Message One

Announcing the All-inclusive Christ,
Jehovah the Savior, as the Glad Tidings

Scripture Reading: Isa. 40:1-26

Isa. 40:1-26 Comfort, oh, comfort My people, / Says your God. ²Speak unto the heart of Jerusalem, / And cry out to her, / That her warfare has finished, / That the penalty for her iniquity has been accepted; / For she has received from the hand of Jehovah double / For all her sins. ³The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God. ⁴Every valley will be lifted up, / And every mountain and hill will be made low, / And the crooked places will become straight, / And the rough places, a broad plain. ⁵Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, / And all flesh will see it together, / Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken ⁶A voice said, Cry out. / And he said, What shall I cry? / All flesh is grass / And all its glory is like the flower of the field; ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, / Because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it. / Surely the people are grass. ⁸The grass withers and the flower fades, / But the word of our God will stand forever. ⁹Go up to a high mountain, / O Zion, who brings glad tidings; / Lift up your voice with power, / O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; / Lift it up, Do not be afraid. / Say to the cities of Judah, / Behold your God! ¹⁰Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, / And His arm will rule for Him. / Behold, His reward is with Him, / And His recompense before Him. ¹¹He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; / In His arm He will gather the lambs; / In His bosom He will carry them. / He will lead those who are nursing the young. ¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, / Who has calculated the extent of the heavens with a handspan, / And measured out the dust of the earth by a measure, / And weighed the mountains in scales / And the hills in balances? ¹³Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah, / Or who has made matters known to Him as His counselor? ¹⁴With whom did He consult and who instructed Him, / And taught Him in the path of justice, / And taught Him knowledge, / And caused Him to know the way of understanding? ¹⁵Indeed the nations are like a drop from a bucket, / And are accounted as specks of dust on the scales. / Indeed He takes up the islands as very fine powder. ¹⁶And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, / Nor are its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. ¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before Him; / They are counted by Him as less than nothing and vanity. ¹⁸To whom then will you liken God? / Or what likeness will you compare to Him? ¹⁹When the workman has cast an idol, / A goldsmith overlays it with gold / Also refining chains of silver for it. ²⁰He that is so impoverished that he lacks an offering / Chooses wood that will not rot, / And seeks a skillful craftsman for himself / To prepare an idol that will not be moved. ²¹Do you not know? Have you not heard? / Has it not been told to you from the beginning? / Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? ²²It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, / And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; / Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, / And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; ²³Who brings the princes to nought; / He makes the judges of the earth as nothing. ²⁴They have scarcely been planted; / They have scarcely been sown; / Their stem has scarcely taken root in the earth; / Nevertheless He blows on them and they are withered, / And the storm wind carries them away like stubble. ²⁵To whom will you liken Me, / That I should be compared? Says the Holy One. ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, / And see who has created these things, / Who brings out their host by number; / He calls all of them by name. / Through the greatness of His might and the strength of His power / Not one of them is missing.

I. The all-inclusive Christ is Jehovah the Savior, the glad tidings—Isa. 40:5, 9; 43:3, 11; 45:21; 49:26; 60:16:

Isa. 40:5 Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, / And all flesh will see it together, / Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.

Isa. 40:9 Go up to a high mountain, / O Zion, who brings glad tidings; / Lift up your voice with power, / O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; / Lift it up, Do not be afraid. / Say to the cities of Judah, / Behold your God!

Isa. 43:3 Because I am Jehovah your God, / The Holy One of Israel, your Savior, / I have given Egypt as your ransom, / Cush and Seba instead of you.

Isa. 43:11 I, even I, am Jehovah; / And there is no Savior besides Me.

Isa. 45:21 Declare and present your case; / Indeed, let them take counsel together. / Who related this long ago; / Who declared it from that time? / Was it not I, Jehovah? / And there is no other God besides Me; / A righteous God and Savior, / And there is no one except Me.

Isa. 49:26 And I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; / And they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; / Then all flesh will know / That I am Jehovah your Savior / And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isa. 60:16 And you will suck the milk of nations / And suck the breast of kings; / Thus you will know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior / And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

A. Jehovah means “He who was, who is, and who will be”—Exo. 3:14:

Exo. 3:14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

1. God’s name is I Am; His name is simply the verb to be:

a. I Am denotes the One who is self-existing, the One whose being depends on nothing apart from Himself.

b. The I Am is also the ever-existing One; that is, He exists eternally, having neither beginning nor ending.

c. Apart from God, all else is nothing; He is the only One who is, the only One who has the reality of being—Isa. 40:12-18.

Isa. 40:12-18 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, / Who has calculated the extent of the heavens with a handspan, / And measured out the dust of the earth by a measure, / And weighed the mountains in scales / And the hills in balances? ¹³Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah, / Or who has made matters known to Him as His counselor? ¹⁴With whom did He consult and who instructed Him, / And taught Him in the path of justice, / And taught Him knowledge, / And caused Him to know the way of understanding? ¹⁵Indeed the nations are like a drop from a bucket, / And are accounted as specks of dust on the scales. / Indeed He takes up the islands as very fine powder. ¹⁶And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, / Nor are its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. ¹⁷All the nations are as nothing before Him; / They are counted by Him as less than nothing and vanity. ¹⁸To whom then will you liken God? / Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

2. God requires us to believe that He is—Heb. 11:6.

Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

B. Jesus is Jehovah—Exo. 3:14; John 18:4-6:

Exo. 3:14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

John 18:4-6 Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, Whom do you seek? ⁵They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. He said to them, I am. And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. ⁶When therefore He said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground.

1. The Lord Jesus is I Am—the eternal, self-existing, ever-existing God, the One who is everything to us—8:24, 28, 58.

John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

John 8:28 Jesus therefore said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing from Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things.

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am.

2. The name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior,” or “the salvation of Jehovah”—Matt. 1:21.

Matt. 1:21 And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

C. The coming of the all-inclusive Christ as the glad tidings is to be announced as Jehovah our God (Isa. 40:3), as Jehovah of glory (v. 5), as the Lord Jehovah coming with might to rule (vv. 9-10), and as a Shepherd feeding His flock (v. 11).

Isa. 40:3 The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God.

Isa. 40:5 Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, / And all flesh will see it together, / Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.

Isa. 40:9-10 Go up to a high mountain, / O Zion, who brings glad tidings; / Lift up your voice with power, / O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; / Lift it up, Do not be afraid. / Say to the cities of Judah, / Behold your God! ¹⁰Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, / And His arm will rule for Him. / Behold, His reward is with Him, / And His recompense before Him.

Isa. 40:11 He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; / In His arm He will gather the lambs; / In His bosom He will carry them. / He will lead those who are nursing the young.

II. The word of comfort spoken to the heart of Jerusalem is actually the announcing of the gospel; the fact that this word is spoken to the heart means that it is concerned not with the outer man but with the inner man—vv. 1-2.

Isa. 40:1-2 Comfort, oh, comfort My people, / Says your God. ²Speak unto the heart of Jerusalem, / And cry out to her, / That her warfare has finished, / That the penalty for her iniquity has been accepted; / For she has received from the hand of Jehovah double / For all her sins.

III. Christ as Jehovah the Savior was ushered in by the voice of one (John the Baptist) crying in the wilderness—vv. 3-4; Matt. 3:1-3:

Isa. 40:3-4 The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God. ⁴Every valley will be lifted up, / And every mountain and hill will be made low, / And the crooked places will become straight, / And the rough places, a broad plain.

Matt. 3:1-3 Now in those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ²And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near. ³For this is he who was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight His paths.”

A. To make clear, or to prepare, the way of Jehovah is to prepare our heart; every part and avenue of our heart needs to be straightened by the Lord through repentance so that the Lord may enter into us to be our life and take possession of us—Isa. 40:3; Prov. 4:20-23; Matt. 5:8; 15:7-8; Luke 1:17; Eph. 3:16-17.

Isa. 40:3 The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God.

Prov. 4:20-23 My son, be attentive to my words; / Incline your ear to my sayings. ²¹Do not let them depart from your sight; / Keep them in the midst of your heart. ²²For they are life to those who find them, / And healing to all their flesh. ²³Keep your heart with all vigilance, / For from it are the issues of life.

Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matt. 15:7-8 Hypocrites! Well has Isaiah prophesied concerning you, saying, ⁸“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart stays far away from Me;

Luke 1:17 And it is he who will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the prudence of the righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.

Eph. 3:16-17 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, ¹⁷That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

B. To make clear the way of Jehovah is to make clear the way of Jesus, who is the New Testament Jehovah; the way of Jesus is a highway for our God, indicating that Jesus is our God—Isa. 40:3; Matt. 1:21.

Isa. 40:3 The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God.

Matt. 1:21 And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

IV. Christ as the glory of Jehovah is the revealing of Jehovah—Isa. 40:5:

Isa. 40:5 Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, / And all flesh will see it together, / Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.

A. The glory of Jehovah is the center of the gospel for the new creation—2 Cor. 4:4-6; Heb. 1:3; Luke 1:78:

2 Cor. 4:4-6 In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them. ⁵For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Heb. 1:3 Who, being the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance and upholding and bearing all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Luke 1:78 Because of the merciful compassions of our God, in which the rising sun will visit us from on high,

1. Glory is the expression of God—John 1:1, 14.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

2. Christ is the effulgence of God’s glory, and this effulgence is like the shining of the sun—Heb. 1:3; Luke 1:78-79.

Luke 1:78-79 Because of the merciful compassions of our God, in which the rising sun will visit us from on high, ⁷⁹To shine upon those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

3. When Christ appeared, the glory of Jehovah was revealed to be seen by the God-seekers and Christ-believers—Matt. 17:1-2, 5; Luke 2:25-32; 9:32; John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16-18.

Matt. 17:1-2 And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain privately. ²And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light.

Matt. 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!

Luke 2:25-32 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the little child Jesus for them to do according to the custom of the law concerning Him, ²⁸He received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, ²⁹Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace; ³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation, ³¹Which You have prepared before the face of all the peoples, ³²A light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel.

Luke 9:32 Now Peter and those with him had been overcome with sleep, but when they had fully woken up, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

2 Pet. 1:16-18 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we became eyewitnesses of that One’s majesty. ¹⁷For He received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice such as this being borne to Him by the magnificent glory: This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I delight. ¹⁸And this voice we heard being borne out of heaven while we were with Him in the holy mountain.

4. To those on whom Christ has shined, Christ is the glory of God and the hope of glory within them—Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 3:15-16, 18.

Col. 1:27 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,

2 Cor. 3:15-16 Indeed unto this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart; ¹⁶But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

2 Cor. 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

B. The gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ, which illuminates, radiates, and shines into the heart of man—4:4:

2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine on them.

1. The illumination, the enlightenment, that makes the glory of Christ’s gospel known to us issues from the shining of God in our hearts—v. 6.

2 Cor. 4:6 Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2. God’s shining in our hearts brings into us a treasure, the Christ of glory, who is the embodiment of God to be our life and our everything—v. 7.

2 Cor. 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.

V. Jehovah is revealed through His speaking—John 1:1, 14, 29, 32, 36, 42, 51; 3:34; 7:16-17; 14:24:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:32 And John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him.

John 1:36 And looking at Jesus walking, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God!

John 1:42 He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).

John 1:51 And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

John 3:34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.

John 7:16-17 Jesus therefore answered them and said, My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷If anyone resolves to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.

John 14:24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

A. The word of God is actually Christ Himself, the embodiment of God, as the gospel of God—Isa. 40:8; Col. 2:9; Rom. 1:1, 3-4, 16; 10:6-8.

Isa. 40:8 The grass withers and the flower fades, / But the word of our God will stand forever.

Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,

Rom. 1:1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Rom. 1:3-4 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;

Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, both to Jew first and to Greek.

Rom. 10:6-8 But the righteousness which is out of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?” that is, to bring Christ down; ⁷Or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. ⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of the faith which we proclaim,

B. The Lord Jesus was sent by the Father for the purpose of speaking the word of God for God’s expression; in His word, His speaking, God is revealed and presented to us—John 1:1, 14, 18; 3:34; 5:36-37; 7:17; 14:10.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 3:34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.

John 5:36-37 But I have the testimony which is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the works themselves which I do, testify concerning Me that the Father has sent Me. ³⁷And the Father who sent Me, He has testified concerning Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor have you seen His form,

John 7:17 If anyone resolves to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.

John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.

C. The entire fallen human race is like withering grass, and its glory like the falling flower of grass; the believers in Christ were once like that, but the living and abiding word of the Lord has changed their nature, making them living and abiding forever—Isa. 40:6-8; 1 Pet. 1:23-25:

Isa. 40:6-8 A voice said, Cry out. / And he said, What shall I cry? / All flesh is grass / And all its glory is like the flower of the field; ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, / Because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it. / Surely the people are grass. ⁸The grass withers and the flower fades, / But the word of our God will stand forever.

1 Pet. 1:23-25 Having been regenerated not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God. ²⁴For “all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower has fallen off, ²⁵But the word of the Lord abides forever.” And this is the word which has been announced to you as the gospel.

1. Those who receive Christ, the glory of God, as the living and abiding word of God, are regenerated and have eternal life to live forever—John 1:12-13; 3:15.

John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, ¹³Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 3:15 That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.

2. This living word has brought the eternal life into us to regenerate us, and we have received the eternal life for our daily enjoyment—1 Pet. 1:23-25.

3. The Lord’s word will stand forever to enliven men that they may partake of His eternal life for their enjoyment—Isa. 40:6-8; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; Rev. 2:7.

Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

VI. In Isaiah 40:9-26 we have the revelation of the Lord Jehovah—the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incomparable God:

A. “Behold your God!”—v. 9:

Isa. 40:9 Go up to a high mountain, / O Zion, who brings glad tidings; / Lift up your voice with power, / O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; / Lift it up, Do not be afraid. / Say to the cities of Judah, / Behold your God!

1. This is the revealing of the Lord Jehovah, the appearing of the very God as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior, in His becoming a man through incarnation—Matt. 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14.

Matt. 1:18-23 Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹And Joseph her husband, being righteous and not willing to disgrace her openly, intended to send her away secretly. ²⁰But while he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins. ²²Now all this has happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ²³“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which is translated, God with us).

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

2. Jesus, who is Jehovah, is our God; the revealing of Jehovah is the appearing of Jesus—vv. 1, 14; 8:24, 28, 58; Matt. 1:21.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

John 8:28 Jesus therefore said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing from Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things.

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am.

Matt. 1:21 And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

3. Christ is the complete God manifested in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:16:

1 Tim. 3:16 And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.

a. The Word, who is God, became flesh—John 1:1, 14.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.

b. In incarnation Christ is the entire God manifested in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:16.

c. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily—Col. 2:9.

Col. 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,

4. Such a brief declaration—Behold your God!—is the glad tidings—Isa. 40:9.

B. The Lord Jehovah as Jesus Christ is the Ruler who comes as a mighty One to rule over us, and He is the Judge to either reward or punish us—v. 10; Matt. 2:6; 25:14-30; 2 Cor. 5:10.

Isa. 40:10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, / And His arm will rule for Him. / Behold, His reward is with Him, / And His recompense before Him.

Matt. 2:6 “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you the least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, One who will shepherd My people Israel.”

Matt. 25:14-30 For the kingdom of the heavens is just like a man about to go abroad, who called his own slaves and delivered to them his possessions. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability. And he went abroad. ¹⁶Immediately he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained another five. Similarly, he who had received the two gained another two. ¹⁸But he who had received the one went off and dug in the earth and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; behold, I have gained another five talents. ²¹His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master. ²²And he who had received the two talents also came and said, Master, you delivered to me two talents; behold, I have gained another two talents. ²³His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master. ²⁴Then he who had received the one talent also came and said, Master, I knew about you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow. ²⁵And I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have what is yours. ²⁶And his master answered and said to him, Evil and slothful slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not winnow. ²⁷Therefore you should have deposited my money with the money changers; and when I came, I would have recovered what is mine with interest. ²⁸Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall abound; but from him who does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away from him. ³⁰And cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.

C. As the mighty One, the ruling and judging One, Christ comes to be a Shepherd; He cares for His flock by ruling and correcting His sheep and by feeding His flock, gathering the lambs in His arm, carrying them in His bosom, and leading those who are nursing the young—Isa. 40:11; Matt. 2:6; 9:36; John 10:2-4, 11, 14.

Isa. 40:11 He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; / In His arm He will gather the lambs; / In His bosom He will carry them. / He will lead those who are nursing the young.

Matt. 2:6 “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you the least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, One who will shepherd My people Israel.”

Matt. 9:36 And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd.

John 10:2-4 But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

John 10:11 I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 10:14 I am the good Shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,

D. Christ is the Holy One, the eternal God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, sitting above the circle of the earth—Isa. 40:22, 25-26, 28a:

Isa. 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, / And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; / Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, / And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;

Isa. 40:25-26 To whom will you liken Me, / That I should be compared? Says the Holy One. ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, / And see who has created these things, / Who brings out their host by number; / He calls all of them by name. / Through the greatness of His might and the strength of His power / Not one of them is missing.

Isa. 40:28 Do you not know, / Or have you not heard, / That the eternal God, Jehovah, / The Creator of the ends of the earth, / Does not faint and does not become weary? / There is no searching out of His understanding.

1. As the Holy One, Jesus is unlimited, unsearchable, incomparable, and high; there is no comparison between Him and anyone or anything else—vv. 12-18, 28b, 22a:

a. All peoples are like a drop of water from a bucket, like specks of dust on the scales, and are nothing, even less than nothing, just vanity, emptiness—Isa. 40:15, 17; Eccl. 1:2; cf. S. S. 1:1.

Isa. 40:15 Indeed the nations are like a drop from a bucket, / And are accounted as specks of dust on the scales. / Indeed He takes up the islands as very fine powder.

Isa. 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; / They are counted by Him as less than nothing and vanity.

Eccl. 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; / Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

S. S. 1:1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

b. The proper preaching of the all-inclusive Christ as the glad tidings, the gospel, causes people to realize that they are nothing and that Christ is everything—Isa. 40:15, 17.

Isa. 40:15 Indeed the nations are like a drop from a bucket, / And are accounted as specks of dust on the scales. / Indeed He takes up the islands as very fine powder.

Isa. 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; / They are counted by Him as less than nothing and vanity.

2. The more we realize that apart from Christ we are nothing, emptiness, and vanity, the more we will appreciate Christ, treasure Christ, and seek to be filled, saturated, and permeated with Christ—Phil. 3:7-8.

Phil. 3:7-8 But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. ⁸But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ

VII. The prophet’s speaking in Isaiah 40—his announcing of the all-inclusive Christ, Jehovah the Savior, as the glad tidings—is an excellent example of preaching the gospel; all human beings need the incomparable God (vv. 18-26), the coming Christ (v. 3), the glory of Jehovah as the center of the gospel for the new creation (v. 5), the living and abiding word of God for regeneration to have eternal life (vv. 6-8), and the manifestation of the Lord Jehovah, the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 9-12).

Isa. 40:18-26 To whom then will you liken God? / Or what likeness will you compare to Him? ¹⁹When the workman has cast an idol, / A goldsmith overlays it with gold / Also refining chains of silver for it. ²⁰He that is so impoverished that he lacks an offering / Chooses wood that will not rot, / And seeks a skillful craftsman for himself / To prepare an idol that will not be moved. ²¹Do you not know? Have you not heard? / Has it not been told to you from the beginning? / Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? ²²It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, / And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; / Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, / And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; ²³Who brings the princes to nought; / He makes the judges of the earth as nothing. ²⁴They have scarcely been planted; / They have scarcely been sown; / Their stem has scarcely taken root in the earth; / Nevertheless He blows on them and they are withered, / And the storm wind carries them away like stubble. ²⁵To whom will you liken Me, / That I should be compared? Says the Holy One. ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, / And see who has created these things, / Who brings out their host by number; / He calls all of them by name. / Through the greatness of His might and the strength of His power / Not one of them is missing.

Isa. 40:3 The voice of one who cries / In the wilderness: Make clear / The way of Jehovah; / Make straight in the desert / A highway for our God.

Isa. 40:5 Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, / And all flesh will see it together, / Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.

Isa. 40:9-12 Go up to a high mountain, / O Zion, who brings glad tidings; / Lift up your voice with power, / O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; / Lift it up, Do not be afraid. / Say to the cities of Judah, / Behold your God! ¹⁰Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, / And His arm will rule for Him. / Behold, His reward is with Him, / And His recompense before Him. ¹¹He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; / In His arm He will gather the lambs; / In His bosom He will carry them. / He will lead those who are nursing the young. ¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, / Who has calculated the extent of the heavens with a handspan, / And measured out the dust of the earth by a measure, / And weighed the mountains in scales / And the hills in balances?