Savior
of the Nations, Come (Isaiah 42:1-9)
Introduction – Advent is a season of expectation. Something new is coming. The time of year is a time of preparation and anticipation. This is reflected in the writings of the prophets and fulfilled in the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us. From the passage before us, we learn that hope for renewal, hope for revival, hope for rebirth, is rooted in the proven power and future promises of the faithful, Triune God of scripture. We also will see why we should have expectations, why there still is an Advent.
Chiastic
Structure – This common Hebrew poetic structure is used
in this passage to focus our attention from verse 1 to the high-point of the
message, verse 5, and back out again in complimentary verses, to verse 9. We also know that these verses find their
primary fulfillment in Christ, for Matthew tells us in Matt 12:17-20.
Overview of the Passage – God is going
to do a new thing. He has the power to
do so, and has shown His ability and faithfulness in the past. This new thing will be expansive, it will
come in obscurity, and it will lift up the downtrodden.
A: The Father of New Things
(v1) – This second Adam is the Elect One.
With the Spirit placed upon Him, He has been chosen by the Father to be
Savior of the nations (goim – gentiles).
The Father delights in the Son and in His redemptive work (Matt 3:17).
B: The Humiliation of Obscurity
(v2) – He will come without pomp or regal splendor, as other kings. He has a rather unostentatious manner of appearing
and doing His work. Think of how He
could have come and what a flashy ministry He could have had. Instead, He will be humbled in obedience even
to death on a cross, for in this humiliation would be victory over the world.
C: Gentle Servant of His People
(v3) – He knows our frame, He loves the weak, He gives perfect strength to
those who struggle. The Spirit of God
descended upon Him as a dove – a dove of peace and gentleness. He loves the poor in spirit. He gives them the earth (Matt 5:3-5). At the same time, He does not fall for false
flattery or bold hypocrisy. His yoke is
easy and His burden is light to those who submit to Him. But His iron rod is for those who would mock
Him, presume upon Him, or make Him their enemy.
D: Faithful, Successful Victor
(v4) – Mildness and meekness is not to be mistaken “for softness or
effeminacy, for He will manfully execute the commission which He has received
from the Father” – Calvin. The Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world will remain unshaken and surmount
every obstacle in His way (Psalm 110:1-2, 5-7).
His justice will be established in the earth. The coastlands (isles) will put their hope in
His salvation. Those farthest away,
physically (spiritually) will themselves turn to the Savior of the nations.
E: His First Creation
Proves the Promised New Creation (v5) – How are we to
believe that God will do this? We are to
see his ability and desire to accomplish His new creation by looking at His
first creation. It was His Word that spoke
it all into existence, spread out into all the details of creation. It will be the Word made flesh that will
spread the details of this new creation into the whole world. Look at what He has done and believe what He
will do.
D1: Faithful, Successful, Covenant-Keeper
(v6) – The Father speaks to the Redeemer, “I have called You, I will hold
You, I will keep You.” The Savior of
the nations is given as a covenant to the people. Abraham was promised, “in your seed all
the nations of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 22:18). Christ is declared the “minister to the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers”
(Rom 15:8). But isn’t Christ the
minister of the New Covenant? Yes. And in Him, the barriers of the old and new,
Jew and Gentile, the near and the far, are brought down (Eph 2:11-13). Isaiah was foretelling the coming of the
Messiah for Israel, and for all the nations.
C1: Strong Deliverer to the Captives
(v7) – Here again is His kindness and gentleness towards those He loves. He is setting free those who cannot set
themselves free. He is giving sight to
those who cannot give themselves sight.
He came for the sick, the broken, the poor in spirit (Is 61:1).
B1: His Exaltation to Eternity
(v8) – This is not a statement of arrogance, but of glory to God and promise to
us. He is not one of many ways. He is not a potential way. He is the way of salvation. He alone created the heavens and the earth,
and He alone will save His creation. And
He does this because of His name for His name’s sake. We therefore have complete confidence in Him.
A1: God of New Things
(v9) - This
is an appeal to former prophecies already verified as grounds of confidence in
those yet unfulfilled. God has made all
things new (Rev 21:5) – and this newness will spread, just as His creation, so
His new creation.
The Prophecy Is For Christ AND His Church
(Acts 13:47) – Christ is the Elect, and we are God’s elect. Christ died for the salvation of the world,
and we are ambassadors to the world. God
promised to be with Christ, and Christ promises to be with us. Christ’s work was victorious, and what will
our work be? What does the prophecy
promise?
What New Thing
Today? – For you.
For the world. The one’s for whom
you pray. What should we expect?
But Can I Trust
Him While in Exile? – Darkness is the time to expect. Exile is the time to hope. What did He do in creation? What did He do to bring you here? Darkness plus God’s Word equals promise and
expectation. Cry with faith for Christ
to come.
Christmas
Reminders and Christmas Packages – We place lights all
over the house and it looks different, new, other-worldly. We place packages under the tree that sits in
our house with ‘new fruits’ all over it and a star on top. There are going to be new toys, new clothes,
and new wine. We feast and sing and
rest, for the new work has been done, and we are it. We wait as well for the ongoing new work in
which we participate as ambassadors of light, life, and new things. Merry Christmas. Dave
Hatcher – December 21, 2003