Isaiah 42:1-7
Luke 2:27
John 8:12
I am always fascinated when I read accounts written by the prophets written hundreds of years before they came to pass. For one thing, I don’t recall reading complaints from a prophet to God asking why their words have not yet come to pass.
Isaiah died not knowing how his prophecies would ‘play out’. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote these words:
Isaiah 42:1-7 (NKJV)
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.”
When I read this account to plan this lesson, what jumped out at me was that the one coming would be “a light to the Gentiles”.
God that meant thought of me. And unless you are Hebrew or have Hebrew ancestors, God thought of you. As we’ve studied, the Old Testament Hebrew theology was not only for the children of Israel. It was for anyone who believed. Rahab believed. Ruth from Moab believed. They were both in the line of Jesus. They were included.
Isaiah’s words officially announced that a Savior would come who would be a LIGHT to the whole world.
In Luke 2, the Gospel writer included a wonderful story about Simeon and Anna. Both were older seniors. Both had waited a lifetime to “see” the Christ child. Simeon had been promised that he would not die until he saw the Christ. In Luke 2:32 Simeon specifically stated the child, the one he held would be, “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles.”
His words were a direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy seven hundred years before the child was born.
Luke 2:25-35 (NKJV) Simeon
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
In the same visit to the Temple when Jesus the baby was presented, a prophetess, Anna bore witness to the Christ Child.
Luke 2:36-38 (NKJV),
“Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
First, Anna was a called a prophetess. That was a little unheard of at the time. It tells us her words were so reliable and true that no one doubted her right to be called a woman of God who foretold truth. Scripture tells us that Anna was married when she was young. Hebrew girls generally married sometime after they turned 12 years old. We know she was married for 7 years before her husband died. Theoretically she would have been 19 or 20 when she was widowed. When her husband died she became a prophetess “who did not depart from the Temple”. She was now 84 years old. She also immediately recognized Jesus as the Christ child. She knew! She knew this child was the one SHE had waited for...
Finally, in John 8:12 (NKJV) Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus confirmed the prophecy. HE Was the light for all who would turn to Him and follow. He was light for Israel. He was light for the Gentiles. He was, he IS, the Light of the World!
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: the Light.
Stand IN THE LIGHT today.
Standing In God's Light, Deb
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