The Jesus Way

Learning to Live the Christian Life

Peter Walker

• Publisher: Monarch Books
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780857219602
• eBook ISBN: 9780857219619
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

This book teaches the basics of the Christian faith, looking first at what Jesus himself taught, and then at what his apostles had to say. It is for anyone who wants to follow Jesus, but is not sure or would like to be reminded of the way.

In short clear steps, Dr Peter Walker takes us through the basics of enjoying Jesus' forgiveness, welcoming his Spirit and feeding on his scriptures; then explores the principles of worshipping with his people, following his teaching and trusting him with our future.

This classic of the field has been revised and is accompanied by access to an online PDF workbook and video content.

PART 1

Learning from Jesus Himself

(Luke 24)

From Luke’s First Book:

His “Good News” about Jesus (Luke 24)

The resurrection (verses 1-12)

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

The walk to Emmaus (verses 13–35)

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Jesus appears to his disciples (verses 36–49)

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus is taken up to heaven (verses 50–53)

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

1

Enjoy Jesus’ Resurrection

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!

Luke 24:5–6

Was Jesus really raised from the dead? Luke, the writer of this key chapter in the Bible, was in no doubt. It might seem bizarre and without any parallel, but yes, three days after his public execution in Jerusalem*, Jesus, so Luke claims, was seen by his followers.

First, he writes, Jesus’ tomb was found to be empty; next, Jesus met a couple of his followers making their way to a village outside Jerusalem called Emmaus*; and finally, back in Jerusalem later that first Easter* day, he met with his followers – showing them his wounds, and eating some food to prove he was no ghost. At the start of the day, his followers had thought the first rumours were a load of nonsense, but by the day’s end, sheer joy and exhilaration was evidently beginning to pulse through their lives (Luke 24:11, 41).

Resurrection at the centre

Jesus had been raised by God back from the dead! This raising or “resurrection” of Jesus has, ever since, been the central claim of authentic Christian faith – that the living God raised Jesus Christ bodily from the grave. And the news that Jesus is alive continues to this day to turn people’s expectations upside down, bringing joy and new hope. This can be true for anyone – it can be true for you. Those who meet with this Risen Jesus are a given a whole new life; and those who are serious about following him are in for a life characterized by adventure and new possibilities.

Jesus wants this truth about his resurrection to become the very centre of your thinking and your life. He made that clear to his first followers on that first Easter day, and he has been doing it ever since. Jesus is truly back from the dead – he is alive!

Following a living Jesus

The resurrection has always been at the heart of the Christian message. After all, take the resurrection away and what are you left with?

It is love that truly stands at the heart of the universe.

•A teacher who dies in his thirties as a failed Messiah*.

•Someone who makes great promises about God but who comes to a pitiful end.

•An example of a good, truthful person being hounded to death by human evil at its worst.

Not much good news here! No wonder there are so few people who try to follow Jesus while denying his resurrection. No wonder, if they do, that their teaching has such little impact. For why should we bother with a dead Jesus? Anything nice in his teaching (for example, about God’s love) we probably want to believe already. On the other hand, anything challenging we can readily dismiss, since he’s dead and gone. In that sense, we don’t have to follow him at all – we’re the ones who do the choosing. Above all, if Jesus remained dead in the tomb, his teaching and public ministry had evidently not been very successful. Moreover, there is no clear reason for assuming that anything he said is necessarily true.

But put the resurrection back in its proper place – at the very centre – and things start to look quite different. Now, instead, we have a Jesus in whom God was evidently at work. It becomes vital to know what he said and what he did, for it all comes with the stamp of divine approval. Moreover, because of the resurrection, Jesus’ words and actions have the power to bring God’s truth and love dramatically into our lives today.

Then again, with the resurrection at the centre, hope for the future has a solid foundation: in particular, physical death need not be the end, and our present lives can be seen as infinitely valuable. We find we are living in a God-invaded world, with God himself able to become our greatest reality. Indeed, we can sense how it is love – God’s love – that truly stands at the heart of the universe.

In addition, we are given a clear vision of God’s purpose, not only for our own lives, but for the whole world: we are to live out Jesus’ teaching, to implement his kingdom, to proclaim his rule, and to work hand in hand with the God who has the power to bring good out of evil, and light out of darkness. The true and living God is the God of resurrection power, the one who is at work to restore his broken world. We too, then, are to be an “Easter people”, bringing the resurrection light of Jesus into our local worlds – into God’s world.

So, no resurrection – no Good News. No resurrection – no “Christianity” worth its name. If there’s no resurrection, then there’s no point in following Jesus. Indeed, there’s no point in walking in the Jesus Way or reading any more of this book. For we are looking together in these pages at what it means to follow a living person – not a dead one. Jesus, according to the New Testament writers, is alive – and that means alive today!

So the first “building block” as we seek to follow this Jesus – the first step along the Jesus Way – is to enjoy Jesus’ resurrection and to enjoy living each day of our lives in the light of this amazing reality. If, right now, you do not feel so sure about the truth of the resurrection, or if you want to invest some time looking in more detail at the historical evidence for it, then you may find it helpful to turn now to appendix B (The Resurrection of Jesus: Can We Be Sure?) to look at the various objections to the resurrection and begin to develop your own response. It’s good to build up one’s confidence on this vital, life-changing topic.

In the rest of this chapter, however, we will move on to consider the implications of all this. What does the New Testament teach us about the meaning and significance of the resurrection (see Box 1)? If the resurrection of Jesus really happened, what difference will it make? We will find it will give us a whole new vision of who God i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword to the Second Edition by Greg Downes
• Foreword to the First Edition by J. I. Packer
• Introduction
• Part 1: Learning from Jesus Himself (Luke 24)
• Part 2: Learning from the Apostles (Acts 2)
• Epilogue
• Appendix A – Jesus of Nazareth: What Makes Him Unique?
• Appendix B – The Resurrection of Jesus: Can We Be Sure?
• Appendix C – Baptism for Jesus’ Followers: Why is it Important?
• Glossary