It's all about Jesus

Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
He will swallow up death for ever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say, surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.


I love the grace of God. I find it interesting to find little hints and glimmers of hope sprinkled in and among all of the doom and gloom of the apocalyptic writings of Isaiah. Not just hope like that “hopey-changey” thing we’ve all heard about; true, honest, Biblical hope, that is to say, a joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.

As I was reading Isaiah 25 the other day verses 6 through 9 jumped off the page and smacked me right in the side of the head. It was as if Jesus Himself was sitting right next to me and said, “Hey! That’s about me, you know.” So now I have the privilege of sharing with those of you who are willing to read though to the end of the page what I learned the other day. This may be a refresher for you; if it is, I ask that you read as well because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17) That said...

Verse 6:
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.

“This mountain” is a representation of Calvary. (I know there are some who will say it is Zion, but since no one can determine the actual location of Mt. Zion or whether or not it is the same place as Calvary or Moriah; I’m saying in this scripture it is Calvary.) On Calvary the Lord prepared a feast for all, a banquet of the finest meats and wines. Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), is the perfect sacrifice, the best meat. He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and His blood is the finest wine (Matthew 26:28) shed for the remission of sins. Christ is the banquet prepared by the Lord for all mankind to consume.

Verse 7:
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

On Mount Calvary Christ destroyed the curse of the Law and the strength that it gave sin in our lives (1 Corinthians 15:56). The veil that separated us from God was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), giving us free access to God through the atoning sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ.

Verse 8:
He will swallow up death for ever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

On the cross Christ conquered death, both physical and spiritual. He did not die as a man would, but He chose the exact moment when the sacrifice was completed and gave up His Spirit, conquering the power that death had over mankind (Luke 23:46). His blood completely cleansed us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7). As a result, God no longer sees our sins (Jeremiah 31:34) but instead sees the perfect work of His Son, Jesus Christ making us perfect in His eyes.

Verse 9:
In that day they will say, surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.

I don’t think I have to explain much in this verse. The Bible is ageless and timeless, like our Creator and God, and so we who read it have to consider that right here, right now, this is for us. When Isaiah wrote these words he was speaking about the the restoration of Israel. When we read these words, however, years after the restoration of Israel, we have to realize that there is more than a history lesson involved. This is for us, the Christians of 2011, to read and to meditate on, to embrace as our stronghold in an increasingly troubled world. We have put our trust in Jesus Christ and His grace at the cross, and He has saved us. Let us, as the scripture says, rejoice and be glad in His salvation.