Isaiah Archives - Page 3 of 18

What is a Mediator (Advent #4) (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on January 8, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Last week we saw that the very fact of creation is indicative that the world is covenantal and that covenant is, by nature, a gracious one. God made the world with no external obligation, but He obligated Himself to it. Due to Adam’s sin, something dreadful took place. The marriage of heaven and earth was broken. How would God reconcile Himself to man, and man with the creation he had brought down into a ruinous curse? God wrote the code upon which this world was to run, sin introduced a corrupted file that if left to run on its own would disable the entire system. Christmas is the entrance of God Himself into the story, and His purpose was nothing other than to take the curse upon Himself, and restore the whole system.

THE TEXT

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. ~Isaiah 11:1-10

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Isaiah foresaw the restoration of all things, and speaks of the new creation in terms of the resurrection of David’s kingdom. A Righteous Branch would sprout from the stump of Jesse (v1). The Lord’s Spirit would rest upon this Branch, endowing Him with all that is needful for righteous rule over the earth (vv2-3). His rule shall raise up the poor and meek, while dashing the wicked to bits (v4). His regal robes will be righteousness, and faithfulness will be the sword at His side (v5).

His rule will not be confined, but will have application in all directions. Beasts will be tamed and do violence to one another no more; furthermore, man will no longer be in an adversarial relationship with the beasts (vv6-8). The curse shall be so entirely reversed that even serpents, once counted as wretched for their association with Satan, will be the play thing of infants. Destruction and death, sorrow and sighing, war and wasting will be ended; the dark years shall fade, and in its place the bright and warm light of the knowledge of Lord shall fill the entire earth, as waters cover the sea (v9). This Mediator, springing from the massacred stump of Jesse, would rule in such a way that not Israel only, but even the Gentiles would clamor to rest under the victory banner of His kingdom (v10).

FOUR THINGS NEEDFUL

As we reflect on who could fulfill such a task, it is important that we ascertain what is required of this mediator. The mediator of such a covenant between God and man must have four attributes. He must be a man (Gen. 3:15). However, he must also be a righteous man (Ps. 24:3-4). Further, he must be true God (Is. 9:6). Fourth, he must be both God and man (Is. 7:14).

In order to crush the serpents head, it was required that He be a true man. Since it was human nature “in which the disobedience had been committed” the Son assumed our nature “in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by his most bitter passion and death (BCF Art. 20).” But in order for Him to please the covenant law of creation He must be holy, righteous, without flaw. He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf.

But as the Belgic Confession so wonderfully puts it, His divinity never ceased to be in Him: “So then, what he committed to his Father when he died was a real human spirit which left his body. But meanwhile, his divine nature remained united with his human nature even when he was lying in the grave; and his deity never ceased to be in him, just as it was in him when he was a little child, though for a while it did not so reveal itself. These are the reasons why we confess him to be true God and truly human—true God in order to conquer death by his power, and truly human that he might die for us in the weakness of his flesh (BCF Art. 19).”

Furthermore, in order to accomplish our redemption, and to satisfy God’s righteous requirements, the Mediator must be have these four attributes. Additionally, in His role as the Mediator of this covenant of grace, He would fulfill that mediatorial role in a number of ways; here is how the WCF describes it: “It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King, the Head and Savior of His Church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world; unto whom He did from all eternity give a people, to be His seed, and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified (WCF Ch. VIII, Sec. 1).” Notice that the doctrine of Christ as our Mediator, and all the glorious attributes of that role, leads to what theologians call the ordo salutis. The person of Christ is inextricably tied to the redemption of His people.

WHAT THE MEDIATOR BRINGS TOGETHER

Returning to our text we see that the “one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5),” brings about a restoration in all directions. Between God and man. Between heaven and earth. Between man and beast (Hos. 2:8-12). Between man and man. To quote one theologian, “No realm can be withheld from Christ’s reign. The covenant is a total treaty.”

He does so by becoming the curse for us, and being righteous for us, for judging sin, and receiving sin’s judgement, by dying for us, raising human nature out of the dust and breathing His everlasting Spirit into us. He truly holds all things together. And it is not sappy sentimentalism to say that the reason He did all this was because of His great love wherewith He loved us: “So God made known his justice toward his Son, who was charged with our sin, and he poured out his goodness and mercy on us, who are guilty and worthy of damnation, giving to us his Son to die, by a most perfect love, and raising him to life for our justification, in order that by him we might have immortality and eternal life (BGC Art 20).”

NEW CREATION

The nativity of Christ Jesus really is the beginning of the New Creation. In His mediatorial office He not only reconciles us to God, but He renews and remakes all things. So it is fitting to bring trees into our homes, ornamented with symbolic fruit, surrounded by gifts made of plastic and pearls, wool and wood. It is right to spread a great feast, inviting as many people as will fit around the rearranged living room furniture. Christ Jesus ushered in a new creation in Himself. He is the nexus of history. He is the new man. He is the true God and our eternal life. He is the ladder which bridges the glory of heaven with the bounty of earth. He is our Mediator which rules over this world with everlasting truth and grace. Indeed, joy to the world, for the Branch of Jesse has come.

Advent #1 (Survey of Isaiah #38) (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on December 19, 2024

THE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL

In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2 In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3 I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; 4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. 5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”

6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.

7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? 8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing. 10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches. 11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.

12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Hidden in the Lord (Part II) (Survey of Isaiah #37) (CC Troy)

Lindsey Gardner on December 9, 2024

ISAIAH 26

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Hidden in the Lord (Survey of Isaiah #36) (CC Troy)