The Glorious Work of the Messiah by Gerald Van Horn
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the Holy City, to finish the transgression, and to make an end to sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
God never has left anything up to chance. In His infinite wisdom the hour was dictated when Jesus would come and when He would be cut off. This was the crowning edifice of grace and therefore demanded His particular care. Prophecies declared the time, “And when the fullness of time was come He would be born of a virgin.” There was even in those dark days men and women who were looking for Him. Simeon and Anna were looking for the promised Messiah to come. The Jews were not the only ones looking for Him. There was a Gentile woman. The Samaritan woman at the well was looking. She told Jesus “I know Messiah cometh which is called the Christ.” It was a time of peace and even heathen nations were at rest from war.
So it is again today. Men are looking for the Messiah to come. The Scripture says of that day and hour knoweth no man. In Revelation time after time it says “Surely I come quickly.” “Behold the bridegroom cometh!” We cannot predict the exact hour, month or year we just know that according to the book of Daniel He will come when the 70 weeks are fulfilled. Rather than making some weird prediction, we focus our spiritual telescope on Jesus.
According to the text we can divide the Messiah’s work into two divisions:
1. “To finish the transgression and make an end to sins.”
It would appear that at first glance that the Lord’s work is confined to “tearing down His work.” This is not so. It is to build up the work. It is as if transgressions are taken captive and shut in a cell with the door securely fastened. The word the Bible uses in the margin is “restrained.” The Hebrew word means to “hold back, to arrest, to keep, to shut up.” In other words sin’s dominion is finished and is bound. Christ has led captivity captive. In order to leave no doubt as to sin escaping, God uses another word here - the word “seal.” The exact sentence is “to seal up.” The word insures custody lest there be any possibility of breaking loose. Job 14: 17 “my transgressions are sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.” David cried out in Psalms 51:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.” God speaks to Isaiah in 43:25 “I, even I, he who blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Illustration: When Daniel was thrown in the lions den it says, “My God hath sent his angel, and shut the lion mouths.” The lions were present but their ability to harm was negated by the angel who shut their mouths. Same principle applies to what Jesus would do to sin. Sin would be present but have no power. Jesus was shut up in a tomb but the tomb had no power over the Son of God. When Jesus was on the cross He uttered “it is finished.” Thank God sin is imprisoned. Sealed with Jesus who bore it.
In yet there is another term in the Hebrew. It means “to cover up.” Psalms 32:1 “Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” We know well the cover up that took place at Watergate. But Jesus is no frail human being. In these three words, “to cover up,” we have the full expression the work Jesus accomplished at Calvary. It seems sin had reached it’s highest pinnacle for it reached to even killing the Son of God.
Sin had stoned the prophets. It killed everyone the King had sent. Sin said, “Let’s kill the king!” and the inheritance shall be ours. But the charade ended when Christ was put to death. It produced a greater harvest. No crime could be any greater than a innocent man dying for the sins of others. Sin committed suicide when it slew the Savior.
2. “To Make an end of Sin.”
When something ends it means that it had a beginning of something else. The reason our text given is to “make reconciliation for iniquity.” Sin had no choice. It is defeated by the righteousness of Christ. It gave the Devil fits to see this happen. He has to loose his ugly claws off of a child of God. The Devil could no longer hold on.
* Reconciliation- It means to bring together. To end the force of strife. To be joined together. Reconciliation can only be achieved when a greater force meets another force. There is no stalemate here. That force is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
* Establish righteousness- Establish means to bring into being, to build or mold. The results are righteousness.
Illustration: The worm enters into a pupa stage and forms a cocoon around itself. It lies dormant until the condition is just right. From it’s prison comes a beautiful butterfly. The Greek word is “Metamorphosis.” An ugly creature is transformed into a beautiful butterfly.
The work of Christ in establishing righteousness is not temporary. It is everlasting. Let me say it again. It is everlasting. It is not our righteousness but the righteousness of Christ. It is imputed by an act of God. Life becomes glorious. There is no condemnation. Romans chpt.8. Because Christ arose to new life then we too can arise to a new life. This also covers the full spectrum of life on this planet. Part of God’s nature is imparted to us.
The Messiah’s work will go on through eternity. This short prose sums it up called “One Solitary Life.” I do not know the author.
He was born in an obscure village,
He worked in a carpenter shop,
Until he was thirty,
He then became an itinerant preacher,
He never held an office,
He never had a family or owned a home,
He never went to college,
He had no credentials but himself,
Twenty one centuries have come and gone,
And He is the central figure of the human race,
All the Armies that ever marched,
All the Navies that ever sailed,
All the parliaments that ever sat,
And all the kings that ever reigned
have not effected the life of man
On earth as much as that,
ONE SOLITARY LIFE.
