Tag: Isaiah

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The Prophetic Voice in Isaiah 40: Trusting God’s Plan (Isaiah 40:3-5)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

[3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: [5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 40:3-5

Explanation

The book of Isaiah can be divided much like the Bible itself. In the Old Testament there are 39 books, and in the New Testament there are 27 books, for a total of 66 books. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters—39 that seem to represent the Old Testament and 27 that seem to represent the New Testament.

The beginning of chapter 40 speaks of one who is coming with a message: this voice that cries in the wilderness. It’s a prophecy about John the Baptist and the message that he proclaimed. Some may say it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that while he was just proclaiming the message that was written down, he was assuming the identity of the person described in Isaiah 40. The problem is that the message he was giving was also accomplishing what actually happened.

He literally did prepare the way of the Lord. He really was someone that lived in the desert, and he did prepare people for the coming of Jesus Christ. Verse 4 says every valley will be exalted, every mountain shall be made low—talking about an evening of the way. Going uphill is hard, going down through a valley could be hard, but having this straight path, this clear path through which the Messiah could come, through which God could come, and the glory of the Lord through the Son of God to be revealed—that’s what John was doing. That’s what actually happened.

He was a foreteller and a forerunner of Jesus. The truth of the matter is, the glory of God was revealed through Jesus. In the end, everyone will know that Jesus is Lord. In fact, that’s what Philippians tells us: that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God’s gonna make this happen.

This is a prophetic passage that foretells what would happen with John and what would happen through God coming behind John—at least in timing and in messaging—through the person of Jesus Christ.

Application

The implication is that this is a sign that helps us understand that Jesus is who He said He was. It’s not the last sign or even the most prominent sign—Jesus’ resurrection from the dead helps us know that He was who He said He was as well—but it’s a picture. It’s a sign for us to know that John is exactly who Scripture said he was, and this was his message, and this was his ministry.

It’s pretty amazing how the Bible all works together. You can trust your Bible. Its prophecies come true. While not every prophecy has been fulfilled, many of them have, and they tell us—they witness to us—that every prophecy will be fulfilled because what God says He will do, He will do. The Lord has spoken it. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

Response

  1. Where are you having a hard time trusting God and trusting God’s Word? What can you do to deepen your trust in His Word?
  2. Is your ministry—is your service for the Lord—based on confidence in the Word of God, or is it based on your own effort?

Podcast Episode- The Gospel According to Isaiah 53- The Life of the Suffering Servant

On By Ben JenningsIn PodcastLeave a comment

5 Predictions about Jesus life. The predictions were made:

  • He would be a servant.  He came not be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.

  • His coming would be notable.  He is that root out of dry ground, that life in the dessert.  He is the way, the truth and the life.

  • His appearance was not notable, but He is beautiful to all that know Him.  He has the beautiful feet of the one who brings good news.

  • His experience was like ours, and we can know that He has dealt with all of the grief and sorrows of life that we do.  He loves us and cares for us.

  • He was rejected, and as a result of His rejection and substitutionary death on the cross, you and I can be accepted into the family of God, and be forgiven of all of our sin.

gati

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53: Predictions about His Life- Prediction #5- His reception will be rejection. (53:3-4)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(4)  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4

Explanation:

Isaiah did write that the Messiah would experience the griefs and sorrows of life. He predicted that those who he would come to would see him as an ordinary person- not particularly physically attractive, subject to everything in life that we endure. And what that would mean is that he would be assessed as someone that endured the punishment of God, and subject to the curse just like everyone else. He was esteemed as “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” What was the case that the rules of Israel made against Jesus?

(4)  Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. (5)  Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! (6)  When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. (7)  The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

John 19:4-7

They thought He was just another man who was claiming to be God. They thought that His punishment was just and brought about by God through them as God’s servants because they were “keeping the law”. Jesus was not punished by God for claiming to be God. Jesus was punished by God, as we shall see, but not for His own sin. God the Father declared multiple times, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

The resurrection is God’s final answer as to the acceptability of Jesus Christs identity and His sacrifice for sins.

Application:

Jesus told his followers that just like he would be rejected we would be, too.

(18)  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (19)  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (20)  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

John 15:18-20

(33)  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

We can count it an honor to be rejected for proclaiming the name of Jesus because He was rejected for us.

Respond:

Lord, help me to be willing to be rejected for you. Thank you for being rejected for us. Amen

gati

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53: Predictions about His Life- Prediction #4- His experience will be like ours. (53:4)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(4)  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4

Explanation:

Each one of these predictions could be a sermon in themselves in regard to how Jesus fulfilled them. In the first part of verse 4 we are told that he would bear our griefs, and carry our sorrows. Certainly, this applies to the sin that He would bare on the cross at some level.

It also speaks to His human experience. We see Jesus humbling Himself and experiencing all that we face as humans ourselves. As we already noted he lived in a body. He had relationships. He was betrayed. He felt pain, joy, sickness, and the transcendent. The writer of Hebrews put it this way: 

(15)  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

The world was cursed by sin and the effects of sin.  Sin when it is finished brings forth death. Because Jesus lived in a sin cursed world He dealt with all the effects of sin that you and I deal with as well. Do you remember when Jesus went to see Lazarus after he died?  He stood near the tomb knowing He was about to raise him from the dead, and seeing the weeping and wailing of the family and the mourners He wept as well. 

Application:

What a privilege to know that there is nothing that I can take to Jesus in prayer that He hasn’t experienced. He knows what you are going through. He cares about what we go through. He died so that the sin of curse could be broken, and we can be redeemed.

Response:

Lord, thank You for taking our experience and knowing what it means to be us. Thank you for dying for us. Amen