The Chain Breaker
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Last week, we began to look into Isaiah 42, one of 4 “Servant Songs” found in Isaiah. It speaks of the servant of the Lord, and further scripture in the New Testament tells us that the servant of the Lord is Jesus. And appropriately, we can look at this passage as a reminder to us of the Christmas story in Luke. As a way to connect this text to our hearts, I’ve chosen to use a song that is for many of us a favorite Christmas song, “O Holy night”. I told you last week that this song was written at the request of a priest in France in 1847. The man who wrote the words, Placide Cappeau, was not even a believer. The man he asked to put it to music, Adolphe Charles Adams, was also not a believer. A fair question may be asked then: Should we even pay attention to it? Well, I think we should. The reason we should is that the words of this song stand up to the test of scripture. In fact, could I be so bold as to say that this non-believer from almost 200 years ago, wrote in the beautiful french language a song that stands up to scripture better than many songs you may hear on your favorite Christian radio station today.
We are reminded that God can speak, even through the mouth, or the pen, of an unbeliever. In fact, scripture records that God has even spoken through the mouth of a donkey! And as my wonderful preaching professor often reminded me, “If God could speak through Balaam’s donkey, he can use you, too!”
I want to read aloud the literal translation of this great Christmas Hymn. And think for a moment whether you ever hear such a clear presentation of man’s problem of sin, and the solution of Christ who sets one free, and who calls the proud to humble themselves:
Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour
When God as man descended among us
To expunge the stain of original sin
And to put an end to the wrath of his father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night which gives us a savior.
People, on your knees, pay attention to your deliverance.
Christmas! Christmas! Here is the Redeemer!
Christmas! Christmas! Here is the Redeemer!
The ardent light of our Faith,
Guides us all to the cradle of the infant,
As in ancient times a brilliant star
Conducted the Magi there from the orient.
The King of kings was born in a humble manger;
O mighty ones of today, proud of your grandeur,
It is to your pride that God preaches.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
The Redeemer has broken all shackles.
The earth is free and heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was once but a slave;
Love unites those who restrain the sword.
Who will tell him our gratitude?
It is for us all that he was born, that he suffered and died.
People, stand up, sing your deliverance!
Christmas! Christmas! Let us sing the Redeemer!
Christmas! Christmas! Let us sing the Redeemer!
If you have your handout, keep it in front of you while I quickly go through:
Notice the Themes here: God descending among us: John1.14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
To Expunge the stain of original sin: Rom 5.12
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
To put an end to the wrath of his father:
Rom 5.9 “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
(ESV)
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
The entire world thrills with hope on this night which gives us a savior: Luke2.10-14
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
People, on your knees, pay attention to your deliverance: Matt2.11
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Christmas! Christmas! Here is the Redeemer! Job19.25
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
And that is just verse 1 of this song written by a non-believer!
We will look at the other verses a little more later, but we haven’t even gotten to our main passage yet, so let’s get there:
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 coastlands wait for his law.
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and 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.
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
This is the creator God! This is the God of Genesis, who created the universe with a word! and he is the one who gives breath to people. Here we are reminded of the creation account that we find in Genesis. Remember who is speaking, it is the prophet Isaiah, but his words are the very words of God. Who does his authority come from? God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. Now, it isn’t that I want to gloss over this. The God described here we could spend hours speaking of. His attributes, who he is, what he does. It is a wonderful topic and worthy of talking about. He gives to all men life and breath and everything, we learn in the book of the acts.
“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,
Who is you? I have called you? The servant of verse 1. I am the LORD; I have called, you, my servant, in righteousness. The one who calls also takes him by the hand and keeps him
Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary ii. The Servant: The Great Solution (42:1–9)
Keep (√nāṣar) is to preserve, safeguard; but the form here could derive from √yasar, to shape, fashion: whom the Lord calls he ‘shapes’ for the appointed task.
I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. Interesting, isn’t it, that he refers to a person, the servant, as a convenant? How can a person be a covenant? When the person is the Word. John1.1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Covenants are made with words, and God’s covenant was fulfilled by one referred to as The Word. Only Jesus could fulfill the covenant. He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, and he declared that a new covenant was upon the people of Israel. This covenant was promised by God through another prophet, Jer31.31
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
this is quoted in hebrews 8, and Jesus affirmed the new covenant had come when, at the last supper, he said Luk22.20
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
So God has given Jesus, the servant, as a covenant for the people, and a light for the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
I don’t often tell people to go and listen to me twice, I can barely listen to myself once. But I am using so many scriptures in this sermon that you may want to go to Faithlife or our website later and listen and note all these connections. I’m going rather quickly, but I hope your faith is encouraged this morning that this holiday we are celebrating, this Christmas season, it gets me very excited when I contemplate how complete the scriptures are. There can be no mistake. There are so many prophetic words fulfilled in Christ. Today we focus on the nativity, but the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus are far more than his miraculous birth.
We can marvel at this wonderful tapestry that is the Holy Scripture. It weaves together perfectly. A wonderful story, yes, but so much more! Our very salvation is found in these pages, and if we really take a pause and reflect on it, we ought to stand here with our jaws dropping and stupefied at the power and majesty and perfection of God’s Word! God’s Word is more precious than silver or gold, and much more precious is Christ himself, who all of scripture points to!
But now we get to the part of Isaiah 42 that inspired yet another participant in the story of O Holy Night. You see, over in America was a preacher named John Sullivan Dwight. Dwight had a hobby of sorts of finding songs from all over the world that were sung in the churches, and he would translate or have them translated into English. Dwight was described as a fiery abolitionist. He fought slavery from the pulpit and from the political side as well. And when he discovered “Cantique De Noel”, He fell in love with it’s message of freedom and so he rewrote it in English. The part of the song that appealed most to the abolitionist is also the part that stirs my heart more than any other. It resonates in several places in scripture, this idea of Jesus being one who sets free captives, who breaks chains, who frees slaves.
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
The NIV also puts this nicely: Isa42.7
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
To open the blind eyes,
To bring out the prisoners from the prison,
And them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Now, you may have noticed in our literal translation, there certainly is power in those words, but to have them sung as well, the English had to be made poetic and fit with the melody of the song. Dwight translated this part into what we all know today: “Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother”. The literal translation of the original was “The Redeemer has broken all shackles.
The earth is free and heaven is open. He sees a brother where there was once but a slave; Love unites those who restrain the sword.”
And now we see that yet another part of the story of how we got this song came about. I still have a little more to tell you, but you will have to come back next week.
Who else could this song be telling of, if not Jesus? who else could the prophecies be pointing to, if not Jesus? Who else could set the prisoner free, if not Jesus? Who else can bring light to those in darkness, if not Jesus? Who else could be a covenant to the people, if not Jesus? Who else could turn aside the wrath of God, if not Jesus? Who else could expunge the stain of original sin, cause us to thrill with hope, humble the proud, suffer, die, rise again, and promise to come again, if not Jesus!
He is the servant of Isaiah’s Servant Songs, He is the Son of God sent to save the world. He is the one through whom the world was created, and he was in the beginning. He is worthy at the very least, of our respect, but much more, he is worthy of all of our praise, all of our efforts and strivings in life ought to be to serve Him! And He has the power over the grave so that we who put our faith and confidence in Him may have hope eternal!
How much could I say about Jesus? How long do we have, we could speak of him forever, and someday we who have faith in Him will praise His name for ever. He is the Ancient of Days, the Lamb who was slain for the sin of the world, the propitiation, who turns away the wrath of God from us who deserve that wrath!
Did I mention he is head of the church? Col1.15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Did I mention His salvation? Eph2.4-7
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Did I mention his love?
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
And did I mention he is coming soon?
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Christmas must be more to us than presents, than lights, than candles, than songs, than even family. Christmas is about Jesus, and I haven’t said enough about him!
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
We say Jesus is the reason for the season, and that could possibly be taken as trite, or an overused phrase that is just bandied about like many other catchy sayings. But it is the truth! Jesus is the Reason for the Season!
I often wonder why Christmas is so special, even to non-believers. Even people of other faiths celebrate Christmas. Why does this season bring such a reaction? And yet, at the same time, many people fear the oncoming of the holiday. They are people who have been abused, or abandoned, they are spouses who were cheated on, children who were neglected, those left alone because of untimely deaths, those who had a falling out with family and now at Christmas, they are tortured by the imagery of families being together, celebrating with great joy, and in loving embraces. They see the Hallmark movies that show how the romance always is quite literally wrapped up in a perfect bow by the end of the show, and they think to themselves, what a horrible world.
They beat themselves up, they think they are losers, they think there is something wrong with them. So Christmas for some is a sad, depressing time. What hope is there for them? The hope will not come from a new relationship. It won’t come from taking a vacation or buying some stuff. Their only hope is Jesus. And sadly, many people don’t really know what Christmas is about, not really. I’m sure if you surveyed many people, perhaps even some who consider themselves Christian, they could not tell you what the birth of Christ really was all about.
It is our job to tell them.
So consider your duty, not to your pastor, not even to your church. You have a duty to share the love of Christ, and it is not a duty I charge you with. It is Jesus himself. He has commanded that we make disciples, that we love one another. We say we love Jesus. But He said if you love me, you will keep my commands. He commands that we live for him, that we proclaim the gospel to others. That we reach out to give others the hope He has given to us.
Today marks 20 days until Christmas. What will you do to help others come to understand what it is all about? I want to help you as much as I can. When you leave today, there are available to you some business card sized invitations for you to give out to join us at our Christmas Eve Service. Take some cards, and don’t just lay them somewhere and hope someone find it. It is the personal invite that is most effective. Did you know this? There are people that study all kinds of things about churches, and they have all kinds of advice about how to get people into your church doors. Marketing, websites, mailers, etc. But the number one thing that brings people to church is a personal invite. Now, for your convenience, we did put a QR code on the invite, that will send people to our website for more information.
And let me assure you, at our Christmas Eve Service, the gospel is going to be clearly presented. I love telling stories, I love to sing songs, but I realize that on holidays, we have the best chance of getting unchurched people to join us just once. Our purpose in getting a lot of guests to join us for Christmas Eve is not so we can say look at all the people who came. Our purpose is to glorify God and show our love for Jesus and to proclaim His story. So pray about who you will invite. Pray for those who will come. Pray for me as I prepare the message. Pray for our worship team as they prepare the music.
When you invite folks to join us for Christmas Eve, you can let them know we will not be keeping them here all night, we will keep the service to just over an hour or so. I am very sensitive that people have family events and things to do.
So carefully consider how you will spend this holiday honoring Jesus. Interact with people, look out for the lonely and hurting, especially those who have lost loved ones this year. Their hearts are tender from their loss, so let’s be kind and supportive. Be the one who is kind to the clerk at the store, the server at a restaurant, the receptionist. Really, everyone you deal with. Smile when the line is long. Hold your tongue when you would like to complain about the crowds. Smile instead. Love others. Strike up a conversation and tell them the Reason for the Season.