Advent Day 7: "The Works Of Messiah"

Prophetic Passages: Isaiah 35:4-7, Isaiah 42:1-9, Isaiah 61:1-3

Prophecies Fulfilled: All four gospels, but here are some good key verses. Luke 7:18-23, Matthew 12:18-21, John 9, Matthew 15:30, John 5:8-9, Matthew 9:32-33, Luke 11:14, Luke 4:16-22

Yesterday we learned that Jesus, the Messiah, lived His life just like us. He wasn't even especially handsome or noteworthy in His appearance. That being the case, how on earth did He manage to draw the crowds that He did? By His works. Today we are keying on three passages that tell us the things that Messiah would do.

I am assuming (yes, dangerous, I know) that the primary audience reading these posts has at least a basic understanding of the types of things Jesus did when He was walking about on earth. Therefore, I will not be comparing and contrasting the prophecies of the Old Testament with the New Testament evidences that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. I have included numerous links above if you would like to do that.

Instead, I want to focus on the works of the Messiah as predicted by the prophet Isaiah in three key passages. By far Jesus' greatest work was his death and resurrection, and we covered His suffering and death on Wednesday. Even though His suffering ended in His victory and glorification, it is still a sad topic to discuss. However, discussing the works that Jesus did while He walked among us brings a joy and amazement that exceeds even the magic of the stories of Saint Nicholas. I hope that you will allow yourself to be caught up in the wonder of the accomplishments of our Messiah!

I mentioned on Wednesday that there was much disagreement about the Messiah and what kind of a role He would play. It would seem that even John the Baptist had some confusion about what role the Messiah was to play. He even sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if He really was the Messiah or if John had been mistaken when he made that declaration earlier. (For another really good devotion about this event you can click HERE.)

18 The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19 and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to Him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”

21 At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and He restored sight to many who were blind. 22 Then He told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’” Luke 7:18-23

Jesus answered John's questions by pointing to His works - the works that had been foretold by the prophets.

Here are our key passages:

4 Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” 5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. 7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. Isaiah 53:4-7

What are the themes of our first passage? Deliverance, healing, and regeneration. These themes can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. For instance this passage says that the Messiah will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. Our proof texts listed at the beginning show us that Jesus literally caused the blind to see and the deaf to hear. However, on another level He also caused blinded "spiritual eyes" to be opened so that they could recognize Him, and deafened "spiritual ears" to hear the Gospel. (Cross references HERE) In a similar way, the environmental regeneration seen in verses 6 and 7 could be both figurative and literal.

1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or raise his voice in public. 3 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. 4 He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”

5 God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is He who says, 6 “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. 9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.” Isaiah 42:1-9

What are the themes of this passage? Justice, gentleness, zeal, righteousness, covenant, light, healing, release, and glory. This passage has something interesting in it that I would like to point out. Did you notice verse 4? It seems that God was even prophesying about the Western Hemisphere in this verse. Perhaps He was only referring to distant places like Spain, but it also seems plausible that God was talking about people that hadn't even been discovered yet. How cool!

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:1-3

What are the themes of our final passage? Good news, comfort, release, favor, justice, beauty, blessing, and joy. This was the passage that Jesus quoted at the beginning of His public ministry. When He told the assembled Jews that the prophecy was fulfilled that day in their midst, He was claiming to be Messiah. Oddly enough, they took offense at Him because they had watched Him grow up. (I guess they thought the Messiah would just appear out of nothing one day.)

However, Jesus didn't just make empty claims, He backed them up with action. Throughout His ministry, Jesus performed amazing miracles - some that had never been done before. There had certainly never been anyone who performed such miracles on the massive scale that He did.

Then Jesus did something unbelievable. He commissioned His followers to do the same things that He had been doing! We are called to bring all of these things to the earth as His disciples. (Don't believe me? HERE is the proof!) How amazing! And what is just as amazing is that His disciples did as He told them to do. When they did God performed extraordinary miracles through them. HERE are a few examples. The greatest miracle of all is that through their testimonies, many others were saved - and if you have been saved your salvation is the result of their work.

Here is the true joy of Christmas - the great reason to celebrate: Jesus Christ came to us to set us free from our bondages, give us hope, destroy fear, heal our sicknesses, tell us good news, and give us light for our darkness. As Christians - as disciples of Christ - we are called to be like Jesus, and if we will take a step of belief we will see our families, communities, nations and world changed in wonderful ways.

Questions and thoughts to discuss with your family:

1) Name the things that the Messiah would do according to the key Scriptures. I was able to come up with about 20 + or -.

2) What is the coolest present you ever got? How did you react when you opened it?

3) What is the typical reaction (according to these passages) of those that receive from the Messiah?

4) Have you ever had something that was very precious to you that was lost or broken? Have you ever a case where that item was found or made as good as new again? How did that make you feel?

5) Review the themes identified after each key passage. As believers we should be causing these things to spread to our culture. What are some practical ways that can we do that?

6) What happens when God prophesies something?

7) Do you believe that God can use you?