What Does Restoration Look Like?

On the weekends when I am not outside enjoying creation, I like to watch public television.

One of my favorite shows to watch is "This Old House."

You know the plot: the crew takes on restoring a home that is in need of repair, each of the specialists describe the process in detail, and most often, the house is equipped with state-of the-art energy modifications, so that while the house keeps its classic style and distinctive features, but its infrastructure is new from the inside out.

The prophet Isaiah and his students in the prophetic school have crafted a vision over 12 generations of salvation history, that begins with indictment over the lack of focus on God, and describes the slippery slope of disobedience, resulting in captivity of the once-holy nation. God has always used the nations as agents of judgement to waken us into revival.  And in seventh century BC Israel, it is no different. Yet beginning in chapter 49, the divine tide begins to turn. The prophets are seeing into the future, they are seeing a new age of righteousness and praise springing up upon the nations. The prophets are seeing a Holy One who is to come, prophesied in a whisper from Chapter 11, one from the tribe of Jesse, a righteous Branch, grown from the gnarled stump of ISR, one who bring in this new age of holiness, righteousness and praise.

The hallmark of this age will be the appearance of the Suffering Servant, One who sacrifices Himself to bring salvation not only to the chosen ones, but to all who believe.

You see this idea of salvation for all is a theme set in motion from the days of Noah, bringing two of every kind of animal in to the ark is a prophetic act symbolic of salvation for all of creation. We see this again in Abraham, through whom God decrees all the nations of the world will be blessed. We see this notion again at the Exodus, where God allows Moses to bring out a mixed multitude, those not of Israel, but wanting freedom. And again in the sixty first chapter of Isaiah, this Anointed One, one endowed with divine power arrives on the scene to restore and redeem, to seek and to save those waiting patiently in affliction, providing comfort and counsel, liberty and emancipation.

The faith community is transformed by the Anointed One to be inclusive, to take on this mixed multitude and through his divine action, becomes one nation under God.

Let's take a closer look at the Suffering Servant and what His restoration looks like.

First, it is clear that the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon him, for He is anointed. Anointing in the Bible is described as a ceremonial blessing, as in the anointing of priests in Leviticus 8. Yet is also described an a divine enablement as in 1 John 2:20-27

"but you have an anointing from the Holy One.....as for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you...' Jesus is called the Christ, not because it is His last name, but it is about His anointing, Jesus is the anointed One, and he has had this anointing from birth (Luke 1:35). Jesus was given the Spirit without measure (John 1:35; 3:34).

This divine enablement allows Jesus to proclaim some new truths and some new realities to those who have been patiently waiting in affliction.

1  (speaking out ) to being good news to the poor. This good news is the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, we are longer destined to die in our sins, and live an eternity without God, in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Gospel, Christ dying in our place, brings new life to those who believe.

2  (binding up) to heal the broken-hearted. Hope deferred makes a heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12). Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). The anointing brings healing to broken hearts, hearts that have been longing for change, but to no avail. The appearance of the Messiah ushers in a time of healing.   Knowing and living the truth of our new nature in Christ brings healing to the hearts, Yes! There is a balm in Gilead, and it is the Anointed One and His Anointing.

3 (setting free) Liberty to the captives, freedom to the prisoners. After living in captivity for centuries, people can begin to act like captives. Just like ISR after leaving Egypt, the process was much longer, and much more complex to get Egypt-style thinking out of them. The physical exodus was not enough, we need a spiritual exodus. John 8:31-36 - if we hold on to his teaching, then we will be Jesus' disciples, then we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free.  We must allow God's truth to break us out of soul neglect, hearts and minds hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 

4 (lifting up) This is a description of the year of the Lord's favor, prophetically fulfilling the Year of Jubilee. Every fiftieth year, the Jubilee Year was a year of restoration: lands returned to owners, all living on what the land produces on its own, debts cancelled, financial slaves set free. Restoration at its finest, the Sabbatical Year.

However, this practice was at its best, sporadically followed. It is believed that the years of captivity of ISR and Judah are proportional to number of Sabbatical or Jubilee years not observed. But the appearance of the Suffering Servant, Jubilee is now a permanent observance. So when in Luke 4 Jesus is given the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, and concluded the reading by saying, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,"  and sitting down, Jesus is declaring a permanent Jubilee, and He is the One ushering in this new age.

Then Jesus goes on to remind the Nazareth congregation that God's restoration was not just for them. Using the examples of Gentiles (widow in Zarephath, 1 Kings 17:7f., and Naaman the Syrian, 2 Kings 5:1f.), Jesus declared that restoration is for all who mourn, that none will be excluded from God's favor, that whosoever will believe and trust upon Jesus can be included.

All who come to Jesus can be bestowed with beauty instead of the ashes of mourning

All who come to Jesus can be anointed with the oil of joy, the very anointing of Jesus himself.

All who come to Jesus can receive of double portion of favor, double for all your trouble.

All who come to Jesus are part of the great rebuilding project called the Kingdom of God.

All who come to Jesus are part of the great work of restoration, for all who come to Jesus are called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.

All of us who are following hard after Jesus can help to restore "This Old House" to "This New House."