It has been said that hindsight is 20/20, and such a reality often leads to regret in my life. Many times have I found myself saying, “I should have …,” with that statement followed by some kind of action that would have changed the course of events that followed. I do not believe, however, this kind of thing is foreign to any of us. In insignificant matters, such as sporting events, athletes and coaches lie awake at night wishing they had called designed or carried out the play in a different manner, and in more significant matters, such a war, generals no doubt replay their strategies in their heads because they were displeased with the real outcome. Simply put, knowing how things turn out in life open our eyes to what the right decisions were, whether we made those decisions or not.

With this being the case, it would seem that one of the greatest blessings you could give someone in life is a clear picture of what their future will look like in any number of circumstances should they make certain decisions. If someone could have shown me that I would be married to Lili when I was single I would have complained less to William (and everyone who would listen) about how lonely I was and about how the 3:1 ratio of girls to guys at Union did not provide us with enough girls from which to find a wife. A clear picture of the future is simply one of the most helpful things in aiding one in making right and good present decisions.

That brings us to one of the great blessings of our text today, for Isaiah 60-62 is a vision for Israel of what their future held. In these chapters Isaiah describes for them a beautiful vision of the hope of those Israelites who held, by faith, to the promises of God, including how God was going to work it out and his commitment to carrying out this vision.

The text itself breaks down into three general sections. In chapter 60 we have the first section which is a description of the coming glory to Jerusalem. In this chapter Isaiah describes God’s glory shining upon Israel and it producing a light that attracts all the nations of the world to flock to Jerusalem. We read of Isaiah telling the people in verse 4 that their sons and daughters shall come from afar, in verse 5 that the nations will bring their wealth into the city, and in verse 6 of them bringing gifts of gold and frankincense. The first nine verses show us a beautiful picture of God’s glory in Jerusalem’s midst drawing all people to the city in which his light dwells. Then, in verses 10-16 Isaiah tells them that though they have been oppressed, they will be exalted while those who have oppressed them will be humbled. Finally, in 17-22 the Lord describes to them the beauty of this glorious city, as the Lord is their light and their bronze has changed to gold. Isaiah 60 is nothing less than a parallel to the vision John had in Revelation 21 of the New Jerusalem coming down out of the sky, of the new heavens and the new earth that await God’s people after the return of his Son.

In the second section of our text (Isaiah 61:1-9) we find the means that God will use to bring about this glorious reality, namely, his Anointed Messiah who will come proclaiming this age and usher it in as he comes to transform and renew the earth. In verses 1-3 we read of this individual saying that the Spirit is upon him and has anointed him to come and proclaim liberty to the captives, bind up the brokenhearted, etc. It is the description of one using terms that apply to kings. Isaiah is speaking of one who is powerful enough to walk into the enemy’s camp and announce to their prisoners that they can go free. If you’re going to do that, you better know you are able to be victorious over the enemy. Then, in verses 4-9 the Anointed One describes many of the same blessings that we read of in chapter 60 coming to Israel.

What is helpful for us here is that, just like Isaiah 60 is paralleled in John 21, this text finds interpretation in the New Testament. In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus walks into the synagogue, takes the scroll, finds Isaiah 61:1-2, reads it, and says that this text has been fulfilled. He was saying that by his first coming he had initiated the work that would end up in that picture of the New Jerusalem as he would come again.

Finally, in the third section (Isaiah 61:10-62:12), we read of God communicating to his people his commitment to see this vision carried out and becoming a reality. In 62:1 he says, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” Then, on an interesting note, in verses 6-7 God has one set up to remind him and take no rest in reminding him, until he “establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.”

But this text is obviously not one that affects those believing Israelites in that day only. For we have already shown that Isaiah 60 parallels John 21, which is a vision of the new creation that all those believing in Christ will inherit. Therefore, I think that the lessons that Israel should have learned from this text are very much the same lessons that we should learn. The difference, however, is that we have a fuller picture and can apply some lessons more specifically to our lives.

Therefore, this morning, in light of knowing what our future holds, I want to exhort us to make some decisions as to what we will do and how we will live today in light of what tomorrow holds. Thus, I will give us this morning three exhortations about how we should live that I believe come to us because of the realities we find in this text. Let us now turn to those exhortations.

We must set our focus on seeking to exalt Christ and his work

The interesting thing about Isaiah 60 is that it is a scene of everything Israel has wanted throughout the book. In the early part of this book they are seeking security against other nations, other nations looking up to them, and being a city that has great blessings. They were constantly being rebuked in earlier parts of this book for seeking Assyria (or other nations) as the means to achieve what God is telling them that he has for them in their future. Now they have it, but the difference is that Christ and his work is at the center of it.

Jerusalem wanted to be a place of glory because of itself. Israel wanted to be exalted so that they might be blessed. In this picture, however, people are flocking to Jerusalem not because of Jerusalem itself or those people in it. They are flocking to Jerusalem because God and his glory are there. The Lord is the centerpiece. He is the light, and it is his glory spoken of in Isaiah 60:1. The nations coming to the light of Israel in 60:3 are the nations coming to the light that is the Lord’s glory. And the city is not called a great city in itself but the “City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel” (60:14). This is a picture where God is their glory and God is their light (60:19).

And when we compare this to John 21, we see that the difference is that John can give the light and glory a name, Jesus of Nazareth. Isaiah does not yet have a name to assign to the one giving forth the light, but John can tell us that it is the Lamb, Jesus, the Christ. And, as we have discussed, it is his work that is highlighted in Isaiah 61:1-9.

Therefore, this is a picture of Israel having what she wanted, but not the path she was trying to choose, a path of self-exaltation. This is a picture of Israel being blessed because Christ and his work is being exalted in her midst.

This provides a warning for us. I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a group as gifted and talented as the group that I get to fellowship with on Sunday morning each week. Many conversations through my week are about my amazement at the amazing people that I get to fellowship with in this body. And I think that the potential for those in this room is amazing as you have high aspirations for what might be accomplished through your life.

But that also means that there will be great temptation to pride and to trying to achieve some of the things that God might even have for you by means of your own exaltation instead of Christ’s, even as Israel had done in this text. But here’s the reality. It is only he who is willing to lay down his life for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s sake who will find life. It is only he who denies himself who will be exalted. The means by which God has designed for the building up and exalting of his people is by exalting the person and work of his Son through them. Therefore, this must be our focus and goal as well.

Here, we must follow our Lord’s example. It is not that he was not to have the kingdom of this world and to be exalted above all, it is simply that bowing to Satan was not the designed means to get there. Rather, he was to be obedient to death, even death on a cross. And because of such obedience God exalted him, giving him a name that is above every name.

So it is with us. If you are his child, then be assured that God is not against you. He has redeemed you through the death, burial, and resurrection of his own Son. He wants good for you. But if you seek to exalt yourself verses following the example of Christ, then he will humble you. Simply put, try to save your life and you’ll lose it, but lose your life for Jesus’ sake and you’ll find it.

We are not better than our Lord, so if in this life the road of exaltation for him meant death on a cross, do not think that you are too great or too able to follow a similar path. We are not better than our Master and should count it an honor to follow after him. Therefore, let us learn from Israel’s example and seek not our own exaltation but the exaltation of Jesus Christ in all things, humbling ourselves and doing whatever necessary to make sure that he alone is exalted in our midst.

Also, we must constantly bring to mind God’s character, especially his faithfulness and love

Something that is amazing about this text is that the Lord wanted Israel to know her future blessings. It would seem that God could simply end the book saying, “I’ve had enough. You’ve failed at every point and it has taken the sacrifice of my Son to redeem a people who still sin.” However, he shows them a glorious vision of their future. Why? I think it is to communicate what he says in 62:1 and 62:6-7 as he tells them that he is laboring for their sake and will remember to carry out his blessings for them. He simply wants them to know his love for them and faithfulness toward them.

This is something of which we must remind ourselves in this life. Our God loves us and is committed to us because he seeks the exaltation of his Son with whom we have been united. How do we endure the reality that the road on which we must walk includes carrying a cross, walking toward our death? Part of the answer is in remembering who God is, especially his love and faithfulness toward his children.

When we fight against God’s means for us in this life it is not that we want more than God wants for us, it is rather that we are too easily pleased with much less glory and blessing. It is as C. S. Lewis has written (and which I often quote in sermons), “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”¹

Another story I’ve told too many times, no doubt, but that illustrates this truth occurs on a day when as a child, having already done my chores and enjoying playing with the neighborhood kids, I was called to come home in the middle of the afternoon. I remember being so upset as I road my little pink bike we had bought from my neighbor (that had belonged to her daughter) home that day because I wanted to be able to continue playing, even if it was on my sissy bike. But my attitude changed when I rolled up in the driveway to find that my parents had called me home to give me a new red bike they had bought for me. I thought I wanted much for myself, but it was far less than my parents wanted for me on that day.

Now I see the same attitude at times in my own son. At times I want to say to him, “Trust me. I want what’s best for you. I’m not trying to rob you of blessing when I tell you not to jump off the stair balcony! Don’t you know my heart toward you by now!?!”

So it is with us toward God. Cultivate knowing him and his character more and more in the Scripture, for we must know that he is for us and he is trustworthy. That is what God has been telling Israel since Isaiah 40 and it is a lesson we must remind ourselves of constantly as well.

Finally, we must set our eyes on that city whose builder and designer is God

We’ve talked a lot this morning about the self-denial called for in following Christ, about seeking his glory over our own, about trusting God to care for us, and about God’s end plans being better for us than we could have ever designed them for ourselves. But, with that said, it is difficult to obey when it looks like you are missing out on the blessings coming to those seeking their own glory and building their own kingdoms in this world. So, how do you strengthen your heart and mind each day to press on in taking up a cross when so many others are taking up a neon sign reading, “My glory on display”?

I think the answer is by keeping your focus on this great city we read of in Isaiah 60 and John 21 that awaits us at the return of our Lord. How did Abraham press on when he didn’t even know where he was going but only knew God had called him to walk? Hebrews 11:8-10 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”

Abraham had strength for obedience because he believed a great city, a great inheritance awaited him as he walked in obedience to his Lord. I think these chapters were written to remind a rebellious people of God’s intent to bless and provide for them an inheritance. It was to strengthen them to walk by faith in a sureness of what awaits those who have faith in Christ.

It is odd; Isaiah 60-62 is a picture of everything Israel could ever want while they had labored so hard to get it for themselves and not by means of exalting the Lord and his work. This morning, then, may it be a loud call to us (if we are not believers) to give up on seeking our own righteousness and good works as our hope for blessing and to place our faith in our lives in Christ’s work in dying and rising from the dead as our hope for inheriting the promises of God. And, if we are believers, may we again today, by God’s grace, realizing what he has done for us in Christ, choose to walk a path refusing to seek our own exaltation, but seeking that of Christ and his work, trusting that God will give us more in Christ than we could ever know apart from him. May we be found seeking Christ’s glory, reminding ourselves of God’s faithfulness and love, and keeping our eyes on a city whose designer and builder is God – a city that awaits all those found in Christ. Amen.

¹ C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 1-2.

THE NEW JERUSALEM AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

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