The Two Ways of the Lord in Luke and Acts: Distinguishing Two Metaphorical Uses of One Term

The expression ‘the way (of the Lord/of God)’ is often understood as a self-designation of the early Christians and interpreted against the background of Isaiah 40:3–5. This article argues that the expression is used metaphorically in Luke and Acts in two distinct ways. In the quotation from Isaiah 40 in Luke 3:4–5, the way denotes the way on which the Lord comes to Jerusalem. This way is to be distinguished from the way on which the Lord wants his disciples to walk, as a metaphor for what he teaches them through his apostles. The extensive usage of way-metaphors serves the Lukan presentation of the teaching of Jesus and his disciples as instruction in the way of life that has been taught by the God of Israel since ancient times. It emphasises the continuity between the ancient people of Israel and the Jewish and non-Jewish disciples of Jesus.