The world is on a rollercoaster ride passing through turbulences. This started when our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned in the Garden of Eden. Many people in the world are panic-stricken, anxious, worried, doubtful, concerned, sorrowful, and agonizing! The list goes on! If you are experiencing these challenges you might think that you are alone floating in uncharted waters. For instance, the current pandemic, the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19), has instilled fear even in the most courageous people who are seeing the devastation this pandemic has caused in countries around the world – Italy, Spain, the United States of America, India, Japan, Brazil, and other nations. The picture is a sad one! Is there hope for deliverance in this troubled world?
Isaiah, who lived around 790 – 680 B.C., has given us an inspiring record of both historical evidence and futuristic predictions (referred to in this context as prophecy). Isaiah wrote about the Servant of God who would come into this world and this important fact has inspired this article. Isaiah reportedly lived in troubled times. He lived during a time of crisis. The times he lived in were perilous. It was during those hard times that Isaiah predicted the birth of one who would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us”. This name announced the presence of God amid the people in a crisis.
Reading Isaiah 7; 9; 53 and 61, we find predictions about the Messiah. Isaiah’s predictions were fulfilled in the New Testament. Matthew confirms the birth of a special child prophesied in Isaiah 7, whose name Immanuel signifies the presence of God among men. Jesus Christ the prophesied Immanuel did not just make His abode among men but came to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21-23). In Isaiah 9 He is called the Prince of Peace and in Isaiah 53, “He was wounded for our transgression”; and “He was bruised for our iniquities” and by “His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:6).
In Isaiah 61 the Messiah was anointed to “preach the good tidings to the poor” and “to heal the brokenhearted.” This prophecy could be called the “Messianic Mission Prophecy” because it conveys what the Messiah came to do while on earth. It contains important indicators of what the “God with us” would do while among us. The prophecy further predicted that Jesus would proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, comfort mourners, give the oil of joy in the place of mourning, proclaim liberty to the captives, and open prisons. This is a manifesto for the anointed of God – Jesus Christ, God among us.
Why are the prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, important to us? Is there anything significant in these prophecies? They contain promises of deliverance, salvation, and eternal life. These are targeted at us, the object of Jesus Christ’s Messianic Mission. In them, we have our hope for deliverance.
There is sufficient evidence in the New Testament about Jesus’ ability to deliver His promises to His children. When Jesus began His public ministry He delivered a sermon in Nazareth wherein He made it clear that He came to fulfill the mission spelled out in the Messianic prophecy. In that inaugural speech, Jesus read from Isaiah 61 and closed the sermon by saying, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your eyes” (Luke 4:21). Thus, He confirmed that He was the long-awaited Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, and Wonderful Counselor. Subsequently, He demonstrated that He came to preach the gospel to the poor, the brokenhearted, to give sight to the blind, to preach deliverance to captives, and to set at liberty those who are bruised.
True to the words of Isaiah’s prophecy “Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases among the people” (Matthew 4:23). This He did at home, in the neighboring towns, and abroad. While His mission was focused on the house of Israel, its influence extended beyond the borders of Canaan to encompass all the children of Adam. The work Jesus began in His town has encompassed the whole globe. The sinless one came to die for each one of us. He came to redeem mankind from the depravity of sin and give this world a new life.
The mission Immanuel started in Galilee did not end with His ascension. As He bid his disciples farewell, He implored them to expand the circle of His influence and doctrine. Starting in Jerusalem, move on to Judea, then Samaria, and to the end of the world, they were to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20). In the great commission, we see God’s wish for humanity. He loved us and would not want anyone of us to perish (John 3:16). He wants us to live a better life now and forever in the world made new.
Northern Zambia Union Conference’s mission is to share with all the people of this world the message of God’s love. We, therefore, invite you to explore this site and related ones. It is our desire to give joy to humanity through our interactions with each other on this site. We have hope for our deliverance! You too can have hope!