“The Way” is
mentioned several times in the book of Acts (Acts 9:2;
19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22) in connection with early
followers of The Christ. It was to take prisoner men
and women who “belonged to the Way” (Acts 9:2; 22:4) that
Saul of Tarsus went to Damascus. After Saul was
converted, he became a missionary and went by the name of
Paul. In Ephesus, Paul met some in the synagogue who
“became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly
maligned the Way” (Acts 19:9). Paul left the synagogue and
continued to preach the gospel where it would be heard
rather than remain with those who denigrated the Way.
During his trial before Felix, Paul said, “I
admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a
follower of the Way, which they call a sect” (Acts
24:14). We are also told that Felix knew about the
Way (verse 22). It seems that the Romans considered
the Way to be a sect of Judaism rather than a separate
religion.
Presumably, the early followers of The Christ
referred to themselves as followers of the Way because of
Yahshua's statement in John 14:6 that He is “the way and
the truth and the life.” Luke says that Aquila and
Priscilla explained to Apollos “the way of God” more fully
(Acts 18:26). Peter refers to Christianity as “the
way of truth” (2 Peter 2:2). And the writer of
Hebrews says that Yahshua's
broken body is the “new and living way” for us to enter
the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10:19–20).
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