The Three Journeys of Jesus

The way of all great men

David Murrow draws the Bible’s map to manhood

  • Discover the Bible’s Map to Manhood

The Map: The Way of All Great Men

“The spiritual punch of C.S. Lewis, written in the style of a Jason Bourne Thriller. I can’t imagine a more powerful, readable combination.” — Robert Lewis, Founder of Betterman and Men’s Fraternity.

Book cover
David Murrow

Author, speaker, video producer and all-around nice guy

Tap the orange button to send me a message

A map to manhood? In the Bible?

Ever since I wrote Why Men Hate Going to Church, (a book in which I point out the many ways modern Christianity is becoming feminized) I’ve struggled with the definition of manhood. Is a real man tough or tender? Does he take bold action, or “let go and let God?” Does he stand and fight, or turn the other cheek?

The Bible sends confusing signals. At times Christ behaved like a lion – rebuking, cursing and knocking down tables. But at other times, he was a lamb – healing, blessing and weeping openly. The paradox extends to the epistles, where Paul’s words encourage us to be lamb-like, but his actions are those of a full-mane lion.

So when ministers exhort us to “be a man like Jesus” which one are they talking about? The Lion of Judah or the Lamb of God? How can we know which side of Christ’s personality to imitate in any given situation?

One day I decided to examine the gospels through the lens of this paradox. It wasn’t long before I made a discovery so startling it could change the way we disciple men.

There is an ancient map to manhood embedded in Matthew’s gospel. The map records three spiritual journeys that all the great men of scripture have walked.

The first journey is found in Matthew 1-7. In these chapters, Christ is mostly a lamb. In His second journey (Matthew 8-25) we find Christ transformed into a lion. Then in Matthew 26-28, Christ walks a third journey, becoming lamb-like again.

Even more exciting, I found the pattern repeated in the lives of the other great men of Scripture, including Moses, David, Paul, Samson and many others. Those men who walked these three journeys became great. But those men who missed a journey — or who took them out of order — met with destruction. Gulp.

Once I discovered the journeys it was a simple matter to turn them into a real, ink-on-paper map. I named the journeys submission, strength and sacrifice.

How do we use this map today? Start by discipling men according to the journey they’re walking.

Submission = lamb. When teaching young believers, emphasize softer, submissive themes. Brokenness, dependence and weakness. The fruit of the Spirit. Submission of our wills to Christ.

Strength = lion.  As young disciples mature, shift your focus to strength. How to discern and execute a life mission. When to pray and when to confront. The value of tough love.

Sacrifice = lamb. Mature believers should be taught to sacrifice. How to pour your life and experience into others. How to love deeply. How to die so that others can live. 

Let me make a bold statement: I believe that these three journeys are the key to transforming ordinary men into spiritual champions. Together they form the template of male spiritual development left to us by Jesus. The three journeys may be the lost path of discipleship that so many have been searching for.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been teaching the three journeys to men’s groups – and getting enthusiastic response. The three journeys help them make sense of the lion-lamb paradox. And men love seeing their spiritual lives in the form of a map (no surprise here; men like maps, as they tend to be visual learners).

Since The Map: The Way of All Great Men released in 2010, several men’s groups have formed to practice Three Journeys discipleship. If you want to start a group (or if you have one already started) please reach out and let me know by clicking the button below.

How can I help you?

The latest from David

New articles posted regularly

I write about the latest trends at my blog.

Click here to see what’s new.

Train your church staff

Focus on Men and Boys

David can help your church staff identify ways to be more engaging to guys. To book David, click here.

Free Discussion Guides

Download Free Discussion Guides

Want to lead a discussion of Why Men Hate Going to Church? We’ve got your discussion guides here:

Conference Speaker

Helping Pastors Reach Men and Boys

David Murrow trains pastors how to make their sermons more engaging – for both men and women. Click here to invite David to speak at your next Pastors’ conference.

How Guy Friendly is Your Church?

Take our 50 question quiz

Want to know whether your church is “guy-friendly”? Is your congregation welcoming, or weird?

Click here to take the quiz.

Men's Retreats

David's 10-10 method gets guys talking

David Murrow reveals the Bible’s Map to Manhood using tons of visuals, object lessons and challenges. Guys love it!

To contact David about leading a men’s retreat, click here.

Go for the Guys Sunday

A special guy-oriented Sunday

Hundreds of churches have used our “Go for the Guys Sunday” Action Plan to create a guy-friendly service.

Click here to download the Action Plan.

Great Online Preaching

Pastor, want to reach more people online?

David Murrow teaches pastors how to create sermons that are watched, remembered and shared online.

Click here to learn more about the Online Preaching Coach.