He Chose Me!

 

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.  --Isaiah 65:24

I have a new appreciation for the ministry of Jesus to the outcast.  I am thinking not only of the 10 lepers He healed in Luke 17:11-19, one of whom was a Samaritan (indeed, the only one who was grateful enough to come back and thank Him.)  I think of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, and the Gadarene demoniac as told in Mark 5.  In only one of these stories was Jesus sought out; in the other two, Jesus deliberately went out of His way to meet them.

God brought this to my mind this morning as I was reading Isaiah 65.  It starts out this way:

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that was not called by my name.  I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you."  These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.  --Isaiah 65:1-5

Doesn't this passage describe the ministry of Jesus to a tee?  Jesus came to the nation of Israel when they least expected it.  Their tradition said they should be looking for a Messiah, but when the Messiah came, they rejected Him.  John 1:11 says, "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him."  Bible commentator David Guzik writes, "How could anyone think “I am holier than you!” when they were steeped in the sins described in this passage? This is a dramatic display of the blindness pride brings. They could say, “I am holier than you!” and really mean it, because of their complete blindness.

Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon titled Self Righteousness — A Smouldering Heap of Rubbish on this text. In it, he describes how dangerous and insidious self-righteousness is. “Moreover, self-righteous men, like foxes, have many tricks and schemes. They condemn in other people what they consider to be very excusable in themselves. They would cry out against others for a tenth part of the sin which they allow in themselves: certain constitutional tendencies, and necessities of circumstances, and various surroundings, all serve as ample apologies. Besides this, if it be admitted that they are wrong upon some points, yet in other directions they are beyond rebuke. If they drink, they do not swear; and if they swear, they do not steal: they make a great deal out of negatives: if they steal, they are not greedy and miserly, but spend their gains freely. If they practice fornication, yet they do not commit adultery; if they talk filthily, yet they boast they do not lie. They would be counted well because they are not universally bad. They do not break every hedge, and therefore they plead that they are not trespassers. As if a debtor for a hundred pounds should claim to be excused because he does not owe two hundred: or, as if a highwayman should say, ‘I did not stop all the travelers on the road; I only robbed one or two, and therefore I ought not to be punished.’ If a man should willfully break the windows of your shop, I warrant you, you would not take it as an excuse if he pleaded, ‘I did not break them all; I only smashed one sheet of plate glass.’ Pleas which would not be mentioned in a human court are thought good enough to offer to God. O the folly of our race!” (Guzik)

So Jesus went out to seek others who would respond to His call to repentance.  In an ironic twist, if you compare Isaiah 65:4-5 with Mark 5, you see that the Pharisees (who venerated their dead ancestors, and visited their tombs, who said to Jesus, "Get away from me, for we are set apart by God") rejected Jesus.  So Jesus left them, and went to the Decapolis, and found a man in chains, possessed by demons, sitting in a graveyard situated next to a field with pigs.  The man did not know Jesus.  He did not even call to Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus chose him.  Jesus delivered him from the chains, and cast the demons into the pigs, so that the swine all ran off a cliff into the sea and were drowned.  That is how far our sins are separated from us when He forgives us.

Romans 10:20 says, "Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, 'I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me'." (cf Romans 9:30: "What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith.")

I am currently reading a book called With Calvin in the Theater of God-- The Glory of Christ and Everyday Life.  It is a collection of essays edited by John Piper and David Mathis.  In the chapter called "Bad Actors On a Broken Stage: Sin and Suffering In Calvin's World and Ours", Mark Talbot writes:

From eternity past, it has been God the Father's plan to glorify his Son by gathering a bride for him from among all the earth's nations (Eph. 1:3-14; Rev. 21:2, 9; cf. John 3:29).  Our Lord, God's Lamb, has purchased this bride for himself with his own blood (Rev. 5:9) by becoming a curse for her (Gal. 3:13) and dying in her place (John 11:50-52; Eph. 5:2, 25).  And thus he has saved her (Rom. 5:1-2, 6-11) and is sanctifying her (Eph 5:26) so that "he might present [her] to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:27; cf 2 Cor. 11:2).

Ephesians 2:12-13 says, "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." This is the miracle of God choosing us when we did not choose Him, answering us before we call.  He was making Himself fully known to us before we had the capacity for that knowledge, and then gave us the grace to know Him fully.

In the collection With Calvin in the Theater of God which I cited earlier, the essay called "At Work and Worship in the Theater of God: Calvin the Man and Why I Care", Julius Kim writes, "Without a clear understanding and hope in God's powerful, personal, and purposeful care over our lives, life and death can only be pointless."  

From creation and fall to redemption and consummation, God is purposeful in his providential care over his children who put their trust in Christ alone.  Calvin summarizes his thoughts this way: "Gratitude in mind for the favorable outcomes of things, patience in adversity, and also incredible freedom from worry about the future all necessarily follow upon this knowledge."  We can live with deep assurance because our sovereign God is our Father, who for the sake of Christ directs all things for our good.  Is this not a comforting teaching? It means that not a hair can fall from your head, or a tear from your eye, without your heavenly Father knowing it.  Knowing that God is powerful, personal, and purposeful in his care provides much comfort and courage when life is difficult.  As pilgrims following a providential God, we can persevere. (Kim)

Why did God choose me?  God only knows; I was not looking for Him.  Indeed, I did not even know He existed.  Yet in His Providence He purposed in His heart that I should know Him, and make Him known by His power.  Think of this the next time you read the story of the Gadarene demoniac, or the woman at the well, or the calling of the disciples.  Look at those stories with fresh eyes, and then with a grateful heart thank God for leaving the 99 and seeking and saving that one lone lost sheep that is you.

The Heart and Sole of Jesus

 

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." --Isaiah 52:7

Medical doctors will tell you there is a correlation between your feet and your heart.  If there is numbness and tingling in the feet, it could be a sign of heart disease.  Most people link the heart and feet less clinically and more poetically.  An Irish proverb, for example, says, "Your feet will take you where your heart wants to go."

Soccer superstar Pele once said, "The head talks to the heart, and the heart talks to the feet."  I believe he was describing the game of futbol, but I think there is a spiritual lesson there as well.  If we look at the feet of Jesus, we will see the heart of God.

Look with me in your Bible to Isaiah 52, beginning in verse 13 and continuing through the end of the chapter.  I will be reading from the Amplified BIble.

Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wisely and prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.  Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man and His form [marred] more than the sons of men.  So He will sprinkle many nations [with His blood, providing salvation], Kings will shut their mouths because of Him; for what they had not been told they will see, and what they had no heard they will understand.

The Humble Head

Let's revisit verse 13 again to see the position of Jesus.  "Behold, My Servant shall act wisely; He shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted." (Isaiah 52:13, ESV)  Before He is exalted, He would be humbled, coming in the form of a servant.

God loved His people so much that He sent His Son to take on flesh and live among us. The feet of Jesus were directed by the hand of God.  So Jesus humbled Himself and became one of us.  Near the end of His ministry, Jesus brought the disciples together for a special Passover meal.  John 13:1 shows us the heart of Jesus: "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."

I want us to pay particular attention to what Jesus did next.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper.  He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist.  Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.  --John 13:3-5

Jesus's feet took Him to where His heart was, to the men who had followed after Him for the last 3 years.  Then He did something amazing.  In washing their feet, He not only humbled Himself to the status of a servant, but He also anointed the feet of the disciples for a higher calling.  

Physically, He cleaned their feet of the dust and dung they had all walked through to get where they were at that point in time.  Spiritually, Jesus does the same thing for us.  We all have a past.  We have all walked through some pretty shady places.  There are remnants of dry dust from deserts we have crossed.  There are stains from mud and muck we have waded through.  Jesus knows this about us, but He still loves us.  He loves us so much that He is willing to lay aside His kingly garment and get down where we are, to wash our dirtiest parts, to cleans our hearts as well as our feet.

It is only after performing this lowly act of washing our feet that Jesus is exalted in our hearts and minds.  When we give our hearts to Him, He redirects our path.  We are anointed by the washing of water with the word (see Ephesians 5:26).

The Suffering Servant

Read with me the very next verse in our text.  God said His Servant, the Messiah, would be exalted high and lifted up.  In the very next verse we read this: "As many were astonished at you--His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the children of mankind--" (Isaiah 52:14 ESV).

In the book of Genesis, Abraham was first called a Hebrew, a term that literally meant "one from beyond."  His descendants were always called Hebrews, or outsiders, a People not from here.  It was astonishing that these people were chosen by God, and were led to a land that had been promised to Abraham, to "dwell in houses they had not built, and to eat from vineyards they did not plant" (see Joshua 24:13-15).  

It was no less astonishing that the Son of God, the Messiah, would not only come in the flesh, but that He would be beaten so badly that He was barely recognizable.  Yet that is exactly what happened.  They beat Him severely.  They placed a crown of thorns on His head.  They nailed Him to a cross, piercing the very feet that had brought God's message of peace to them.

Isaiah 53:3 says, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hid their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."  We read further in the very next verse, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; ye we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted."

Lance Secretan, British-Canadian author of business books best known for leadership theory, said this: "Authenticity is the alignment of head, mouth, heart, and feet--thinking, saying, feeling and doing the same thing--consistently.  This builds trust, and followers love leaders they can trust."  There was never anyone so authentically consistent or as consistently authentic as Jesus, yet there are those who do not trust Him.  They will one day be astonished that He is sitting at the right hand of God.

The Cleansing King

Let's read the last verse in our text now.  Not only is He a servant who is exalted high and lifted up, not only is He willing to give Himself completely for you to the point of death and disfigurement, He is also willing to purify the nations.  "So shall He sprinkle many nations.  Kings shall shut their mouths because of Him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand." (Isaiah 52:15 ESV)

In the Old Testament the people were made clean with the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice.  Jesus shed His blood on the cross so that we might be purified by the sprinkling of His blood on and around us. 1 John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

As for His pre-eminence among all, Psalm 72:11 says, "Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him." (NKJV)   Micah 7:16-17 says, 

The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you.

Whether this response to God's sovereignty is in this life or the next is not clear.  Our mission, however, is clear.  We must "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

Catholic bishop Fulton Sheen wrote, "Show me your hands.  Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet.  Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?"  Jesus did.  His feet were led by His heart, and His heart was for me.  O, those beautiful feet, pierced for me.  When I get to Heaven I will lay prostrate at them.  For now, I can lay all my burdens at those beautiful feet.

Behold Our God

 

And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” --Isaiah 25:9 (NKJV)

How do you take the measure of a man?  I don't mean physical measurements such as height, weight, or BMI.  Nor do I mean his capabilities--how much he can lift, how fast he can run, or how far, fast, or accurately he can throw a ball or a spear.  I don't even mean his mental acuity, such as how he can memorize or calculate or convince by means of logic.

Who a person is has nothing to do with any of the above.  How do you measure a man's character, his very soul?

To some, the true measure of a man is seen at his highest point of achievement.  Plato said, "The measure of a man is what he does with power."  J. K. Rowling said, "If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."  Samuel Johnson said, "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

What about those who are not rich or powerful?  How do they measure up?  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."  Peter Nivio Zarlenga said, "The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune."  Joseph Biden, Sr. gave this advice to his son Joe Biden, Jr., who would later become President of the United States: "Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.

By contrast, how can man take the measure of God?  According to Bible commentator David Guzik:

A great philosopher named Alexander Pope once wrote, “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man.” In one sermon, Spurgeon replied to that famous statement: “It has been said by someone that ‘the proper study of mankind is man.’ I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.”

In the 40th chapter of Isaiah, we read that "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever." (Isaiah 40:6b-8)  In comparison to God, man is no greater than a blade of grass, and all of mankind is no greater than a field of hay.  We have no control over our lives, how much water we receive, or whether we are burned up or harvested and put to some use by One greater than ourselves.  How can we mere mortals describe an infinite God?  The answer is that we describe God imperfectly, using words and ideas that men can understand, no matter how inadequate they might be.

He is the Strong Shepherd

 The prophet Isaiah invites us to "behold your God," in chapter 40, starting in verse 9.  The first description of God is that He is omnipotent, all powerful, yet gentle as a shepherd.

Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.  He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. (40:10-11)

 While it is true that God has the power to destroy us all, His divine love enables Him to gently pick us up and hold us close to his heart, as a man would pick up a lost lamb and carry him home.  In comparing us to sheep, Isaiah knew that sheep must be shepherded.  They must be led to good pasture, then moved on to new pasture when they have stripped the field bare.  Charles Spurgeon said, "No creature has less power to take care of itself than the sheep; even the tiny ant with its foresight can provide for the evil day, but this poor creature must be tended by man or else perish.”

Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15).  This chapter in Isaiah is Messianic in nature, pointing us to the Messiah.  In his Study Guide for Isaiah, commentator David Guzik points out that almost every Scripture that mentions shepherds can be seen as Messianic.

God loves to identify Himself with a shepherd. Many of the greatest men of the Bible were shepherds, and their character as shepherds points to Jesus Christ.

• Abel is a picture of Jesus, the sacrificed shepherd.
• Jacob is a picture of Jesus, the working shepherd.
• Joseph is a picture of Jesus, the persecuted and exalted shepherd.
• Moses is a picture of Jesus, the calling-out-from-Egypt shepherd.
• David is a picture of Jesus, the shepherd king.

He is the Master of All Matter

 Taking a broader view, Isaiah next describes the awesomeness of God.  "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?  Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40: 12)"

This is another example of what we call anthropomorphism — speaking of God in human terms so we can partially understand who He is and what He does. God is not a being with the body of a giant, so large that all the waters of the earth could be cupped in His hand, or so large that the universe could be measured by the span of His hand. The Bible tells us that God the Father is spirit, so He does not have a body as we know it (John 4:24). But we understand exactly what the LORD tells us through the prophet Isaiah — God is so great, so dominant over all creation that we should stand in awe of His power and glory. (David Guzik Study Guide for Isaiah 40)

God's knowledge is far and away greater than man's.  Luke 12:7 says God knows the number of hairs on your head, a number once thought incalculable.  Nowadays you can Google an estimate: humans have between 90,000 and 150,000 hairs on our heads, although the number varies by individual.  But think about this: God knows the number of hairs on every individual head--all 8 billion of us alive today (plus all of those who have died before us, and all of those yet to be born.)  Isaiah puts it another way: God knows the number of individual dust particles on the earth.  If you try to Google that number, it comes up as a weight: the average home, it is said, contains up to 40 lbs of dust at any given time. But how many particles of dust per pound? God knows.  Friend, God knows the weight of all of Earth's mountains, and can compare them with the weight of all the hills.  How awesome is that?

He is Wiser than the Wisest

Isaiah moves on to describe God's wisdom.  "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him?  With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice?  Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:13-14)

 The Apostle Paul expands this idea in Romans 11:33-36:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable  are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"  Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?  For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.  Amen.

Did you notice Paul's citing of the passage in Isaiah 40?  The question was not answered in Isaiah's day; it remained unanswered in Paul's time; and it remains unanswered today.  Can you know the mind of God?  If you think you can, then your God is too small. 

The Greatness of God is beyond compare

For the sake of time we will not expound on the comparisons here, but if you want to study it on your own, you will see that:

1. God is greater than the nations (40:15-17) "The nations are as a drop in a bucket."
2. God is greater than all idols (40:18-20) "Be sure to choose a tree that will not rot...to prepare a carved image that will not totter."
3. God is greater than all creation (40:21-26) "He sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers."

In conclusion, Isaiah shows where the weakness of man intersects with the power and might of Almighty God.

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40: 29-31)

Man is at his physical peak in his youth and early adulthood, but even then he grows weary and cannot stand for long.  We are weak, whether we are like sheep or like the grass that the sheep graze upon. Look to the Shepherd, who never grows weary.  Look to the Savior, who never sleeps. Look to God, whose greatness is unfathomable.