December 22, 2019

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9

I. Jesus is better because He brings God’s truth to the world.

A. While the idols are a delusion (Isa. 41:29), a lie, the servant brings God’s truth to the nations. Three times in verses 1 through 4 we read about the servant bringing justice. In verse 4 we see that justice is a synonym for God’s law. The mission of the servant then is to bring forth justice in the sense of making the truth about the LORD, Israel’s God, known everywhere. The servant brings forth justice to the nations (vs. 1). He makes God’s truth and plans known not just to Israel, but to even Gentiles who previously did not know God.

2. But how do we know the servant is Jesus? Compare the words about the servant in verse 1 to the words said about Jesus at His baptism in Matthew 3:16-17: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” Jesus and the servant are one and the same. They bring God’s truth to the world.

II. Jesus is better because He is the promise of a relationship with God.

A. God had called Israel my servant in Isaiah 41:8. But Israel failed. They disobeyed God over and over again. Jesus, however, would be all that Israel was supposed to be but was not. Jesus would be God’s perfect servant. It is a loving relationship with you that God really wants. God, the real God, created you (vs. 5). And if He made you, He loves you. Israel, however, had loved her idols more than God. And Israel must have wondered, “After all my rebellion and sin against my Creator, could God still love me?”

B. God calls Jesus a covenant in verse 6. What is a covenant? A covenant is a binding promise. Marriage is a covenant. And what do people promise in marriage? They promise to be faithful to love each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. The couple promises to love each other no matter what. Jesus is that kind of promise. Jesus is God’s promise to take and keep a people for His own possession. Jesus is better than gods who are fickle in their love. Jesus loves and forgives the repentant no matter how great your rebellion has been.

III. Jesus is better because He brings God’s glorious future.

A. The glory of God is seen in verse 8: “I am the LORD, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” There is no God but the LORD. All other gods have no real power. They are nothing. So, God is jealous for us. He wants us to worship Him and Him alone rather than an idol that can do nothing for us. He alone is glorious. In verse 9 we read that God is in complete control of both the past and the future. There is still work for God to do through Jesus in the future. Isaiah 65:17-18: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.”  

Application:
Jesus is better than all other gods and idols. Prepare room in your heart for Jesus.

Sources:
The prophecy of Isaiah
Commentaries on Isaiah by John Oswalt, J. Alec Motyer, and Barry Webb