God Makes His Salvation Known
the Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)
God had set the people of Israel aside as his people. They were his chosen ones. And they had been given the promise of the Messiah. But as the Lord revealed to Isaiah what his suffering servant would do, he showed Isiah that the suffering servant, the Messiah would not only be sent to the tribes of Israel but to all nations.
That suffering servant was Jesus. He was the one whom God had called from the time that he was conceived. He was the one who was sent to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the people of Israel to their place as God’s people. But he was more than that. He was sent to restore the relationship of all people with the God who had created them. He was the one who brings salvation to all people, and that includes you. He brings you complete and full forgiveness that overflows. Your sins have been taken away. Your guilt and shame have been dealt with. You have an overflowing abundance of salvation that Jesus poured out for you on the cross. This salvation is yours, freely given. That’s what he was sent to this world to do, to be our substitute, and to restore us to be children of God. Amen.
Our song for today is “Redeemed, Restored, Forgiven” by Matthew Smith