Isaiah 11:1-3 – Messiah: What He’s Like
Messiah means ‘the anointed one’. Priests and kings were anointed ones, but they pointed to someone greater. They pointed to someone in whom the Holy Spirit dwelt without measure. In fact, the word ‘Christ’ is the Greek word for Messiah. Where does the Messiah come from? He is from the family of Jesse who was the father of King David. God had promised David there would always be someone to reign on his throne (2 Samuel 7). Ultimately from David would descend the Messiah, the anointed one, the One who would be the final prophet, priest, and king, who would sit on the throne of David forever.
We have a blessing in our New Testament day that Old Testament believers in Jesus Christ did not have. That is the way the Spirit is given to us. These, in Isaiah’s day, looked forward to him whose blood would be shed somehow or another, who would be hung on a tree or something of the sort, who would be accursed by God so that they could receive everlasting blessing. They looked forward to him, and they were saved. It was all by the working of the Holy Spirit on them. Now we have all that. But we have something special that has come since Pentecost. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Because of that we have a fullness of joy, a strength of assurance that none of the Old Testament saints were privileged to have. This did not affect their salvation, of course, but it often affected their comfort. God in His grace has made us to be alive in a place, in a time where we have the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is because the Holy Spirit was most fully and is most fully upon our Lord Jesus.
Jesus is a prophet, so He knows exactly what to tell us about God. He is the final Priest, and so knows how to and has accomplished complete salvation for His people. He is the King who is able to save His people to the uttermost. He does all this for the sake of his people. He delights to save His people from their sin. Do you know this Messiah?
Questions
- What does the word Messiah mean?
- What advantages do we have over Old Testament believers?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would grow in humility and obedience.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.