Once again, the festivities are here, and boy, will you not hear the last of the saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Non-Christians likely outpace Christians in using the phrase. But ask them what they mean, and most might say, “We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.” Before I forget, Merry Christmas, by the way.
But why celebrate the birth of a man who lived over 2000 years ago? Why is he the most consequential man of all time? Why did his entry change the course of history? Most importantly, why did he come?
Isaiah (42:18-25), several centuries earlier, tells us why Jesus, the promised servant of Yahweh, had to come. An immediate fulfilment of the prophecy concerning the coming servant would, of course, be found in the King Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1-7), who freed the Israelites from exile. However, as you continue reading through Isaiah 42, you realize that Isaiah’s words were looking beyond Cyrus. This is clearly shown by Matthew, who quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 in Matthew 12:15-21 to show that these words were about Jesus. It is through Jesus that those who are in prison are brought from the dungeon (Isaiah 42:7). Through him, the deaf and blind see, which is why we celebrate his coming (Isaiah 42:10-12).
The Blindness and Deafness of those Who See and Hear
The deafness and blindness of the Israelites had erected a wall between them and God. Never mind that if anyone ought to have seen and heard, it was them. As Paul wrote in Romans 9:1-5, they had everything that none of us Gentiles had. They had the law. Also, they were God’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22) and had the covenants. They had the sacrifices and the promises. Indeed, if there ever was a people who should not have been blind at all, it was the Israelites. Yet the reverse was true, as shown in Isaiah 42:18-23. They could see, but at the same time were completely blind. They could hear, and yet they were deaf. How did that happen? They saw “many things but didn’t observe them,” and despite having open ears, they didn’t hear (Isaiah 42:20).
Yahweh had cared to warn his prophet of this most miserable plight when he called him (Isaiah 6:9). Wouldn’t it be better to be utterly blind than to have sight and yet remain blind, as the Israelites were? If the plight of God’s covenant people teaches us anything, it is that it is not sufficient or praiseworthy to merely know God’s law, but to live accordingly.
It profits nothing to know so much yet love so little (Isaiah 29:13; 42:25). The Pharisees, whom Jesus commended for their teaching (Matthew 23:3), had hearts that were far from God. So familiar was their state that the familiar words of Isaiah made for a perfect description of them in John 9:40-41. And yet we all find ourselves as helpless as Abraham’s offspring for, “there is none who does good or seeks after God” (Psalm 14:1-2). To have any hope, God himself needed to intervene and rewrite our hearts, turning them from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26).
The Curse of God’s Law
The law could not rewrite our hearts—not because it was imperfect. If anything, the law is glorious, since Yahweh made it so (Isaiah 42:21). It is good and perfect, for it reveals God’s character (Romans 7). Yet it was unable to glorify those to whom it was given. That’s because the root of the problem was never what man did but who man was. If the problem had been the law, God would not have needed to “magnify his law and make it glorious” (Isaiah 42:21). He would not stake his righteousness on the law. But not even the gloriousness of the law could achieve its intended purpose. Instead of restoring, it condemned. It made sin apparent, yet without offering rescue.
Thus, as Isaiah 42:22 reads, “they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, “Restore!”” Because of the rebellious nature of the human heart, what was a good and gloriously majestic reality became a curse for us. This is where Jesus comes in. As he himself said, he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, and that is in every sense of the word. He came to obey the law perfectly and to be our rescuer by bearing its curse (Galatians 3:10-14).
Now there is one who says with all confidence, “Restore!” Because he came, the blind can now see, and the deaf can now hear. To those who believe, the law is no longer a curse; it is a joy to behold (Psalm 119:77, 97). We celebrate Christmas to celebrate the one who undid our curse and made it a pleasure. The one who helps us magnify Yahweh’s law and make it glorious.
The Destructive Condemnation of God’s Wrath
Our hardened hearts were not only unresponsive to God’s law, but to his wrath as well. If anything, the wrath of God hardened our hearts (Isaiah 42:24-25). The Israelites were plundered and looted as per Yahweh’s will (Isaiah 42:24), because they were too blind to walk in his ways. They were too deaf to heed his commands. Not even the outpouring of his wrath could sway their hearts back to him.
Thanks to Christ, however, man could finally see how far removed from God we are because of our unholiness. He also took upon himself the wrath that was due our sin. We once walked according to the course of this world, subject to God’s wrath. But because of Christ, all we now know is grace.
The Coming of Jesus Brought Salvation
His coming brought about our salvation. Those who believe in him are no longer blind, for he has granted them sight. They are no longer deaf, for he has made them to hear. The law to them is no longer a curse, but a delight they meditate on daily. Ultimately, they are no longer subject to wrath, but are adopted as sons of God and heirs of the promise.
We who were far off have now been brought near. All because God’s Son came and dwelt among us. Praise God for his Son, on whose account we are no longer looking at what was. Instead, we are looking to the future—to our forever union with him. It is because Jesus came that all our hope is assured (1 Corinthians 15:1-58).
He is the reason for the season—and much more than just a season. He came, died, and rose again to afford us an eternity with God. Christmas points to this forever joy, and whoever does not believe in the Son remains under an eternal wrath, however merry they find this season.