I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 42:1-7
Isaiah
42:1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I
will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff
out.
In
faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till
he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their
hope.”
5
This is what God the Lord says—
the
Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that
springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I
will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who
sit in darkness.
-- right around the turn of the 21st
century, a local TV station interviewed an elderly gentleman who was turning
100 years old to ask him about his life -- the reporter introduced him and then
turned and asked him this question -- “Sir, you have seen amazing technological
inventions in the course of your lifetime -- from the automobile becoming our
most common mode of transportation -- to the use of airplanes -- to televisions
and computers and now cell phones -- from your perspective, what has been the greatest
technological miracle to come about in your lifetime?”
-- well, the man thought about it
for just a second, and said, “The greatest miracle I have seen in my lifetime
is the thermos” -- the reporter looked at him and said, “The thermos? Why the thermos?”
-- the man said, “Well, in the
summertime, I put my iced tea in there and it stays cold all day long -- and in
the winter time, I put my coffee in there, and the thermos keeps it hot” -- the
reporter replied, “Well, yes, that’s how a thermos works -- but what makes that
a miracle?”
-- the old man replied, “How does it
know?”
-- well, the greatest miracle in the
Bible is like this old man’s thermos -- it’s also the one that gets mentioned
the least, at least in that context -- the greatest miracle in the Bible wasn’t
the parting of the Red Sea -- it wasn’t the Passover in Egypt -- it wasn’t the
walls of Jericho crashing at the sounds of the trumpets -- and it wasn’t the
feeding of the five thousand or the many healings of Jesus or His walking on
the water
-- no, the greatest miracle in the
Bible happened on a still and silent night in the dark of winter with little to
no fanfare -- the greatest miracle in the Bible came through the cries of a
baby in the night as God wrapped Himself in human flesh and became one of us so
that He might save all of us
-- the coming of the Messiah on the
first Christmas is the greatest miracle to date -- but the greatest is yet to
come -- when Jesus comes again to be our Lord and our King to reign over us for
eternity on earth
-- it is this second coming -- this
second advent -- that the world longs for in their heart, whether they actually
realize it or not -- it is the second coming of Jesus that all creation groans
for in anticipation -- and it is the reason that we gather and celebrate today
-- we see the miracle of the Messiah
and His ministry, both in His first advent and His second, described to us by
the prophet Isaiah in this familiar passage from Isaiah 42
-- this passage was written by
Isaiah in a time of transition for the nation of Israel -- it’s a time when the
power of the Kingdom of Babylon was waning and the Kingdom of the Medes and
Persians was gaining prominence through King Cyrus
-- it was a time when the Jewish
exiles in Babylon began to turn their eyes towards Jerusalem and Israel with
hopes of the restoration of the Jewish kingdom -- so, God gave Isaiah this
prophecy of a greater kingdom that was to come -- of a kingdom greater than
just a Jewish kingdom to look forward to -- the coming of His anointed servant
-- God’s Messiah
-- let’s look back at this passage
together and see what we can learn about the advent of the Messiah through
Isaiah’s prophecies
II. Scripture Lesson (Isaiah 42:1-7)
A.
The Messiah brings justice (vs. 1-4)
-- look back at verse 1
Isaiah
42:1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I
will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff
out.
In
faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till
he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their
hope.”
-- this passage opens with a
description of the titles and character of the Messiah
-- He will be known as “the servant
whom God upholds” and “the chosen one in whom God delights”
-- in other words, He is blessed and
empowered by God and brings glory to God in all that He does and all that He is
-- in all aspects of His nature and character and actions the Messiah brings
God glory and honor and delight
-- He is able to do so because the
Spirit of God will be upon Him -- in those days, the Spirit of God did not
indwell people as He does now -- instead, the Spirit would come upon people for
a time or a season as He was sent by the Father to accomplish God’s will and
God’s purpose
-- to be an effective and righteous
ruler, a king needed the Spirit of God to be upon him -- He needed the Holy
Spirit to give him wisdom and counsel and power -- but not all the kings of
Israel were blessed with the Spirit of God -- and that’s part of the reason why
so many kings failed to lead Israel as God would have them do and why so many
led Israel into idolatry
-- but Isaiah tells us that the
Spirit of God will be on the Messiah from the very beginning -- as we know from
the gospels, it was the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary and brought about Jesus’
conception and birth -- we see the Holy Spirit at His baptism, as it descends
upon Him in the form of dove falling from heaven to earth -- and, as it says in
John 4:1, the Spirit of God filled Jesus as He began His ministry on earth
-- the Spirit was always upon Him
and with Him and in Him so that He could accomplish the Father’s will and
purpose
-- we see the first act of the
Messiah in fulfilling the will of God here in verse 1 -- He will bring truth
and justice to the nations -- other translations say that He will bring
judgment on the nations -- so, what does the Bible mean when it says that?
-- “justice is the practical
outworking of righteousness -- it refers to the way [righteousness and right
living] is applied in our personal lives and in social institutions -- In
ancient Israel the responsibility of the king as a servant of God was to establish
righteousness and justice in the nation.
-- “And now [Isaiah tells us that]
God is going to send this new servant…the Messiah -- to bring justice to the
world -- to establish things according to God's standard and patterns -- [and]
to set things the way they're supposed to be in our hearts, our homes, our
cities, our nation, and our world.
-- “It is clear in these verses that
it is only the servant of the Lord who can align things in our world with the
Lord's standard; there is no other alternative.”1
-- so, when we read of God’s servant
bringing justice to the nations it means that the Messiah will hold the nations
and the people to the standard of the Lord God Almighty -- it means that we’re
not going to be judged by how good we are compared to another person or another
nation -- it means that we’re not going to be judged based on the amount of
good that we do versus the amount of bad -- the sins and failures -- in our
lives
-- no, we are going to be judged
according to the ideal, perfect standard of God’s word -- the image of the
Messiah Himself
-- it’s like the dog shows that Kim
goes to -- think about the Westminster Dog Show in New York that is on TV every
year -- I imagine most of you have seen that at some point -- now, when all of
those dogs are in the ring, the judge isn’t looking at them to pick out which
one looks better than the rest -- the judge is not comparing the dogs to one
another -- instead, the judge is comparing them to the breed standard -- the
ideal image of what that particular breed of dog should look like -- and then
they select the dog in the ring that best measures up to the ideal image or
standard for that breed
-- that’s what justice looks like in
God’s kingdom -- it is not comparing ourselves to others -- it is comparing
ourselves to God’s perfect standard for our behavior and our character and our
spirits -- and when we are compared to the perfect, we find that all of us fall
short
-- that’s why the Bible tells us in
Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- it’s because
none of us can compare to Jesus -- none of us can compare to Him -- none of us are
righteous and just and faithful and holy as He is -- and for that reason, all
of us stand condemned -- that is why the Messiah came in the first place
-- He came on Christmas morning so
that He could show us what it means to live with God and for God and to take
our place and pay the punishment for our sins on the cross -- He came so that
we could receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life through Him by
receiving His righteousness imputed to us all
-- this passage tells us that the
Messiah will look at the nations and the hearts of the people and judge them
based on God’s holy law -- and not only judge them to see whether they measure
up or not, but to pour out His grace and mercy and power into us so that we
will be created new and made perfect in His eyes through His sanctifying grace
-- justice in this passage means that
wrongs will be righted and injustices corrected so that His kingdom will be
made perfect in the eyes of the Father
-- in other words, justice means
bringing the rule of God into our lives and conforming ourselves to His image
and not to the image of the world any longer
-- in verse 2 we read that the
Messiah will not shout or cry out -- that He will not raise His voice in the
street
-- the work of Jesus in our midst is
not one of fanfare -- He does not call out in a loud voice to get our attention
-- He does not get on a loudspeaker so that people will come to hear Him -- He
works quietly in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our lives -- and His
voice and His word only comes to those who have ears to hear and hearts to
receive
-- we’re just coming through a
trying election in our land and we’re facing an upcoming runoff election here
in Georgia -- and for the last year, you couldn’t watch TV or turn on the
internet or the radio or pick up the newspaper without hearing some candidate
standing up and self-aggrandizing -- proclaiming themselves to be greater than
the rest and talking down the rest of their competition
-- Jesus doesn’t do that -- He
didn’t do that when He was on earth physically among us -- He didn’t stand up
in the temple and say, “Look at me” -- instead He walked among the people as
one of them -- ministering to their needs -- healing their hurts and their
sicknesses -- healing their spirits -- and pointing them back to the right path
-- Jesus never called attention to
Himself, but took on the role of a servant -- even to the point of humbling
Himself and washing His disciples’ feet -- even to the point of going to the
cross for no crime or sins of His own
-- the thing to remember from this
passage is that it is not what we say -- it is not the proclamations we make
about ourselves or our churches or our nation -- that have any lasting impact
-- instead, it is what we do and who we are that the world hears more than
anything
-- Isaiah tells us that He protects the
bruised reed and the smoldering wick -- the hurt and the broken and the damaged
among us -- the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers in our land
-- the world tends to look past
these except at certain times of the year -- food banks and soup kitchens and
homeless shelters have no end of volunteers and donations at Thanksgiving and
Christmas, but have no one to help and dwindling supplies the rest of the year
-- the world tends to look for those
who have power and prestige and who can help them in their desire to move up --
I was asked to represent Moody Air Force Base at a meeting one time with local
dignitaries -- and when I walked in the door, everyone turned to look at me --
to size me up -- a local representative made eye contact with me and very
pointedly turned away -- I was not worth his time -- he felt I had no value to
him, especially because it wasn’t election season -- I never voted for him
again because I knew at that moment that he did not care for bruised reeds or
smoldering wicks, despite his campaign rhetoric -- he only cared about those
who could further his career
-- but this is not the way with our
Messiah -- Jesus always looked after the poor and the hungry and the hurting --
He brought healing to those who needed it -- and offered healing to those who
didn’t know they needed it -- people such as the Pharisees and the high priest
and those who were in power
-- Jesus excludes no one from His
grace and gives to all who will receive, especially those who are hurting and
broken
-- listening to message this week
from Jeff Schreve -- he quoted the saying carved on the bottom of the statue of
liberty -- “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to
breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore -- send these, the
homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
-- how far our country has fallen
from the sentiments of that quotation -- how far our churches have fallen from
being the people of the Messiah who call out to these same people in Jesus’
name -- who actively care for the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks -- the
broken and hurting in our midst
-- this passage calls us to
establish a bruised reed ministry in our hearts and our homes and our churches --
this passage calls us to reach out with healing hands to the hurt and the
broken among us -- to be like the Messiah and to be His hands and feet in this
world
-- that is what His kingdom will
look like -- and that is what His kingdom’s subjects should be doing until He
returns
B.
The Messiah is our Righteousness (vs. 5-6a)
-- look back at verse 5
5
This is what God the Lord says—
the
Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that
springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6a
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
-- notice who it is who has called
and sent the Messiah to us -- it is the Lord God Almighty -- the Creator of the
heavens and the earth -- the One who formed us in His image and breathed His
breath into our bodies -- the One who gives us life, both physical and
spiritual
-- it was the plan of God the Father
from the very beginning to send Jesus to us as our Savior and Messiah -- God
incarnate -- fully God and fully man -- so that He might restore righteousness
to creation
-- One of the key ideas in the Bible
is that of righteousness -- we see the word, “righteous” over 230 times in the
Scriptures -- At its most basic level, righteousness means "something that
is the way it was meant to be."
-- in speaking of the righteousness
of God, the Bible means God’s holiness and majesty and glory -- in terms of our
relationship to God, to be righteous means we are in a right relationship with
Him -- it means we are following His commands -- we are living in Him and He in
us -- we are one with Him and with each other -- and, finally, in terms of our
personal lives, to be righteousness refers to who we are -- to our actions and
our behavior and our character -- to how well we reflect the image of Christ to
the world around us
-- righteousness is a gift from God --
it is the outpouring of His justifying and sanctifying grace
-- there are two types of
righteousness that the Bible refers to in our lives -- the first is imputed
righteousness -- that is the righteousness of Jesus that comes from the cross
and is passed down to us and covers us like a mantle when we believe in Him and
turn to Him for forgiveness of our sins
-- the second is imparted
righteousness -- this is the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives working
within us to make our nature and our character match the righteousness of Jesus
that covers us -- in other words, imparted righteousness is the act of
sanctification -- the act of becoming holy as God is holy
-- this is the righteousness that Isaiah
speaks of here -- this is the righteousness that the Messiah brings -- this is
the righteousness we find in His kingdom for all eternity
C.
The Messiah is Our Covenant (vs. 6b)
-- look back at the second part of
verse 6b
I
will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
-- when God says here that He will
make the Messiah to be a covenant for the people, this is a reference to Jesus’
death on the cross, for all covenants are made through the shedding of blood
-- from the very first covenant made
with Adam and Eve after the fall, when God shed the blood of an animal to make
coverings for them -- to the sacrifices of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- to the
blood on the doorpost at the Passover -- to the sacrifices made in the Jewish
temple -- all covenants are made through the shedding of blood
-- in this case, the Messiah would
shed His own blood to establish a new covenant with us -- Jesus would become
our sacrifice -- offering Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice -- once
for all -- that we might be washed in His blood and presented to God holy and
without blemish, standing in the imputed righteousness of Jesus
-- that’s why the Messiah is called
the covenant-maker here in this verse -- it is because He is the new covenant,
given to us through His very own body and blood -- a covenant of grace and not
laws -- a covenant built on a single command of love -- to love the Lord our
God with all our body, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as
ourself
-- it is that covenant that becomes
the light of the world -- it is the covenant of the Messiah -- the covenant of love
-- that calls to all people in all the nations and not just to the Jews -- it
is the covenant of the Messiah that beckons us to come and be with Him -- that shines
out as a beacon of safety and security to all Creation
D.
The Messiah brings freedom (vs. 7)
-- verse 7
7
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who
sit in darkness.
-- Isaiah tells us that the Messiah
will open blind eyes -- this is not just a prophecy of Jesus’ healing of the
blind -- instead, it is speaking of spiritual blindness -- and this verse tells
us that the Messiah will open the eyes of our heart with spiritual truth and
understanding and lead us from our spiritual blindness into spiritual light
-- we read that the Messiah will release
captives from their prisons and bring others forth from their dungeons into the
light of His word -- through His death and resurrection, Jesus has freed us from
the chains of sin and death -- He descended to the very depths of Hades and
Sheol to preach to the captives there and to bring them into His light
-- and even today, He continues to
free us by giving us power over temptation and over all the sins that so easily
entangle
-- He sets us free from the diseases
that overtake us -- He frees us from the power of Satan and the flesh that bind
us
-- the Kingdom of the Messiah is a
kingdom of freedom -- of light and love and life for all eternity
III. CLOSING
-- Several hundred years before the
birth of Jesus, there was a battle between the Greeks and the Persians on the
plains of Marathon -- The battle raged for hours -- it was a brutal conflict --
a true fight to the finish.
-- Finally, the underdogs -- the
numerically inferior Greeks -- managed a tremendous tactical win, but there was
a problem -- the leaders of the Greek army knew that the Greek Senate was going
to meet to vote on terms of surrender to the Persians -- they did not know that
the Greeks had won the battle and that there was no need to surrender
-- so, they sent a runner in full
battle gear to go the twenty-seven miles to tell of the news of the battle
before the Senate could vote -- By the time the young boy got to Athens, he had
literally run himself to death -- he ran into the Senate chambers, and in his
exhaustion, he was able to utter only one word: "Victory."2
-- Today we come to church with the
sound of Advent and Christmas in our ears -- we come to celebrate our Savior
who was born at Christmas -- we come to celebrate the cross and the empty tomb
-- we come because we have heard the glad news of resurrection and the
forgiveness of our sins
-- but we also gather in
anticipation of the next Advent -- the second coming of Jesus -- the time when Isaiah’s prophecy will be
realized -- when God’s kingdom will be established and He will rule on earth
with us for eternity
-- what one word can we raise up this
morning to a listening world to let them know of the reason we gather -- of the
hope we hold even when all about us seems lost in darkness? -- may I
suggest: Victory -- for that is what
Advent and Christmas and Easter are all about
-- that is what the coming of the
Messiah is all about -- that is why we are here
-- so, let us close now with
thoughts of victory in our heart as we continue to celebrate Advent and
Christmas together and look forward to the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ
-- let us pray
-------------------------------------------------
1
Rev. Doug Goins, A Servant for Turbulent Times
2
Rev Brett Blair, Rev. Brett Blair's Illustrations by Email,
www.sermonillustrations.com
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