JESUS IS OUR SOVEREIGN LORD
Isaiah 40:10,11 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power. Once again we see the Lord giving prophecy regarding Jesus hundreds of years before he came to earth. Prophecy is given so we can be prepared and also to affirm. The Jewish religious leaders expected their Messiah to come with power to overcome their oppressors. They would have gladly received Jesus as their Messiah if he would have led a great revolt over Rome. They wanted the all powerful conqueror that we see Jesus when he comes again, and kills the nations that come against Jerusalem at the end of the seven years of tribulation. They wanted a Messiah that would bring them civil peace, rather than spiritual peace with God. They felt they already were right with God because of their sacrifices and obedience to God’s law.
In their self-righteousness they rejected Jesus. Jesus pointed out their self-righteousness in his illustration in Luke 18:9-14 when he said that the tax collector that beat his chest saying how unworthy he was would enter heaven before the Pharisee. And again in Mark 2:17 Jesus said that he came to save sinners not the righteous. By this he meant that his salvation comes as a gift to be received by all who would accept it, and those who see themselves as righteous will not ask for his gift of forgiveness, They believe they can obtain righteousness on their own.
Jesus being God came with power to show his fulfillment of this passage. He came as Sovereign Lord that was not only all powerful, but perfectly holy and righteous without sin. Infact it was this fact that the Jews resented most and took Jesus to the cross. They had Jesus crucified, because he said he was God. He told them that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:10a. When they rejected Jesus they rejected the Sovereign Lord, the very one that they said they were waiting for to come save them. They just wanted salvation in regards to their civil life, and ended up missing on the most important and most wonderful blessing and that was a spiritual salvation. When they had Jesus nailed to the cross, they destroyed the very temple of God that they cherished the most. They tried to destroy his earthly temple that was only a foreshadow of the heavenly temple and that was Jesus. His right arm rules for him. Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. They didn’t nor could they take his life. Jesus was all powerful and he gave his life willingly for us. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son to earth. Jesus rules now in heaven, and soon he will return to earth and rule here for 1,000 years. He will rule in divine power and glory and not even Satan, the powers of darkness or the nations of this world can stop or hinder him. The Jews wanted a all powerful Messiah and the next time they will get one. His reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. What a great reward Jesus has for all who seek forgiveness through him. God will no longer hold us accountable to our sinfulness, and he will no longer bring it up before us again. It will be as though we had never sinned before. He will also bring recompense or restore us to a right standing with him. We will be called his children and Jesus will call us his Bride and heaven will treat us accordingly. We will be treated by God and everyone else in heaven with heavenly respect and honor. And probably the greatest honor of all is that we will be in the presence of Jesus for all eternity. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. As Christians Jesus sees us as very special. We have chosen him to be our Lord and Savior. While the world may reject him, we are a select group of people that Jesus holds close to his heart. He cares for us as a shepherd taking care of our every need, and even gives us our hearts desires. He constantly watches over us and protects us. Jesus is our perfect Shepherd and always will be. He will never grow weary of us or reject us.
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for fulfilling what we read in Isaiah today. You are faithful to your word, and it gives us assurance that our hope, and faith in you is correct. We love you Jesus.
