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Advent: When Isaiah Explains the Words of Jesus

December 15, 2022 6 Comments

Advent is my favorite time of year because this is the one time that Christians read our Bible Hebraically, like the early church did. We open our Bible to the Old Testament and read it looking for God’s ancient promises and how they would finally come true in the Messianic age, in the coming of Christ now and for eternity.(1)

Everything that Jesus preached about his kingdom was coming out of the Bible he read, the Torah and the Prophets. His favorite book was Isaiah, I think.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Isaiah recently. It often gives clues to puzzlers that come up from things that Jesus says. Have you ever considered what our lives should be like in preparation for the time when Christ is fully reigning as king on earth? Let’s look at how Isaiah sheds light on the words of Jesus.

Jesus told a parable about a nobleman who gives his servants a small sum of money, a few minas, and goes away to be appointed king (Luke 19:11-27). When he returns he puts his servants who were faithful in charge of several cities in his new kingdom. I’m sure he was speaking about his disciples who had dedicated their lives to following him. In his kingdom, he’ll make them princes and leaders over his people.

But I have to admit, I don’t actually want to govern a huge city. I’m guessing that his promise appeals to people who want to be in charge. But haven’t we had enough rulers and princes by now? Westerners (especially Americans) dislike anything that smells like hierarchy, so a kingdom in any form doesn’t sound very good to us. What is Jesus envisioning anyhow?

A Different Kind of Kingdom

I found a wonderful answer in Isaiah 32, which reveals a gorgeous picture of what Christ’s messianic kingdom will look like.

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
And ministers shall govern with justice;
Every one of them shall be like a refuge from gales,
A shelter from rainstorms;
Like brooks of water in a desert,
Like the shade of a massive rock
In a languishing land. Isaiah 32:1-3, JPS

What a stunning thought this must have been, when rulers throughout history have universally been tyrants and despots who exploit their subjects. God had warned Israel that a king was bad news. He’d take their best land and their sons and daughters, and build himself a lavish paradise at his peoples’ expense. (1 Samuel 8:10-16) He’d enslave his people to build monuments to his glory, and send them to fight and die in battles to expand his territory. That’s what kings always did.

Only when Christ is King will the opposite be the case. He will he have such a loving, selfless reign that the leaders he’d appoint over cities would be the ones who were the most eager to serve others.

When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest, Jesus declared that “…if anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) He must have had Isaiah 32 in mind here.

Here we can see what princes in Christ’s kingdom will be like. They’ll be like welcoming shade on a scorching day. Like burbling brooks in an arid wasteland. Their mere presence will be a great relief to others, because they use their power to protect the helpless and beleaguered, and to comfort those in distress.

This vision in Isaiah 32 is what I think we should be using our lives for until Christ’s kingdom comes. We should be honing our skills at being comforters and carers and by aiming to solving the problems of others. Not only is this good practice for the future, this is a very good way to expand his kingdom to the ends of the earth!

God allows us all to experience deserts and gale storms ourselves, of course. How can we use these hard times to help learn to minister to others in need?

During these past couple years through my friend Milly Erema in Uganda, I have been experiencing this quite directly. Stay tuned — I will share this with you in my next post – click here.

~~~~

(1) I wrote an article about how the Torah and Prophets were read in the ancient synagogue that discusses this. For about five years, some scholars and friends and I read through the earliest (triennial) readings, which were quite messianically oriented and rich with passages from Isaiah, unlike the annual synagogue readings that are used today.

Filed Under: Articles: Thinking Biblically Tagged With: Jesus as Messiah

Comments

  1. Ernie Atkinson says

    December 16, 2022 at 11:00 am

    Amen.

    Reply
  2. Todd Bolen says

    December 17, 2022 at 1:08 am

    Amen! I think that Psalm 101 confirms your understanding – the Son of David pledges to appoint righteous administrators to serve his kingdom.

    Reply
  3. Joey Parris says

    December 23, 2022 at 9:09 am

    I am currently serving as caretaker for my Mom. It has been such a special time as we prepare for Christmas together. We have both watched and been amazed as God has met every need and even desires. Frankly, we don’t know where this is headed but we do know that He is here! Thank you for your continued ministry and I love what is happening in Uganda! Thank you for wonderful insights into God’s Word!

    Reply
  4. Manlio H González says

    December 23, 2022 at 10:00 am

    Un reino justo como nunca antes se ha visto!

    (A fair kingdom like never seen before!)

    Reply
  5. Melissa says

    January 27, 2023 at 8:55 am

    The Lord has been speaking to me for a while now about incarnational ministry and what it looks like in various situations. This article resonates deeply with me and through this Scripture a good foundation/picture of what it looks like to live it out.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Lois Tverberg says

      January 27, 2023 at 3:06 pm

      Thank you, Melissa. I agree that this is exactly how we should see ourselves in terms of what ministry looks like, incarnationally.

      Reply

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