"The Gospel in the Old Testament"

“Either the facts of Jesus’ life were reshaped by a conspiracy of early Christian writers to make them conform to this text, a task so complex as to be unimaginable, or, much more simply, his life, death and resurrection did so conform. The text must still be read through the eyes of faith, but with that faith the mystery is no longer about how it is possible for sinful humans to have a healthy and whole relationship with God. The only mystery is how God could love us like that.” – John N. Oswalt (on Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. It has been dubbed, “the Gospel in the Old Testament” and clearly it is. Jesus’ life and death and resurrection are all here. But, it is not until the resurrection that anyone can see how it all fits together. The light of the resurrection, if you will, becomes the way by which we see all that was before shrouded in mystery. The remaining mystery is the lavish love of God for rebels like you and I. There are two points of application for us from this and other texts that tie Jesus death with our pardon and His resurrection with validation of that pardon. The first, I gave some attention to in the message namely this: having been fully forgiven at the cross, we need not live in condemnation (Romans 8:1). Guilt and shame are no longer ours because, Jesus took them on Himself. When we wallow in guilt and shame, we are practically denying the effectiveness of the cross and the penalty paid there by Jesus. We must not use this as a license for sin. (see Romans 5 and 6, esp. 6:1-11) Instead, we must use it as a powerful practical tool in our daily life. Our salvation in Jesus is complete. We have been given mercy when we deserved wrath. Jesus died for rebels as a rebel. You are free from the penalty of sin! Lift up your head. Walk in the full pardon you’ve received. Refuse to wear the chains of guilt and shame. Walk out of the prison of self-condemnation. Rebuke Satan’s accusations of guilt and unworthiness by reminding Him of the cross and the victory Jesus won there. The other point of application is one which I will visit in my mid-week video update.

For Further Study: Read Colossians 2:6-15

Application Questions/Ideas:

1.       When do I give way to shame and guilt? Is there a particular sin or habitual sin that allows guilt and shame to grow in me?

2.       What has helped me to break free from the accusations of Satan or myself? How can I focus actively on hearing God’s truth about my guilt, my shame and my pardon from Jesus? Is there a particular Scripture to memorize? Do I need to confess it to a brother or sister in Christ who can remind me of the effectiveness of the cross for this particular sin?

3.       How can I encourage a fellow disciple that they have been pardoned completely for their sin?

Bonus project: Memorize Colossians 2:13-15