derek ( דֶ֖רֶךְ). This word begins with the letter "dalet" (ד). This letter represent the tent door. The next letter, "resh", (ר) represents the head; in this case the head of the tent which is our Father, Yahuah. Lastly, this word ends with the letter "kaf" (ך) which means to open. Therefore, Yesha is literally saying that He is the door that opens the Father's tent or house. Without Him you would not be able to enter.
He said that there were two way one that leads to life and the other that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).
" Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
The precept for this comes from Proverbs 16:25. When Solomon says, " There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." You must follow him to enter into the narrow gates. The problem is most people today are on the broad way and they have no idea that they are heading to death. They follow the traditions, especially around this time of year, of men without question or guilt when our Father clearly spoke out against doing so (Jeremiah 10:1-4).
Yeshua followed the Laws established in the Torah. This leads me to the next phrase...
The Truth
The Hebrew word for "truth" is koshet (קשֶׁט). This word begins with the Kof (ק) which means sun on the horizon. The next letter is Shin (שֶׁ) which means to consume or destroy. Lastly, this word ends with the Tet (ט) which means to surround. Therefore, Yeshua was literally saying that He was in the beginning; the Word, that surrounds (or guides) His people's way of life consuming and destroying that which goes against Torah.
"KOF. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Yahuah: I will keep thy statutes. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word. Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O Yahuah, quicken me according to thy judgment. They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. Thou art near, O Yahuah; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever." (Psalm 119:142)
John said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Yahuah, and the Word was Yahuah. The same was in the beginning with Yahuah. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1-3). This is why, everything that Yeshua said during His ministry can be found in, what some call, the Old Testament (TaNaKh). He came to not only be our salvation, but He came to set the record straight.
During that time, although most people knew scripture, they lived according to the Talmud which is man-made and it was (and is to this day) enforced by the Pharisees and Sadducees (who weren't even Israelites). The Talmud often imposed harsh treatment and impossible task for the people to keep based off of the Law of Moses but was/is traditions that added to scriptures.
I would assume that they created the Talmud in an effort to keep the Israelites on track so that they wouldn't cause damnation to fall on the entire nation. If you can recall, when they, as a people, transgressed the law they lost favor with Yahuah and ended up in captivity. The problem was/is that they missed out on the beauty of Yahuah's love for them and made the law into a chore and not what it was intended to be; terms of the covenant (or marriage) between Yahuah and the Israelites.
His law is just like the laws (rules) that parents in act today to keep their children safe so that they could live. His law is meant to give us, His children, life. This brings me to the next phrase...
The life
The Hebrew word for "life" is chay (חַי). This word begins with chet (חַ) which means a tent wall or separation. The next letter is the yud (י) which means work or deed. Therefore, Yeshua literally said that the way He lives is His life through His work and deeds will ensure that you can live in separate from the world covered under our Father's tent or house. Without Him, we wouldn't have that opportunity.
Surprisingly enough, this word "life" has the same root as the word for grace — chen (חֵן). The similarity in these words signifies how you must be in our Father's house to be covered by his grace and live.
An exercise that I ask everyone to do when we have this conversation is to think back to the time when they lived at home with their parents. Most likely, especially if they're Hebrew, their parents had a set of rules — be in by a decent time, clean up behind yourself, be obedient, etc. — ensuring that we would be safe while we were under their rood and know how live once we were on our own. The older you got, you received different consequences for breaking the rules, but once you knew better and was of age breaking the rules meant you could possible be "kicked" out of the house.
Well, it is the same for our Father. The plan for us is to live in the Sukkah (tent) or house under His rules. When you do not follow His rules, you are, then, no longer covered by His grace (chen) and on the path towards life (chay).
This is where repentance comes in. No one is perfect; we have all transgressed the law or have fallen short. It is up to us, while we are away from His law, to recognize it and turn back in the direction of his Sukkah (tent), asking for forgiveness with the intention of not doing whatever you did again. Our Father knows our heart and He speaks to us (John 10:27).
The question is... Are you listening?
Comments