Isaiah 53: 1

Today, I want to concentrate on the second half of the first verse; “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" As Christians, we see the whole of chapter 53 and a few verses before it referring to our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus himself quoted this verse and this is recorded in John12: 38. But, first of all, we need to realise that when the Bible talks about the right arm of the Lord, it is talking about God’s strength, and power. Therefore, God’s strength and power were seen by everyone when Jesus ministered to those in need and when he told the crowd to repent.

As I have just said we need to ask ourselves; “To whom has the arm of Jesus Christ been revealed?” The answer is obviously everyone who lived at the time in the places that Jesus ministered. Jesus didn't just stay at his parents' house, but he moved around. Everywhere he went, he showed the world the work His Father had asked him to do. And he didn't just stay within the confines of Galilee but he moved further afield. So, when it was time to celebrate the Passover Festival, Jesus went down from Galilee, through Samaria to Judea and the temple in Jerusalem where thousands of people had gathered from all over the world. Therefore, the whole known world would have seen the work that Jesus was doing.

And what was this work that Jesus was doing? There were 2 things, first, he told everyone: "The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" He declared to the world that the Creator God desired to have a close relationship with His creation. He was declaring that to have a close relationship with God, the people had to stop what they were doing and repent. They had to ask God for forgiveness and begin living differently as if their request for forgiveness was real. Secondly, Jesus confirmed His message through his actions. Therefore, Jesus' message of repentance came with a display of God's power. This is the display of God’s strength in his right arm. Jesus said He was the Bread of Life and then fed the 5000 with some bread and fish. He said he was the Life, and he showed this by raising back to life a young boy who lived in Nain. He also brought back to life his friend Lazarus who lived in Bethany. In fact, when John the Baptist was in prison and had a moment of doubt, he sent some of his followers to Jesus. Jesus told John's disciples: "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." So we see God’s strength and power in Jesus’ miracles. We see God’s strength and power in overcoming sickness and death

Yes, we see God’s strong right arm, when he defeated death. Jesus went to the cross and took our sins onto himself. The sinless Son of Man became sin for many, for you and me. We who are sinful became sinless in God’s eyes because of Jesus' death. The Bible says we are justified because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. It is just as if we had never sinned. Isaiah paints a lovely picture for us when he says; “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” God does not see us as sinful but he sees us as innocent, as white as snow. All this was made possible because Jesus went to the cross and died. But more than this. Jesus didn’t just die on the cross and was laid in a tomb. No, he rose again from the dead. He defeated death. And God has promised that if we believe in Him then we too will rise from the dead on the last day. On the day of Judgement, everyone, those who are already dead and those who are alive will be brought in front of God and we will have to give an account for ourselves. But we can only do that if we are alive. So, we too will rise from the dead.

So, 2800 years after Isaiah penned this verse, what does it say to us? First of all, we need to come to God daily in a spirit of repentance, asking God to forgive us for the times we have gone our own way, forgive us for the sins we have committed, and for the disobedient actions that we have done. We ask for God's forgiveness and the grace and mercy that we will live a holy life dedicated to God. But also let’s ask God to use us to declare the Good News in power. The church is the body of Christ, and individually we are called to be the light to the world and the salt of the earth. We are called to represent Jesus Christ to our relatives, friends, and neighbours, and accordingly, we are the arm of the Lord when we show them, Jesus, in our lives, how we live, what we say, and what we do. Lastly, we are called to be praying people, praying to God for our friends, neighbours, and family when they become ill. If Jesus healed the sick then we should have the faith to believe that Jesus will heal those around us today. I am thankful for the doctors and nurses who look after us, but I will still pray for miracles. I want to see the curse of cancer removed, to see uncurable conditions overcome by God. But I am thankful, that even if the doctors and nurses cannot do anything for us and we die. I know that is not the end. I know that I will rise to be with God on the last day.