"Yea, He saith, 'It is too light a thing for you to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the scions of Israel, and I shall submit you as a light unto the nations, to be My salvation until the end of the earth' Isaiah 49:6.

God’s makes himself known as Lord through divine revelation, which is given to all people through creation and human nature and to specific people through events, inspired human words recorded as Scripture, and Jesus Christ himself.

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​Kabbalah for Today?

That hidden wisdom is the revelation of Jesus Christ,  Christ in you,
unity with the divine through the Holy Spirit, revealed in The New Testament and Word of God. Through the Holy Spirit, divine spiritual truths and hidden knowledge can be revealed and interpreted. Jesus Christ, light to the nations, redeemer of the world... for ALL is fulfilled in the law and prophets, both old and new. 

COLOSSIANS 1:19–20For 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. 

Christ’s death is the beginning of the redemption and renewal of every part of fallen creation, as he powerfully directs all things for his own glory and creation’s good. 
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​“When 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

“I am the light of the world,” is rooted in Jesus’ relationship with His Father. John Piper states, “Jesus speaks from God and for God and as God.” Apart from Jesus, we live in darkness. We have limited capacity to understand who we are or what we see in the world. “The beauty of our humanity is still evident,” writes Aimee Joseph,“but ugliness abounds.” 

“The light of Christ,” writes John Piper, “is the brightness of God shining on the retina of the human soul.” Life can be wonderful on earth, but not fully complete without Jesus. We are all created to crave the Creator, our Father, and only through a relationship with our Savior Jesus can the dark parts of our hearts brighten. “When I admit I am not enough, I’m freed to run and cling to the God who is.” -Aimee Joseph 
The Light of the world paid for our freedom on the cross.

The Biblical Context of the Verse "I Am the Light of the World”Jesus consistently focused on linking Himself to the Father. The Greek word for light in this verse is phos, defined as the light; anything emitting light; light, i.e. brightness. God profoundly states, “I am.” Light is part of who He is. Subtle but powerful.

Each day, the sun rises to warm, illuminate, and provide growth on earth. The moon and stars light the night, serving as navigators long before smartphones. We reach for the light-switch when we enter a dark room, and we depend on our accumulation of knowledge to shed light on our lives. Light permeates into every crack and crevice of our lives and beings, whether visible, tangible in regard to warmth, or metaphorically enlightening. The origin of phos describes how light makes manifest, evident, exposed or clear.

Light is required for any vegetation to grow, and the light clarifies the human spirit. Christ was present at the creation of the world. The Author of Light has the authority to illuminate His creation in its truest form. Jesus saying He is the Light of the world is the outer recognition of His Father’s creation and presence, and the inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit, by which we know our Father and walk with Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the world, our world, and in the world. Like God is omnipresent, so Jesus is Light. Through Him and His sacrificial death on the cross, we are exposed to the light and of our sins. 

Christ is the Light of the world. God is light, and Christ is the image of the invisible God. One sun enlightens the whole world; so does one Christ, and there needs no more. -Matthew Henry Commentary, Concise

A boat needs navigational lights to avoid running into the shore, aground or into other vessels at night. Light prevents aimless drifting. Captains follow blinking channel markers and lighthouses at night. Now, GPS coordinates steer ships, but the Captain and crew still need to know how to navigate by the stars, buoys and lights in case of an electrical malfunction. A lack of preparation could be deadly.

Just as ships follow lights to ensure safe passage, so we rely on the Light. Jesus’s death broke through the darkness, lighting the way for us. God’s Word, through the enlightening of the Holy Spirit, helps us understand and remember when we need His wisdom to steer us. Prayer, which serves dually as life boat and lighthouse throughout our everyday lives is an open line of communication not available to Old Testament believers. We learn from the beginning of the book of Genesis and John’s Gospel that Jesus was present, and that He is the Word. Everything the light touches, He is a part of.

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” -John 9:5Darkness, in John 8:12, is the Greek word skotia, defined as the darkness due to the want of light and used to describe ignorance of divine things. It’s associated with wickedness, and the resultant misery in hell. Genesis 1:4 says, “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” Jesus is the Light of the world, and all who are separate or far from Him live in darkness. Being separate, ignorant, or unaware of the dark leaves us wanting for something we cannot produce on our own. We come to the end of ourselves in frustration, hopelessness, or an aloof sense of happiness and joy, when we traverse through life in darkness. With Christ, we have the absolute fullness of life. 

What Happened Before and After?John was Jesus’ best friend on this earth, referring to himself as “the one Jesus loved.” He was the only one of the twelve at the cross when Jesus died. How we begin our stories says a lot about what we understand and believe most. John undoubtedly knew who Jesus was, both on earth as his friend and as His God made flesh.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” -John 1:9-10

The phrase we are studying today is part of Jesus’ long debate with the Pharisees (John 2:19; John 3:3). This string of preaching, miracles, and conversion resulted in increased persecution from the Jewish leaders. Before Jesus’ testimonial declaration as the Light of the World, John recorded Jesus writing on the ground to scatter a woman’s accusers, further fueling the debate. Jesus then heals a blind man, which in turn is investigated by the Pharisees, striking a conversation not just about physical blindness, but spiritual.

Who is Jesus Talking To?Jesus was talking to a group of Jewish leaders prominently referred to as Pharisees. It’s suspected the title originates from a Hebrew word meaning separate or detached. They separated themselves from anything that didn’t align with the way they interpreted Levitical (Old Testament covenant) Law. As Jesus spoke, people started to believe Him. Their claims didn’t diminish His confidence. 

“Notice, it was Jesus’s words that God used to bring about the faith. He wasn’t doing miracles at this point. He was speaking. In fact, he was going back and forth with the Pharisees and the crowd — those who were blind to what he was saying. And as people listened to his words, they believed. Faith comes by hearing — the word of Christ (Romans 10:17)."  -“I Am the Light of the Word,” John Piper
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More Bible References about Light

• John 1:4 - "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
• 1 John 1:5 - "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
• Matthew 5:14 - "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:6 - "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”amade his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
• Philippians 2:15 - “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appearas lights in the world,"
• Daniel 12:9 - "He said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5 - "You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”
• 1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
• Psalm 119:105 - "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

For more verses about light, click here.
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How Jesus is the Light of the World“For all the positive thinking around us, there sure is a lot of hardship and pain,” says Owen Strachan.

Through Christ, we have access to the Father. Our perspective brightens when touched by the Light. Illumined by the Creator, we are able to hang onto the shreds of light that permeate the darkness. “Jesus’s works made who he was manifestly clear,” writes Jon Bloom, “His works shone, and they still shine.” Jesus shines light into the cracks of our hearts that harbor sin. Once revealed, the conviction of the Holy Spirit instructs and guides us to repent. We grow wiser as He sanctifies our hearts to reflect His light. 

What was Jesus Trying to Get Across to His Listeners?“An entire system of spiritual darkness - spearheaded by Satan himself, carried out by hordes of demons, and influencing every corner of earth- rages right below the surface of our everyday lives,” writes Marshal Legal in God’s Not Afraid of the Dark, “How do we live with any hope while we drown in all of this darkness?”

We are self-centered and self-driven without Jesus. We come to the end of ourselves and our efforts and become overwhelmed by the natural darkness in our hearts. No one has “a good heart” in a natural state. "We all fall short". Jesus came so we would experience the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s loving embrace through the wisdom of His word and our relationship with Him shed His light on others living in darkness.

“One reason the darkness around us is so terrifying is that we see so much of ourselves in it - our weaknesses, our fears, our brokenness, our sin,” writes Segal,“for many of us, no darkness is more intimidating than our own.”
What Does it Mean for Christians to View Jesus as the Light of the World?“In Adam, things to do get better. But in Christ, the future is impossibly bright.” -Owen Strachan

Jesus gives us the vision to see who we are in Him. Only the light of the world can show us who we are and guide us responsibly through life. “Following Jesus is more than tagging along behind him. It means following him for who he is. Being so taken with him that you join yourself to Him.” -John Piper

Light is akin to freedom. We’re wide open to the world when we walk with our Creator. Walking in the light means embracing our individuality when we release our self-centered methods for His definition of love. Consider how He knows all of us before we breathe our first breath on earth. Let the fact that He took each of our names to the cross permeate. The Light of the World knows what we do not. We can be so focused on getting to where we are going that we miss many turns along the road to a full and abundantly bright life.

“His light doesn’t make the darkness any less dark; it just conquers every shadow with something stronger.” -Marshall Segal

Are Christians Also Called to Be the Light of World?“What makes us shine?” writes Jon Bloom, “Our outward, observable, public works make clear who we are and whose we are manifestly clear.”

Jesus brings light to the far corners of our communities and our world. Matthew 5:14says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” When we live our lives reflecting the Light, it allows others to see His love. We are called to share the gospel, but more importantly than what we say is how we live. “It’s not merely what the shining people do, but why they do it and how they do it,” writes Bloom, “and we’ve found ourselves both drawn totem and unnerved by them, because the light of their humble, word-and-deed love has both warmed our hearts and exposed our selfishness and pride.” Light affects everything. It permeates truth into every situation. It’s true Love, on earth. Anne Graham-Lotz wrote, “Praise God! The Light of the World is the Light of Heaven!” Only He can empower us to love the people He purposefully places in our lives well, and His love lights up the world. “You are a light in the darkness - a servant of God who is being watched, who gives off light …a very distinct message with hardly a word being said,” 


KABBALAH. The mere mention of the word conjures up images of magical and mysterious otherworldly dimensions, of spiritual secrets that are profoundly miraculous and deeply inspiring. Nowadays it seems everyone-Jew or non-Jew, famous or nameless-is discovering and uncovering the divine truths of Kabbalah. Or are they?

That question raises three, more pointed ones: What is the essence of Kabbalah? Will opening the exploration of Kabbalah to the masses demean and distort this extremely difficult and highly spiritual subject, reducing it to the level of pop culture? If Kabbalah is not appropriate for popular study, is it somehow still relevant to our lives?

Kabbalah literally means “receiving”; in Israel today, the receipt you get when making a purchase is called a kabbalah. The Bible, or Written Law, is given by God and is available to anyone who can read it. The Oral Law-which includes the Kabbalah-is received, passed directly from teacher to pupil.

Most of Torah is considered Torah haniglet-revealed Torah, to be studied by all Jews. Kabbalah, however, was designated chochmah nisteret-hidden wisdom. In truth, Kabbalah was never literally hidden, but was not widely, or even publicly, studied.

The reason for restricting the study of Kabbalah relates to its subject matter. Kabbalah encompasses two general themes: ma’aseh bereshit-the theory or description of creation-and ma’aseh merkavah-Ezekiel’s description of the Heavenly Chariot, which teaches us about the relationship between humans and the Almighty.

When I discuss matters that are tangible and open for all to see and appreciate, things that are already “revealed,” it is simple for others to verify the truth of what I say. But if I am talking about angels, for example, I must be very careful. If I speculate from ignorance, what I say will be nonsense. And it may become dangerous nonsense if I fail to realize the power and meaning of what I am saying and end up defiling the Majesty of God.

Equally as esoteric as its subject matter is the language of Kabbalah. It is presented as a stream of abstract formulas, conveyed in Kabbalah’s own unique jargon, understood only by a select cadre of scholars trained to decipher it. To avoid misunderstanding, Kabbalah had to be taught one-on-one by a master teacher singularly attuned to the capabilities and receptivity of each student. One cannot simply open the classic Kabbalistic texts and glean their truths in a vacuum.

Unfortunately, today Kabbalah has been commercialized by those who pretend to grasp its innermost secrets. These pretenders purport to teach-and to sell-what they do not understand, to people who are not equipped to receive it. Kabbalah’s mystifying formulas become nothing more than intoxicating mantras to those who mindlessly repeat them. This is like trying to cure an illness by chanting the chemical formula of the remedy.

This is not to say that Kabbalah should not be studied and learned. In fact, it is incumbent upon Jewish scholars to understand the whole map of Torah from beginning to end, the Hidden Law no less than the Revealed Law. Throughout history, there have been those who, very quietly, achieved extensive knowledge of the Hidden Law.

But today, most of us are simply incapable of comprehending Kabbalah. For us the question is, “Is there some way we, too, can ‘receive’ the remarkable teachings of Kabbalah in a meaningful way, without treading upon its divine essence?”

One answer lies in the Hasidic approach to Kabbalah.

It is a basic Kabbalistic concept that the human soul is, in a manner of speaking, a spark of Divine revelation within the world and that each human being is a microcosm of the entire universe. Hasidism shows how the rarified teachings of Kabbalah, which speak to the macro-universe, can be adapted into a structure with ethical and practical meaning for our individual lives.
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In this way, Hasidism is a form of applied Kabbalah. Just as the Revealed Law frames the behavior of our bodies, the internalization of Kabbalistic notions of the Hidden Law can attune us to our soul, educating it to connect with the Divine. In this model, the power of Kabbalah is harnessed not to serve our own desires but to align them with the wishes of the Almighty.

One of the most important Hasidic books is called Zohar Chai, “the living Zohar.” That is what Hasidism does: It gives the Kabbalah life by translating it into something meaningful in one’s relationships with others and, most important, something that can quell the strife within one’s own soul and calm the struggle of one’s inner being.
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In order to properly understand the meaning of exile and redemption from a Jewish perspective, one must go back to the deepest roots of history, specifically to the second verse of the creation story:


The earth was null and void and there was darkness upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered above the water. (Genesis 1:2)
For, with respect to this seemingly uninformative verse, the rabbis have written a very insightful explanation:

"Null" -- this refers to the Babylonian exile (423-371 BCE). "Void" refers to the Median exile (371-356 BCE.). "Darkness" -- the Greek exile (318-138 BCE). "The face of the deep" -- to the last exile of Rome (approx. 63 BCE until the present day). "And the spirit of God" -- alludes to the Messianic period at the end of days. (Genesis Rabba 2:4)

Within this single and ominous verse, there is an allusion to all four exiles that the Jewish people were destined to experience throughout their long history until the Messianic time, which has still yet to occur. And without exception, all of them have come to pass as predicted, with the final exile, the "Roman Exile" still in progress.

The question is: Why does this verse describing primordial chaos so strongly allude to the future exiles of a people which, at the time, had yet to exist? What connection is there between this dark and incomplete stage of creation and the concept of exile and redemption?


THE CONCEPT OF HOLY SPARKS

The concept of "tohu," the Hebrew word for "null," is a deeply Kabbalistic one. Even though it is mentioned in the second verse of the creation story, it is really a description of the pre-creation state (Zohar, Genesis 15a), which was a combination of a certain spiritual matter from which creation was made, and Holy Sparks (Nitzutzei Kedusha).

What is a Holy Spark? Holy Sparks are like the spiritual fuel of creation, and nothing can exist or function anywhere in the universe without a Holy Spark. These are, in a sense, spiritual packets of God's Holy Light, that actually represent the constriction and filtering of that Light. Without this constriction and filtering, physical creation could never exist, because God's Light would remain too intense for anything physical to contain It. Thus, the more Holy Sparks something possesses, the holier it is and by definition the more life it has.

These are spiritual packets of God's Holy Light, constricted and filtered.
For the sake of creation, the sparks which began on a very high spiritual level were sent down to the lowest of spiritual levels, a place of great spiritual impurity. To make creation, God drew out exactly as many sparks as He deemed necessary to make creation, and left the remainder for man to utilize as a partner in perfecting creation.

There is not an infinite amount of Holy Sparks in creation. In fact, history is measured by these sparks, and will come to a close when all sparks have been drawn out of the tohu and returned to their holy source Above. It is then -- once all the sparks that God has made available to mankind are expended -- that by definition the Messianic Period must begin.

How does one use up Holy Sparks? Through the learning of Torah and the performance of mitzvot, Holy Sparks are redeemed, purified, and ascend to Above. Indeed, transgressions also use up Holy Sparks, but in the process the sparks themselves become defiled and require "cleansing" before being able to ascend. The cleansing process comes in the form of either sincere repentance by the transgressor, or through Heavenly-ordained suffering.

LIGHT UNTO NATIONS

Since Torah and mitzvot are the most effective way to utilize Holy Sparks, the nation in possession of Torah and mitzvot becomes the most effective one to complete this process. Thus it is primarily the responsibility of the Jewish people, who accepted Torah at Mount Sinai in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), to redeem the sparks of creation. This is the deeper meaning of the famous exhortation to be a "light unto the nations" (Isaiah 42:6).

During King Solomon's time, nations came from far and wide to access Jewish wisdom.

As long as the Jewish people remained committed to this process, as evidenced by their commitment to Torah and mitzvot, then God arranged for all relevant sparks to be brought to the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. For example, during King Solomon's time (9th century BCE), nations came from far and wide to witness the great wisdom of this famous Jewish king, bearing great gifts.

Within the many gifts and sacrifices that were brought to the land were Holy Sparks from different parts of the world. Used and enjoyed in the Land of Israel, these sparks were redeemed and returned to their place Above, thus furthering the cause of history. In turn, the exposure to Jewish wisdom resulted in other nations adopting Torah philosophy and practice, thus using up sparks through their actions as well.

EXILE: THE CONCEPT

However, in spite of this great success, the Jewish people eventually lost appreciation of their role in history and how easy God had made it for them. This was evident through their laxity in the learning of the Torah and performance of mitzvot, which resulted in defilement of the Holy Sparks.
Upon seeing this, God told the Jewish people: "If you don't appreciate how I’ve been bringing the sparks to you for redemption, then I will send you out to get them yourselves -- at your own peril!"

This is the essential concept of exile and its role in Jewish history. This is why the second verse of creation (which describes these sunken Holy Sparks) is also an allusion to the future exiles of the Jewish people, and to their eventual redemption.

When sparks in one location are spent, the work of the Jewish people in that area is complete.

In other words, exile of the Jewish people is God’s way of moving Torah to various parts of the world, to redeem those sparks ready to be redeemed at that stage of history. When the sparks in a particular location are spent, then the work of the Jewish people in that area of the world is complete.
Not only is it complete, but the Jewish people have no business there anymore. This is what the Torah says regarding Egypt:

[The Jewish king] must not accumulate many horses, so as not to bring the people back to Egypt to get more horses. God has told you that you must never again return on that path. (Deut.17:16)

Why not? Wouldn't it be the most realistic Passover experience to go back once again and visit the place of the slavery of our forefathers, to tread in the footprints of Moses, and make a Seder where the very first one was celebrated?!

Perhaps, says the Torah, but not necessary. The purpose of creation is to redeem Holy Sparks, and the purpose of the Jewish people is take responsibility for doing so. The purpose of exile is to facilitate our gathering the sparks from around the world, when we don't merit doing so from inside our land. And when the sparks are gone from a particular place, then so must the Jewish people be gone from that place.

Indeed, we have witnessed the fulfillment of the prophecy:

And you, I will scatter among the nations... (Leviticus 26:33)
The Jews will have gone to just about every corner of the earth to redeem those sparks, before the only place left to go is home -- to the Land of Israel. Thus is the prophetic Final Redemption.

It shall come to be on that day that the Lord will once again show His hand... And He will gather in the dispersed ones of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11-12)

Why does life and history come down to Holy Sparks and their redemption? And even if it does, where does anti-Semitism fit into the picture? And, if it does mean going to the "four corners of the earth," does that mean we may have to one day move on to places like Antarctica (brrrr)? We will address these questions in coming installments of this series, "Exile & Redemption."
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Jesus is a Redeemer, that is his name; he came into the world on this very business, to redeem his people, to redeem them from all iniquity (Titus 2:14), from this present evil world, from our vain conversations. He hath shed his precious blood to purchase us, we are bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20). We are none of our own, we are his, the purchase of his blood; and we may be confident that he dearly loves us, for he dearly bought us; and if he had not dearly loved us, he would never have given himself for us (Gal. 2:20). That was the highest testimony of his love; he loved us, and washed us from our sins in his blood (Rev. 1:5). He will redeem us from the wrath to come.

The dictionary defines redemption as: 1. the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. 2. the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. Redemption is used in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The Old Testament. In the Old Testament, redemption involves deliverance from bondage based on the payment of a price by a redeemer. Fundamental to the message of the New Testament is the announcement that Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of Israel's messianic hope and that, in him, the long-awaited redemption has arrived. Deliverance of humankind from its state of alienation from God has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Living in a fallen world as Christians means we will experience trials and tribulations and will continue to struggle with our own temptations. We are forgiven, but God is not finished with us yet (Philippians 1:6). Consequently, longing for a better world, even a perfect world, is not a form of escapism. Rather, it is the Christian’s rightful anticipation of a promise made by the One who justly pronounced a curse on this world and then lovingly took that curse upon Himself in order to redeem people for His glory. (excerpts provided by: What is Redemption? by Dr. Anthony Chute).

To learn more about what the Bible says about redemption, spend time with the following passages:

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 3:13
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.


https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-redemption/



​Genesis 3:5

The Devil asserted that by taking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, human eyes would be opened—implying wisdom and enlightenment—to allow a person to know good and evil as God does. Immediately, Satanplaces the emphasis on knowing, but it is contrasted with living eternally. Satan proposes that mankind should be like God in taking to himself the knowledge—the definition—of what is right and wrong, asserting that this is a good thing! In contrast, the Tree of Life represents a way of living in which the meaning of good and evil already exists, and eternal life involves submitting through the Holy Spirit to that definition and the Sovereign who is its source.
Likewise, the Gnostics are those who know—who pursue mystical knowledge that they believe holds the key to eternal life through advancing beyond the physical and into the spiritual realm. Gnostics believed the key to eternal life was contained in right interpretation—knowledge—of those esoteric sayings.

The book of Revelation expounds on the Tree of Life in two places:

· To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

· Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into [New Jerusalem]. (Revelation 22:14)

The Tree of Life, then, is associated with a way of life—one that requires overcoming (growth against a standard of righteousness) and keeping (doing) God's commandments. The only ones who are allowed to partake of the Tree of Life are those who have changed themselves (with God's help, by His Spirit) to begin living in the same manner as He does. To those who submit to His standard of righteousness, then, He grants life that is both endless and of the same quality that He enjoys.

Satan, though, in addition to casting doubt on what God plainly says, and implying that God is unfair by withholding good things, offers a shortcut. He says, "You do not need to follow God's way, for it is obviously unfair and far too stringent. You can follow your own way. You can take knowledge to yourself of what is good and what is evil. You can be just like God in determining what is right and wrong." Adam and Eve took the bait, and ever since, man has rejected God's standard of righteousness in favor of his own.


Amos 3:7
He is not out to trick us or to trip us up. Our beloved friend and elder brother Jesus Christ echoes this to His disciples: "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15).

We can have confidence in God's promise that He will not do anything significant concerning His people without informing us first in a clear, orderly, and understandable manner. If and when He chooses to send a special end-time leader to His people—whether he be a prophet, an apostle, or one of the two witnesses (Revelation 11)--God will make sure we are able to recognize the man as His true servant.

In its broad meaning, revelation is divine guidance or inspiration; it is the communication of truth and knowledge from God to His children on earth, suited to their language and understanding. It simply means to uncover something not yet known. That religion depends on revelation is nothing new. A crucial lesson of scripture is that human beings tend to neglect the patterns of the past and struggle to discern the perils of the future. People search for God and seek to understand themselves. The traditional role of revelation, given to both individuals and God’s chosen leaders, has been to fill in this picture.

God makes himself known to his creatures because he first knows himself perfectly as a personal, speaking God. Although all people suppress the knowledge of God in their sin, he has clearly communicated about himself to his creatures through the creation and through human’s being made in the image of God. On top of this general revelation, God communicates about himself to particular people in specialrevelation, which includes the events of nature and history, human words that are inspired by God and recorded for us in Scripture, and through the person of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate image of God. In all of these different ways, God reveals himself as Lord, which is comprised of his control, presence, and authority over all things.

The God of the Bible is a personal being, in contrast with the gods of many other religions and philosophies who are abstract or impersonal forces. The doctrine of the Trinity underscores this fact, for the biblical God is not only personal but a society of persons, existing eternally in mutual love and deference (John 17).

So, whatever God does he makes known. The persons of the Trinity know one another exhaustively, and each understands the thoughts and actions of the others. In human beings, there are hidden depths in our nature so that we cannot fully understand our own actions and motives. But God is fully known to himself. Much about God is mysterious to us, but not to him.

One way Scripture describes God’s exhaustive self-knowledge is by saying that he is a speaking God or, simply, that he is Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

God is not only eternal, holy, all-powerful, and so on, but he expresses and shares those qualities through something like human speech. In his eternal nature, he has the power to speak (the “Word”), and that power to speak is who he is: his Word is eternally with him, and his Word is his very nature. John identifies this Word with Jesus Christ in John 1:14. In Jesus, the Word became flesh. So the existence of the Word did not begin with Jesus’s incarnation. There are hundreds of references to the divine word in Scripture, in both testaments, as the means by which God reveals himself.

Moreover, God reveals himself to himself, each Trinitarian person to the other two, and his revelation extends beyond his own being. It comes also to the world he has created, and especially to the intelligent creatures of that world: angels and human beings. Because self-revelation is his nature, he wants all his creatures to know him.

The creatures of the world cannot know God exhaustively. One cannot know God exhaustively unless one is God. But creatures receive great benefits from knowing God; indeed, they cannot live without knowing him, for he is the author of life. This is true both of our natural lives and our spiritual lives. Adam came alive when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). And Jesus says that the great benefit of eternal life, his salvation from sin, is the benefit of knowing God:

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
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In one sense, all human beings, even the wicked, know God:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made (Rom. 1:18–20).

But many reject this revelation, people who, Paul says, “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”  (Rom. 1:18). Though God is clearly revealed to all, fallen people prefer to deny that they know him, as Adam hid from God in the Garden (Gen. 3:8). When people say they do not know God, it is not because God has failed to reveal himself, or that God’s revelation is not clear enough. Rather, their ignorance of God is something they have done to themselves. They are lying to themselves, trying to convince themselves that God does not exist or that he is obscure, while all the time God is staring them in the face.

God Reveals Himself as the LordGod’s personal name is Lord, which translates the mysterious name I AMwhich God revealed to Moses in Ex. 3:14–16. His lordship connotes particularly his control, authority, and presence in relation to the world he has made (see John Frame, The Doctrine of God, pp. 21–240, and The Doctrine of the Word of God, pp. 3–14, 47–68). Everything he does reflects his lordship in these ways, including his revelation. Scripture describes God’s word-revelation in terms of his control as a powerful force:

Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jer. 23:29)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)

It also makes clear that God’s word of revelation has supreme authority:
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. (John 12:48)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

And God’s word, his revelation, is also his presence, the place where he meets with his people. God’s nearness to Israel is the nearness of his word (Deut. 4:7–8, 30:11–14). And God comes to be “with us,” Immanuel, in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, his living word to us (John 1:1–14).

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. (John 1:14)

It was mentioned earlier that the biblical God is personal, not an abstract force like the gods of the nations. His revelation is particularly a personal encounter between him and his people. When we hear revelation, we hear God himself. Our response to it should be a response appropriate to supreme power, to ultimate authority, and to an intimate Father.

General and Special RevelationTheologians make various distinctions among types of revelation. The most common is between general and specialrevelation. General revelation is revelation of God given to everybody. It is the kind of revelation described in Romans 1. It tells us that God exists, what kind of God he is, and his moral standards. In revealing God’s standards, it shows us that we have not measured up to them. Paul says of general revelation that it reveals God’s wrath on sinners (Rom. 1:18). General revelation comes to us through the natural world (what is called natural revelation) and through our own nature. For we ourselves are revelation, the image of God according to Genesis 1:26–27.

On the other hand, special revelation is revelation God gives to selected messengers, charging them to bring the message to others. Those messengers may be angels, prophets, or apostles. The message may be presented orally or may be consigned to writing, as when the apostles wrote authoritative letters to the churches (see 1 Cor. 14:37–38). The Bible as a whole is a special revelation of God in written form (2 Tim. 3:15–17). The messages of special revelation typically contain one or both of two different kinds of contents: threats of judgment and promises of grace. The gospel is a special revelation of grace, a message of supremely good news:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Media of RevelationAnother way to distinguish between types of revelation is to distinguish the different ways in which revelation comes to us, the media of revelation. There are basically three types of media: events, words, and persons. These three categories correspond roughly to our earlier distinction between control, authority, and presence. But both these threefold distinctions are perspectives on the whole of revelation. The events of revelation not only manifest God’s control, but also his authority and presence; similarly the words and persons.

EventsGod reveals himself in the events of nature and history. We learn of him from the changing seasons, from the power of nature, from the sun, moon, and stars. We also learn of him through history, the particular events that shape the fortunes of human beings. He is the one who gave to all the nations their boundaries (Acts 17:26) and brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt to possess the land of promise. In his plan, general history becomes redemptive history, the events by which God arranges to redeem his people from sin by the coming of Jesus.

WordsIn one sense, all of God’s revelation is word-revelation, because it proceeds from God’s own speech, the Word of John 1:1–14. But sometimes God gives us word-revelation in a further sense: revelation in which the medium is human words. But God does not leave us to figure out for ourselves what he is doing in history. He enters our experience and speaks to us in human words. In this way, the words of the prophets are the very words of God himself. God defines prophet to Moses in this way:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I commend him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:18-22)

When a prophet or apostle writes down God’s words, the document is Holy Scripture, a document to be received as the Lord’s power, authority, and presence (2 Tim. 3:15–17, 2 Pet. 1:19–21).

PersonsSince God is a tri-personal being, his revelation is particularly vivid when it takes the form of persons. God made Adam and Eve in his image to be revelations of himself (Gen. 1:26–27). And it should not surprise us that the highest, deepest divine revelation is the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, God in person. Jesus displays his Father’s control over all things (Mark 4:41), speaks his Father’s words (John 3:34), and appears as the Father’s glorified presence with his people (Matt. 17:1-8).
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ConclusionIf we are to know God, it is important for us to seek knowledge in God’s own way. Many have tried to gain knowledge of God through their unaided reason, or through some kind of subjective intuition. But the God of the Bible has told us not only who he is but also how we should seek knowledge of him. That knowledge comes as we attend to his created world, not repressing the truth in unrighteousness, but accepting his own guidance, his special revelation in Scripture and in Jesus. Only through these appointed means can we come to know him as Lord and as our Savior from sin.

Isaiah’s ministry spanned fifty years as he prophesied and addressed the sins of the people during the reign of four different kings. As a messenger of God’s covenant, one of Isaiah’s primary roles was to remind the people what God expected of them. The book has a coherent structure, which can be divided into two parts, but written by one author. The first half, chapters 1-39, focuses on God’s judgment of His people, while the second half, chapters 40-66, focuses on the salvation of God’s people. Another key difference is the first half deals more with the Assyrian crisis while the second half deals with the Babylonian crisis and resulting exile. Despite these calamities, an overarching theme throughout the book of Isaiah is God’s special relationship with the nation of Israel and the unfortunate need of judgment and exile to bring about the future restoration of God’s people.


GOD’S JUDGMENT AND SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE
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Michael Wilkins explains, “The people of Israel understood that God was using them as a people to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah; however, the problem was Israel, as a nation, had failed in its mission and as a result had become a blind and deaf servant”[1] (Isaiah 42:18-25). God can use anyone and anything to accomplish His plan and during the first part of Isaiah, He uses the Assyrian army to confront the people’s sinfulness and bring about judgment and salvation. “Assyria was the rod of Yahweh’s anger and the staff in their hands was His fury” (Isaiah 10:5). In the second half of Isaiah, it would be the Babylon Empire that the Lord would use to pronounce judgment on Israel, but even before the exile took place in 586 B.C., the Lord planned to use Cyrus, the Persian king to allow the people to return home. As J. J. M. Roberts asserts, “Israel’s current predicament was due to the sins of her people (Isaiah 42:24-25). Their plight was well deserved, their coming salvation was due simply to Yahweh’s graciousness, and the appropriate response was to return to Yahweh in trust and confidence”[2] (Isaiah 43:22-44:2). Ultimately, the hope and salvation of Israel would only come through their suffering, judgment, and exile.


RESTORATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

Barry Webb explains, “The transformation of Zion is both the literary link and formal key that helps us understand the message of Isaiah.”[3]In chapter one, Zion, the unfaithful prostitute is reduced, but in chapter two, Zion, Yahweh’s bride is exalted and taken back, following the divorce/exile. This dichotomy is a powerful reminder of God’s grace and the comparison being made is how old Jerusalem was equated with God’s judgment while the New Jerusalem was going to be a place of God’s blessing and a place where God establishes His kingdom forever. Roberts explains, “Isaiah’s transformation of the royal ideology and the Zion tradition became the wellspring from which the later messianic expectations and the hopes for a New Jerusalem [and] the conception of a heavenly Jerusalem and a transhistorical view of salvation that includes even the ultimate victory over death [arose].”[4]



After the purge, John Watts shows, “The important thing about Zion is her reputation as Yahweh’s dwelling. It is Yahweh’s house, the temple, which stands out, because He is present and active there.”[5] This is reminiscent of Isaiah’s vision again, as the glory of the Lord filled the temple. His holiness is overwhelming, as the seraphim are depicted covering their face and feet, calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Watts adds, “Yahweh’s presence in the temple lifts its importance to supremacy and this has nothing to do with Israel or Judah, their kings or leaders. Purely because Yahweh is there, Zion attracts the other nations.”[6] Then the imagery of beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks is profound. Here, Geoffrey Grogan explains, “The issues that set nations against one another do not disappear automatically but are settled by the supreme Judge, whose decisions are accepted. Thus there is no uneasy calm but peace based on righteousness.”[7]

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The coming kingdom of God and the future restoration of Israel are dominant themes. Gary Yates states, “God is going to bring the people back to their homeland; there is going to be the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty, through the Messiah; the temple will be rebuilt; and as the nations see how God blesses Israel, they will come to the Promise Land to worship God.”[8] Sin still had consequences, so as the children of Israel return home from the Babylonian exile, they find themselves impoverished and living under foreign oppression. It is here, Yates asserts, “If the return from exile is all there is, then Isaiah’s prophecies and promises are a disappointment at best and they are an outright failure at worst.”[9] Ultimately, the full restoration will not occur until they have fully returned to the Lord (Isaiah 56:1-7). The new heavens and new earth referenced in Isaiah 65 and the New Testament, (Hebrews 12:22-24) says the blessings and presence of God are being enjoyed now, but in the future there will come a time where God completely reverses the effects of the fall. This means death, violence, and wickedness will be replaced with life, love, and harmony and Isaiah recognized, as he looked to the future kingdom, some of these promises and blessings are being enjoyed now, but some are still yet to come.

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LORD AS KING AND HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL

Roberts states, “If there is any one concept central to the whole book of Isaiah, it is the vision of Yahweh as the Holy One of Israel [and] Isaiah’s vision… left a lasting impression on the prophet’s ministry.”[10] Isaiah’s vision in chapter six is profound as the glory of the Lord filled the temple and this encounter would shape his entire ministry and message. Isaiah desperately wanted the nation of Israel to have a similar experience and encounter, so that they too would find themselves undone by their sinful lives.
Unfortunately, Israel had to learn the hard way, despite God’s sincere desire to enter into a relationship with His people. Instead of pouring out blessings, as a result of righteous behavior, the Lord would use the exile to purge all the unholy traits from the people. God is the one the people should have put their trust in exclusively, but the people, instead, chose to rely on political and military alliances for protection. The main issue throughout Isaiah was Israel’s failure to deal with its own spiritual apostasy and no alliance made with any other nation could protect them from the Lord’s wrath. The holiness of the Lord demanded a proper response from His children, but as Roberts explains, “If Israel refused to look to Yahweh, to trust in the quiet waters of Shiloah, God would send the raging waters of Assyria against them to reveal the vanity of their trust in human power”[11] (Isaiah 8:5-8).



LORD OVER ALL NATIONS

Roberts further illustrates how, “Before Yahweh would fight for Zion; He would fight against her (Isaiah 31:4-5). Jerusalem would be humbled and humiliated, but in the hour of her desperation, when Yahweh had cleansed her in the fiery judgment, God would intervene to save her from her arrogant enemies (Isaiah 31:4-5). Then Jerusalem would be exalted and glorified.”[12] While God used Assyria and Babylon as tools to purge Judah and Israel of sin, the very nations used by God would face judgment themselves because they failed to recognize Yahweh as Lord over all. When reading Isaiah 45, part of which focused on the fact that God is the one who “Forms light and creates darkness, the one who makes peace and creates calamity. I am the One who does these things.” This portion of Scripture is amazing, especially considering most people do not normally think that God has anything to do with the darkness. In fact, most people define darkness as the absence of light, so Isaiah is making a profound assertion here that God declares that He is even in the dark chaos of the world, and for this reason, followers can have peace, even in the darkness, because He is Lord over all. John Oswalt explains, “What Isaiah asserts is that God, as creator, is ultimately responsible for everything in nature, from light to dark, and for everything in history, from good fortune to misfortune. No other beings or forces are responsible for anything.”[13] Even in darkness and chaos, God is with every true follower, and the darkness will eventually give way to the light of day. “For the light has shone already into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it” (John 1:5).


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FUTURE MESSIAH AND SUFFERING SERVANT
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Instead of leading the people of other nations to Yahweh, the people of Israel often did the exact opposite by worshipping the false gods of other nations. In the midst of this apostasy, Isaiah promises that God would provide a solution to the problem, which was the raising up of an individual Servant who would restore the national servant, the nation of Israel. Richard Averbeck explains, “The Lord’s concern for the nations, not just Israel, is declared in the larger context in Isaiah 49:6-7; 56:6-7 and now the same sacrificial redemption and restoration applies to them as well.”[14] This means the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 brought redemption and restoration, as Averbeck says, “To the Jew first, but also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Roberts further explains, “The plan of salvation, centered in the vicarious death of Jesus Christ is dependent on [Second] Isaiah’s portrayal of the Suffering Servant, and the NT emphasis on the receptions of that salvation through faith picks up and continues the Isaianic demand for faith.”[15]

In light of the entire canon of Scripture, God still has a plan for the nation of Israel and while they were spiritually blind to the Suffering Servant’s arrival, Isaiah 61:1-3 indicates the first coming of Jesus began the restoration of Israel and the second coming will finish it. Jesus quoted these words in Luke 4:18-19 and as He read to the people in the synagogue, He stopped in the middle of 61:2 after the words, “The time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Rolling up the scroll, He said, “The Scripture you have just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” (Luke 4:21). While the world is now under God’s favor; His wrath is yet to come.[16] Robert Hughes and J. Carl Laney explain how Isaiah 61:1, “Revealed that the Messiah, who ministered salvation at His first coming, will also minister comfort for redeemed Israel at His second coming.”[17] By His death and resurrection, Jesus instituted and inaugurated a new phase of God’s kingdom, some of which is now, and some of which is still to come, when Christ returns.

While this student does not agree with Roger’s conclusion on the matter of multiple authors of Isaiah, nonetheless, Rogers does offer considerable insight on the overarching themes in the book that bears his name. Upon reading Isaiah, there is no denying the special relationship God had and still has with His children, but while they were supposed to be a light and witness for God, they fell victim to greed and apostasy. God wanted the best for them, yet the nations of Judah and Israel chose to find their own versions of “God’s best” outside of God’s will.

​As a parent punishes a child, Yahweh too is forced to pronounce judgment before He is able to provide salvation. This salvation ultimately finds its initial fulfillment in the arrival of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, but even then, as Isaiah prophesied, “He would be despised and rejected by man” (Isaiah 53:3). The words written by the eighth century prophet are just as relevant today and much can be applied to nations, like America, by heeding what was revealed in the woe oracles against foreign nations. These declarations can directly be traced back to the Abrahamic Covenant, which God made with man and are unconditional promises by God. Christ is coming back, a future kingdom will be established forever, and the Lord will rule over all, as every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10). In addition to Isaiah having multiple dominant themes, it also is the only Old Testament book to predict the virgin birth of Christ (7:14), the ministry of John the Baptist (40:3-5), and contains one the Old Testament’s clearest statements on the Trinity (48:16). Next to Deuteronomy, Isaiah presents the most detailed information on the person and work of God and also the Messiah’s role as both sacrificial lamb and ruling lion. Christ was obedient and empowered by the Father and He will return one day as the anointed one of the Lord and victorious warrior (63:1-6). 

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24)… This is the Lord’s Day… This is Easter Sunday… This is Resurrection Day… This is a glorious day… Every Sunday we gather in celebration of the truths that it is finished—Jesus has paid it all, and that He is risen—and because He lives so will we… And all of this hinges on what happened on this weekend all those years ago… Don Carson has said that, “The entire Bible pivots on one weekend in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.” And if that’s true of the Bible how much more so of our lives?
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Friends, the gospel is the most important message in existence… It defines our lives as Christians and it’s where true life is found… And at the heart of the gospel is this weekend… On this weekend, roughly 2,000 years ago Christ was crucified; and then on the third day, on the Sunday after His death, up from the grave He rose… He got up from the grave, He defeated death, He defeated sin, and He satisfied God’s wrath for His people… But over 700 years before the cross of Christ, Isaiah laid out what happened perfectly… Jesus Himself said in Luke 22:37, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” There He was speaking of Isaiah 53; and in Isaiah 53 we find an amazing picture of the gospel… Charles Spurgeon called this chapter, “the Bible in miniature, the Gospel at its essence…” And so, today we’re going to look at this gospel message, we’re going to look at Good Friday and Easter through the lens of Isaiah 53… And given the critical nature of the gospel, regardless of how familiar you may think you are with this message, you would do well to give it your upmost attention this morning… Because again, if the Bible pivots on this, how much more so our lives? So let’s dive in…


Isaiah 53- Our text begins in verse 1 with the questions, “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Well the answer to the first question seems to be no one, and the answer to the second question is first Israel and then the world… Isaiah says, “Who has believed what he has heard from us?…” Us being the prophets of Israel; those who faithfully proclaimed God’s Word… And then he speaks of the arm of the Lord. And what’s typically meant by the arm of the Lord in God’s Word is the power of God in action… And in this context the power of God in action is Jesus, the Suffering Servant Himself… And we can see this as the text shifts from speaking of the arm of the Lord to speaking of a person…

In verse 2 we read, “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” So, notice that the arm of the Lord is now referred to as a He. And in light of the whole of Scripture this makes sense… The gospel is the good news about the person and work of Jesus Christ; who He is and what He has done and will do… And in Romans 1:16 we’re told that the gospel, “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Or we could say to Israel and to the world… And that’s exactly what we’re being told here… The power of God in action, the power of God for salvation is revealed in a person, in a servant, in the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, in Jesus…

In Isaiah 52:13, just before this we’re told that the one Isaiah 53 speaks of is indeed a servant. God’s Word says, “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” And we refer to Isaiah 53 as the Suffering Servant passage, because it tells us how this Servant of God suffered for the sins of man; it tells us how Jesus conquered through death… Now, outside of the grace of God no one believes this message… Even Israel who saw Jesus face to face didn’t see Him for who He was; that’s in part because they weren’t looking for a suffering servant, but a conquering hero; but also, Isaiah says, they didn’t see Jesus rightly because, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”

Jesus looked like an average Palestinian Jew… He didn’t look special or attractive… He didn’t have blond hair and blue eyes… And He certainly didn’t look like what they were looking for in a King… So in verse 3 Isaiah tells us, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” But, Jesus was and is the King of the universe. “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” (Colossians 1:16). He is the, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16)… We owe Him our allegiance. We were created for Him… We owe Him our esteem… To esteem is to regard highly or favorably, with proper respect and admiration… But Isaiah says that we despised Him and esteemed Him not… We were created to delight in Him and esteem Him, but in our sin we despise Him and esteem Him not… This was true of Israel and the world by and large… And that’s because it’s true of everyone in their sin…

In the flesh we are unable to see the beauty and majesty of Jesus… His beauty can only be seen by faith… In verse 2 it says that after coming to this world Jesus grew up before God… He was always before God’s eyes; but the eyes of man never rightly looked upon Him, at least not without a work of grace… Jesus has always been in perfect communion with God the Father and God the Spirit… Our triune God is holy, perfect, and good, and has always existed in perfect joy in and of Himself. And even after Jesus left heaven and came to earth to save sinners, before going to the cross God always looked upon Him in love and joy… But He was despised and rejected by men… He was not rightly esteemed… And this is the heart of what sin is: rejecting God, not esteeming Him rightly; and regardless of what we think, if we don’t esteem God rightly we despise Him because we belittle Him and seek to put ourselves in His place…

This is what mankind has been doing since Adam and Eve, but this is especially what happened when Jesus came to earth… In verse 4 we read, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” In other words, He took on our sorrows and sufferings, yet the world thought He was being punished by God for His disobedience… The Jewish leaders accused Him of sinning against God and had Him sentenced to death. And notice that Isaiah says, “we esteemed him stricken…” In other words he’s including himself with those who would have Jesus crucified… He did that 700 years before it happened… And understand, we should write ourselves into that as well, even 2,000 years after it happened… Sure we’d like to think that we would do better, but we wouldn’t… As that old hymn asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Friends, we were there, because we are no different than they in our flesh… We would have shouted crucify Him because we would have thought Him guilty… And as we watched Him suffer we would’ve thought He was getting what He deserved for His sin… Oh, but it wasn’t His sin that He suffered and died for, but ours…

In verse 5 we read, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” They esteem Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted; they thought He was being punished by God for His sin, and we would’ve too… But, in actuality, God in the flesh was being punished for our sin… It was our griefs, our sorrows, our transgressions, our iniquities… And notice the language here; again, this was written 700 years before the cross, yet God’s Word says, “he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . . . . he was pierced . . . . he was crushed…” This is what is known as prophetic perfects… In other words, God has said it, so it is as good as done… That’s why the Bible speaks of Jesus as the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world… In other words, God’s plan before He created the world was to save the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel is not plan B… There are no plan Bs with God… The cross was the plan before creation, so Isaiah can say with confidence that Jesus will be pierced, crushed, chastised, and wounded for our salvation… He can write as if it was already done, because it was already as good as done… And as we look back at the cross, we look back knowing that all of this did indeed happen, that it is finished… God made good on His Word, as He always does…

Jesus was pierced for our transgressions by three nails and one spear… His chastisement brought us peace… The idea behind chastisement here is corporal punishment… And that’s what happened… Jesus was tried, He was flogged and beaten, and then He was crucified… It was corporal punishment inflicted upon Him as though He had committed a crime… But it wasn’t He who committed the crime, but us… So He took our punishment… He was wounded for us… He had a crown of thorns beaten into His head, His beard ripped from His face… Pierced, chastised, wounded… Oh but worst of all, He was crushed for our iniquities… In verse 10 Isaiah elaborates on this a bit, saying, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief…” Jesus wasn’t crushed by the beatings, by the nails, by the cross, or by the spear; He was crushed by the wrath of almighty God…

Verse 6 helps us understand this; it says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This is the Old Testament language of atonement and of sacrificial lambs… And that’s exactly what Jesus is… He’s the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, because it was laid on Him… “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way…” And basically what that means is what Romans 3:23 says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We have turned to our own way instead of God’s way… We have sought to live for ourselves instead of God’s glory… We have despised Him and esteemed Him not…

As I said earlier, we were created to delight in Jesus and esteem Him, but in our sin we despise Him and esteem Him not, we turn to our own way… And why do we do that? Because we think we know better than God… We think our way is better than God’s way… That’s essentially what sin is, and that’s always what sin promises. Our sin tells us that there is more joy to be had in sin, there is more pleasure to be found in doing things our way, in going after the desires of our flesh, than there is to be found in Christ… Sin says, “Just come with me… Go here, do this, look at that, try this… Follow me into the darkness, for there’s joy in the night…” And indeed there may be some pleasure in the night… But there is always sorrow in the morning… But with God, in following Jesus, as Psalm 30:5 tells us, sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning… Our way leads to destruction, God’s way leads to eternal life… Our way leads to ruin, following Jesus who is the life, the truth, and the way leads to eternal joy…

From what may seem like the smallest sin, to the greatest—every sin is an offense against the infinitely perfect, just, good God of the universe… Every sin offends His infinite glory… Therefore every sin is an infinite offense, and deserves infinite wrath, infinite punishment… But God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)… And when He took on our sin, He took on the punishment for our sin: the infinite righteous wrath of God, in all of its fury… We have committed a crime against God; and the punishment for that crime is infinite wrath… But Jesus took that wrath on Himself, and it crushed Him… It was the Lord who crushed Him… As bad as the cross and all that sinful man did to Him was, it does not compare to the wrath and fury of almighty God that was poured out upon Him…

And it was God’s will that this happen… It was the will of the Lord to crush Him this way… Peter says the same thing when he’s preaching to the Jews in Acts 2:23. He says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (the will of God), you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Jesus was delivered up, He was crucified, and He was crushed according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God… This was God’s plan A, and there is no plan B… And though it was the hands of lawless men that crucified and killed Him, it was God, it was God’s wrath that crushed Him.

In verse 7 and 8 we read, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?” Isaiah is saying that Jesus went to the cross willingly, and on that cross He was cut off and stricken for the transgression of the people of God… Now, those who were doing this didn’t realize what all was happening; that’s why Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)…

As they hung Him there on that cross He was cut off from God and soon cut of from life. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” . . . . But that was the point. In hanging on the tree, on the cross, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13)… He was cut off and cursed… For the first time ever, He was cut off from God’s loving presence and He was under God’s wrath… He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And then with the fury of a hundred billion Niagara Falls, God’s wrath poured out upon Him until it was completely satisfied.

Because Jesus is God the Son, because He is the infinite God of the universe in the flesh, He was able to satisfy God’s infinite wrath in a few hours on the cross… He took the cup of God’s wrath and drank it down to the dregs, and proclaimed, “It is finished…” Imagine a man standing at the bottom of Niagara Falls, under all its force and water pressure, and yet not only be able to take it, but to drink it until there was no water left… That’s essentially what Jesus did with God’s wrath… It was a spiritual reality that wasn’t visible to those around Him, but it was far more intense and real than the nails holding Him to the cross… And He suffered under it until it was satisfied…

In verse 11 we’re told that, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Jesus is God… He had knowledge of all that was going to happen… It wasn’t forced upon Him… No one take’s His life; He Himself says, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). “[F]or the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2)… You see it wasn’t nails, or even our sin that held Jesus to the cross, but love… His love for the Father and His love for His people… He was a willing and joyful Savior… And He was the only suitable Savior…

Verse 9 says, after He died, “they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” He had done nothing wrong, and He said nothing wrong. He was perfect in Word and deed. He had total moral purity… He was the perfect man… And that made Him a suitable sacrifice for the sins of man… As the perfect man He could stand in the place of men as our representative… As verse 10 says, his soul could make an offering for guilt… And notice that legal language… The language of guilt, the language of chastisement, the language of transgression… And these are between us and God… In our sin we are guilty before God, we deserve the wrath of God, we have transgressed against God… Understand then, that the cross of Christ first and foremost saves us from God… But, it had to be the perfect sacrifice to save us from God… It had to be the perfect man, and the perfect God… The perfect man being a suitable substitute, and the perfect God being a sufficient sacrifice; and that’s who Jesus is… He’s 100% man and 100% God…

A few weeks ago my family and I went to the zoo… At one point we stopped to buy a drink, and while we were in line I noticed this little girl—maybe 2 or 3 years old—come up and snatch a bag of popcorn… Her mother quickly got it from her and took it back, so it was no big deal; but it could have been… For instance, let’s say I’m in line and a young boy—about 10 years old or so—tries to buy popcorn, but when he goes to pay for it he realizes that he’s a dollar short. Now, I could offer him a dollar and cover the cost no problem. The clerk would take the money, and the boy would take the popcorn. All parties would be happy with the transaction… That’s suitable.. It’s no problem… But let’s say it went down different, and this time he just does what that little girl did, but he keeps running. He takes the popcorn and takes off… The clerk goes after him screaming, “Thief!” But when he gets around the corner this boy runs into a police officer. Now I could offer to pay for the popcorn completely, but that might not get him off the hook. At this point he’s done something both morally and legally wrong; he’s broken the law. And so a few bucks for popcorn isn’t going to cover his offense. The officer and the clerk do not have to accept my money, they don’t have to set this boy free, because it’s about more than a debt, it’s also about justice…

Well friends, that’s how it is with us… Our offense against God is both moral and legal; and it’s an infinite offense… So, it couldn’t just be anyone who paid the price for our sin… Just because someone tries to pay the price for our sin doesn’t mean that they did… Just because someone sets out to satisfy the wrath of God due His people, doesn’t mean they did… But we know for sure that Christ did indeed pay the price, that He is indeed the perfect sacrifice, that He did indeed satisfy the wrath of God… That He was both a suitable and sufficient Savior… How do we know this? Well look at the rest of our text…

In the rest of verse 10 it says, “he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” And then in verse 12 it says, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” Did you catch all of that? Jesus poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors… He was nailed to our cross and hung there in our place beside two thieves… And there He poured Himself out to the death as God poured out His wrath until it was satisfied… That’s when Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” But He didn’t cry out, “I am finished…” It is finished, not Jesus… Jesus’s days are prolonged, He shall see His offspring, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand… God’s Word says, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong…” Do you see what He’s saying there? That’s the language of a victor, of a conquering hero enjoying the spoils of His victory…

Verse 12 says He died with the transgressors, but it follows that with the word “yet”… Yet He bore the sin of many… In other words, what happened at the cross was what theologians call penal substitutionary atonement: the guiltless dies to save the guilty… In our place condemned He hung on our cross taking the wrath due us until it was completely satisfied… And we know that it was indeed satisfied because it says after dying He’s now a victor, and He makes intercession for sinners… This is priestly language… The author of Hebrews refers to this when he says, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he (Jesus) holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:23-25)…

So do you see? Do you see how we know that Jesus did indeed satisfy the wrath of God for all who will turn from their sin and trust in Him? Because He is alive! He’s a victor! He’s a conqueror! He was a suitable, successful sacrifice… Jesus wrote a check with His life and death… He signed that check by taking on God’s wrath on the cross… And we can see that the check cleared because on the Sunday after Good Friday Jesus got up from the grave! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!!! His blood was the payment and His life was the cost… And because He is the perfect God man there was sufficient funds in the bank to cover the check He wrote on the cross…

​He paid it all! As we sing, “Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free; for God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me…” And we know He’s satisfied because Jesus is alive! We know His death was not in vain because death could not hold Him! The resurrection was God declaring to the world that Jesus did not die in vain and that He is indeed the Son of God, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and the conquering Lion of Judah! And now He always lives to make intercession for His people… As we read earlier, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:33-34)… Jesus is alive!!!

Rising He justified, freely forever, all who will turn from their sin and trust in Him… Remember, verse 6 told us that all we like sheep have gone astray; every one of us has turned to His own way… In our flesh we have despised Jesus and esteemed Him not… That’s the great sin that is behind all of our sin… So to turn from our sin means that we turn from our way to God’s way… And God’s design for our lives is to delight in Jesus, not despise Him; and to die to ourselves and esteem Him… We owe Him our esteem… Again, to esteem is to regard highly or favorably, with proper respect and admiration… In other words, it’s to magnify, to glorify… That’s why we exist: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever; and Jesus is God… He proved Himself to be the true Son of God when He got up from the grave!!!
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So how do we esteem Jesus? We trust that it is finished! That Jesus did everything necessary to save us from our sin, to save us from death, to save us from God and His righteous wrath… Peter elaborates on this in 1 Peter 2:24-25 saying, “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” By His wounds we are healed… Healed from what? From the disease of sin, that’s what… Jesus’ death frees us from slavery to sin. His victory over sin gives us victory over sin…

​On the cross He purchased the redemption of all who will turn from their sin, trust Him, and follow Him… By His grace He gives those for whom He died eyes to see His beauty, so that we might see and know that He is the way, that He is better than anything this world could offer us or take away from us… And in that moment, we are healed… But, because He conquered the grave when He rose from the dead, we will be healed from sin and all of its effects, including death… We will have eternal resurrection life with Jesus… Because He lives so will we… If, we return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls… If we esteem Him… Jesus has already paid it all… The check has cleared, for He is risen… What we must decide is whether we will go our own way, or His…

Our way is foolishness… Sin never makes good on its promises, but God always does… And I hope you’ve caught what God has been doing in His Word this morning, what He’s been doing in speaking of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and the promises attached to them… He’s been wooing you… Sinclair Ferguson points this out, saying, “When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than he loves his Son! We cannot measure such love by any other standard. He is saying to us: I love you this much. The cross is the heart of the gospel. It makes the gospel good news: Christ died for us. He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat. He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that he love us.” And if we are persuaded of that, we will love Him. And if we love Him we will trust Him, we will follow Him, we will esteem Him… He is the risen Lord, and He deserves nothing less…
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​Getting your head around the difference between God the Father and Jesus is one thing and many struggle to grasp who the Holy Spirit is in a way they could explain clearly to someone else. God is one God, but three persons. When theologians speak of the three-in-oneness of God, they refer to Him as “the Trinity.” The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. Understanding who the Holy Spirit is, the place He holds within the Holy Trinity and the role He plays in individual lives is vital to anyone exploring what it means to become a Christian and anyone trying to follow Jesus. Knowing the Holy Spirit will radically change your life because He is the way you will experience the life of God within you. So just as you need oxygen to live in your human body, if you trust in Christ, you are born again in a spiritual sense and the Holy Spirit becomes the source of new life God places within you. You no longer just relate to God as a higher power outside of yourself. God transforms you from within so that you become more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the life of a believer. But this does not mean God separates Himself into three separate parts. God is three distinct persons who somehow are one in substance. God is unique in this way, so it’s not surprising that it takes some work to come to terms with this truth. The Bible helps us to break down the mysteries of the Holy Spirit into ideas we can grasp. Often, people describe the Holy Spirit as a presence or an “it.” But the Holy Spirit is a person, -God- with a will consistent with his plan for us. “‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ — the things God has prepared for those who love Him — these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us”

​The persons of the Trinity know one another exhaustively, and each understands the #thoughts and #actions of the others. In human beings, there are #hidden depths in our nature so that we cannot fully understand our own actions and motives. But God is #fully #known to himself. Much about God is mysterious to us, but not to him. One way Scripture describes God’s exhaustive self-knowledge is by saying that he is a #speaking God or, simply, that he is #Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) God is not only eternal, holy, all-powerful, and so on, but he expresses and shares those qualities -through something like human speech. In his eternal nature, he has the power to speak (the “Word”), and that power to speak is who he is: his Word is eternally with him, and his Word is his very nature. John identifies this Word with Jesus Christ in John 1:14. In Jesus, the Word became flesh. So the existence of the Word did not begin with Jesus’s incarnation. There are hundreds of references to the divine word in Scripture, in both testaments, as the means by which God reveals himself. Paul says, “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Rom. 1:18). Though God is clearly revealed to all, fallen people prefer to deny that they know him, as Adam hid from God in the Garden (Gen. 3:8). When people say they do not know God, it is not because God has failed to reveal himself, or that God’s revelation is not clear enough. Rather, their unknowing God is something they have done to themselves. And God’s revelation, is also his presence, the place where he meets with his people. God’s nearness to Israel is the nearness of his word (Deut. 4:7–8, 30:11–14). And God comes to be “with us,” Immanuel, in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, his living word to us (John 1:1–14) revealed through man’s internal conscience and the created order. Man is created in God’s image, meaning divine imprint marks him; man is sensus divinitatis, sense of the divine. Man cannot escape the morality embedded within his very makeup as a creature made to reflect his Creator. 

​The doctrine of the Trinity is the best explanation for all of the biblical evidence. There is only one God, but He exists eternally as three individual Persons and has revealed Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is different from the teaching of three individual gods because the three Persons of the Trinity are co-equal, co-eternal, interdependent, and always in complete agreement. There is one God who exists as three individual Persons. Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; however, the Father is not the same person as the Son, nor is the Son the same person as the Holy Spirit. This is sometimes complicated by the fact that God the Father is often simply called “God” in the New Testament.
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The first three verses of the Gospel of John give us an idea of how this works out:

John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word . . . (We know from verse 14 that the Word is Jesus. In the beginning, He was already there.)

. . . and the Word was with God . . . (At least two Persons are in view here: one called “God” and one called “the Word.”)

. . . and the Word was God (The Word is distinct from God, yet He is also called “God.” The Word is divine in His essential nature.)

John 1:2. He was with God in the beginning (After the essential identification of the Word as God, once again the distinction is emphasized—He was with God when it all began.)

John 1:3. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (Here, we see that the Word is actually the Creator. He made everything. In the Old Testament, we are told that God created everything--Genesis 1:1.)

It is this kind of biblical information that led to the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. When “God” is spoken of in the Old Testament, most people probably think of God the Father, but it would be more accurate to think of “God the Trinity.” In the New Testament, we see how each Person of the Trinity assumed different roles in the redemption of lost humanity, but the different Persons are always in complete agreement, acting as one.

Jesus is God, but Jesus (who is God the Son) is not the same Person as God the Father or God the Holy Spirit.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/divine-revelation-god-making-known/