“A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the “Highway of Holiness.” And the ransomed of the Lord (the redeemed) will walk there, and will come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (vv.8-10)
Just as the Jews yearned to worship in Jerusalem, so we, too, should joyfully anticipate worshiping God in the New Jerusalem. The apostle John described it this way:
“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’… The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp… Nothing impure will ever enter it … but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:1-11)
Christ will return in triumph and splendor. The desert will blossom. The weak will become strong. Fear will turn to faith. The covenant relationship that was broken will be restored. Justice that had appeared thwarted will be done in full. And the power of God will be miraculously evident as the blind will see and the lame will walk.
In that day, the redeemed will walk on the “Way of Holiness” (35:8). Those who travel on it must be holy, wise, and pure, but it is God who will make them so, not they themselves. These pilgrims will be “ransomed” people, rescued by God and living wholly for Him (35:10). The exiled will return, the mourners will sing, the grief-stricken will rejoice, and the temporary will give way before the eternal.
The Truth: “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
Just as the Jews yearned to worship in Jerusalem, so we, too, should joyfully anticipate worshiping God in the New Jerusalem. The apostle John described it this way:
“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’… The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp… Nothing impure will ever enter it … but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:1-11)
Christ will return in triumph and splendor. The desert will blossom. The weak will become strong. Fear will turn to faith. The covenant relationship that was broken will be restored. Justice that had appeared thwarted will be done in full. And the power of God will be miraculously evident as the blind will see and the lame will walk.
In that day, the redeemed will walk on the “Way of Holiness” (35:8). Those who travel on it must be holy, wise, and pure, but it is God who will make them so, not they themselves. These pilgrims will be “ransomed” people, rescued by God and living wholly for Him (35:10). The exiled will return, the mourners will sing, the grief-stricken will rejoice, and the temporary will give way before the eternal.
The Truth: “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
