Isaiah 61-63
Sought Out!
When Jesus began His ministry He quoted Isaiah 61:1 through the first part of verse 2 in Luke 4:18&19. His ministry was to seek and save the lost. He came as Savior of the world. He will come again as King and at that time the remaining prophesy from verse 2 on will be fulfilled as we see in Isaiah 63. It is clear that Jesus is now speaking in these verses. The pattern of the prophesies that we have been reading has been, confront the people regarding their sin, warn them that they are off track, and show them the promise and hope of the coming kingdom.
God has been relentlessly pursuing His people. He wants to redeem them from the consequences caused by their sin. God has sent them prophet after prophet. The fulfillment of the prophesy regarding the Assyrian invasion in the near future would be a warning to the people and us that the prophesies about the Great Tribulation and Millennial kingdom which are yet to come but will be fulfilled. Over and over He speaks to the people and now He is sending His Son.
Redemption is only found in Christ Jesus. He is the one who stands in the gap between the destruction of the nations because of sin and the judgment to come at the end of the Great Tribulation.
God intended the nation of Israel to be a witness to the world when He gave them the Law. Back in Deuteronomy 4:5-8 Moses told the people that if they obeyed the Law He would bless them and that blessing would be their witness. This plan will be ultimately and perfectly fulfilled when Jesus returns as King and sets up His kingdom in Jerusalem. Until that day God makes clear in Chapter 62 that He is not going to keep quiet. He is seeking and will keep seeking the lost. God, not only wants to, He is going to redeem the people no matter what, and no longer will they be called “forsaken” but “sought out”. Isaiah 62:12
Not only is God pursuing the nation of Israel He is also pursuing you and me. The Law they were given shows us that we are sinners and will one day face judgment for our sin. We too have One who stands in the gap between our destruction because of our sin and the judgment to come. His name is Jesus. He came first to seek and save the world. He paid the price for our sins on the cross. He offers forgiveness for our sin. The only way to escape the judgment and enter into the kingdom is to accept His offer by asking Him to forgive our sins. He alone is our only hope of redemption. The good news is that we are being “sought out” by Him.
Pastor Dave