Messengers of Mercy
Isaiah 52:7
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQJ0saz6cE
So, I have a question. How good looking are your feet? Are they feet that others would take pictures of and put out there for all to see? Now, notice, I haven’t asked if your feet smell nice. That’s probably a little bit too personal. But do you have good looking feet, or what the Bible says are beautiful?
Today, I’d like to talk about the message that God has given to us to take out to the world. It’s known as the gospel message, and it is a message that is desperately needed. It a message that our world is looking, not only for but forward to, and it is a message that God has entrusted us with.
It is referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus gave it to the disciples after His resurrection, and prior to His accession.
Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)
It is a message and a command, therefore, it is important to understand because of how much the world, and hence the god of this world, Satan, hates what we stand for. But secretly, down within the depths of humanity’s heart, and deep down in humanity’s soul and spirit we desire the peace of God and the grace that He brings, which comes only from the message we bring.
It is like the message given by God to the exiles in Babylon, which the prophet Isaiah talks about in how he describes those who bring this message.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7 NKJV)
This is not just for the Jewish people at that time, as Isaiah is speaking to them while they were in exile, and how they are desperately looking for that fulfillment of prophecy when they would be set free and return to the land of Judah and Jerusalem.
In verse eight it says, “Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion.” (Isaiah 52:8 NKJV)
“When the Lord brings back Zion,” may more literally read when the Lord brings back the Shechinah to Zion. What “Shechinah” means is “God who dwells within.” For you see, the people were waiting in hopeful expectation of God’s promise of a return to Jerusalem as promised through the prophet Jeremiah.
“The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.” (2 Chronicles 36:21 NKJV)
And so, the people in Babylon were waiting for those beautiful feet of God’s messengers who would bring them the glad tidings that their captivity was over to the Babylonians, and they could now return, but even more, that the presence of the Lord would once again inhabit and fill the temple.
We see this return under the headship of Ezra when Cyrus, king of Persia, made this declaration.
“He (the Lord God) has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:2b-3 NKJV)
But this message of Isaiah is also a prophetic word speaking to the joy and delight of those who hear not only word of their return to Jerusalem, but from God’s messengers of mercy through the gospel, that is, the good news of Jesus Christ.
Now, why do I say it is something that the people were looking forward to? It’s because the glory of the Lord had departed from the Temple and from Jerusalem. This happened during the time of the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter 10 he talks about how he saw the glory of God, the Shechinah literally depart from the temple and from the city (Ezekiel 10:4, 18; 11:22-23).
Therefore, the prophetic nature of this passage came, and thus fulfilled, when Jesus entered the temple, and then when the Shechinah glory, the fire of God returned on the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in fire, and the church was formed, and the good news was proclaimed.
What is that good news, well, like the declaration of Cyrus that ended their bondage to Babylonian captivity, it’s about how we, who are in bondage to sin and its eventual punishment, which is death, can be set free with a brand-new life and mission, not one of self and self-gratification, but rather one of self-giving for humanity’s greater good, which can only come from God.
Now, we can see the dual nature of this prophecy as the Apostle Paul quotes it in his letter to the Roman church.
“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Romans 10:15 NKJV)
And so, those that we are talking about are those messengers who not only brought the expected and much-wished-for news of the Jewish deliverance from Babylonian captivity, but now, it references those messengers who bring the good news that humanity’s captivity to sin and death has ended through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And so, what we see is a message that will bring both joy and delight to those who not only hear the words, but appropriate them for their lives, like those who heard Cyrus’s declaration and joined the pilgrimage back to Jerusalem.
And we see this in three phrases Isaiah uses in our text.
Bring Glad Tidings
“Who brings good news … who brings glad tidings of good things.”
What we see is that this glad tiding of good things is the gospel message that our captivity to sin and death are over, and that we can now experience the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life in heaven through our belief in Jesus Christ.
But in calling it “good news,” doesn’t quite do the job. It is not just good news, but it goes beyond good, instead it refers to it as being supremely good, above-and-beyond good, not to mention eternally good. And this is exactly what the gospel message of Jesus Christ announces.
Now there are several things that the gospel announces that makes it pre-eminently good.
First there is the joy of experiencing God’s favor and love, that which humanity forfeited back at the beginning due to Adam’s sin. And because of it, humanity is heirs of God’s wrath, not the blessing afforded to His children.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 NKJV)
The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, announces the remission of our sins through our belief in Him. This is seen in what Jesus said earlier. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)
The Apostle Paul states the good news this way in his letter to the Roman church.
“Justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation (sacrifice) by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness … that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26 NKJV)
In the very first sermon ever given on the gospel message, which was proclaimed right after the disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit, Peter stood before the people and said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 NKJV)
Therefore, the good news of God’s favor is, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
Besides the enjoyment of God’s favor and love, the great tiding is that we can be restored to that divine image we had received in the beginning, where we were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).
You see, the gospel message brings us back to the purity that was ours in the beginning before sin defiled our souls. And it was accomplished in and through the blood Jesus shed upon the cross.
The Apostle John said, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 NKJV)
This goes with the pronouncement by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah saying, “‘Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil … Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.’” (Isaiah 1:16-18a NKJV)
And the Apostle Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)
Therefore, when we come to Christ, believing in Him as our Savior and Lord, then we become what God had always intended us to be, as we are now forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and we are now a new creation, and made righteous through Jesus, who is our righteousness.
This is the great tiding of good news, and while it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament, some of which we have seen, it was actually first proclaimed by the angels over 2,000 years ago.
On the night of Jesus’s birth, there were a bunch of shepherds watching over their flocks at night in the fields outside of Bethlehem, which you might best describe as a suburb of Jerusalem. It was there an angel appeared to them and said, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11 NKJV)
And then there appeared a multitude of angels praising God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV)
And so, Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah came as prophesied and was prophesied to be our Savior and Lord, and more, that there will be now peace and goodwill. It is this last point that leads me into the second phrase that Isaiah uses to bring joy to our lives.
Proclaims Peace
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace.”
Whenever peace is mentioned, the peace that this world offers what comes to mind, and that is a cessation of hostilities.
But, as I was thinking about this, in a way that is exactly what the peace of God entails, but it is expanded from the physical to the spiritual. Not only is the message of peace the cessation of hostilities amongst us as humans, but it is also a cessation of hostilities on our part towards God, and a cessation of hostilities on God’s part towards us.
Now, that is something that we usually don’t hear from the pulpit, because it’s not what people want to or like to hear. But there is ample evidence that such hostilities exist, and that’s because before someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ, they are His enemies.
To have peace with God is something humanity has strived for from the very beginning when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, thus making the human race, and the Lord, enemies.
That’s right, we became God’s enemies because of our sin. And it started back in the beginning with Adam and Eve. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in his letter to the Roman church saying, “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19 NKJV)
Earlier, Paul said, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” (Romans 5:10a NKJV)
And the peace that God brings through Jesus reveals the extent of His love.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV)
Earlier, Paul made this declaration. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1 NKJV)
Only those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ having their sins forgiven can be made righteous in the eyes of God. Only then can we have peace with God.
To the church in Colossae Paul said, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
The prophet Isaiah said concerning the coming Messiah, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
And so, in the end, there is no real peace outside a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says that this is the peace that passes all understanding and the peace that will guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Jesus is contrasting worldly peace with God’s peace. Again, the peace the world gives is the cessation of war and an end to hostilities. It’s calling for peace pacts, peace accords, and peace agreements, but these are short lived.
The peace Jesus gives, however, is not the same thing. Where worldly peace is a cessation of fighting that only lasts for a short time, peace with God is eternal, and it is all about having our relationship with God restored, where we are no longer alienated and separated from Him.
And this is what we need to proclaim, this is the beauty of the message that we are to bring to this world that really doesn’t know peace. That it is Jesus, the Prince of Peace, where true peace is found.
Proclaims Salvation
“Who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!”
Our salvation is through the Lord God and Him alone. And it comes through Jesus’s death upon the cross and the sacrifice He made, as John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” And this he said upon seeing Jesus (John 1:29).
In the first gospel message given, that is, the good news of Jesus Christ, Peter proclaimed, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NKJV)
In other words, it’s not through Baal or Ashtoreth, the gods of the lands that surrounded them. Nor is there salvation through the worship of nature, the sun, moon, and stars. There is only salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, and the soon and coming King.
So, what is this message? It’s how we who are in bondage to sin and its eventual punishment, as the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, that we can now be set free with a brand new life, along with a brand new mission, which is not one of self or self-gratification, but rather it is one of self-giving as our mission is to see God’s kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Conclusion
But what is even more important is that this message that brings good news and the glad tidings of God to His creation hasn’t been given to angels, although they pronounced the coming of the birth of Jesus as good tiding of great joy, the message hasn’t been giving to them, but rather it has been given to us, which is something that the angels desire to investigate.
“To them (the prophets) it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.” (1 Peter 1:12 NKJV)
And so, the message of good and great tidings we are to bring to this lost and dying world is one of mercy and one that is an exhibition of God’s love. And what this message brings is the good news of where we can have peace with God, but it is also glad tidings that produces within all those who believe, salvation.
That is why the prophet Isaiah could say, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.”
And so, no matter how ugly your physical feet may look or even smell, God calls them beautiful as we carry out His Great Commission, to tell the world, or at least our family, friends, and neighbors these great tidings of great joy.
