The End of Grace

Isa 63:1 “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.””

Watchmen looking for the coming savior is a theme in Isaiah:

Isa 52:8 “The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.”

Isa 62:6 “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,”

From a distance, the watchmen can tell that this individual is glorious, splendid, and blood-stained.

Glorious apparel in judgment is echoed in Matt 16:27.

marching in the greatness of his strength. More accurately “abundance of strength.” Vigorous.

Approaching from Edom.

“Edom,” same base root as “Adam,” can mean both “humanity” and “red.”

Drawn from the color of clay, which is the soil in the area and the substance from which Adam was made.

Esau, Jacob’s twin, also was “red and hairy.” He moved here.

Esau’s descendants refused to give passage to the Israelites when they were approaching the promised land (Numb 20:14-21).

Because Moses refused to fight Edom, since they were kin, he led them around Edom, which added to their time, and the people grumbled.

Because of the grumbling, God sent serpents, Bronze serpent story(Numb 21:6-9).

Edom is a perpetual adversary of Israel, through David’s reign and right up until the captivity.

Nebuchadnezzar sacks Bozrah in the same campaign that conquers Jerusalem.

The Nabateans from Petra moved in and spread out after the Babylonian conquest, pushing the few Edomites West.

Edomites settled south of Jerusalem and were later called the Idumeans, out of whom came the Herodian dynasty in the time of Christ.

Edom stands as a representative of all rejecting nations. A type of those who deny the sovereignty and salvation of God.

Isa 34:5-6.

Amos 1:11-12.

Edom and Bozrah do lie to the South east of Jerusalem, so some have seen in it a fulfillment of Matt 24:27.

His arrival to the Jezreel Valley for the battle of Armageddon, which is in the north, complicates this.

Cleaner interpretation to say that Edom continues to stand as a figure of rebellious mankind, and that christ is here pictured arriving after the conquest of Armageddon.

Christ answers the call of the watchman from a distance with two descriptions of himself.

Righteous word.

Evokes John’s description in John 1:1, 14.

Jesus always speaks the truth, John 8:14.

“God’s words are action and power.” John Chrysostom. When he speaks, the universe changes.

Mighty Savior.

God has claimed to be the unique savior several times in Isaiah.

Isa 43:11“I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”

Here, he is coming to make good on His promises. “Prove it.”

Heb 7:25.

Isa 63:2-6 “Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.””

Second question from the wall and second response from Christ.

The winepress is the constant metaphor here, even when the ESV references blood, it is literally “life juice” in the text.

Treading the winepress of the wrath of God is is frequent theme in the Bible.

Joel 3:9-16.

Revelation 14:14-20.

The treading of grapes to produce wine is linked to the concept of the “cup of wrath” in the Bible as well.

Psalm 75:8.

Jer 25:15-27.

Jer 49:12.

Rev 16:19.

The major theme of this passage is that Jesus acts alone in his judgment.

“I” the frequent subject of all the verbs (7x).

All of the garments, wrath, anger, salvation, days, and years are his. “My” 9x.

Treading on real grapes in a real winepress was always a team effort. A group of joyous harvesters. This is different.

It has some echoes as well of Revelation 5, where all of heaven is searching for one worthy to open the scroll in the hand of the one who sits on the throne. Christ alone is worthy there as well.

This is the “day of vengeance” from Isa 61:2 that Jesus stopped short of saying was fulfilled in his first advent. It is fulfilled here.

This day of vengeance is no less a part of the plan of God than the salvation that he brought in his first advent.

Zeph 3:8.

Rev 6:15-17.

Vs 5 is basically the same word-for-word as 59:16, except that in that passage, his righteousness upholds him. Here, it is his wrath. Different emphasis.

In 59:16, he is focused on the salvation that he imparts to His elect by sharing his righteousness with them (2 Cor 5:21).

Here, he is focused on the destruction of his enemies.

Both are necessary for salvation.

Rev 19:11-16.

Perfect NT answer to this.

We don’t have to wonder where we see Jesus here.

He rides out in glory and righteousness (vs 11).

Robe dipped in blood (vs 13).

The word of God (vs 13).

He will strike down the nations (vs 14).

He treads the winepress of the wrath and fury of God (vs 15).

The major difference is the “alone” of Isa 63 vs the Armies of heaven in Rev 19.

How do we reconcile this?

We are His body?

He acts alone. We watch. We observe and worship Him for what He alone is doing.

III. Conclusion/Application

Embrace the whole purpose of Christ.

Realize that he is coming away from those those he’s judged and toward Jerusalem to save it. This is our position as well.