Royals: The Chosen One
Isaiah 42:1-9 ESV
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coasout, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it antlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them d spirit to those who walk in it: "I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."
Throughout Biblical history, several individuals were referred to as royal emissaries for God, those set apart to accomplish His purposes.
A constant subject of Isaiah's ministry is the servant of the Lord, who would turn people away from idols, false saviors, to the only true God.
This suffering servant would also be humanity’s true king.
Focus: For the salvation that we all need, we must look to Jesus, who is God's chosen one, perfectly expressing his justice, his mercy and his might.
God’s Justice
God’s Mercy
God’s Might
God's Justice
God’s justice is perfect in wisdom, considering all things and is unsullied when he administers what is righteous and good.
Proverbs 18:17 ESV
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
Historical background of Isaiah, the Babylonian exile, Cyrus and Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 42:1 ESV
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Justice is the Hebrew word mispat and determines the difference between right and wrong in the way that we walk out our relationships, conduct our business practices, execute societal governance and utilize our resources.
Scripture is filled with references to God's love for justice.
Justice is directly linked to God’s law and is a foundational attribute of His character.
Humanity's downward slope begins when we think that we can liberate ourselves from God's commands.
When we substitute anything else as having the highest value in our lives rather than God - whether it be our romantic relationships, careers, idea of beauty, financial or political success - we have succumbed to idols.
As with the king of Babylon who would come to take Israel captive, these are the things that try to identify us, and if we place ultimate value upon them, when we lose them, inevitably ruin our lives.
“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first-- wanting to be the centre-- wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan--and that was the sin he taught the human race. ... What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could 'be like gods'-- could set up on their own as if they had created themselves-- be their own masters-- invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history-- money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery-- the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
(C. S. Lewis - Mere Christianity. Macmillan Publishing, 1978. Pgs. 49-54)
Luke 9:30-36 ESV
“And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!" And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.”
Jesus is the chosen one sent by God the Father to bring us back to God and his liberating law, his ways.
God's Mercy
God sent his Son because though we wander, he is full of mercy, and does not leave us in the bondage that our wanderings deserve.
First to the faithful believer:
Isaiah 42:3-4 ESV
“a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”
Isaiah 42:3, 4 NIV84
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”
Faithfulness is the Hebrew word Emet which means firmness, stability, security and continuance.
It speaks of integrity; to be reliable and sure.
It is was a term used frequently of God in the OT and is the primary Hebrew word for truth.
This is what the chosen one provides.
Then to the irreligious:
According to studies, the spiritual but not religious are likely to face mental health issues, drug use:
Isaiah 42:6-7 ESV
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Isaiah 42:6, 7 NIV84
“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, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
God's Might
To come into God's freedom and salvation, we must identify what we have allowed to replace God as the one who defines us.
What people or things have become our functional idols, our subconscious Saviors?
Isaiah 42:16-17 ESV
“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods."”
Isaiah 42:16, 17 NIV84
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
“Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially 'deify.' We will look to it with all the passion and intensity of worship and devotion, even if we think ourselves as highly irreligious. ”
― Timothy Keller
Luke 23:33-35 ESV
“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!"
Luke 23:33-35 NIV84
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
God most clearly expressed his might through Jesus' work on the cross, turning us through repentance and faith to the one, true King and Savior.
Isaiah 52:13-15 ESV
“Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”
So how shall we live?:
1 Timothy 6:11-16 ESV
“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”