The Two Sides of the Good News Coin: Isaiah 2:1-4

As we are nearing the end of our year focusing in on prophecies and connections between the Old Testament and Jesus’ life and ministry, I hope this year has been a blessing for you as it has for me. In our last episode, we looked at Jesus keeping His promise to send the Holy Spirit following His ascension to Heaven. For this episode, let’s look at one big thing the Holy Spirit will be working to accomplish through God’s people moving forward from the time of the disciples.

To set the stage for this discussion, let’s look at a prophecy found near the beginning of the Old Testament book of Isaiah, which appears to describe an idealized or future picture of God’s people.

In Isaiah, chapter 2, starting in verse 1, and reading from the New American Standard Bible translation, Isaiah writes:

¹ The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
³ And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴ And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

In these first few verses of Isaiah, chapter 2, we discover a picture that seems to blend what life would be like in heaven with that of earth. In heaven, at the point that is being described, there will be no wars, conflicts, or hostility, and where people of every background come together to the place where God lives to listen and learn from Him. However, the hints at life on earth are present because those who are present within this scene are taking their weapons and turning them into tools. My understanding of heaven, or even looking beyond that to the new earth is that there wouldn’t be any hint of the former sinful world, leading me to speculate there wouldn’t be any swords or spears to turn into tools.

I wonder if the context of this passage instead speaks to what God envisioned His people to be while they were a nation wholly dedicated to Him, while something different happened. Another way of saying this idea is that this was God’s picture of plan A, while what actually happened in history was plan B, C, D, or even E.

While I don’t know where this prophecy fits well into the grand picture of history, one set of phrases and ideas from it are significant for this point in history. In our Isaiah passage, in the last part of verse 3, Isaiah writes, “For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

This set of phrases is significant because of something we read near the end of Luke’s gospel. As Jesus is talking with some of His disciples following His resurrection, He makes a fascinating statement that points back to this idea from Isaiah’s writing. In Luke, chapter 24, starting with verse 44, which is a few verses before this statement to give it context, Luke writes:

⁴⁴ Now He [referring to Jesus] said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

In this brief summary statement of what Jesus shared with these disciples, He promises them that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. This is powerful because it echoes what Isaiah wrote about prophetically. Isaiah wrote “For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

While some might be quick to point out that Isaiah’s emphasis is on the Law of God while Jesus’ emphasis is on the forgiveness of sins, what we are looking at could be pictured as two sides of the same coin. Without the law, forgiveness becomes irrelevant and non-existent. This is because without a law being broken, there is nothing to be forgiven from. In contrast, the law without forgiveness is a death sentence, and nothing worth proclaiming or celebrating.

Instead, when we blend the law with forgiveness, we get an amazing picture of God’s love, His grace, and our need for a Savior who was provided through Jesus. Isaiah says that the law goes forth from Zion, which, if I’m not mistaken, is the name of the mountain and city of God. God proclaims His law for all to hear. However, Isaiah also says that the word of the Lord goes forth from Jerusalem, and part of me wonders if this “word” is the message of forgiveness that Jesus commissions His disciples to share.

With this framing of Isaiah’s prophecy and Jesus’ commission to His disciples, we step into a fascinating understanding of the mission of God’s people living in the period of time following the first century. With this framing, God’s people are called to emphasize God’s law, Jesus’ love, and the great news of forgiveness through what Jesus accomplished for us. Forgiveness never means that we are free to persist in sin. Instead, forgiveness is made available for those of us who turn away from our sins, which is what it means to repent, and for those who turn their lives, minds, hearts, and focus towards God.

However, the task Jesus gives His followers sounds impossible to do. On one hand, it sounds easy, since it is simply sharing the message of Jesus, but on the other hand, it is impossible, because, according to Jesus, only God can draw people towards Himself.

I suspect this is one reason why Jesus challenges His followers to stay in Jerusalem until they had received God’s power, also known as the Holy Spirit, which we focused on in our last episode. With the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance, Jesus’ followers would be fully equipped to share God’s message of forgiveness with the world.

As followers of Jesus, this is our call and our challenge for today. While some might look at history and how those in various Christian groups failed to reflect Jesus’ love, message, and forgiveness to others, we cannot change what happened. We cannot change how they failed. We also cannot even change how we failed.

Instead, we are challenged to lean on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance and move forward sharing the great news of God’s law, Jesus’ love, and the forgiveness God wants to give everyone who accepts Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins. This is the great news of the gospel, and I suspect that this message is one big part of the “word of the Lord” that unites people from every background.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, continue to seek God first in your life and accept Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. Don’t minimize the law in your life because that also subtly minimizes Jesus’ sacrifice. Instead, lift up the law and while lifting it up, continually thank Jesus in your heart, mind, and life as you move forward living in a way that says you are thankful for what He gave for us.

Also, intentionally pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow closer to Jesus. Through prayer and studying the Bible, invite the Holy Spirit into your heart and life and let Him reflect God’s love in the world around you.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!