“The Church and the Messiah”
Isaiah 61:10-11; 62:1-12
June 25, 2023 YouTube
We see, first, that the work of
salvation is God’s.
The
“I” in this text is Isaiah – the remnant – the Church – all three. This “I” is one who needs to be given
salvation – so it cannot be the Anointed One – the Messiah.
The
gift of salvation causes all believers to rejoice in the LORD and to exult in
God. There is no greater gift than what
the Messiah has done to save all believers throughout time and space. Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13, ESV).
Last
week we saw the vision of the priest, Joshua, wearing dirty clothes and those
clothes being replaced with clean clothes, symbolizing the Messiah’s removal of
the stain of sin from everyone who will believe.
God,
the Savior, clothes His people with garments of salvation and the robe of
righteousness. He covers them and gifts
them salvation and righteousness.
And
then salvation is compared with the ceremonial clothing of the priests – robes
and headdress – turbans. The priests
wore a special set of clothes kept only for their work as priest – they were
holy unto God – and they were never worn any other time. The priest and his clothes are paralleled to
the bridegroom, and the bride comes with diamonds around her neck. Salvation is
like marriage in that is a holy work reflecting the righteousness the Messiah declares
upon His people and the beauty of the marriage – of the work of God in the
salvation of His people.
John
writes, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like
the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying
out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and
exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride
has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen,
bright and pure’— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation
19:6-8, ESV).
Then,
the parallel is draw between a garden and righteousness and praise:
“For as the earth brings forth its
sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord
GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.”
Just as the earth brings plants to
sprout, and the garden causes what is sown to sprout, so the Lord God brings
righteousness and praise to sprout and causes righteousness and praise to
sprout – in His people – before all the nations – so they will witness the work
of the Lord.
Does this remind us of anything?
“And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout
vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is
their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth
brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds,
and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And
God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12, ESV).
Here we see Divine power and
care. Just as God, in the beginning, caused
plants to sprout and grow with surety, so God causes all of His people to sprout
– to be given life by God – to grow and mature – to know assurance of salvation
because God is the One who does it and causes it to be so.
Since
the work of salvation is God’s, we can be assured that the Messiah has done all
that is necessary and applied it to the remnant – the Church – so salvation is
secure.
Second,
Zion – the Church – is the Anointed One’s chief care.
This
section begins with the Messiah telling the remnant – through Isaiah – that He is
ceaselessly active for the sake of Zion – Jerusalem – the Church. His chief care is for the remnant to embrace
the hope of restoration – that Jerusalem will be rebuilt – and the Messiah will
bring it and them to its promised fulfillment.
“For
Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be
quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a
burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your
glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will
give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal
diadem in the hand of your God.”
The
remnant is not returning to Jerusalem in silence – in despair – in
frustration. The Messiah is calling out for
the sake of Zion – Jerusalem – the Church.
The Messiah will call out through Isaiah and His people until the world
sees how bright their righteousness is – brighter than the brightest candle or lamp
– the brightness of their rightness and morality that they and we have as a
gift from God. He will cause the world
to see that the salvation of God that He gives through the Messiah to His
people is a blazing torch – greater than the fires of the idols and of all the
created order – even the sun – there is nothing brighter that the Person and
work of the Messiah that saves His people. So, all the nations and all the
kings of all the world will be made to see the righteousness and the glory of
the remnant of God. God glorifies
Himself by saving a people for Himself, and all the people of the world will
see His Glory through His people and most fully on the final day when He comes
in the effulgence of His glory. The
remnant will return to Zion – Jerusalem – and the fullness of God’s light will
show Who He is and who He has made all we who believe.
And
the Lord will give His people a new name. Names identify us and show who we are
as distinct from one another. God takes
His people and gives us a new name.
What
is the significance of a name? Being
given a new name? A name signifies a
person’s identity – but something more than a label – a sense of the essence of
the one named. The new name also indicates a new status. Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some
of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written
on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Revelation
2:17, ESV).
This
name also indicates a change in the worth of the remnant – as Isaiah records,
we shall be a crown of beauty, a royal diadem, in the Hand of the Lord. The
Church becomes a sign of the royal worth of the Anointed One. God, the Savior, gives us salvation and
righteousness and holiness and makes us shine so the nations will see us and be
drawn to the light so He will be known as worthy – as the Royal King above all
kings.
“You shall no more be termed
Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be
called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in
you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so
shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so
shall your God rejoice over you.”
Again, the Messiah proclaims that there
will be a restoration of the Creation – just as a man and a woman get married
and everything is new and beautiful – so shall everything be made new and beautiful.
Paul writes, “For the creation waits
with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in
hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21,
ESV).
This is what God will do.
In the meantime, God sets up watchmen
on the walls of Jerusalem, and on the sheepfolds of His chosen:
“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have
set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who
put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest,”
The job of the watchman is one of
continual observation – guarding, praying, not resting, but always being ready
to shout the alarm and fight against those – with the other soldiers of God –
against those who would breach the walls and attack the remnant – the Church.
Since the Garden of Eden, the people
of God – the Church – have been attacked by unbelievers and the powers of
darkness and the devil. Jesus
distinguishes between those who attack the Church and Himself, “The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly” (John 10:10, ESV). These thieves come into the Church – into
Jerusalem – through false teaching, heresy, and false doctrine. How many of our churches, through ignorance
or lack of care allow false teachers into the church with a smile? Zion – Jerusalem – the Church – is being
destroyed by our allowing unbelievers into our pulpits and positions of
teaching. Faithful ministers who believe
the whole Bible is the Word of God are the best remedy to those who are let in
against the cries of the watchmen.
“and give him no rest until he
establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.”
The Chief Watchman is Jesus, the
Messiah, and He will not rest – He will not take His eyes off of the remnant
out of the world who are His – until they are delivered out of this world and
brought into the New Jerusalem on the New Earth.
For now, He sends the Holy Spirit to
indwell all of His people – Isaiah, the remnant, all true believers – the
Church – that they would preach the Messiah until His Church is glorious on the
last day.
The
remnant – the Church – is the chief care of the Savior, and it ought to be in
all ways and in hope for all we who believe.
Let us be active in proclaiming the Gospel and watchful with our Lord
over those who would come with lies against God and His Word.
Third,
Zion is coming.
“The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm: ‘I will not again give your grain to be food for your
enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; but
those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it
shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.’”
The LORD swears by His right hand and
mighty arm. What does this mean?
The author of Hebrews writes, “For
when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to
swear, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’
And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than
themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So,
when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that
by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who
have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope
set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope
that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a
forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:13-20, ESV).
When we swear, we swear by something
greater than ourselves. There is nothing
greater than God, so God swears by Himself.
So, in the Power and Strength of God, He swears.
God swears by Himself that the bread
and the wine that had been stolen and consumed by those outside of Jerusalem
would no longer be taken by the enemies of Zion. It will all be for those for whom it is
intended. The Lord will be praised, and
they will eat in the courtyards of the Temple.
The bread and the wine are only for the people of God, and they will no
longer be consumed by the wicked. This
is in the New Jerusalem. The remnant has
a glimpse of this in the return to Jerusalem, and we have a glimpse of it
knowing the Savior has come, but the final Zion has yet to come when all things
will be made right.
And so, God tells those people – not
nations – but people out of every nation throughout time and space – He tells
them, “Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build
up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the
peoples.” Remove every obstacle that you
might put in the way of someone believing in the Messiah. Get out of the way and move everything out of
the way. Rather, lift up a signal – lift
up the flag of the Anointed One – the Messiah – the Savior. Let everyone know that He is here, and He is
bringing Zion in its fulness for His remnant.
Then we have three “beholds.” Three times here, the LORD says, “Look! See what’s happening! Take notice!”
“Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to
the end of the earth:” Pay attention!
Listen up! Our LORD is the God
who proclaims His message from one end of the Creation to another.
“Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold,
your salvation comes;” Look! See what’s
happening! God is bringing salvation to
Zion – to all those believers – to the remnant.
“behold, his reward is with him, and
his recompense before him.” Look! Hear what is said! The Messiah Who saves and brings the New
Jerusalem to earth has His reward with Him and His recompense with Him. What does that mean?
They effectively mean the same thing
here: The reward Jesus receives and the payment for His suffering – in this
context – are the people of the New Jerusalem.
“And they shall be called The Holy
People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City
Not Forsaken.”
Several chapters earlier in Isaiah we
read:
“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has
forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ ’Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may
forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:14-16, ESV).
Jerusalem is not a holy people, but
God is making them holy. The Church is
not a holy people, but God is making us holy. Jerusalem was not redeemed, but
now she is redeemed. The Church was not
redeemed, but now she is redeemed. Jerusalem
appeared forsaken, but she has become sought out by all who are drawn by the
Savior. The Church appeared forsaken,
but she has become sought out by all who are drawn by the Savoir.
Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are
not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So
there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14-16, ESV).
As Zion was conquered and Israel was
taken off into captivity, she believed that God had forsaken her. She did not recognize that God was discipling
her, and she cried out that God had forsaken her. But God says that it is more likely that a
mother would forget that she has a nursing child than for God to forget – or
forsake – His people. They are engraved
on His Hands and the walls of Zion are before Him – He cannot forsake the
people He sent His Son, Jesus, to save – to bring into the New Zion.
Salvation
is the work of the Savior. The Church
and its holiness must be a chief care of all the saved. Zion is coming.
“He who testifies to these things
says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20,
ESV).
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for the hope
and the call You have given us. We thank
You that our salvation is the same salvation that You give to all Your people –
including the remnant that would return from exile in Babylon. And we thank You for the call to work hard to
keep the Church striving for holiness.
Help us to find faithful ministers.
Let us encourage them to preach Your Word Alone in all its fulness. And help us to cast out any who would teach
lies and heresy. And we thank You for
the hope that Jesus has prepared a place for us, and one day, we will see the
New Jerusalem – the glorified Church on earth with Jesus on the throne in its
center. And we ask these things in
Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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