The Messiah
Notes
Transcript
Merry Christmas! My kids are in IL with their grandparents. Maggie and I will drive out to be with them this week. We’ll be coming back on Saturday to celebrate the first Sunday in 2026 with you.
I’ve been praying something everyday this Christmas season: That I might share about Jesus one time each day. My prayer is that I can continue that this this week. I ask you to pray with me for this.
As I began this, I had a lot of fear, because I am human just like you. And the fear hasn’t gone away. But, God has blessed. I knew that I would be talking about this now, so 2 weeks ago, when I started praying, I knew I would have to talk about, and that held me accountable.
So, thanks for holding me accountable, even if you didn’t know it.
This is the season of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ, the one who came 2000 years ago, lived a sinner’s life and died a sinner’s death, because he loved us. He preferred us. He bought a relationship with us, paying the penalty for our sin, satisfying the wrath of the righteous God.
My prayer for you, as you run around in the busyness of the season, you have been able to stop and remember the amazing gift of Jesus, that something arrests you every single day to stop and worship him. And I pray that will continue this week as well.
Because this is the season of the Messiah.
Two weeks ago, we read Isa 9. On Christmas Eve, we explored Isa 11. Today, we are diving into Isa 49.
Isa 40-48 talk a lot about the Israel. How God will be faithful to Israel. He will rescue them out of Babylon. But, through it all he calls Israel to be faithful to him. In those chapters, he speaks of a servant who will perform his bidding to rescue his people. That servant is spoken generally and is partially fulfilled in Cyrus, king of Persia.
In Isa 49-55, the servant of the Lord is focused on, and we see that the ultimate fulfillment is not Cyrus, because he does not match up to these chapters. These explain the character, role, and difficult ministry of the Servant of the Lord, who was fulfilled in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. The most famous prophecy of Jesus is in chapter 53, the suffering servant, known as the John 3 of the Old Testament.
There are three servant poems in Isa 49-55, after each are proclamations of salvation that give new hope to Israel, with a conclusion in Isa 55. I’ll let you explore these for yourself.
Our text is from the first of those servant poems, Isa 49 5-7
And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
As we explore this passage, we will see that Jesus, the Messiah, will be a light for the Gentiles, resulting in the world bowing before him.
We will see that the Light will shine for salvation, over enemies, in ultimate worship.
Before we dive in, will you pray with me?
Pray
1. For Salvation
1. For Salvation
The Light will shine for Salvation.
Isaiah prophesies, under the direction of the Spirit:
And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
We see the Light that Isaiah talked about in Isaiah 9, prophesied again to come. And Isaiah descibes how the Messiah will be born, the purpose decided even before conception.
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Salvation, to bring people back to himself.
I hope the work of Jesus never gets old to you. Unfortunately, we too often forget it, and if someone repeats it, we listen with one ear, because we already know.
But, we should never treat the message that way. As Paul says of the Corinthians:
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
That should be the first thing we ever talk about.
We, God’s creation, were lost, desperately separated from our creator because of our sin. Yet, before we sinned, even when he knew what we were going to do, he loved us. He preferred us. He gave us his grace. And he provided a sacrifice, a pointing to the ultimate sacrifice.
Israel experienced these sacrifices, a chance to have a taste of a relationship with God and to point the nations around to him, until the Messiah, Jesus came.
2000 years ago, he came, born of the virgin Mary, fulfilling prophecy after prophecy, preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And he died. Purposefully, as the third servant poem in this section says:
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He took up our pain. He died in our place. So that we who had gone astray might be brought back. As our text says:
And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
Salvation is the ability for us, the created yet wandering ones, to be restored to a relationship with our Creator.
The Light will shine for salvation.
2. Over His Enemies
2. Over His Enemies
The light will shine for salvation for his enemies.
Isaiah prophesies:
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
The people of Israel, were for some reason convinced of the belief that the Messiah was only for them. That Jesus would bring Israel back into a relationship with God, and who cares about the rest of the world.
But, God had a bigger gift in store, as he says through Isaiah:
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
There is something bigger happening. He is wanting to restore the entire creation back to what it was before Adam and Eve ate the fruit from that tree in the garden of Eden.
Which means, he’s reaching out beyond those who thought they were the only recipients of God’s grace.
The people of Israel were boxed into thinking that God was their god, and the other nations had their gods. The world was splintered.
But, God has consistently proclaimed and proven that he is the God of everyone, even those who consider themselves not his, even those whom his people don’t want him to care about, even those who would be enemies.
Well, in fact, the world are enemies of God. Every single person who has ever breathed started out as his enemies.
And because we were or are his enemies, Jesus died for us.
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Isaiah says it this way:
This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
The Messiah is despised by everyone, because we are sinners and we don’t want him, and we find every excuse possible to deny his authority in our lives.
Later, Isaiah will write:
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Who in the world would die for his enemies? The one who loved them so much that he died for them.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
And he called us friends, even when we called ourselves his enemies.
The Light shines for salvation over his enemies.
3. In Ultimate Worship
3. In Ultimate Worship
The Light shines for salvation over his enemies, in ultimate worship.
Isaiah concludes:
This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
One day, as I have said over and over again, the world will bow down to Jesus, acknowledging his authority. Some will bow down with joy as they enter an eternity in paradise. Others will bow down with fear and shock as they enter an eternity in perdition.
This fact should impact us this holiday season. One day, we will stand before the throne of God. Who do we want to be standing with us? Have we told them about the Light who died for everyone? Do you have a list of people that you are praying for, so that God would open up ways for you to share the Gospel with them and that you might see them cross from darkness to light? I’d love to see that list.
Who do we not want to be standing with us? Do you have a list of people that you don’t want to be in paradise with? That you are praying that God will not save?
That sounds bad doesn’t it?
But, practically, that is how we live, too often.
I fear the way we treat people, the people who we don’t want to talk with or have anything to do with, the times we turn away from sharing the Gospel, is like creating a list of people we don’t want to be in paradise with.
Saying: you’re not good enough. Sorry. Stinks to be you. You are not part of the club.
When in reality, we are all part of the same club, those born enemies of God, lost without hope, except for Jesus Christ. He reached into my life when I was still a sinner, his enemy, running in the opposite direction. He used someone who was willing to share the Gospel with me.
And now, he turns us around and calls us to go and do likewise. To reach into the highways and the byways, to call to those forgotten by society, who we might even consider enemies, people we do not want to have anything to do with, and tell them about Jesus and call them to join that great day before his throne.
I urge you, as we turn into the New Year, create a list of everyone you know, those you like, and those you don’t, and pray for all of them, that God would prepare their hearts and provide a way, an opportunity, for you to tell them about Jesus. Those you like and those you don’t.
