Eyes to see

Posted by Jeffrey Smith October 16th, 2015 2,065 Views 0 Comments

Isaiah 6:7: With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Isaiah 6:9-10: He said, "Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving." Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Matthew 11:4-6: Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Isaiah had been in front of the Father, and knowing his faults, he declares how much of a sinner he is. He even says woe to me, with unclean lips. The Lord has mercy on Him and in fact takes a hot coal and touches his lips to make him whole, healed, and guilt free.
Isaiah realized the enormity of the gift he received, and offers himself up to follow the Lord and to be obedient to all of His requests.
You see, when we become whole and healed, we have no choice to feel gratitude and want to serve the one who sets us free.
Most people think we have to serve to become free. We can get bogged down in our works and become disenfranchised with the idea of salvation, not knowing that God calls the unclean, makes them clean and sets them out to serve, not the other way around.
Isaiah prophecies about the coming of John the Baptist ( Isaiah 40:3) as well as Jesus ( Isaiah 7:14).

Under the law, Judah and Jerusalem were just filled with sin and turning away from the Father. They were so caught up in their vile acts, that Isaiah says that they "parade their sin like Sodom." This was pretty serious stuff, and the Lord has commissioned Isaiah to preach to these people.
This is during the time of the law, and so their sin was just so overwhelming. The destruction of sin is taking its toll on His people and the destruction of these people is coming, and Isaiah is telling them. We see in Matthew up through 10 and into 11 that Jesus commissions his disciples and sends them out. John the Baptist is in jail, but sends his disciples to find out what Jesus is up to. Jesus tells John what the fulfillment of Isaiah had prophesied all those years before is taking place. The time has come, and John is there, Jesus is there. The time has come for the healing to begin. For the people to turn and be healed.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecy and all law. We no longer have to fear God's wrath. We do not have to fear coming before the Lord as sin stained people. We are set free in Jesus Christ. We who have turned to Jesus, know our faults and being healed, we are free. We are able to see, hear, we can walk, our diseases are cured, and our dead are raised. We are set free! When we feel that freedom, we have not choice but to volunteer to serve Jesus. He is the one who makes us clean. When we no longer feel the guilt of sin and condemnation, we are free to raise our hands and called upon to share the message of hope. We all have the hope of being set free, and we have to feel the desire to serve when we are given a new life. Be changed brothers and sisters, the great commission is not for us to work for salvation, but to share what has been done already for us. Raise your hand, and say, "here I am Lord, send me."