Highway to Holiness

This  past Sunday a dear brother challenged me to think about  "The Way of Holiness" in Isaiah 35, and what did I think it meant. I do have a few thoughts,but do not confess to have a complete interpretation. I would love to hear from you also on this topic.


In Isaiah 35,  I believe this scripture is an encouragement for Israel when one day they shall return to Zion with singing and an everlasting joy shall be upon there heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.......It is prophetic to the Nation anticipating the day their Messiah will come and set all things straight. The Highway of Holiness spoken here, I believe is the Messiah, because Isaiah also says, " and 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."

 I believe the Highway to Holiness is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, HIMSELF, the long awaited Messiah of Israel..  He said in John 14:6, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, No one comes to the Father but by ME." .There is only ONE HOLY GOD and He is our God.  His Name is Holy, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  He is totally separate and above all other gods. In Matthews 7:13, Jesus is again talking to the disciples explaining the Narrow Way, "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the WAY is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" .

I use to think that the Highway to Holiness was  hard work. I had to perform and be good.  It was all about my behavior. Didn't He say that the WAY was hard and few find it?  Christianity was getting very hard and quite boring, until the LIGHT BULB went on.

For me, it was all about FAITH in the Word of God. Did I believe that I had entered the narrow gate by identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, as my own? (Romans 6). Was it faith through grace, that Jesus had secured me on the narrow road to holiness? Would I be transformed as I grew to see Jesus from glory to glory?  Yes! There was such a peace to know that it was NOT by any works that I had done to get there or to even stay there.  

It is all about God's glory. We owe Him our lives.  To be hidden in Christ in God is the only way I know to walk the way of holiness. OUR WONDERFUL JESUS walked that road before us, the road to Calvary. He turns to us and says, "If anyone would come to me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loses his own soul.." Now, when I close my eyes, I see Jesus carrying each one of us in His heart on the WAY OF HOLINESS bringing us HOME to His Father.

Christ our Jubilee

The year of Jubilee caught my attention this week and I would like to share with you some of my thoughts.  I realize that there is so much more than what I understand, but what I do know has richly blessed me.

The primary reason for the Year of Jubilee was to prevent oppression in Israel. (Lev. 25:14.17)  All hired workers were to be set free.  This was unconditional liberty.  All bond slaves were released even if the Jubilee Year came before the completion of  their six years of service.  This also included bond slaves who had earlier declined to go free in the seventh year of their employment.  All were set at liberty. 

Besides all the bond slaves and slaves to be set free, all the land was returned to its original owners. (Lev. 25:13, 223-28).  This law  preserved the identity of the tribes and their allotted inheritance of the land. (Num.36:4,7)


From what I have learned, this particular celebration has never taken place in modern Israel.  The ancient rabbis generally believed that the Jubilee was no longer in effect after the exile of the northern ten tribes (722 B.C)  because the biblical command was to be observed  for "all the inhabitants thereof" (Lev. 25:10). They believed that the Jubilee Year applied only when all the Jewish people were in the land, and each tribe in its own territory. They are still waiting for this event to occur ever since they have returned to the land in 1948.


As the Jews look forward to their year of Jubilee, we as believers already celebrate and rejoice in Christ our Jubilee. In the Old Testament (Isaiah 61) and in the New Testament (Luke 4) the Lord says " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the LORD'S favor (Jubilee)..............." It is beautiful.  What Adam lost to Satan, Jesus bought back and restored to God.  We are free from all condemnation and the power of sin. Satan no longer has any control over our lives.  We have been redeemed, purchased by the blood of Jesus, never again to be under the law of sin and death.  The law of life in Jesus Christ  has set us free.  Jesus is our Jubilee. 




"The Feasts of the LORD" by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal  for further study.

Something to think about

How many times have you heard  this verse? The Lord spoke to His disciples saying "Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.."Matthew 11:28:29. Over the years it has brought much comfort to many weary souls, who struggle in this life, and who reaches out to God for comfort and peace. How faithful He is to meet our deepest need. This verse has comforted me many times. However, I would like to share something that I have recently thought about and I would LOVE your thoughts on this.

I have been pondering this verse for some time,wondering about the possibility, could Jesus be talking to His disciples about releasing His people from the burden of the law? When the Lord first spoke this to His disciples, the Nation of Israel was still under the ceremonial laws and the moral law  It was a HEAVY YOKE and a great BURDEN on the people, striving to keep the law 24-7. Every year on the day of atonement the High Priest would sprinkle the blood of a perfect lamb on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. For one whole year the sins of the Nation were covered by the blood, but the people were still were under the burden of the law. But what has interested me is when Jesus says, "Take MY yoke  upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find REST for your soul." Was trying to help His disciples to understand that He was the the promised Messiah ,who would take away their sin and give them REST from all their striving? 1 Cor. 15:56 says "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  BUT, thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  

The one thing I LOVE about Scripture is how relevant it is and that it continuously speaks to life in every situation. Isn't it wonderful that the law of life in Jesus Christ has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1). We no longer have to struggle to keep the law or condemn ourselves when we sin.  Jesus has invited us to repent, (change our minds) come to Him and He will give us rest.  Could the REST that Jesus is speaking be pointing to Hebrew 4:9 "there remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has Himself also rested from His works as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter the rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience."The rest of God is really something that I want to pursue to understand more and more. Perhaps, we could discuss this together in another post.