#414 The Jesus Trip, I Have Seen The King

#414 The Jesus Trip, I Have Seen The King
By: Zach Sloane
July 21, 2019

(See download links at the bottom of the page for the Sermon Notes, PowerPoint Slides)

Isaiah: not just one vision. It’s a compilation of speeches, writings, poems, and covers lots of different subject matter.

Isaiah 1:1 (NIV)
“The vision concerningJudah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

Between chapters 13-23 they’re prophecies concerning 13 different nations and places, just in these ten chapters.^[1]

Great thing about Isaiah, is that despite all the vast subject matter, he gives us a picture of Jesus maybe unlike anything else in the Old Testament…

By one count, there are 66 different references to Isaiah in the New Testament.^[2]

A key to understanding the book of Isaiah and embracing its message:

Isaiah 6:1-5
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Prophets didn’t always see the whole picture…

1 Peter 1:10-15
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more aboutwhen they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wonderedwhat time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. 12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

The thing that I think rocked Isaiah to the core… what made this vision so impactful on the rest of his life and ministry was that when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, when he saw the King of Glory… I believe he saw The Lamb of God, crucified from before the foundation of the world, the Lord of glory.

Revelation 13:8
“…Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Rev. 5:6
“And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throneand of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”

Revelation 17:14 (NLT)
Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lambwill defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

So Isaiah sees the King… and I believe its not what he expected.

Here’s why I believe he struggled to grasp the vision… YET!

He knew that Israel was in a bad spot.

Isaiah 1:2-3
Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”

He sees and prophesies the devastation that this wickedness has caused.

Isaiah 1:7 (NLT)
Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see.

Religion is not a solution:

Isaiah 1:11-14 (NLT)
“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!

God Himself is even saying that their sacrifices and offerings are not going to cut it. But that’s not end of the story. He sees restoration too.

Isaiah 2:1-4 (NLT)
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship…They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.

Isaiah 11:6-9 (NLT)
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together…Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

Isaiah 60:1-5(NLT)
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you… the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light…They will bring you the wealth of many lands.

Isaiah 62:12 New Living Translation (NLT)
They will be called “The Holy People”and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place” and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

Put yourself in his shoes for a minute… Nevertheless, despite his dead expectation and familiarities…he saw that the…

Isaiah 9:1
“…time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.” – But how?

Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor,Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armieswill make this happen!

The how – It’s Jesus. He saw the King…

Matthew 4:12-17
“… He [Jesus] went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light…”

But… what he sees, and prophesies is so different than what he expected

Isaiah 6:9-10
“… ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart and turn to me for healing.”

Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:16-19(NLT)
“…bring good news to the poor…comfort the brokenhearted…proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed…tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, ~~and with it, the day of God~~’~~s anger against their enemies.~~”

Jesus, God’s king, he was coming in a way that the prophets of old couldn’t really wrap their heads around, he was a king but instead of coming with retribution and vengeance… he was coming as servant to serve, heal bless, redeem, restore and heal.

Isaiah 42:1 (NLT)
“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.”

Isaiah 53:1-2
“Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence …” He is over and over again referred to as the servant. And this King, he wouldn’t be like any king Isaiah or anyone else had ever seen before.

Isaiah 42:2-3
“He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.”

Isaiah 42:4
“He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”

Isaiah 53:2
“My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.”

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

Isaiah 53:3
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

He saw a servant King… When He saw God’s King, when he heard heaven’s mission, though he didn’t fully grasp what he saw, he threw himself wholeheartedly behind heaven’s mission.

Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Have you seen the King? He may not be how you expect but you’ll love him if you see him.

Isaiah 53 (MSG)
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him. He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off— and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he’d never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn’t true. Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones,”as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors— Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.