Jesus is writ
large in the Old Testament:
Isaiah 42:
1
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My
Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I
have put My Spirit upon Him;
He
will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor
cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3
A bruised reed He will not break,
And
smoking flax He will not [c]quench;
He
will bring forth justice for truth.
4
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till
He has established justice in the earth;
And
the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5
Thus says God the Lord,
Who
created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who
spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who
gives breath to the people on it,
And
spirit to those who walk on it:
6
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And
will hold Your hand;
I
will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As
a light to the Gentiles,
7
To open blind eyes,
To
bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those
who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8
I am the Lord, that is My name;
And
My glory I will not give to another,
Nor
My praise to carved images.
9
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And
new things I declare;
Before
they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isa. 42:1-9).
As I noted, Jesus
is writ large all over the Old Testament.
And so is his
desire to bring all the nations into his congregation, assembly, or church. The
word 'Gentiles" is often misunderstood. It simply means 'nations' or
'peoples'. There is in the Old Testament the singular Hebrew word 'goy', meaning
nation, and the plural word 'goyim', meaning nations or peoples. Sometimes the
term refers to every nation except Israel, sometimes it refers to all nations,
including Israel.
Israel is a
'goy', a nation. Judah is a 'goy', a nation. Edom is a 'goy', a nation. Egypt
is a 'goy', a nation, and so on and son.
Jesus will be
a light to all nations.
He will bring
all nations into his church, his congregation, his people. As Paul notes in
Galatians,
"26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:26-29).
All who call
on Christ are the inheritors of Abraham's promises. All who do not are not. This
teaching finds its origin in the Old Testament. The multi-ethnic church was
fulfilled in the New Testament, but as it is Christ's body it is writ large all
through the Old, just like he is.
One people of
God, one saviour, one way to inherit the promised land: through Jesus. The only
way. This is the way. Always was, always will be.
