Arise and Shine with the Glory of Christ
Truth Taught- In Christ, God has brought us from death to life; from darkness to light.
Sin has brought darkness over the face of the entire earth. The Nations have turned away from God. Here, it’s pictured in the Old Testament among the Israelites as they too have turned away from God and are going their own way. Israel along with the entire earth now abides in darkness.
As God’s prophet, Isaiah is given the vision of a panoramic view of God’s work from his day and the decline of Israel to the coming of the New Heavens and New Earth. Isaiah stops off at a glorious marker showing that God is not through with spiritual or true Israel nor is He finished with the nations. God will work to save His people, the remnant in the OT and the elect in the NT will all be present and accounted for when the roll is called in the future Jerusalem.
How God will fulfill His covenant that He made with Abraham, for centuries was a mystery. How will God bring about those from every tribe, tongue and nation when His own people refuse to follow Him? As one reads through the OT, things are not looking good.
I want to say that throughout God’s Word we read if things were left up to people they did not look good. How would God fulfill His covenant that says all the peoples will be blessed when it seems like no one is blessed and everyone lives in darkness?
God will send His salvation to Zion…
Isaiah 59:20 (ESV)
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
This Redeemer is our Lord Jesus Christ. To Zion God will show Himself gracious and kind. He will do a work that will be beyond all imagining. He will send His only Son and Jesus will be the Light in the very dark place.
Please Stand…
Isaiah 60:1–6 (ESV)
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
1. Those in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light (60:1-3)
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
It’s so important that we read this passage slowly and take note of what God is doing here. He commands those in darkness and face down in the dust to rise and shine. God commands the impossible. They cannot rise because they are like dead men face down in the dust. They cannot shine because they are in complete darkness. Their sins have separated them from God, laid waste to them and they are utterly dead. This is not an open casket funeral but a closed casket funeral, if you will and the darkness, they are encapsulated in they cannot rid themselves of.
Isaiah 59:2 (ESV)
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
Isaiah 59:9–10 (ESV)
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
This is the picture of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel. Israel is dead in sin and within herself, there is no hope but with God all things are possible.
Ezekiel 37:1–14 (ESV)
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
The Lord is about to do something that the ancients could only hope and pray for. He is sending life and light to His people. Those who are in darkness, utter darkness have seen a great light.
This same command is given to God’s chosen people today. The same hopeless condition is present for us.
The command to arise and be light or shine is not a job description whereby we can please God. Here we are shown our deadness and inability to do what God has commanded us to do. If we are to arise and shine those things must come from God. He will give us life and shine His glory upon us in Jesus Christ.
So, whether the command is to the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the leper to be cleansed, or the lame to rise up and walk, with the command comes the power to obey. Jesus can command us to do anything He desires as long as with the command comes the power to do what He has commanded. Lazarus come forth! With the command came the power to come forth. For us, dead and dark…Arise and shine forth!!
Our Father is sending the Light into the world for His people.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
This is so reminiscent of the plague of darkness in Egypt when all of Egypt was covered by darkness and yet the Hebrews had light. Here, God tells us that all the world is in darkness and yet His people have light. It’s a new and prophetic light. It’s a light that for them will appear and for us it has appeared.
If we are to interpret this passage correctly, we must view it as referring to the first advent of our Lord and His light shining on the Church. The reason I say this is because this is exactly how the Apostles saw the Isaiah text.
Matthew 4:12–17 (ESV)
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary the great light shown and that light became brighter as our Lord began to preach and call people to rise up and shine forth His glory. Rise up from the dust of death hear and believe the Gospel and shine with God’s radiance.
Luke 1:76–79 (ESV)
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The Light God promises His people shines in and through Jesus Christ.
This is what Paul is telling us in Ephesians 5…
Ephesians 5:14 (ESV)
14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
So, Jesus is the Light that God causes to shine on His people.
God causes the Light to shine through the knowledge of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. He causes His glory to shine through Jesus Christ and His Gospel that enlightens us and causes us to see.
Have you ever stood outside on a sunny day perhaps after a long winter of gloom and darkness and then there is a day when the sun shines and you go outside, close your eyes and soak in the light and the warmth of the sun?
When Jesus came, He brought the light of God to us.
Not only has light come with Jesus but we also behold God’s glory in Jesus…
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
John 1:14 (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In Jesus, God’s glory has been made manifest.
Beloved we need to hear this today. It takes the appearance of Jesus Christ to shine God’s light and glory on all who are dead and in utter darkness.
Now, will the Abrahamic Covenant be fulfilled.
Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Through God’s Light, Jesus Christ will all the families of the earth be blessed. Because of Jesus coming into the world, your family is blessed. God has shown His light on us. Arise Church and Shine with the Light of Jesus Christ. Arise and Shine Church with the Good News of great Joy which will be for all people. Arise and Shine as God’s Kingdom saints and stop your worrying because on you a Great Light has shown.
Verse three is about us…
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
We are the nations that will come because of the light of Christ.
2. The Light of Christ Will Draw All Peoples to Zion (60:4-6)
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
Church, God tells us to lift our eyes and see. Because of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world we can see. We were once in darkness and dead but now the Light has dawned upon us. God tells us to lift up our eyes and see.
Beloved, we are living in the time of Light. So, we must stop living in darkness. God commands us to lift our eyes and see. See that Jesus has saved you. See that many people are coming. Look up and look around the fields are white unto harvest.
Beloved because Christ has come and the sun has risen and daylight dawned, we are no longer in darkness we must remember who we are, we are kingdom citizens. Look up and look around and see the nations are being gathered.
Way back in Isaiah we have the promise that when the light has dawned the nations will come bringing their wealth with them.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
The image here is that on many camels strung together bearing great burdens of wealth because they are drawn by the light…
Matthew 2:9–11 (ESV)
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
The light drew them to Jesus. Those who were in darkness have seen a great light.
I pray the light of Christ has drawn you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Pray
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