Isaiah 25:6-9, Psalm 114, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Luke 24:13-49
A). THE EASTER APOCALYPSE.
Isaiah 25:6-9.
This small passage lies at the heart of the so-called ‘Isaiah Apocalypse’ of chapters 24-27 and brings hope into an otherwise dismal prospect.
Chapter 25 itself begins with praise for God’s ‘plans formed of old, faithful and sure’ (Isaiah 25:1) - which include His acts of judgment as well as of deliverance.
Our present section invites us to a banquet (Isaiah 25:6); casts away a shroud, pronounces death vanquished, wipes away tears, and takes away disgrace (Isaiah 25:7-8); and leaves us with the hope of salvation (Isaiah 25:9).
1. An Invitation to a Banquet (Isaiah 25:6).
“In this mountain” speaks of Mount Zion, Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 24:23). The junction between heaven and earth. The place where the LORD meets with man. Here the LORD Himself is setting a table for a mighty feast. It is “a feast of fat things, of well-aged wines, of marrow with the fat, of well-aged wines well refined” (it sounds almost as poetic in English as it does in the Hebrew). And “all people” are invited.
It appears that Jesus used this passage as the basis for His parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24).
The first people to be invited did not even have the courtesy to reply to the invitation: but when the Master still graciously sent His servant to bring them when the feast was ready, ‘They all with one accord made excuses’ (Luke 14:18). For example, one had just bought some real estate and must needs go to inspect it; one had just bought five teams of oxen and must needs go and prove them; and one had just got married, and therefore had other priorities.
All these excuses disqualified them from ever attending the Messianic banquet, ‘for I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper,’ said Jesus (Luke 14:24). Hearers of the Gospel must not be like the people in Jesus’ parable. ‘Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith in the earth?’ (Luke 18:8).
2. A Shroud Cast Away (Isaiah 25:7-8).
It is here in this mountain, at this feast, that the LORD promises to cast away a shroud.
First, there is the shroud in which Jesus was wrapped at His death.
In the death of Jesus, God “destroyed” what the shroud represents (i.e., Death), and “swallowed up” Death forever. It is, first and foremost, in the Resurrection of Jesus that ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:54).
Second, the veil over the hearts of “all people” is removed (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:15-16).
Thirdly, the veil of mourning is removed. “The LORD God will wipe away the tears from all faces” (cf. Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4).
And fourthly, “reproach” - i.e., ‘condemnation’ - is removed (cf. Romans 8:1).
Paul also builds on this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, adding in the taunt song of Hosea 13:14. Because of the death of Death in the death of Christ, Death has lost its sting for all who believe. Because He has indeed risen, we too shall rise and go to be ‘forever with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
3. The Hope of Salvation (Isaiah 25:9).
Now this all leaves us with the hope of our salvation. On one hand, the death of and resurrection of Christ, and their consequences - the forgiveness of sin, and a right relationship with God (cf. Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21) - are already realised in the life of the Christian. We are already ‘seated in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Ephesians 2:6).
On the other hand, we have not yet ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’ and must live yet in this body. The text calls us to “wait” for the fulness of our salvation (Romans 8:23), which will be fully manifested when Jesus returns (Titus 2:13).
This short passage ends with praise. When the feast is spread, we shall say, “This is our God, we have waited for Him… We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
Christ has risen - and if we are His, we will be there!
B). WHEN ISRAEL WENT OUT OF EGYPT.
Psalm 114:1-8.
The exuberance of this Psalm is immediately evident. It is a recollection of Israel’s redemption story, beginning from when the descendants of Jacob made their exodus from Egypt. It is the prelude to the founding of what Stephen, the first Christian martyr, would later name ‘the church in the wilderness’ (cf. Acts 7:38). But most of all, although He is not named, it is a celebration of “the God of Jacob” (Psalm 114:7) who delivered them.
PSALM 114:1. When “the house of Jacob” first went down into Egypt, they were a single family of about 75 persons. Jacob’s son Joseph was Prime Minister in Egypt, and there the Pharoah welcomed Joseph’s father and brethren. But a later Pharoah of Egypt felt threatened by this growing family, and enslaved them.
One of the enduring miracles of God in relation to Israel is that He has enabled them to keep their identity. For varying reasons down through history they have been ‘strangers and pilgrims in the earth’ (cf. Hebrews 11:13). [Much as Christians surely should also be (cf. 1 Peter 2:11).]
It is a hard thing for a civilised people to live amongst – and even be in bondage to – a people of a barbarous tongue. Yet God heard the cry of His ancient people, and reached down to deliver them. Even as He has done also for His new covenant people in sending Jesus to die for our salvation.
PSALM 114:2. In this verse “Judah” and “Israel” are NOT being viewed as the divided kingdom which they would later become, but as the united entity which they already were. They were one people in God, being viewed as both His sanctuary (holy people, set apart unto Him) and as His dominion (where He had His rule.) When Israel came out of Egypt, the LORD (if I may so name Him here) ere long set up His tabernacle, to be in the midst of them, and to go before them.
Just so, Jesus promises the people whom He draws out of the Egypt of sin and death to be His people: ‘Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world’ (cf. Matthew 28:20).
PSALM 114:3. The poet encapsulates the forty years of wilderness wanderings in these two remarkable miracles viewed at either end of the journey: the parting of the Red Sea, and the flowing backwards of the River Jordan. (Only Joshua and Caleb were adult witnesses to both.) The sea “saw” what God had done, and before the presence of this God had to flee from its courses; the river was “driven back” by the LORD at the head of His people.
PSALM 114:4. This moving of mountains took place when the LORD descended upon Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:16; Deuteronomy 4:11-12; Hebrews 12:18-19). This is not just seismic and weather phenomena, but something far more momentous.
The irony of the figure lies in the fact that the mountains and hills, which seem to be so durable, are at last seen to be behaving with the timidity of sheep. The likes of this may never be seen again until the consummation of all things, when ‘the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed’ at the coming of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 54:10).
There is such a thing as mountain-moving faith for those who have faith in God (cf. Mark 11:23).
PSALM 114:5-6. “What (or indeed, Who) ailed thee?” This is a taunt: first to the sea and Jordan; and then to the mountains and hills. ‘What is up with you that you behaved so?’ Why is it?
In like manner the Christian church taunts death in light of the resurrection (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55-56).
PSALM 114:7. The answer at last comes: it is “the Lord” - not here named as ‘YHWH,’ but addressed as “Adonai,” Sovereign. The mocking tone remains: “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.”
This “trembling” is as the birth-pangs of Israel, when ‘a nation was born in a day’ (cf. Isaiah 66:8).
PSALM 114:8. At Sinai, the hard “rock” was turned into “a standing water,” and the soft “flint” into “a fountain of waters.”
Likewise the Lord ministers to the hard heart, turning the heart of stone into a heart of flesh (cf. Ezekiel 36:26), and does not despise ‘the broken and contrite heart’ (cf. Psalm 51:17).
What a demonstration of the power of God!
C). CHRIST OUR PASSOVER IS SACRIFICED FOR US.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8.
The context for this passage is one of church discipline (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1). The case in point concerns an incestuous affair which, far from addressing, the church seems to have been ‘puffed up’ about (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:2). Paul sternly exhorted them to excommunicate such a one from their congregation (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:3-5).
1. “A Little Leaven” (1 Corinthians 5:6).
The problem with the Corinthians was that they saw this only as a small matter. “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” countered Paul. (The Apostle used the same expression when speaking of the pernicious spread of false doctrine in Galatians 5:9.)
The motif of ‘leaven’ is often used in the Bible to refer to something malicious, that infects everything it touches. Jesus speaks of ‘the leaven of the scribes and of the Pharisees’ (cf. Matthew 16:6).
[But to be fair to a word which has such a bad press, it is well to note that Jesus does also use ‘leaven’ as a similitude for the good effect of the spread of the kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21).]
2. “Purge Out the Old Leaven” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Easter is as good a season as any to recognise that we are a new people in Christ Jesus. “Purge out therefore the old leaven… as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The background to this verse is found in the feast of unleavened bread (cf. Exodus 12). Leaven was purged from all the dwelling places of God’s ancient people, and for seven days prior to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb they would eat only unleavened bread. On pain of excommunication!
So, in like manner, God’s believing people are to put off ‘the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts… and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness’ (cf. Ephesians 4:22-24).
Having done that, we are to ‘mortify’ (put to death) what is earthly in us (cf. Colossians 3:5) ... 'SEEING THAT ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created us’ (cf. Colossians 3:9-10).
In other words, recognise that “ye are,” in fact, “unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Passover was a feast for believers, commemorating Israel’s redemption out of Egypt (cf. Psalm 114:1-2). Easter reminds us that “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). We have been redeemed from our old life by ‘the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’ (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19).
3. “Keep the Feast” (1 Corinthians 5:8).
The idea is not so much that we have a feast day (such as Easter), but that we keep a PERPETUAL MEMORIAL (cf. Exodus 12:14). Christian believers are a resurrection people, and we are living in the victory wrought by Jesus. Because of His triumph o’er the grave for us, every day is a cause for celebration.
Yet we feast not as the world feasts, with the “leaven of malice and wickedness;” but “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).
“Sincerity and truth” speaks of an openness, an honesty, a willingness to be examined by the light of the gospel. It is the opposite of hypocrisy.
Being a redeemed, resurrection people, WE NEED TO LIVE UP TO WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. For, “Ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
D). EASTER EVENING.
Luke 24:13-49.
A man named Cleopas and his travelling companion were on their way back from Jerusalem, walking the seven miles to a village named Emmaus. Their conversation was very much taken up with concerns about the death of Jesus. A stranger drew near, and walked with them. Unbeknown to them, it was Jesus. The Lord drew from them a full rehearsal of the facts surrounding His death, and of the reports of the empty tomb (Luke 24:13-24).
It is not enough to know the facts about Jesus. It is necessary that we have a personal encounter with our Lord and Saviour, and allow Him to open up to us the true meaning of the Scriptures concerning Himself. It is no accident that both the Bible and Jesus Himself are known as ‘The Word of God!’
The Saviour was but a stranger to the two on the Emmaus road as they walked and talked with Him. Yet He revealed Himself to them when they invited Him into their home. They recognised Him in the breaking of bread. Does not our heart burn within us, and give us new vigour when we have had communion with Christ and listened to His Word? (Luke 24:25-32).
We do not need to have all the answers in order to become Christians. But when we invite Jesus into our hearts, He will reveal Himself more fully to us. And we will recognise Him in the breaking of bread in the Lord's Supper, and in the fellowship of God's people.
The two now returned to the upper room in Jerusalem. What a scene met them there upon their return! The dejected church was now declaring its Easter message: “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” To which they added their own testimony of the risen Lord (Luke 24:33-35).
At that moment Jesus Himself appeared among them, and spoke the “Peace” (Luke 24:36). Was He a spirit, suddenly appearing in a room with closed doors? Faith, hope, and anticipation were momentarily eclipsed by fear and uncertainty. Into our uncertainty the Lord speaks words of reassurance, and presents us with the evidence on which to ground our faith (Luke 24:37-40).
Whatever we may understand of the risen body of our Lord, it was both real and material. Flesh and bones (Luke 24:39-40), and the ability to eat (Luke 24:41-43), were added to the ability to converse, and to pass through walls (Luke 24:36). Our wisdom is to receive by faith what we do not yet understand.
By now the doubts of most were dissipating. They did not fully understand, but now they marvelled with joy (Luke 24:41). Jesus opened the Scripture to the gathered assembly (Luke 24:44-47), and by the time He had finished the only one who still doubted was the one who had been absent from the meeting. But that is another story.
Easter had been a hectic, confusing day: but Jesus pointed the disciples first to His own words, and then to the Old Testament Scriptures in order that they might put some meaning upon all that had happened (Luke 24:44). This is where we must always begin: with Jesus, who is both the key and the fulfilment of Scripture, and with the Scriptures themselves. Trying to understand Jesus without the Scriptures is futile; and comprehending Scripture without Jesus opening our understanding is impossible (Luke 24:45).
“It is written,” begins Jesus, “that the Messiah should suffer and rise” (Luke 24:46). He was giving them - and us - new reading glasses to read already familiar passages and verses. From now on we see these old things as in a new light.
Not only this, but the church’s commission arises out of the Old Testament. Jesus continues, “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). If we search the Scriptures, we will find that that was always the plan.
Then we have the link with the New Testament: “you (all) are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48).
Now at last the church finds a meaning in the events that led up to the resurrection of Jesus. The risen Lord opens up the Scriptures so that we may see the reason for it all. He gives us a sense of purpose in evangelism. He establishes the witness of the Apostles through the writing of the New Testament (Luke 24:44-48).
And He promises to endue His fledgling church with resurrection power with the coming of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49). The power that is at work within us is the same power by which Christ was raised from the dead! May God bless us to use it for His glory.
As we continue to worship and serve Him in this world, may the Lord bless us with continuing understanding of what He has accomplished for us. May we fulfil our mission in the power of the Spirit and see fruit for our labours in this present ‘waiting’ time. And to His name be all the praise, honour, and glory.
