Meditations

Openline listener on moody radio on 28 September 2019:

This morning I was reading my devotion and it talked about Zechariah and I immediately thought “Oh my gosh, old testament possibly and speaking of the Messiah coming on a donkey,

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

Zechariah 9:9

Listener:

Can you say a little bit more? How could a king have come riding in, that’s not normal, it wouldn’t be a king riding on a donkey …

Dr Edwin Blum:

Yes, kings did… I didn’t realize that in the old testament and even today, many people who ride on a mule or donkey, they do that because it’s better to ride on one because the animal itself is better for example where I live in Arizona, hunters ride on mules or donkey rather than on a horse. But in biblical times, conquering persons sometimes rode a white horse but a mule was used or a donkey was used when a king came in peace. When David wants to have his son anointed as king, he takes the royal mule and puts his son on it. The prophecy of Zechariah of course talks about two comings of the Messiah, chapter 9 when he comes in peace and chapter 14 when he comes as the conqueror …

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

You know what I think it is really cool about Zechariah 9 is one of these classic prophecies that has a huge gap between the two aspects of his fulfilment, in verse 9 it says that Jerusalem should rejoice, your king is coming to you, he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, on a foal of a donkey, that’s when Jesus made his triumphal entry to Jerusalem, that’s when that was fulfilled. He came in peace, down the Mount of olives into Jerusalem. Then in verse 10 it says I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, the battle bow will be removed and he will proclaim peace to the nations, his dominion will extend from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth. Now there’s a huge gap when Jesus returns, that’s when he would come as the one who brings peace to the whole world. There’s a number of verse like that Ed …

Dr Edwin Blum:

Obviously, when Jesus starts his ministry in Isaiah chapter 61, you know when he announces the day of deliverance but he also does announce right there the day of vengeance …

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

Also, in Isaish 9:6, Unto us a son is born, unto us a child is given, that’s fulfilled at the incarnation and then in verse 7, what it says, it says He will sit on the throne of David and he will rule over the nations and bring peace to the nations, that’s verse 7, it says he will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom and establish it and sustain it with justice and righteousness, from now on and forever, so Jesus has come at the incarnation at the first coming and return and sit on the throne of David. This is one of the remarkable things about the Hebrew bible, it kind of squeezes and telescopes two separate prophecies together, one verse next to the other,

Zechariah 9

9“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

-nkjv

Isaiah 9

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

-nkjv

Question from listener on moody radio on openline on 28 Sept 2019:

In Isaiah 53, where it says by His stripes we are healed, I hear a lot of people praying that, a lot of the name it and claim it group but not seen so many healings and I know when we get to heaven, we will be healed completely with our new heavenly bodies and everything when we are with the Lord, is that a good understanding or application of that verse for present day healing or should we look at it as a future promise when we get to be with the Lord?

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

In context, that’s where we got to start … Ed what do you say about the healing in Isaiah 53?

Dr Edwin Blum:

The context, obviously, is the suffering of the Messiah and in the context, it’s the suffering of the Messiah for sin. He bears our burdens and our sin in his own body. Obviously, Jesus did heal people as a sign of the physical being a sign of the spiritual but he was basically a person who came to save people from their sins.

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

That’s what Isaiah 53 is about. It’s redemption from sin. But one day, because he has redeemed us from sin, he will glorify us and that will result in the removal of sickness. Sickness is the result of living in this fallen world and being fallen ourselves. In a sense, there is healing in the atonement but it’s only guaranteed when we receive our glorified bodies, our resurrected bodies, no more sickness, no more suffering because we have been glorified through the redemptive work of Jesus the Messiah. Is Isaiah 53 about healing in the atonement, no and yes, that’s the answer.

In Matthew 8, it’s quoted when Jesus heals people, I think what’s that talking about, when it says that He bore our sicknesses in his body and it quotes Isaiah 53, what that means is because the Messiah in the kingdom will give us this resurrected body and we won’t suffer any more. As a result of that, when he’s here, he can give us a little glimpse of the kingdom, so when he heals, it’s because of what he will do for us ultimately in the resurrection, it’s like a little mini kingdom experience. I think that’s what Matthew 8 is talking about when it quotes Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. -nkjv

Matthew 8

¹⁶ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.” -nkjv