Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Is. 42. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- As Jesus began His ministry, He came to John to be baptized by him. This seemed strange to John, and perhaps it seems strange to us. But thankfully it all fits together – and for our great blessedness. Jesus is bonded to us in baptism – takes our place so that we can fully receive all of the blessings He came to bring.
- This was the start of His mission, and His mission was to bring great blessings to us. In our text, the prophet Isaiah sets out what God sent His Servant, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to do and accomplish for us and for our salvation. It is our privilege, and it should be our greatest delight, to contemplate and reflect upon “THE MISSION OF JESUS,” for it is all for our greatest good and blessedness.
- God upholds Him and strengthens Him so that He succeeds in His mission, and this means that our blessedness in Christ Jesus is sure and certain! First:
I. Jesus Came To Bring Justice
Text: “He will bring justice to the nations.”
A. Strangely, God’s Justice Means Forgiveness And Redemption For Repentant Believers
Text: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
2 Cor. 5:21 “For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
B. However, Christ Brings Judgment Upon The Impenitent, The Rebellious Unbelievers
John 3:36 “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Heb. 2:3 “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”
2 Cor. 2:15,16 “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”
Statement: We ordinarily think of justice as a thing to be feared – something that brings punishment and retribution to us because we have sinned and done wrong things. This is the case for those who are “under the law” but not for those who have faith in Jesus, who are under the Gospel. You remember that Christ came to redeem those who were under the law [Gal. 4:5] and that once we came to faith we were no longer “held captive under the law” but free from the condemnation of God’s law [Gal. 3:23-25].
So, the justice that Christ brought was a new justice – our sin and punishment meted out to Jesus, His righteousness applied and accounted to us. Now God is just to forgive us our sins – justice and mercy are joined together as one.
Application: Obviously, we are the beneficiaries of this “justice” which Christ brought – and this was the foundational part of His mission, to establish this justice for us. It is established for all human beings – “He is the blood atonement for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” However, those who reject and repudiate this merciful justice of God, who “neglect so great a salvation” – the impenitent and unbelieving, they bring condemnation and death back upon themselves, insisting upon it AGAINST what God sent His Son to accomplish for us. But as God’s Word asserts: “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” May we all rejoice to “receive Him,” to rejoice in “THE MISSION OF JESUS.”
Transition: And the consequence of this foundation of new “justice” and mercy which Jesus accomplished for us leads to the second part of His mission:
II. The Mission Of Jesus Is To Now Call All People Into His Covenant Of Righteousness
Text: “I am the LORD; I have called You in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and keep You; I will give You as a covenant for the people.”
A. As God’s New Covenant Of Righteousness – The New Justice, Mercy And Forgiveness – Jesus Provides All Men With Light, Sight And Vision To See God Properly
Text: “I will give You as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind.”
B. He Also Gives Us Freedom
Text: “to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
C. And We Enter This Covenant With God In Baptism – In Which We Become Bonded To Christ Jesus And Freed From Sin And Its Consequences
Rom. 6:3-7 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For the one who has died has been set free from sin.”
Statement: All of this is sure and certain – it is a covenant, a binding, legal agreement between God and all of mankind, all the nations, all to whom God has given breath and spirit! It is forgiveness and mercy, freedom from sin and death, and light to see God as He truly is, that God is love. It brings death to an old, foolish, blind, and enslaved way of life; it frees, and gives light and joy to all believers, and eternal life through resurrection. It is God’s justice.
Application: And we are the intended target of God’s love and salvation, the very ones for whom Christ died and rose again, for whom Christ was baptized so that we could be united with Him in both death and new life! So let us heed Christ’s call and rejoice in God’s salvation – “THE MISSION OF JESUS.”
Transition: For God is completely serious about what is good for us, and what is renewing and life-giving to us! And so:
III. Let Us Take Heed For This Is The Only Salvation – There Is No Praise Or Glory For False Gods
Text: “I am the LORD; that is My Name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols. The former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare.”
Statement: This may seem daunting and rigid to us, but no more so than any of the other realities that we live with in nature. Not everything can be tweaked and manipulated according to our whims, and certainly this is the case with God’s salvation and “THE MISSION OF JESUS.” And given the benefits that Christ has brought to us, who would want to scuttle His mission anyway?
Application: So let us behold God’s Servant and all that He has accomplished for us, and let us rejoice that we have been joined to Him, united with Him in death and new life in baptism! Let us indeed consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus! This is the mission!
Conclusion: Just as God upheld Christ in His mission, so also He upholds His covenant and all of His promises to us. He will also continue to uphold us in the justice of His salvation and in the new life He has given us.
So we also, united with Christ, hear the voice of our heavenly Father pronouncing us blessed and pleasing to Him for Christ’s sake. All of this brings to full completion “THE MISSION OF JESUS.” Thanks and praise be to God! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.