JESUS: THE LIBERATING SERVANT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

Isaiah 42:1a, 5-6a, 7b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks the end of an eleven part series as we have examined the wonderful nature of God’s chosen servant, His Son Jesus Christ. We have seen how He was chosen by God to serve us with the Holy Spirit upon Him, a Holy Spirit He then imparted on us to continue His service. We have seen how He (Jesus) is just and gentle and restoring, righteous in His ways and teaching. And we know that God’s hand is upon His Son always as He brings promise and light and sight to all mankind.

Indeed, in Jesus we find all this but there is one more incredibly magnificent thing about Him we need to cover before we move on in Isaiah 42.

For Jesus is the liberating servant.

Look at these words from our scripture passage today:

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”  Isaiah 42:1a, 5-6a, 7b

Picture this. Before you knew of Jesus in your life, you were imprisoned by sinfulness, trapped in life’s darkest dungeon where wickedness and evil seize people and hold them captive. Incarcerated in iniquity’s dungeon, you were destined for doom and destruction without any hope of escape unless you were rescued from your situation.

In other words, you needed saved by someone but there was no one in the world capable of doing so. It would only take a miracle, someone with a power well outside of anything the world knows to deliver you from your bleak circumstances.

Thanks be to God that He saw us in that place of need and out of His deep love for us, sent His Son Jesus to rescue us, to liberate us from our captivity and set us free.

You see, it’s the main reason Jesus came to this world full of sinfulness to walk among us and experience all the joys and sorrows we do, even death, all so He could triumph over sin and the grave, making the way for us to do likewise. God ordained this because He so loved the world and all any of us need to do to find our rescue, deliverance, and pardon from sin is to believe and trust in Jesus as Savior. Period. That’s all we need to do to be saved and brought out of the darkness into the marvelous light of righteousness found through Jesus and God, His Father and ours, not just for today but for all eternity.

In Jesus, the liberating servant, we find salvation. Death is not the end but only the glorious beginning of life forever with God the Father and His Son who He sent to save. In Jesus, and in Him alone, we have eternal hope no matter what life might bring our way.

Today and every day, let us never tire in sharing this good news with others, the news that Jesus saves us from our sins and sets the captives free from death to everlasting life. For there is no better news that we can share than that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

JESUS: THE SERVANT WHO GIVES SIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You. You will open the eyes of the blind.”

Isaiah 42:1a, 5-6a, 7a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I’ve always loved these words from a classic praise and worship song:

Open our eyes Lord

We want to see Jesus,

To reach out and touch Him

And say that we love Him.

Open our ears Lord

And help us to listen,

Open our eyes Lord

We want to see Jesus.

We go through life from our earliest days on trying to look for truth and meaning so that we can make sense of the world around us. The problem is that we too often look in the wrong places and remain blinded to the real truth of things. We seek truth through our own intellect or the intellect of others. Some dedicate a lifetime to look for truths and find them frustrated and void in the end because they were blind as to where to look.

That’s why we need to sing out the words of the aforementioned song. For it’s only through Jesus that we can really see truth because only He is the truth, just as He is the only way and life we should model ours after (John 14:6).

You see, Jesus was in the sight providing business because God ordained it to be so. As we see in our continuing look at Isaiah 42, God chose His Son Jesus to be a servant who opens the eyes of the blind and reveals truth. Look at these verses:

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You. You will open the eyes of the blind.”  Isaiah 42:1a, 5-6a, 7a

God said that His Son would open the eyes of the blind and indeed, that’s exactly what He did. Look at this excerpt from the ministry work of the perfect servant Jesus, the servant who gives sight:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Once more Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:22-25

Imagine what it must be like to not be able to see. The whole world unidentifiable minus the sounds and smells you take in. It has to be excruciatingly frustrating and saddening, just as excruciatingly frustrating and saddening as it must be for people to try and find truth in life only to be blind to it because they look in all the wrong places.

In both instances, Jesus and only Jesus is the answer, the One who gives sight to the blind just as God the Father appointed Him to do.

Need one more biblical example?

Consider the story of Saul, the persecutor of Christians who presided over the stoning of Stephen as well as the murders of other disciples of Jesus. He thought he understood the truth of things and believed in what he was doing. The problem was that he was blind to the real truth because he was blind about Jesus. That would change.  

For while traveling the road to Damascus to continue his persecution of Christ followers, Saul had this rather abrupt encounter, one where he ironically found out just how harrowing blindness can be:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.  Acts 9:1-9

Three days he was blind. That’s a lot of time to consider things, to ponder who you encountered on that road to Damascus, the One named Jesus who brought you blindness. I wonder what went through Saul’s mind those three days. One thing I am sure of is that he yearned to regain his sight and be able to see once more but he would need someone who could give sight to him because he couldn’t do it on his own.

Enter Jesus, the perfect servant of God who gives sight to the blind, just as His Father empowered Him to do. Look at the rest of the story in Acts 9:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to Your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once, he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.  Acts 9:10-22

A murderer of Christians was blinded from the sins he was committing only to have his sight restored to the real truth he needed to see, that Jesus is the Messiah and is capable of restoring sight to the blind. When the scales fell from Saul’s eyes, he became a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). His old life and self were gone and he boldly went forward for the cause of Christ as Jesus’ chosen instrument who would proclaim His name to the Gentiles and their kings as well as the people of Israel. In this newness of self, Saul could be no more and in his place emerged Paul, one of the greatest apostles ever. If you don’t believe it, look at how much of the New Testament is filled with writings of his work for the cause of Jesus and the Gospel.

Friends, there is hope for everyone in this world, even those who are blind because they do not have Jesus. This is because Jesus is ready to help everyone who is blind see again, not through the sinful lenses of the world but rather through His glorious eyes of righteousness. No one can grant sight like He can and no one truly sees unless they see through His eyes.

Going back to the earlier praise and worship song, let it be our anthem each and every day as we sing out:

Open my eyes Lord. I want to see Jesus (and I would add see like Him).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

JESUS: THE SERVANT OF LIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

Isaiah 42:1a, 5, 6b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The following scriptures from the Gospel of John cry out while proclaiming a critical truth about Jesus. For the Son of God who was sent by His Father to save us is not only a perfect servant. He is light.

Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” John 12:35-36

I’m not sure if you have ever tried to walk in darkness before but it can be harrowing, even if we are in familiar surroundings. In those times, we come to a greater appreciation for just how much we need light to see where we are going. Indeed, light illuminates our way to travel and it reveals our surroundings, which can be almost as important as having our path lit because often dangers lurk in the dark areas we can’t see. Think about any horror movie you might have watched and the terror people experience usually comes from the dark, from places out of the victim’s vantage point. Perhaps, this is more real for us in life than we tend to admit.

Think about it. Doesn’t Satan typically only allow us to see what looks good to us when he lures us down the road of sin and wickedness. We don’t see the dangers and consequences because they are masked in the darkness of transgression and iniquity, unexposed until it is too late and we are entangled in the consequences of our evil actions. We find one such instance very early on in the Bible in the third chapter of Genesis:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  Genesis 3:1-13

Two people, Adam and Eve, were lured into the darkness by the tempting words of the serpent, convinced it was alright to disobey God and pursue the fruit that was so enticing. Note that the consequences were not spelled out by the serpent. Rather, he was able to convince the first man and woman that God didn’t really mean what He said and would welcome the knowledge of good and evil that the tree’s fruit would bring them. Of course, we know it all was a lie from the start but it shows the cunning, conniving nature of our enemy and how he can easily sway our thoughts into committing sin and violating the God who despises it, just as he did to Adam and Eve.

It’s little wonder then why God sought to prevent this from happening by sending light into the world in the way of Jesus so that people could have a means to avoid ever walking in darkness again, always led by the One who was the light of the world.

As we continue our study of Isaiah, Chapter 42, and the prophecy of the coming Jesus, we find that it was God who ordained the light that would come in His Son when He said this:

“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him.”

This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:

“I will keep you and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”  Isaiah 42:1a, 5, 6b

Jesus would be a perfect servant of light, bringing hope to all peoples, whether Jew or Gentile. Through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, the gates of heaven were thrown open so that all who placed their belief and trust in His as Savior would get to experience His light and the light of His Father forever. This, my friends, is why the word Gospel means “good news” for indeed that’s what it brings to everyone who receives it, everyone who opts to walk in the light by following the One who is the light.

For when we do this, when we walk with the light of the world, Jesus, we find the words of this devotion’s first scriptures from John come alive because through Christ:

1. We will never walk in darkness but instead will have the light of life.

2. We will always know where we are going because we have Jesus, the light of life, the One who told us that He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

3. We will become children of light and find ourselves in a place where we can fulfill these words of Jesus while carrying His light to others:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

As we go into a new week, let’s all conscientiously make an effort to allow the light of Jesus, the servant of light, to shine through us onto all we encounter so they might get a glimpse of their Savior through all we do and be brought to a place where they glorify their Father in heaven.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com