Compelling Love

All the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as Paul declares in
2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV), “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

For example, the first promise of God recorded in the Bible was spoken in the Garden of Eden to the serpent who had persuaded Eve to disobey God. Scholars throughout the centuries interpreted this prophecy to mean that a Savior born of a virgin would one day remove the false authority of the devil, while suffering physically to do so.

Genesis 3 (NKJV)
¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

This prophecy in Genesis 3;15 is repeated in the prophecy of
Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV), Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Matthew 1 records the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary in fulfillment of this prophecy, quoting Isaiah 7:14 in verse 23.

Matthew 1 (NKJV)
¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about 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 to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, ²⁵ and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6-7 gives additional prophecies about this Savior:

⁶ 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.

In Luke 4, Jesus stood and read in the synagogue at Nazareth the beginning words of another Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61, and then announced He had come to fulfill those words of promise.

Luke 4 (NKJV)
¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Through Jesus Christ, God is fulfilling His promises in Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31 to give His people a new heart, a new spirit, and a new covenant. 

Ezekiel 36 (NKJV)
²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Jeremiah 31 (NKJV)
³ The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

³³ … this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”. Jesus invites all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him, to believe, receive and follow Him, to find true salvation and rest for our souls.

Matthew 11 (NKJV)
²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/