6 January 2010 – Epiphany
Psalm 46, 97 ; Isa. 49:1-7; Rev. 21:22-27; Matt. 12:14-21

The promise of God is that this Redeemer is too wonderful to simply redeem the nation of Israel, He is a redeemer for the world. Has God ever not wanted the world to be saved? John picks up on this theme of light to the nations and also on the desire of God for the world to be saved. John 3.16 speaks of Jesus’ universal mission, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” The gift of God is larger than any national salvation, the God who created the world has come to redeem the entirety of His creation, we can all share in the inheritance of Israel and claim the right to be called children of God.

Matthew typically points out Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophetic word concerning Messiah. Here, Jesus and his disciples have broken the Sabbath regulations by walking through fields and taking heads of grain and using their hands to get the edible portion and then he has healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. The opposition has come against Him and yet the crowds flock to Him for He has proven to be great by His deeds. Those with need come to the one who can meet that need in spite of the attitude of the Pharisees. Jesus didn’t argue with them and He didn’t walk around proclaiming aloud who He was, He let His teaching and His works speak for themselves and they were guilty of unbelief, proving once again that we can’t tell the difference between good and evil.

In the end, the lamp through which shines the glory of God is the Lamb and the nations will stream to its light. Jesus is the vessel through which God’s glory is displayed, we have the joy of knowing that truth now and it is commanded of us to be salt and light in the world today. We are poor lights compared with Jesus, but we were created in the image of God and we now have the Spirit of God within us, enabling us to bear witness to the light both by word and deed.

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.