Returning back to Isaiah 63,
verse 1. Isaiah 63, verse 1. Who is this? Who is this? Back in chapter 62, verse 11,
the Lord said, "'Say to the daughters of Zion, Thy salvation cometh.'
his reward is with him, his work is before him. And the question
comes, who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments,
this that is glorious in his apparel? Who is this? Who is
this traveling in the greatness of his strength? And the answer
comes I that speak in righteousness mighty to save." Now, I think a seven-year-old
child in here that knows something about the Word of God is able
to tell me of whom these verses are written. I think every one
of us ought to be able to answer the question, who is this? Who
is this that cometh from Edom? Who is this that cometh with
dyed garment? Who is this glorious in his apparel? Who is this traveling in the
greatness of his strength? It's Christ the Lord. This is
Christ the Lord. Now, we don't know anything about
the Old Testament if we're not able to see Jesus Christ our
Redeemer in the Old Testament. I think that a person can go
overboard in types and overboard in making applications of every
jot and tittle, every word and line, every sentence and paragraph. But over in the book of Acts,
chapter 10, verse 43, it says to him, give all the prophets
It is about Christ that they're writing. It is about Christ's
sacrifice that they're prophesying. It is about Christ's redemption
that they're preaching. Our Lord said, had you believed
Moses, you would have believed me. Moses wrote of me. What did
Moses write? He wrote the first five books
of the Bible. He wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. What was he writing about? Christ
said he wrote of him. He said, they said, we have Abraham
to our father. He said, if Abraham were your
father, you would believe me. Abraham saw my day and was glad. God, who at sundry times and
in different manners spake to our fathers by the prophets,
has spoken to us in these last days by his Son. What is he saying
to us by his Son? Salvation's in the cross, salvation's
in the in the death of the Son of God, salvation in his sacrifice,
salvation in his substitutionary work. What did he say through
the prophets? Salvation in Christ, salvation
in the cross, salvation in his substitutionary work. So I see
Christ in this chapter, Isaiah 63. This is Christ, the one that
speaks in righteousness, the one mighty to save. Now then,
Charles Spurgeon who pastored the Metropolitan Tabernacle in
London, England for 38 years, and is recognized as perhaps
not only the greatest preacher of his day, but perhaps the greatest
preacher since the Apostle Paul, he said of this scripture, these
words, it is one of the mysteries of the Christian religion. It
is one of the mysteries of the Christian religion. that we are
taught to believe that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, and yet
He is a man. Yet He is a man. The vision which
Isaiah saw and of which he wrote is a man coming from Eden. He
saw a man coming in strength and power, but a man coming with
red garment Why, he said in verse 2, Wherefore art thou red in
thine apparel, and thy garments like unto one that's been walking
in the winepress? When they threw the clusters
of grapes down in the vat, and then people got in there and
walked on them, they got their garments just red, covered with
the grape juice. And this man, he saw coming. from Edom with dyed garments,
with red garments, mighty, strong. He said, Who are you? He said,
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. He said, Why
have you come in red garments? You look like a man that's been
walking around in the wine pack. And the answer came, I have trodden
the winepress I have been walking around in the winepress alone,
and of the people there was none with me." This is a man, and
yet this man is God. According to the Scriptures,
Jesus Christ is very God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father,
possessing as his Father all divine attributes to an infinite
degree. Jesus Christ participated with
the Father in all the acts of His divine might. He was in the
decree of election. We say the Father chose, and
the Son redeemed, and the Holy Spirit called. But my friends,
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit chose, and the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit redeemed, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
called. Jesus Christ was in the decree
of election. Jesus Christ was in the formation
of the covenant. Jesus Christ was in the creation
of the angels. Jesus Christ was in the creation
of the world and the making of man. God said, let us make man,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And when man had breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life, that breath of life was breathed
from Jesus Christ. He was God, he was with God,
and all things were made by him. And he never ceased to be God.
When he became a man, born in the womb of the virgin mother,
he was God. When he was carried about in
the arms of that young Jewish woman, he was God. When he was a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief, despised and rejected, when he hungered,
thirsted, wearied, and sat on the well seeking rest, and asked
a woman for a drink of water, he was God. When he hung on that
cross in agony and shame, he was God. When he was taken down
from that cross and his body placed in the tomb, when he arose
from the dead, he was God. Who is this? that cometh from
Edom? Who is this that approacheth
with dyed garments? Who is this glorious in his apparel? Who is this clad in human flesh? God Almighty. We have abundant
proof of his deity. When he was here on this earth
in the form of a man, he healed all manner of sickness, he raised
even the dead, he stilled the waves The wind heard his voice
and obeyed, and even the fish of the sea came forth at his
command." And then we have the voice of the Father and the Scriptures. He's God now. This man, Jesus
Christ, sits high above all principalities and powers, exalted and given
a name above every name. He commands the worship of the
world, he shall judge the world, and all tongues shall confess
one of these days that this man is God. This man is God. And my friends, we're not only
taught by the Holy Scriptures that Jesus Christ is God, But
he's man. On a day appointed, the Scripture
says, when the fullness of time was come, God Almighty sent his
Son from heaven. And Jesus Christ, who made the
worlds, who hath beshad the glory of the Heavenly Father before
the worlds were, Jesus Christ did become a man, as well as
God. Almighty God took upon himself
flesh and blood, and from a baby he grew to manhood, and he was
flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone in everything except sin. His sufferings, his
hunger, his thirst, and above all, his death, are strong proofs
that he was a man. Most truly man, and yet most
truly God. Turn to Isaiah chapter 9. Most
truly man, most truly God. In Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6,
it says, Under us a child is born, a real flesh and blood
child is born. Unto us a son is given, a son
to Joseph, a son to Mary, a son to man. He is the son of man,
a real child and a real son, a real man. Suffering, hungering,
thirsting, weary, tired, sweating, walking, running, weeping, crying,
feeling pain, temptation, trial, affliction, shame, humiliation,
under us a child is born, under us a son is given. But that's
not the only description we have of him in this passage. And the
government The government of the universe, the government
of the world, the government of heaven, and the government
of hell. The government shall be on his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful. Wonderful. Counselor. The mighty God. That's who he
is. Who is this? that cometh from
Edom." Who is this that cometh with dyed garments? Who is this
that walks about as one who's been stained with the juice of
the grape, whose garments are red? Who is this? It's a child
that was born and a son that was given, but it is the mighty
God. Listen, the everlasting Father the Prince of Peace. And whosoever would have a clear
view of Jesus Christ, who he is, and why he came, and what
he did, and where he is now, whosoever among you would have
a clear view of Jesus Christ, And saving faith that would keep
your soul from hell and make you a part of the kingdom of
God must not be confused about who this is. You must not be
confused. A man alone cannot save. God alone. And you listen to
me now. God alone, unless he becomes
a man, cannot save. I'm not being blasphemous. There's
some things God can't do. He can't lie. God can't deny
himself. God can't sin. And Almighty God
cannot forgive your sins without a sacrifice. And God Almighty
cannot save you unless he becomes a man. Now that's so. and whosoever
would have a clear view of who Jesus Christ is. The world's
divided about him. They were divided when he came.
He said, I came not to send peace, but a sword. I came to divide. There was a division because
of him. Somebody said he's the Christ.
Others said he's an imposter. Some said he's the Christ, he's
that prophet of whom Moses wrote. Others said he is a deceiver
of men, he's in league with Beelzebub, he's casting out devils by the
power of the devil. Who is he? He's God of very God. Who is he? He's man. And Jesus Christ is not God diluted
into man, and he's not man deified into God. He is God and man taken
into union together. Now, I've never seen that before,
never been done since. I can't explain it, but I just
know that it's so. I know the Word was made flesh,
and He never stopped being the Word, and yet He was real flesh. I know that in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and all things were made by Him. The world was made by Him, and
He was in the world, and the world knew Him not. I know that
so. He is the Son of God, and He's
the Son of Man. This person comes as our Redeemer. Man can suffer, but can never
satisfy. God can satisfy, but can never
suffer. So Jesus Christ, God Almighty,
became a man, and as the infinite perfect, eternal, holy, immaculate,
God of glory. He satisfied every demand, every
infinite demand of God's holiness, God's law, God's justice, and
as a man he suffered and paid our sin debt. He is mighty to
save. Who is this? It's the one that
speaks in righteousness. Now, four things I want us to
see in this text. Number one, what do we mean by
mighty to save? What do we mean by saved? Secondly,
how can I prove that He, this man, this God-man, How can I
prove he's mighty to save? And then thirdly, why is he mighty
to save? And then last of all, I'm going
to ask you a question. What is your reaction to this
announcement? Who is this? Behold, your salvation
cometh. Behold, his reward is with him. Behold, his work is before him. Isaiah saw him coming and said,
And the answer came back, I that speak in righteousness mighty
to save. Verse 4 he says, And the year
of my redeemed is come. In verse 5 he says, Therefore
mine own arm brought salvation. Verse 8 he says, He was their
Savior. mighty to save, save, my salvation
is with me, and he is their savior. Now most men when they read these
lines talking about saving, salvation to save, only consider them to
mean salvation from hell. And this notion is highly defective. You don't want to go to hell,
do you? I don't know anybody who does. You want to go to heaven
when you die, don't you? I don't know anybody who doesn't.
And salvation, by the average person, is considered only to
be from hell to heaven. And I believe that's highly defective. Now it's true that Jesus Christ
does deliver us from the penalty of sin, which is eternal hell.
He takes all our guilt, he takes our iniquity, he so effectually
puts it away that the apostle could cry, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? He puts it away so effectively
and so completely that the Apostle could challenge heaven, earth,
and hell by saying, who is he that condemneth? Christ is God. yea, rather, is risen again,
who is also at the right hand of God, who maketh intercession
for us. He puts our sin and guilt away
so effectively that the Apostle could write dogmatically, there
is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. But this is not all of salvation.
And I say boldly that if this is all that salvation means to
you, whoever you are, I think you've missed Christ. I think
you've missed Christ. If all Jesus Christ is to you
is a fire escape to keep you from hell, you've never beheld
his glory. If Jesus Christ is nothing in
the world but an insurance policy to keep hidden in a safe till
you need some protection to keep you out of hell, I don't believe
you've ever partaken of his spirit. For Christ not only saves us
from the penalty of sin, but Jesus Christ saves his people
from the practice of sin. The Bible says, whosoever is
born of God doth not practice sin. If any man be in Christ
Jesus, he is a new creation. Jesus Christ not only takes away
the guilt of sin, but when a man is born of the Spirit of God
and saved by the grace of God, he has put within him a new and
holy nature. which loves God and loves God's
word. It is a nature that will daily
grow in grace, that will grow in love, that will grow in meekness,
that will grow in humility, that will grow in wisdom, that will
grow in assurance, and that will grow in faithfulness. Of course,
all men who are redeemed have an old nature, and that old nature
stays strong, and that old nature attacks from different directions
according to the age of life. But that divine nature is strong
too, and it grows stronger day by day, and that divine nature
will overcome. Who is he that overcometh? He overcometh by the blood of
the Lamb. So Jesus Christ, our Savior,
who is mighty to save, is not only mighty to save a man from
hell and from the penalty of sin, but he's mighty to save
his people from the practice of sin. And then, thirdly, he
is mighty to save his people from the power of sin. Christ
does not only save a believer from hell, and from the practice
of sin, but he keeps that believer in his love and in his grace. Someone said this, Christ does
not save a man and then leave him to shift for himself afterward,
but he who is mighty to save at the beginning is mighty to
keep in the middle and mighty to glorify at the end. We are
his workmanship. It is God that worketh in you
both the will and the do of his good pleasure. Turn to the book
of Philippians. In Philippians chapter 1, verse
6, Paul writes, being confident of this very thing, being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you."
Who is he? That's Christ. What is this good
work? Regeneration, the new birth,
effectual grace, delivering mercy. He that begins this work in you
will perform it, will perfect it, and the marginal reference
says, we'll finish it. until the day of Jesus Christ,
until the day of Christ's eternal glory, our Lord is mighty to
save from the penalty of sin. He's mighty to save from the
practice of sin. He's mighty to save from the
power of sin, and He's mighty to save from the presence of
sin. Paul talked in Romans 7 about
the battle that went on within his heart, and the battle that
his flesh and spirit were engaged in in his mind and in his natural
body. And he cried, O wretched man
that I am! Who shall deliver me? Who shall
effectually rescue me? who shall finally separate me
from this old, wretched body of sin, I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Oh, what a day that will be when
I, the dear Savior, shall see I shall be just like Him. This is salvation Salvation is
not just being rescued from hell. Salvation is not just having
an official pardon from the Supreme Court of the universe. Salvation
is not just having a fire escape that you can latch on to when
trouble comes your way. But salvation is an operation
of God in the heart, in the mind, in the soul, in the whole man.
whereby he delivers us from the penalty of sin, from the practice
of sin, from the power of sin, and someday he who hath begun
this good work will deliver us effectually, eternally, infinitely
from the presence of sin. And we'll never, ever sin again. Never. That's what it means,
mighty to save. That's what it means, mighty
to save. A man can walk down a church
aisle and make a profession of religion, and you might be able
to deliver him from a few bad habits. You might be able to
deliver him from a few evil, wicked deeds, but you can't effectually
deliver him from the penalty of sin and from the practice
of sin and from the power of sin, and it's beyond your power
ever to effectually deliver him from the presence of sin. That
takes this one who is mighty to save. Then secondly, how can
we prove that he is mighty to save, this one who comes. Well,
turn to the book of John. There are two things that I'd
like to say in answer to this question. How can we prove that Jesus Christ is mighty to
save? First of all, I would appeal
to his word, to his word, the word of God. In John chapter
5, verse 31, he says, if I bear witness of myself, who I am,
what I came to do, where I came from, what I plan to do, my witness
is not true. The Bible says, let every word
be established at the mouth of two or three witnesses. And Christ
himself says, if I'm the only one who tells you where I came
from, who sent me, what I came to do, what my death will accomplish,
then you've got every right not to believe." And then he calls
on many witnesses. He calls in first John the Baptist.
He said John the Baptist was sent from God. John the Baptist
was the last of the Old Testament prophets. John the Baptist was
the forerunner of Christ. John the Baptist was supernaturally
born when his mother and father were very old. He was filled
with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. And John the Baptist,
when he saw Christ, said, this is the Lamb of God who takes
away sin. Who takes away sin. And then the Lord calls in another
witness. He said, but I've got a greater
witness than John. The Father! given me the works
which the Father hath given me, the same works I do, they bear
witness of me. Don't you suppose one who could
raise the dead physically could raise the dead spiritually? Huh? Don't you suppose the one who
could give sight to the physically blind by speaking could give
sight to the spiritually blind? Don't you suppose the one who
could put his fingers in the ear of a deaf man could also
touch the ears of a deaf sinner, make him hear the sweet voice
of God's Spirit? Huh? Don't you suppose he that
could stand on the bow of a boat and still the ocean's roar could
touch the heart of a troubled sinner and give him or her peace. Huh? Don't you reckon he could?
He said, the works that I do, they bear witness of me. But
he said, I've got a greater witness than those. Verse 37, he said,
The Father himself which hath borne witness of me, you haven't
heard his voice, but there at his baptism the Father said this,
is my son. This is my son. This Jesus of
Nazareth, this man whom you baptized, this one who comes to you in
a robe wearing sandals, this is my son!" You listen to him. You listen to him. And then he
said, I've got another witness, verse 39, the scriptures. He
said, you search the scriptures, for in the scriptures you think
you have eternal life. You're busy turning through the
Bible. You're trying to find out what the Bible says. I'll
tell you, he said, what the Bible says. The Bible testifies of
me. That's what it's all about. A
man trying to teach the Bible and not teach Christ ought to
get him another book to study, because he doesn't know anything
about the Word of God. Christ is on every page, and
it can't be understood except in the light of Christ. So that's
my first reason for believing that he's mighty to save His
word. And secondly, he has done it
again and again. In your hymn book there is a
psalm, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch
like me. I once was lost, but now am found,
I was blind, but now I see. "'Twas grace that taught my heart
to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.'" You say, that's a magnificent
hymn, that's a magnificent poem, that's a magnificent message.
It is. You say, that must have been
written by a man who was a great, outstanding citizen. That must
have been written by a man, a giant of a man. That must have been
written by a man who had early training, who was a scholar. That must have been written by
a man whose life was pure and holy. Uh-uh. That was written
by a cursing foul-mouthed, drunken, filthy life sailor by the name
of John Newton, whom God saved. Whom God saved, that's right.
John Newton ran away from home, joined the Navy when he was just
a teenager. He could curse for an hour and
never say the same word twice. He became, he got in the slave
business. You people who love God hate
slavery. That's where John Newton made
his living. taking an ivory trade. They'd go down there and get
slaves and ivory, steel ivory, from African coast and ship it
back to England. He bore, he had a hole in his
side. He got so drunk one night and
he did something wrong and the captain of the ship, the first
mate, threw him over the side, going to drown him. And one of
his buddies threw a boat hook down and hooked him in the side
and drug him back on board the ship. And he bore that hole in
his side the rest of his life. It healed up, but he bore an
ugly hole in his side. One time, he got so low that
he was the slave of a black woman in Africa. She made him eat his
food on his hands and knees like a dog, lick it up off the floor. She'd take whatever food she
gave him, wasn't very much, she hated him, and she'd throw his
food on the floor. I read his life story, memoir,
written by himself. And he said he got so sick and
so vile and so filthy that he was eating his food like a dog
with his hands chained to a cot. God saved him. And he became
one of England's greatest preachers. He became a man of piety and
godliness and wrote these great hymns. My friends, take the cannibals
in the South Sea Islands. We talk about the power of education. You send your best schoolmaster. You pick one with a Ph.D. and an L.L.D. and a Bachelor
of Education of Arts and Education of Science and send him to the
South Sea Islands to teach the accountable, and they'll eat
him. That's right, they'll eat him. I believe in education.
I believe education serves its purpose. But it won't make a
man a new creature. It won't turn a John Newton from
a filthy-mouthed sailor to a man who can preach the grace of God
enough to bring the stars down. It won't do it. And you can take
your social reformers Your people who are going to clean up the
neighborhood and put the slums out of business, you can send
them down there to South Sea Island and let them do what they
can with accountability, and he'll eat reformers, too. But
a man can go down there to the most wicked of men, and if they'll
let him, preach Christ to them in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Almighty God is able to make that savage drop his spear. And he is able to bring from
the eyes of that savage something that's never been seen on his
cheeks, and that tears of repentance. Almighty God is able to touch
the body of that savage and make him put his clothes on. And Almighty
God is able to touch his lips and have that savage who's been
chanting Wicked songs sing amazing grace. That's all. I've seen
men in foreign countries, in Mexico. I've seen those people
slaves to superstition and slaves to idolatry and slaves to lying
and thievery. I've seen those men praising
God and preaching his gospel. And what did it was not social
reform or education or cleaning up his community, but God giving
him a new heart by Jesus Christ. This America is the most educated
nation on earth, but we hadn't cured the drunks with education.
Some of the worst drunks we got are educated men. Education and
social reform won't make a man a new creature, but Jesus Christ
will. Jesus Christ will make a thief
honest. Jesus Christ will make a drunk
sober. Jesus Christ shall make a harlot
pure. Jesus Christ is able to take
the most wretched, filthy, guilty sinner, and through a knowledge
of him, make him a new creature. Now why is he mighty to save?
I've got to hear, turn back to Isaiah 63 one more time. Why
is he mighty to save? There are three things given
here. In verse 1, he says, I speak in righteousness. Why is he mighty
to save? Because he comes as God in the
flesh, perfecting and working out by his own obedience. a righteousness
for you and me with which the Father will be satisfied. I speak
in righteousness. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, Which
of you convinceth me of sin? He did no sin, neither was guile
in his mouth. He was a perfect man. There's
never been on this earth but one perfect man, that's Christ.
That's Christ. And you and I have a righteousness
which he spoke, and a holiness which he worked out, and a merit
and a standing before God which he completed. That's the reason
he can say, because he speaks in righteousness. Secondly, verse
9, He is mighty to save not only because he speaks in righteousness,
but verse 9 says, "...in all their afflictions he was afflicted."
There is no trial that I must bear that Christ didn't bear.
There is no temptation through which I can go that he did not
go. He was tempted in all points,
like as we are, yet without sin. There's no suffering that I can
know. There's no loneliness that I
can bear. There's no burden that I can
absolutely, by God's purpose and providence, have to bear
that Christ didn't already bear. In all their afflictions, he
was afflicted. He was born in poverty. He was
raised in poverty. He was without friends. He was
hated and despised and rejected, crucified and slain. And he died
more alone than any person has ever died, for even the Father
forsook him. You talk about loneliness. And
then the third reason why he's mighty to save, he said, I speak
in righteousness. Secondly, in all their afflictions
he was afflicted. And then verse 3 says, I walked the winepress alone."
And my friends, the winepress is a symbol of the wrath of God. Wicked men, like clusters of
grapes, are cast into the winepress, and they're crushed, and they're
crushed. And Christ Jesus said, that winepress
alone. He went to the garden alone. He went to Pilate's hall alone. He went before Caiaphas the priest
and in the soldier's hall alone. He walked down that road to Calvary's
hill alone. He was nailed to that cross alone,
and he died on that cross alone. nobody shared in his task or
in his work or in his salvation. He did it all himself. I walked it, I walked it alone. That's why he's mighty to say
three things. He speaks in righteousness, and
he was afflicted in all our afflictions, and he's already walked that
winepress. And he came out his garments
dripping with his own blood. having given his life. Oh, now I see the cleansing wave,
the fountain open wide. Jesus my Lord, mighty to save,
mighty to save, points to his wounded side. Now the last point
and the final question, what is your reaction? Verse 16 says,
the latter part of verse 16, O Lord, Thou art our Father and
our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting. That's my reaction. He's my Redeemer. I'm glad he came. The unbeliever, verse 18 and
19, hath trodden down thy sanctuary have ignored thy counsel, would
have none of thee, thou never barest rule over them, they were
never called by thy name." Our Father, apply the message to
our hearts, make it live in our hearts. Let us not soon forget
these scriptures and cast them aside as seeds sown on unbroken
ground unprepared, but let these words fall in hearts and grounds
prepared by the Holy Spirit.