A Light in the Darkness

This Sunday is Mother's Day and we will be reopening our church here in Stanzel. Beginning Sunday, we will again have Sunday School at 9:30 am, Morning Worship at 10:30 am, and Evening Service at 7:00 pm. Praise God! Pray to see you all there. Now to today's Bible Insight:

Isaiah 49:1-7, presents Jesus as the Giver of Light. He begins, "Listen, O coastlands, to Me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name" (v. 1). The Servant here speaks to the nations, the people that did not know the God of Israel. They were "from afar" (v. 1a), or literally, "far off," and the only way for them to be brought near was for God's Servant to bring them.

Paul reminds us that we were "once Gentiles in the flesh" and that "at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:11-13). And Jesus said: "The LORD has called Me from the womb" (Isa. 49:1b). The Servant, fully Man and fully God, was called even before He was born on earth, to come and bring light in the darkness.

"And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword" (v. 2a). The Servant will be a very effective speaker and will conquer the enemy with His teaching. Hence, the term "sharp sword" (v. 2a), which is a weapon of war. Ephesians 6:17 refers to "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Hebrews 4:12 says, "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword… and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, speaks the truth and His Word is powerful.

"In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me" (Isa. 49:2b). Twice He says, "He has hidden Me" (v. 2b). It has to do with God's timing. Before His birth on earth, He was hidden with God the Father. Christ was in heaven ready to be sent at the right moment, to bring light to a dark world.

Verse 3 is the only place where Isaiah refers to the Messiah, the Servant, by the name Israel: "And He said to me, 'You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'" The emphasis is on both His human and divine origin. He is fully Man and fully God at once. He is the One who was chosen among Israel.

People everywhere will see His glory. They will see the glory of the Father shining through the Messiah, the Servant. And the entire ministry of the Servant, of Jesus Christ, was aimed at glorifying the Father.

"I have labored in vain," Jesus said. "I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain" (v. 4a). When Jesus came a little over 2000 years ago, the people of Israel rejected Him. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). At the time of His death it would appear that He had labored in vain. His own people, those He came to save, rejected Him and His message.

But His work was not in vain. All of His suffering paid big dividends. He truly was a light in the darkness. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12).

When Christ comes again, the purpose for which He came the first time will see its complete fulfillment: "And now the LORD says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him" (Isa. 49:5a). He came with the purpose of bringing Jacob, or Israel, back to God. But they rejected their own Messiah. So by the plan of God, salvation was extended to us. Still, Israel will see a great revival, a great turning back to God through faith in Jesus in the end times. So all is not in vain: "(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and My God shall be My strength)" (v. 5b).

"Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth'" (v. 6). The purpose that is being fulfilled, the purpose for which Jesus came and for which He is coming again, is two-fold: He came to call Israel back to God and He came to call the Gentiles, those who were "far off," to salvation in Christ.

The mandate given to Abraham was fulfilled through Jesus Christ: "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). Jesus accomplished what Israel had failed to do. He suffered and died and rose again to be a blessing to "all the families of the earth" (Gen. 12:3). He is truly "a light to the Gentiles" bringing "salvation to the ends of the earth" (Isa. 49:6b).

"Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors, to the Servant of rulers: 'Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel; and He has chosen You'" (v. 7). This verse begins by pointing out that the One the Lord God is speaking to is "the Servant," the Messiah, Jesus Christ and that He was despised by "man," or Gentiles, and abhorred by "the nation," or Jews (v. 7a). He was disliked by nearly everyone and He suffered greatly, being humiliated by them, dying the cruel death on the cross for our forgiveness. Isaiah repeats this theme over and over again (cf. Isa. 50:6-9; 52:14-15; and 53:3).

Yet when He comes again we are told that kings and princes will recognize Him as the Messiah and worship Him. "Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship" (Isa. 49:7b). Again, Isaiah said: "Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider" (Isa. 52:15). And it is all because "the LORD," God's "chosen" one, "is faithful" (Isa. 49:7c). Amen.