Behold My Servant (5)

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.

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.” (Isaiah 42:1 – 9).

Matthew quotes first few verses of this passage in his Gospel (Matthew 12:18 – 21), introducing them with the words, “This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet.”

What is the “this” that Matthew is referring to?

Matthew 12 begins on a Sabbath. Jesus and His disciples are walking through grainfields, the disciples are hungry, and they pick heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees criticize the disciples, accusing them of breaking the Sabbath. (The Pharisees seem to be hard at work analyzing the words and actions of Jesus and the disciples, but I suppose that didn’t quality as work).

Among other things, Jesus quotes Hosea in His response to the Pharisees, “I desire compassion (mercy) and not sacrifice.”

Then Jesus enters a synagogue and He heals a man, saying to the those accusing Him, “How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Matthew records, “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.”

In the face of constant opposition and hatred, among people who want Him dead, Jesus has mercy on those who need mercy. Jesus proclaims justice, He does not respond with violence, and He does not harm the helpless, the defenseless, the disenfranchised. In the midst of attacks against both His disciples and Himself Jesus continues to touch others with the love, grace, and mercy of God. Matthew says that this Life, this Word, this Incarnation, is to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet.

Consider the lead-in to Chapter 12 at the end of Chapter 11, with Jesus saying:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This indeed is the Servant of Isaiah 42. If this is the Servant of Isaiah 42, then it is our calling to share in the fellowship of this gentle and humble and compassionate Servant – to the point where as the Servant is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, we are one with one another and one with the Servant (see John 17).

Consider Paul’s words to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:24 – 26):

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

And let us not forget that gentleness is found in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22 – 23).

Well then, are we, in Christ, the fulfillment of Isaiah 42? Am I? Are you? This is certainly our calling in our Lord Jesus, the Great Servant of Isaiah 42. Are we found in Him? Are we found in Him fulfilling, by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, the words of Isaiah?

If we are abiding in the Vine (John 15) then we ought to expect the life of the Servant abiding in us. Are we taking the yoke of the Servant on ourselves? Are we surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ?

Do we look and live like the Pharisees of Matthew Chapter 12? Or…when people see us…when they see our churches…do they see Jesus?

One Mediator?

If there is indeed "one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ" (1 Timothy 2:5); what does that mean concerning epistemology? Is my "knowing" mediated by Jesus Christ? What about my understanding of the cosmos? Are all the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" truly "hidden in Him" (Colossians 2:3)?

Do we insist on relying on the "natural" man rather than the Spirit of God and the mediation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians Chapter 2) in our effort to understand Scripture and life? Are we so foolish as to think we can "know" anything apart from the "light that enlightens every man" (John 1:9)?

Christ is all, and He will be all in all. All things are being summed-up in Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, all creation has come through Him - Christ mediates all of our Father to us, including our Father's works. We ought not, even in our ignorance, attempt to enter in by any other way - it must be Christ today, Christ tomorrow, Christ always.

As we live in Him we behold the glory of our Father, and we share the many facets of that glory together in Jesus Christ.

Haven't we eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil long enough? 

The natural man simply cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God.

"For God, who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Ponderings on 1 Corinthians Chapters 1 – 4 (15)

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

    nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  (1 Corinthians 2:6 – 10, ESV).

It is easier to quote verse 9 out of context than to quote it in context. It is much easier to ponder it out of context than to ponder it in context. Out of context, standing alone, it makes a nice little verse to put on a coffee mug or on a calendar. It allows me to read it and go on with life.

But if I continue with verse 10, “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit…” then I have a problem and a challenge. Is God revealing what He has prepared to me? Do I “see” this revelation in Scripture? Or is the word on the page dead letter? Is it lifeless? Is it nothing but information and data?

Do I “see” glimpses (or grand vistas!) of what God has prepared for those who love Him in daily life? In my relationships with others? In creation? Am I learning to “hear” life in Christ as a symphony of the words and works of God? Is the Holy Spirit tuning my soul to respond to the Master’s touch and direction?

This is not about speculation designed to puff us up or dazzle others with our pseudo knowledge of the future and the unseen, this is about beholding Christ again and again and again until we truly know “the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” as our Temple (Rev. 21:22).

The context of 1 Corinthians Chapter 2 is the “foolishness of God” being wiser than men (1 Cor. 1:25); that our “faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5). The wisdom and philosophy of Greece was not the way of the Gospel, any more than the “works of the Law” of Judaism.

If I read 2:10 then I must ask, “How is the Holy Spirit revealing Christ to me today? As a way of life? Am I seeing Jesus revealed through both the Old and New Testaments? Is the Old Testament pulsating with images of Jesus Christ from Genesis through Malachi? (Luke 24:27, 44 – 45). Are these images building on one another and playing off one another…are they drawing me deeper and deeper into my Lord Jesus?

Am I “seeing” Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27)?

Have we received the Spirit who is from God? Then if we have, let us learn to know the things that are freely given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12).

What does this look like in our lives? In the lives of our churches?

Behold My Servant (4)

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.

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.” (Isaiah 42:1 – 9).

The Servant of Yahweh will “bring forth justice,” and again he will “faithfully bring forth justice”, and again a time will come when he will have “established justice in the earth.” How then, can we have a false dichotomy that seeks to separate the Gospel from justice?

Consider that a dimension of the Gospel is all about justice, all about the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of man. Consider that Christ, and those who belong to Christ, have been “called in righteousness” – Christ in a righteousness of His own, the righteousness within the Trinity; those who belong to Christ called in the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

Consider that Paul presents the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of man throughout Romans chapters 1 – 8, with a particular emphasis from 1:16 – 5:11. Is it too much to say that this section of Romans is the first course of the foundation of the Gospel as it unfolds in Romans? (Perhaps Romans 1:1 – 7 is the cornerstone – the Confession).

In other words, an awareness of justification, of righteousness and unrighteousness, and of justice permeates the Gospel; it therefore should saturate our thinking and our perspectives. God’s justice should animate our lives, it should be a way of life in our Way of Life, Jesus Christ.

Justice and righteousness and equity are rooted in the Trinity, they cannot be separated from the Trinity any more than love can be separated from God the Trinity. How then, can professing Christians draw a line in their thinking and actions which says, “We will speak of righteousness and unrighteousness and justice when we preach the Gospel, but we will not cross a certain line beyond which, words and actions may be construed as a “social gospel”.

This is schizophrenic. This is against the Nature of God. This is asking a Christian to suppress the justice and righteousness of the Trinity that lives within the Church for political, social, economic, or other reasons…including faulty theological reasons.

The man or woman who has received the marvelous mercy and grace of God in Christ, the woman or man who has been to the Cross and within whom the Cross lives – that man or that woman, of all people, ought to have an overwhelming sense of justice and equity, knowing that when they were without strength Christ died for them, knowing that when they were still enemies that God reconciled them through the death of His Son, that while they were still sinners Christ died for them.

If the Trinity lives within the people of Christ, then brining forth justice is what we should find ourselves organically doing, it should be the pattern of our thought-life, it should be a desire that quickens our hearts, that enlivens our souls.

To turn our eyes away from injustice, to fail to seek justice for all, is to forget who Christ is and who we were…and who we are in Him. To fail to participate with and in our Lord Jesus Christ in bringing forth justice is to deny who Christ is and to deny our identity in Him.  

How are we responding to our calling, in Jesus Christ, to bring forth and establish justice? How are our churches responding?

Does the world see the Servant of the Yahweh working justice in and through His Body?

John Chrysostom and Communion

Yesterday we celebrated the Eucharist, what a sacred and transcendent time with our Lord. The Table that Jesus prepares for us reaches back before time began, and will be our ever-present eternal meal, our Communion with Christ, with the Trinity, and with one another. During my message I shared the quote below, I hope it speaks to you. Even though Chrysostom was a bishop, he had little or no use for the pomp and circumstance of "silk vestments", this got him into serious trouble with those who used the church, and its close affiliation with Imperial power, for their own benefit. In fact, St. John suffered much hardship and persecution for his life in Christ and proclamation of the Gospel.

It is sad that we lack Chrysostoms today. Many seek their own benefit...few have the courage to seek and preach Christ.

Chrysostom:

Do you wish to honor the body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor the church with silk vestments while outside you are leaving it number with cold and naked. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same that said, “You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.” Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls.”

Ministry and Good Friday

Whether it is vocational ministry, or other forms of service in the Body of Christ, we ought not to say "Yes" to Palm Sunday unless we will also, by God's grace, say "Yes" to Good Friday.

And for sure, we will never see Easter Sunday without Good Friday. 

The only entity in the universe whose goal is to spare us Good Friday is Satan. It was not for nothing that Christ said to Peter, "Get behind me Satan" (Matthew 16) when Peter sought to save Him from the Cross. 

Have you said, with Christ and by His grace, "Yes" to Good Friday?