Isaiah 31 makes a brief, but clear point: Trust in the LORD not in any human being or nation. The Israelites were relying on Egypt and their horses (and chariots) to deliver them from the Assyrians. That was not God’s plan. God reminded them He would take care of the Assyrians and no human sword would be necessary. Even though we live on the resurrection side of Easter, and we rely on Jesus as Savior and Lord in every situation, this is a helpful reminder to us. While we can make our plans, and we are supposed to do all that we can do to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, it is always God who works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure!
Isaiah 32 is another chapter with a mixed message. It starts with a statement about a king who will rule in righteousness. We’re told how that king will rid the nation of foolishness, and of calling foolishness anything but what it is. But then the chapter takes a turn and the wealthy women of the nation are told they are to turn to repentance (noted by telling them to put on sackcloth and to beat their breasts.). The chapter ends on a positive note, but as we find throughout Isaiah, the LORD has Isaiah remind the people their sin is cause for repentance, and their future is only secure in Him.
Isaiah 33 starts with the stark reality of Israel’s situation but builds to a time when the LORD will be the king, when Jerusalem will be reestablished. In that time, even the lame will have more than enough. We cannot know whether this time was to be in a chronological future, or at the time of the LORD’s return. It isn’t always clear in Isaiah’s prophecies whether He was speaking of a time in the immediate future, or of the time when God will bring about the fulfillment of history through Jesus. The one sure reality is God’s people will be vindicated in the end by God, and not by our own efforts, or because of our own goodness.
As we return to the Gospel of John for the third time, it ought to be becoming clear to us that John’s gospel is different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. As we have said the first three gospels are known as the “Synoptic” gospels, which means “seen together.” That’s because they have similar content, and many of the same accounts, sometimes with virtually the same wording. John, on the other hand, is a more theological work. Having been written twenty to thirty years after the other gospels, when John was an old man, the account is much more concerned with demonstrating Jesus is God, and that He is the way to salvation. John tells us as much in John 20:30-23: 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 (ESV)
John 1 records who Jesus is from an overarching perspective: He is “the Word.” The Greek work, “logos,” which John used can mean both the Word as in the Word of God, and the divine ordering principle behind everything. Greek philosophers used logos the second way. It could well be John was using the word with both intentions, because Jesus is the Word of God, and He is also the divine ordering principle behind everything. In any case, John wasn’t concerned to tell us about Jesus’ physical birth, and he often left out details about when and where events took place. In John 1, in addition to telling us Jesus was the word, he also tells us Jesus was full of grace and truth. What a vital combination. Grace or truth are easy paths to take. I can be gracious to you, if I don’t care about holding you to the truth. Or I can speak truth to you, if I don’t care about being gracious. But to be full of both grace and truth means I would show you grace while holding you to the truth. That’s what Jesus does for us. He shows us absolute grace, while holding us to absolute truth. That combination can only be carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus held in all His fullness. As we work our way through John’s gospel this time, we will point out one or two aspects of Jesus divine nature and or power, because that is what John wanted us to see.