The Messenger and The Message Isaiah 61:1-4

-God’s Promise of Salvation Comes Through Jesus

Alfred Mendes enlisted in the British Army in January 1916 at the tender age of 19. He was soon sent off to France to train to be a signaller. Signallers were responsible for signaling communications from the front lines back to the command position and vice-versa. Often, it involved laying landlines down in dangerous enemy territory.

On October 12, 1917, Alfred faced his most daunting test yet. Hundreds of British soldiers had been charged with reclaiming the village of Poelcappelle in Belgium from the Germans. It was an important location from a strategic standpoint and Allied forces resolved to have it back under their command. The British troops attacked on a day that poured down rain, suffering heavy losses. One hundred fifty-eight men in Alfred’s battalion of 484 were killed, wounded, or MIA. No one could locate the missing men as they were scattered across miles of sucking, waterlogged foxholes and craters in the mud. Stuck in the middle of No Man’s Land, they were unable to communicate their positions back to their allies in the safe zone without being killed.

When Alfred Mendes’ commanding officer asked for a volunteer to do the almost certainly fatal job of running out to locate the positions of the surviving men and then reporting back to the troops – Alfred volunteered for the job.

Miraculously, he survived and . . . located a number of survivors, enabling them to be rescued. It was an act that later won Alfred the Military Medal for bravery. His actions became the inspiration for the film 1917. In an interview, writer and director Sam Mendes explains the source of the film: “I had a story that was a fragment told to me by my grandfather, who fought in the First World War. It’s the story of a messenger who has a message to carry."

I. Jesus is the Messenger of Salvation vv. 1-2

Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah and now we are coming to one final picture of the Lord’s servant: The Messenger of Salvation

Here, the Servant of the Lord Himself speaks and makes a few things clear to us:

He is equipped for a God-given task:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Him

All that He will do is at the direction, under the authority, and by the power of the Spirit of God

He has been specially selected for the task:

He has been anointed, set apart by God for a purpose

Whenever we use the term Messiah to describe Jesus, this is what we are referencing

He is God’s chosen vessel for this particular purpose

What has the Lord set Him apart for? He has sent Him as a messenger of salvation

In a world impoverished by sin, Jesus brings Good News of God’s redemption (this has both practical and spiritual applications)

In a world of hearts broken by sin, Jesus heals and mends with an eternal love

In a world imprisoned by sin, Jesus breaks down prison walls and sets the prisoners free from its power

In a world facing the justice of God, Jesus offers God’s mercy!

Two contrasting truths seem to be present here:

It is day of God’s vengeance

It is the year of the Lord’s favor- the 50 year jubilee promised in the Law

Jesus is the answer to the riddle; the promise of Jubilee is fulfilled in Him and He comes proclaiming that freedom and hope

When Jesus enters the world He enters it with good news of God’s love and purpose for us.

When a weary world receives good news, it rejoices. It pays attention and wants more. During the height of the global shutdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, actor John Krasinski started a YouTube show called Some Good News. The show exploded in popularity, with over seventy-two million views in two months. The premise of the show was short stories focusing on good things people were doing for others all over the world (Joey Reams, “Why Some Good News with John Krasinski Disappeared,” Looper, June 6, 2022, https://www.looper.com/370822/why-some-good-news-with-john-krasinski-disappeared/). The good news of the gospel, when shared with others, can create a thrill of hope.

II. Jesus is the Maker of Joy v. 3a

In v. 3, we see a shift.

The Messiah does not just bring a message of God’s salvation

He actively works to bring it about

He is comforting those who mourn

He is present and active with them in their grief

However, He does not leave them there

He works a mighty transformation:

In grief, they were covered in ashes. Now in joy, they wear a crown

In grief, they were marked by mourning. Now, they are anointed with the oil of celebration

In grief, their spirits were failing. Now, they are dressed for rejoicing

What I don’t think we can miss here is the Messiah’s active role in all of this:

This is not a situation where we just need to find a way to change our attitudes

It’s not even a simple word of encouragement

It is a promise from the Lord that He is going to step into the course of human events and bring joy to all of those who will receive Him

In the Middle Ages the sea route to India seemed an impossibility. it was often discussed in the great economic and political centers of Europe. They used to wonder whether there would be a route around the bottom tip of Africa to that rich land of the spices. Many had tried and all had failed. The tip of Africa had become known as the Cape of Storms.

Then an explorer called Vasco da Gama decided he was going to try again. He succeeded. Ever since he returned to Lisbon it could never be doubted again that it could be done. He proved that to use that treacherous way wasn't inevitably disastrous. The Cape of Storms eventually became known as the Cape of Good Hope.

III. Jesus is the Message of Hope vv. 3b-4

The transformation continues and it redirects His people completely:

We have a new identity:

We were displaced, uprooted, and ashamed

Now, we are oaks of righteousness, stable and planted by the Lord for His glory!

We have a new purpose:

We will rebuild what sin has torn down

What was once a symbol of God’s judgment has now become a show of His grace

We have a new hope:

All of this is fulfilled through Jesus

He didn’t just come as a messenger of hope; He is the hope

Looking forward many years later, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read these same words, but with one small addition:

“Today, these words are fulfilled in your sight” (Luke 4:19)

The Love of God comes to us through Jesus!

John 3:16

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)

A promotion by H. R. Block Inc. in 2001, offered walk-in customers a chance to win a drawing for a million dollars. Glen and Gloria Sims of Sewell, New Jersey, won the drawing, but they refused to believe it when an H. R. Block representative phoned them with the good news.

After several additional contacts by both mail and phone, the Sims still thought it was all just a scam, and usually hung up the phone or trashed the special notices.

Some weeks later, H. R. Block called one more time to let the Sims know the deadline for accepting the million-dollar prize was nearing and that the story of their refusal to accept the prize would appear on an upcoming NBC "Today Show."

At that point, Mr. Sims decided to investigate further. A few days later he appeared on the "Today Show" to tell America that he and his wife had finally gone to H. R. Block to claim the million-dollar prize.

Mr. Sims' final words were: "From the time this has been going on, H. R. Block explained to us they really wanted a happy ending to all this, and they were ecstatic that we finally accepted the prize."