The Light of the Messiah

Palm Sunday is the official beginning of “Holy Week”, marking the day on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, declaring in that act that he was the promised Messiah. During this Holy Week, we are going to have four opportunities to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We began today with our Palm Sunday processional. Then, Wednesday night we will join with other Baptists to observe a solemn assembly where we will pray through the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. And, next Sunday, we will observe a Sunrise service to remember the moment that his disciples witnessed the resurrection. Then, in our Easter celebration at 11 am, we will worship together in praise to our risen Lord. This year, as we work through this Holy Week, I want us to think upon Jesus as the Light of the World. As I told the children, Jesus came to bring the truth of God’s kingdom to this world, to reveal things for what they really are, to show us the way of life. This morning, in remembering his triumphal entry as the King of Kings, I want us to consider the light of his reign as Messiah. To do that, let’s read Isaiah 42:1-7 together. From this passage I want you to see two aspects of the Messiah’s reign – his grace and his goodness.

First, in verses 1-4, see the grace of the Messiah’s reign. God promises his people that he will send a servant who will be chosen, Spirit-filled, and just. This Messiah won’t be like the typical king who uses power for his own personal gain. He will not gather wealth from his people without any concern for the wellbeing of his subjects. Rather, God promises that this Messiah will be gracious. There are two ways he will be gracious. In verse 3, we see that the Messiah will be gracious to the weak and hurting. It says that he will not “break a bruised reed” or “quench a smoldering wick.” It seems to be a natural reaction of those who have power to trample the weak and ignore the needs of the poor and marginalized. It is easy, after all, when one lives in wealth and comfort, to pretend that these people don’t exist. But, the Messiah will not ignore or trample. He will show love and grace. It is without doubt that Jesus fulfills this prophecy of a gracious Messiah. When the men of John 8 would pick up stones to kill the woman caught in adultery, Jesus would tell the woman, “I do not condemn you, now go and sin no more.” When the woman who had an issue of blood felt too ashamed to ask Jesus for healing but thought instead to just reach out and touch his robe, not only would Jesus heal her, but he would turn and face her to show her mercy.

The Messiah will also be gracious in his law. In verse 4 God promises that the Messiah will not turn back until he has brought justice to all the world. I think it is lost on us just how different the world of Isaiah’s day was from ours. We live in a time when most of the world has been influenced by Christianity, even in Muslim and Hindu nations. We find this in the way that every nation must now reckon with their citizens’ human rights. Now, it is certainly the case that dictatorial regimes in the middle east and Asia do not truly grant human rights, but the influence of this Christian principle has caused many nations to be less barbarous and more just. Things were not so in the ancient world. The pagan nations that surrounded Israel lived in darkness with cruel practices. They sacrificed their children to Molach. They were adulterous, licentious, and harsh. So, the Israelites looked out at their pagan neighbors and longed for a day when they too would be brought to the truth of God’s law. And, through Jesus, God has fulfilled this promise of the Messiah. Jesus commanded his disciples, in Matt. 28:20, to go into all the world and make disciples by teaching them to obey everything that he’d commanded. Wherever the apostles went, men and women of these pagan lands came to faith. They gave up their false worship, their harshness and cruelty, so that today, lands once known for their barbarism are now called Christian nations.

Not only did God promise that the Messiah would be gracious, but we also find a promise that he would be good. In verse 6-7 we find four aspects of the Messiah’s goodness. First, the Messiah will be a covenant to his people. It’s interesting that Isaiah does not say, “He will make a covenant with his people.” That would be unsurprising, as kings regularly made covenants with their people. But, he says that the Messiah will be a covenant. Not only will the Messiah make promises to his people, but he will be the guarantee of that promise. So, when Jesus met with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion, he took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Jesus guaranteed the promise of salvation for his people through his own blood.

Second, the Messiah will be a “light to the nations.” As I mentioned earlier, the Israelites saw the Word of God as a light that revealed the truth of things. So, Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Left to our own devices, humans walk in darkness. We don’t know our purpose. We don’t know how to treat others. We don’t know how to protect our families or raise our children. So, God shines a light for us in His Word. And Jesus, is the Word made flesh. This is why John 1:4-5 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Third, the Messiah will open the eyes of the blind. All of humanity lives in darkness, not just because things aren’t clear, but because we are spiritually blind. 2 Cor. 4:4 says “the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” But, the Messiah will remove that blindness and enable his people to see the truth of the Spirit. So, Paul goes on to say in 2 Cor. 4:6, “For God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Finally, the Messiah will set the prisoner free. It is not just that we live in darkness and can’t see clearly. Our problem is also not merely an issue of blindness. No, our problem goes even further than that. We are prisoners sitting in the darkness of sin. As Eph. 2:1 says, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air.” Without God, you are unable to see the truth. Without God, you are blinded to the truth. Without God, you are enslaved to sin. But praise God, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has come to set us free. So Romans 6:6 says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

Friend, Jesus Christ is the gracious and good Messiah who has come to bring light into your life that you might see the truth. He’s come that you might have spiritual eyes to see that truth. And, he’s come that you might be set free from sin. Won’t you turn and trust him today?

Brothers and sisters, we have the light of God’s Word through Jesus Christ. We have eyes to see through the Spirit of God. And, we are free in Jesus Christ to live in righteousness. So, may we leave this place and live in obedience to our Messiah who has brought us the light of his gospel.