Fixing Our Hope in Days of Hopelessness
The great Servant passages of Isaiah begin first with a message to the nation, but the second Servant passage addresses a person.
Isa 42:1 ¶ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Matthew quotes this passage in chapter 12 of his Gospel, following the story when Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. The healing occurred on a Sabbath. The Pharisees, after this event, “held a council against him, how they might destroy him.” (Mt 12.14). Jesus, knowing their thoughts withdrew from that place, with many yet following him. Verse 15-16 says, “He healed them all, And charged them that they should not make him known.” Matthew comments that these events happened so “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet…” and here Matthew inserts an extended quotation of Isaiah 42.
Matthew’s quotation closes with Isaiah 42.4, which ends with these words in Isaiah: “and the isles shall wait for his law.” Matthew, however, quotes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which puts it this way “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.” (Mt 12.21)
The word translated “trust” by the KJV in Matthew is the Greek word usually translated “hope.” It is the first mention of hope in the New Testament, in either its verb or noun forms.
We are living in days that at the very least dampen hope. What hopes did you have for 2020? Some young people hoped for the congratulations of a crowd of friends and families at a wedding, only to find weddings postponed or greatly reduced in the traditional celebrations one hoped for. Some hoped for spending some days in relaxed retirement, enlivened by family and friends who would visit, only to find themselves isolated inside the walls of care homes, worried, frightened, and for some, hastened to an earlier grave than hoped for.
What other disappointed hopes filled this year? Some suffered financial reverses. Some struggled through sickness, varying in severity. Others found their lives rocked by the unexpected deaths of loved ones, unrelated to the dominating theme of Covid-19. Surely many stories could fill this space, but our aim in this piece is not to discourage you!
I want to offer you hope!
What does the Bible have to say about hope?
Hope finds more mentions in the epistles than in the Gospels and Acts. The first mention in the epistles (in Bible book order) is the hope of Abraham, who believed the promises of God. “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.” (Rm 4.18)
Abraham is the father of our hope, for after explaining our salvation in Romans 1-4, Paul begins chapter 5 with this:
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Our hope is “of the glory of God.” It is focused on an object, it isn’t a mere wish, an ill-defined desire for “better days.”
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
What is it that we do not see?
- Galatians 5.5 speaks of “the hope of righteousness.”
- Ephesians 1.8 refers to “the hope of his calling,” then restates it as “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”
- Col 1.5: “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven”
- Col 1.23 urges us “be not moved away from the hope of the gospel”
- Col 1.27 talks of a mystery long hidden, but now revealed, “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
- In Titus 1.2, Paul opens his letter testifying that he is “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
- Later, in 2.13, Paul famously refers to “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”
There are many more assurances in the New Testament along this line. I encourage you to take a moment and search through these passages yourself. In these days when so many things burden us down, we need reminding of our hope.
This last few weeks, for me, are of the soul-crushing variety. The constant drumbeat of Covid-19 stories in the press are one thing, and the threatening stance of government officials who seem only to know how to restrict and confine people, but not the virus, are another. Added to these is news that bring these worries directly home. A long-time friend (and retired pastor) caught Covid some weeks ago and has been on a ventilator for over a month. Some recent relief brings a little hope, but one wonders what the long-term impact will be if he recovers. Another friend suffered a massive heart attack a few weeks ago, now recovering, but much limited. My dear 92-year old aunt came down with Covid last week. We are worried for her. Today, news came to me of another close friend who, along with his whole family, are now sidelined with Covid.
I need hope. I need reminders of our blessed hope. I need to keep my eyes on Him, and so do you.
The apostle John exhorts us:
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Amen! The NASB puts verse 3 this way, supplying a little word that gets our attention where it should be:
everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Fix your hope on Him, and His soon coming again. Our world will continue in turmoil till then, but in this hope, we can still have peace.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.