The Prophecy of the Messiah
by Michael Shipman
Advent Devotional ~ Day 16
Read - Isaiah 7:10-16; 9:1-7; Jeremiah 31:27-40
In the Isaiah passage today, we read of two of the most well-known portions of Scripture that prophesies the first advent of King Jesus. These two passages are pregnant with theological description of His Person and nature. We are told directly in Isaiah 7:14 that He will be God with us, the meaning of Immanuel. We are then told in even more vivid detail in Isaiah 9:1-7 of His High Kingly function and identity; “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” We are also confronted in the same passage with the reality of His reign “Never ending.” Therefore, it is crucial to understand that this is a key Old Testament passage that clearly details the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The validation of this truth is born witnessed through the gospel writer Matthew. In Matthew 1:23 both passages are quoted. Here is an important interpretive rule: Whenever the New Covenant directly quotes the Old Covenant, the contextual meaning in the New Covenant is the actual meaning. In other words, the immediate meaning for Isaiah and his hearers most likely did not have such clear indication of what this prophecy was speaking of (there has been much confusion and debate on this issue with these two passages in Isaiah). Therefore, we must always remember to interpret Scripture with the amount of “light” that we have been given. For us in 2021, we have a closed canon (66 books in our Bible that cannot be added to or taken away) and have been given the Holy Spirit of God to teach us all things. In other words, these things are not hidden from us. Summary: If I was going to summarize these two passages, I would call them “The invasion of King Jesus upon His Creation.”
In the Jeremiah passage we are given more graphic detail of the King’s function. He did not come to “chill” and do nothing. Rather, He came to inaugurate a New Covenant. This New Covenant is radically different from the Old in many ways. But one of the main ways it is different is in its achievements. In the Old Covenant, all that could be expected was guilt, burden, and fear. It was in many ways objectively outside of the covenant people of God; distant and unreachable. It was the reflection of God’s holiness before them always reminding them that what it required, they could not attain. It was truly a traditional covenant that involved the agreement of two parties: blessing for obedience, and curses for rebellion. In the New Covenant, God moved from the observable to the experiential. He moved from “Among His people” to “Within His people” (see Acts 2). The distance between God and man was not just shortened, it was annihilated! This New Covenant is very “unconventional” in function in that it does not depend upon both parties. It only depends upon the One that instituted it; and that is none other than King Jesus. He has sworn through the shedding of His own blood to supply what has been required, even the faith that is necessary to enter this covenant (see Eph 2:8-10). This section could be summarized as “The invasion of King Jesus into His people.”
Reflection
King Jesus has invaded time and space so that you may exit time and space.
Application questions
1. How does the incarnation of your King provide joy, security, and hope?
2. Have you ever considered that fruit of the New Covenant is Christ in you? If not, how does this encourage you?