WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY What Child is This? – The Way “… a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way.” Isaiah 35:8

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY

“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the L ORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY “The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the L ORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” -Isaiah 35:1-10

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY Often at times of great change, people turn to music as something to hang their hats on for a sense of stability and consistency in the face of uncertainty. The book of Isaiah became like a touchstone song for the people of Israel during times of turmoil Our passage today almost formed the refrain to their song of hope; the material expressed here was looked to for encouragement and hope during the dark times experienced by the people of Israel.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY Our passage begins with some figurative language about a transformed desert. Deserts are notoriously desolate places, unforgiving landscapes that provide very little for life to flourish. Isaiah relates that there will be a time when these barren places will burst forth with life and joy. This is a passage of encouragement …the vision of a transformed desert is meant to inspire hope for a people presently caught in “desert life”. Verse 4 helps us to see that the transformation begins when God comes to save His people. When God came to save, the result would be a complete transformation from barrenness and death, to fruitfulness and life.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY “A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the L ORD ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the L ORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” (Isaiah 40:3-5) “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matthew 3:1-3) In preparation of the Messiah’s arrival, there will be a voice calling from the desert, urging God’s people to prepare for the His arrival... Matthew indicates that it is John the Baptist. John’s ministry was all about repentance.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6) Our way – the highway of God – arrived in the form of a child in the manger. In Hebrews 12, Jesus is even described as “the pioneer and perfecter of faith”. Christ, then, is like a highway leading directly to God. Notice that in all of our passages, there is a singularity to the way … there is “a” highway, it is “the” way of the Lord, and Jesus is the “only” way to the Father. This is not a popular sentiment in our world that maintains an “all roads lead to Rome” kind of mentality. “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:15-16)

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY Scripturally, there are but two pathways for us from which to choose: the path of the righteous/the way of wisdom or the path of the wicked. The path of wisdom leads to life, while the path of the wicked leads very quickly to death. Christ, the glory of the Lord, was revealed for all to see – it is a universal revelation beginning in a manger and ending with an empty tomb. The exclusivity of the way is not based upon something inherent within us. Though it is revealed to all, there is exclusivity to the access to this road. Access to this road is not gained by any other means than through faith in Christ. Simply, those who walk on this highway are enabled to do so because they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. What child is this? He is the Way to the Father.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY As people who now find ourselves on the Way, we must walk with purpose and intentionality. Those whom the Lord has rescued do not walk aimlessly, but with determination and purpose. We must be careful to stay on the Way because while on it, no harm will come to us. As we remain “in Christ” we are assured of His presence with us and His protection over us. We must not fail to move forward; we must continue to walk because there is a destination at the end of this highway. We find ourselves presently “in Christ” so that we may be eternally “in Christ”. Paul, in Philippians 3, claims his goal to be “[gaining] Christ and being found in him”, his desire to be “[knowing] Christ, participating in his death and resurrection”, and while admitting to not having achieved this goal yet, his focus is to “press on to his goal of being in Christ Jesus”.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE WAY Notice the result of walking in the Way in Isaiah 35:10: “everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away”. So what child is this? He is the One through whom life and joy burst forth, the One who transforms barren deserts into valleys of life, the One who is both our highway to relationship with the Father and our eternal destination. He is the One who offers us eternal gladness and joy as He has gifted us with the Way.