The Savior Takes Vengeance

July 27, 2014 Isaiah 63 The Savior Takes Vengeance As we come ever closer to the end of our study of the book of Isaiah, every passage takes on added significance. The text here in chapter 63 is vivid and potentially disturbing to some. It presents a picture of our Savior which many reject, many would say could not possibly be true. The truth here is that our Savior is a warrior, a successful warrior, a warrior who returns from battle with His enemies covered with blood, their blood. So, for some of you, this passage will be repulsive. But for some of us, myself included, this is a picture of our Savior that we relish. He fights for us. He takes vengeance against our enemies as He has promised to do. I find that to be encouraging, uplifting, assuring. I don t view it as barbaric or macho or disgusting. Our Savior, fighting for us, His bride, defeating His foes in battle is a beautiful picture. And this is just the picture from the first 6 verses. From there, the text shifts in a major way. For the rest of the chapter, we have the start of a prayer from the perspective of the prophet. It is a summary prayer, encompassing many of the themes of the book. So, yes, we are approaching the end, we are summarizing. But first, hear this vivid picture of our Lord and Savior returning to His home as the victorious warrior. This is your Lord. READ Isaiah 63 Main point: Our Savior fulfills the LORD s promise to take vengeance on our enemies. In one sense, this vengeance took place on the cross. The Scriptures are clear that Jesus defeated His enemies at the cross. And it is also clear from the book of Revelation that Jesus will return as a vanquishing warrior at the end of the age, waging war and defeating His enemies. But I think it is also true in an everyday sense. He is at work today, this month, this year, fighting on behalf of His people. Why is it important that we know this? So that we will trust Him to take vengeance for us. We are told never to take vengeance ourselves. We are told to treat with kindness those who mistreat us. We are told that God will do what we are prohibited from doing. So, it makes sense to me that we have this picture in our minds of our Savior doing what He has promised to do. It makes

sense to me that we would see glimpses of it in everyday life. It gives me hope and confidence to read about the final scenes of justice being played out in the closing chapters of Revelation. It is important that we know this is true. So, as we deal with this text, do not cringe from it. Indeed, there are phrases here that have inspired generations of faithful believers. See if you can spot them. (2 parts) I. Our Savior comes to us as a victorious warrior, taking vengeance on our enemies. vv. 1-6 It is not uncommon at all for us to picture our Savior as drenched with His own blood when He died on the cross for our sins. Indeed, that was the picture painted back in chapter 53. But here, the image is different, less common, but just as important. Out of His justice, our Savior is pictured here is drenched in the blood of the enemy, whom He has defeated on our behalf. v.1- Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. As you might have guessed already, this section of the text is a conversation between an unidentified person and the Savior. In v.1, we have the initial utterances from both parties. The scene pictures someone in the homeland looking out over the horizon, noticing a unique person coming toward him. He asks a question to no one in particular. In other words, it is not, Who are you? but rather, Who is this? We are told that He comes from Edom, a traditional enemy of Israel, a country founded by Esau, the brother of Jacob. They were a thorn in the side of Israel s people perpetually. So, this Man is coming from the land of their enemy. It would be as clear as Russia to us today. Then we see that what is striking about this unidentified arriver is the condition of His garments. They are stained, unusually stained and dirty. They

are deep red, the color of wine, the color of blood. They are royal garments, the garments of a king, but they have been stained, ruined. And the One wearing them is not hobbling along, not crawling, or wincing from pain. No, He is striding along, demonstrating greatness, power, victory. He is arriving as the Victor. As He approaches, He speaks. He identifies Himself as speaking the words of God, and as the victorious Savior. He is mighty. He is God s avenger. He need only be feared by those who oppose the LORD, not by those who honor the LORD. 2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? The nameless observer now addresses Him directly, your. He asks why His garments are red. In other words, the stains and the garments do not fit. You would not equate one with the other. He doesn t look like a warrior, a butcher. He looks like a King. And yet, the stains tell a different story. He wants to know that story. He looks like one who has been trampling grapes, crushing them under His feet. 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. The Victor answers his direct question. Yes, He has been trampling out the vintage (where the grapes of wrath are stored) (oops! I gave it away). He alone has been doing it. He did so out of His anger, His wrath. The blood was not His own but theirs. Their blood has covered Him as if He had been crushing grapes in the winepress. The blood of the nations is splattered all over His royal robes. His anger, His wrath was poured out on them. 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.

All of this had taken place because of the LORD s righteous vengeance. The time had come to make things right, to punish those who had harmed His people, who had mocked Him by mocking His people. He had seen what was done, and this was the day to exact justice. He promised to repay, and now He had. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. It would be natural for people to see injustice done and come to the side of those being oppressed and persecuted. But no one did. It did not surprise Him, but it appalled Him, disgusted Him. His people were being mistreated. He must take action. So He did so with His own strength, His own salvation or rescuing, His own wrath. He did Himself what no one else did, make things right for His people. He did it Himself. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground. I know these words probably offend some, but they should not. These are not mean words, vindictive words, grotesque words. Instead, these are satisfying words, comforting words even. Vengeance, the righting of wrong has been accomplished. Evil has been brought to justice. They thought they won, they thought they had gotten away with harming innocent people. But they did not know the strength, power, and determination of our Savior. He hunted them down and destroyed them, pouring out their blood on the ground and on His royal robe. As I said at the outset, I am confident that some of you are squirming. This is not the Jesus you know. And yet, we must embrace this as much as any other image. The picture that comes to my mind is from some of my favorite movies, where men of honor fight for the well being of their people, their country. I have a couple such movies in mind which will remain nameless, but they star people like Russell Crowe or Mel Gibson, warriors returning from the

battlefield after defeating the barbaric enemies of their people. I love such movies, not because I love to see war, not because I want to see blood. Indeed it makes me cringe. But it strikes at my core when a strong man stands up for good against the barbaric forces of evil and wins. This is manhood at its finest. This is our Savior in Isaiah 63! He comes to us as the vanquishing warrior! He won, bearing the blood of His enemies. In a sense, we have come to the end of the story. If it had been me, this would have been a chapter break. But it is not so we will go on. On the heels of this dramatic scene of heroism, the prophet lifts up His heart to God beginning with v.7. He starts by recounting the history of where God s people have been. As we have become accustomed to seeing, that history is filled with God s faithfulness and the people s unfaithfulness, God s grace and mercy, the people s rebellion and complacency. II. The LORD has faithfully and graciously guided His people in spite of their rebellion. vv. 7-19 The history of Israel, indeed the history of all of mankind is the strange juxtaposition of God s faithfulness and His people s unfaithfulness. O LORD, do we need a Savior. Amen? 7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. This is the heart of the prayer of the prophet. He is there to declare the goodness, the kindness, the mercy and grace on display always from the LORD toward His people. If you hear nothing else from Isaiah, nothing else from Scripture, nothing else from me, hear this, that our LORD has been kind and gracious to His people. He has treated us with compassion and kindness that we have not deserved. Right?

8 He said, Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me ; and so he became their Savior. He claimed His people as His own, promised to save them, thought the best of them, even to the point of ignoring all of the evidence in the other direction. 9 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. When His people suffered, He suffered right along with them. When they needed help, He sent the Angel of the Lord to help them. Pause: when you read this, you ought not think that Jesus was an angel. Angel simply means messenger, and throughout the Old Testament, when the Angel of the Lord shows up, it ends up being the LORD Himself, not an angel. Resume. The Savior showed love and mercy, He picked them up and carried them when the times were especially tough. He was faithful. He is always faithful. Agreed? 10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. Now we have the other side. God is always good, always loving, always kind, even to a fault. But His people? Now there s another matter. In spite of His goodness, they rebelled against Him. They grieved His Holy Spirit. (Notice in these verses the strong trinitarian teaching.) The Holy Spirit is treated here as a distinct person, someone who can be grieved. They turned their backs on His goodness, so He was forced to fight against them, rather than for them. What a horrible position to be in, fighting against their Savior!

11 Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, 12 who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown, 13 who led them through the depths? Again, notice the Trinitarian content here. From their despair, they remember how in days of old the LORD rescued His people, empowered His people by His Spirit, and performed miracles on their behalf. They remembered that it was indeed the LORD who did all of that. The good days in the past were when the LORD led His people, when He made His presence known, when it was clear to them that God was real. Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; 14 like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name. A faithful recollection of the past would reveal a consistent history of God s goodness, God s hand of provision, protection, guidance of His people. This is how the LORD has revealed Himself, made a reputation for Himself. He wants the whole world to see how He acts on behalf of His people. This is how He rolls! 15 Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us.

But now, it doesn t feel that way. The LORD s people feel abandoned, lost, alone. So, the prophet calls upon the LORD to once more leave His royal home in heaven and show compassion on His rebellious people. Make Himself known one more time. Notice here the prophet takes on the role of priest. A prophet speaks on behalf of God to the people. A priest speaks on behalf of the people to God. So, the prophet is being a priest. Please, LORD, look upon your people with favor. 16 But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. 17 Why, O LORD, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance. We do not resemble your people. We have strayed so far that our forefathers would not even recognize us. And yet, we still know that we are your children. You are our Father, our Redeemer, our Savior. You are still the LORD and we are Your people. Rebellious, yes, but Your people. We can t figure out why we stray, why we stray so far, why You don t stop us from straying. But for the sake of Your people, will you come down and rescue us? It is the only hope we have. Isn t this a beautiful prayer? Isn t there a lot of truth here? Can t we all relate to this? 18 For a little while your people possessed your holy place, but now our enemies have trampled down your sanctuary. 19 We are yours from of old; but you have not ruled over them, they have not been called by your name. We have not always been this rebellious. There have been times when we were true to You, but not right now. We have messed up everything and now

are reaping the consequences. You have entrusted your Holy place to us and we have allowed Your enemies to come in and take over. We have not followed after You. We have not looked to You for help and support. We have failed you once again. We need You now! So, do you think we can relate? Of course. I know I could easily have written that myself. I know my history, our history, the history of God s people is a repeated refrain of the same pattern. We need the same Savior they needed. Nothing has changed. If we believe this passage is the Word of God, then what should be different about our lives? 1) We will engrave this image of the LORD taking vengeance on our minds. We must, so that we will not take vengeance ourselves. We must trust the LORD to do it for us. We must be convinced He will. We must have in our minds this picture of our victorious Savior returning from battle covered in the blood of our enemies. This image is here to protect us from ourselves. 2) We will take for ourselves this prayer of Isaiah. We will recognize our situation as one with a faithful, gracious, merciful Savior and a rebellious people who constantly forget what our Lord has done. We will see disasters as the prophet sees them, reminders to cry out to the Lord, get back on track, replay in our minds what He has done for us. 3) We will remember our status before God as children, sons in fact. He is our Father. He is never against us. He is not fickle about our relationship. We might be fickle, but He never is. Our status before Him does not change by the day, by our adherence to Him or neglect of Him. He is and always will be our Father. I don t think we can stress this point enough. It is the basis upon which Isaiah prays. The only hope we have is by being the children of God. Amen?