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Bible How Beautiful Are the Feet

How Beautiful Are the Feet

Hopefully you are following along with our Central Reads bible reading plan, because today’s reading is a beauty. It’s Isaiah 52 – a VERY important passage for how the New Testament writers understood Jesus and all God was doing through him. It begins the oft-read “Suffering Servant” song (which continues into chapter 53…he was pierced for our transgressions…by his wounds we are healed…) that forms so much about how we understand Jesus’ life and death for us. Beautiful and powerful.

But it’s verses 7-10 that struck me today. Take a look:

7 How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
    who announces salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy,
for in plain sight they see
    the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break forth; shout together for joy,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

It pictures Jerusalem (Zion) under siege, surrounded on every side by her enemies, slowly having her life choked out of her. Outside of God’s help, which they are beginning to doubt, they are without hope. And so the city’s sentinels sit scanning the mountainous horizon, waiting and watching for a sign of hope.

In the distance they see a messenger sprinting across the horizon with an obvious pep in his step – because he has good news (gospel) to announce:

Your God reigns.

God IS victorious. Though the siege is on, and darkness and death and despair and devastation seem to be winning, God has won the decisive battle. But the really good news is that he – this victorious God – is coming in person – to save, to comfort, and to end the pseudo-reign of darkness and death. 

That – God coming in person to save – is what the New Testament writers suggest happened at Christmas, and throughout the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The decisive battle has been won. Death has lost. God has won.

The only thing left is to announce this good news to “all the ends of the earth”.

It’s amazing that THIS is today’s reading, because as it so happens, in the men’s bible study this morning, we discussed Romans 10. In Romans 10, Paul quotes the Isaiah passage when talking about our own call to share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know it:

14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

At the bible study, we started talking about how and why we send missionaries to other lands to bring this good news – which is a very good thing. But we also talked about how, for Paul, this isn’t just about sending missionaries to other lands.

This was written to ordinary Christians in Rome, to “bring good news” into the ordinary world they found themselves in: to their homes, to the guy who worked the kiln next to them, to the woman in the market, to their neighbors, friends, and enemies. 

And it’s our call too.

Each of us – and us together as the church – are called to be the people with  “beautiful…feet…who bring good news” into our world as well, to announce – with our words, actions, and presence – that God reigns and has come to save and redeem. 

It’s not just for “missionaries”, because in reality, every follower of Jesus is called to be a missionary to their world, to be a witness,

to be a disciple-making disciple. 

Without that, we may be disciples – but not of Jesus; because when Jesus calls us to be his disciples, he makes us disciple-making disciples, or as he puts it, “fishers of men!” 

We’re going to get deeper into this idea on Sunday – so make sure you don’t miss it. Be here at Central at 9:30 on Sunday morning as we begin our new series about following Jesus called “Step Up: Growing Up in Christ”. We’ll talk more about this next week in our Step Groups as well. 

So if you haven’t yet, join a Step Group today

(I’ll be arranging/organizing the groups today – so sign up now!)

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