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The Messiah is the Redeemer and the Savior

Isaiah 59: 1-2 says,

“Behold, Yahweh’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”[i]

The Messiah came into the world to die for our sins as our Sacrificial Lamb, to redeem us, and to reconcile us with the Father.  He is the One referred to in Isaiah 59: 1 as Yahweh’s Hand and Ear, but in Isaiah 42: 1-9 He is called Yahweh’s Servant:

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen One in whom my soul delights.  I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not cry out or raise His Voice, nor make His Voice heard in the street.  A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.  He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His Law.

Thus says God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it, I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.  I am Yahweh, that is my Name; I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images.  Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to You.”[ii]

Isaiah 52: 3-53: 12 describes the Messiah as the Suffering Servant and the ultimate victor in the battle Yahweh fights with Satan to redeem and save His people.  Commenting on this passage of Scripture, Rabbi Elijah DeVidas, a 16th century A.D. Jewish sage, said,

“The meaning of ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities,’ is that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of His being bruised, it follows that who will not admit that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer them for himself.”[iii]

I have included Isaiah 52: 3-53: 12 verbatim below, with one exception.  I put Yahweh’s Name where it belongs.  The Messiah came and died for us, and Rabbi DeVidas was absolutely correct.  Unless we have faith in Him to redeem and save us, we will suffer the consequence for our sin—eternal punishment.  This is what Yahweh told Isaiah about Him:

“For thus says Yahweh, ‘You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.’  For thus says Adonai Yahweh, ‘My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.  Now therefore, what do I have here,’ declares Yahweh, ‘seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?’

Again Yahweh declares, ‘Those who rule over them howl, and My Name is continually blasphemed all day long.  Therefore My people shall know My Name; therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’  How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’

Listen!  Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when Yahweh restores Zion.  Break forth, shout joyfully together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of Yahweh.  But you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives; for Yahweh will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.  Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.  Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.

Who has believed our message?  And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?  For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.  By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of My people, to whom the stroke was due?  His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But Yahweh was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of Yahweh will prosper in His hand.  As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.  Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.”[iv]

This is an excerpt from His Name is Yahweh.  It explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s a book that you need to read and share.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.