Blind Witnesses

Please turn to Isaiah chapter 43 Isaiah 43. We have that go ahead and stand for the reading of God's Word Bring out the people who are blind yet have eyes who are deaf yet have ears

All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble who among them can declare this and show us the former things

Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right let them hear and say it is true You are my witnesses declares the

Lord and my servant whom I have chosen That you may know and believe me and to understand that I am he

Before me no, God was formed Nor shall there be any for any after me.

I I am the Lord and besides me. There is no Savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed and when there was no strange

God among you and You are my witnesses declares the Lord and I am

God Also, henceforth. I am he there's none who can deliver from my hand.

I work and who can turn it back Amen You may be seated

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask today that your word would open our eyes. We are your witnesses

Lord As it describes here people who are blind yet have eyes who are deaf yet have ears

We know that you are one who opens eyes and ears and we pray that you would do so today in Jesus name.

Amen Throughout this section in Isaiah Isaiah highlights or the

Lord through Isaiah highlights in a number of ways how he brings himself glory in unexpected ways in ways the people do not anticipate and in particular that is highlighted here by the fact that he brings his people as Witnesses his people who are blind and deaf as witnesses

This is counterintuitive Typically when you bring a witness, it's someone who has seen and heard in Very clear ways.

These are people who have eyes and have years who are able to observe but they are not able to understand

Because they are blind and are deaf. I named the sermon early on in the week

But if I were to rename it, I would simply call it blind witnesses blind witnesses because it highlights the

Irony That the Lord is using to demonstrate the way that he brings himself glory here first of all in this passage when it says bring out the people who are blind yet of eyes who are deaf yet have the ears he is

Drawing the metaphor again of a courtroom scene This is something that we have seen a few times before in this section in Isaiah He said in Isaiah 41 1 listen to me in silence of coastlands.

Let the people renew their strength Let them approach then let them speak. Let us draw near for judgment

So he imagines the people he describes people all coming to him for judgment

Verse 21 of chapter 41 says set forth your case says the Lord bring your proofs says the

King of Jacob And he continues on to describe this courtroom scene. He describes this again

Several things have been elaborated at this point. Now. We have the servant of the

Lord Who was elaborated on in chapter 42? Behold my servant whom

I uphold my chosen in whom my soul delights Speaking of the Messiah that is to come the

Lord's chosen servant the people being a failed servant of the Lord But him having a servant who will serve in their place

Gives them this hope for salvation That has been added here and now we also have this notion of witnesses

That God is bringing forth witnesses and the nation's will bring forth their witnesses as well

Any witnesses that they would deem fit? These passages here are typically rendered as commands these two verses eight and nine

Bring out the people who are blind All the nations gather together yet, these are

Stated perfectly by perfect. I'm referring to the grammatical category, which means something that has already been accomplished

This is the Lord is reporting these things and what is known as the prophetic perfect Perfect describing something that has not taken place yet as having already taken place

They have already been brought out they have already been gathered together It is certain that this is already going to be this is already accomplished

It is so certain that it will be accomplished that he is describing it as something that has already been accomplished

So he speaks of his people who are blind yet have eyes who are deaf you have years In the previous chapter in verse 18 said hear you deaf and look you blind that you may see

Who is blind but my servant or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one or blind as the servant of the

Lord? He sees many things but does not observe them seers are open, but he does not hear

This is speaking of his people. They are blind They can see and they can observe in the sense of being able to collect raw facts in front of them

But as far as being able to put them together and understand them and interpret them they are incapable of doing so These These are the ones that he has chosen to present his case to be his witnesses in Verse 9 says all the nations gathered together and the people's a symbol

Who among them can declare these things and show us the former things? The nations here all the nations that would oppose

God's people that would serve various idols That would say that God is similar to any of the other idols

They may come together in judgment. They can bring whatever witnesses

They would care to bring but the Lord will still show them wrong because they likewise are blind

They do not know what the Lord has accomplished They may observe the things that he is doing, but they do not understand where they are going

They may have observed things that they have he has done, but they do not understand all his purposes for these things

So the Lord brings us all together in verse 10.

You are my witnesses declares the Lord and my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me and Understand that I am he

Before me no God was formed nor shall there be any after me He speaks of his people as a witness.

He speaks of them as a servant and he Invites a comparison to the nations who have also been gathered just as his people have been gathered together

Remember verse 6 I will say to the north give up and to the south do not withhold bring my son from afar My daughter's from the ends of the earth

Before when he had been describing this courtroom seen all the nations are being gathered from the ends of the earth and now his people

Are being gathered from the ends of the earth He's talked about his people giving him glory everyone who is called by my name in verse 7 whom

I created For my glory whom I formed and made and so likewise the nations will also render him glory

That will not be in the same sense as people will glorify him through him upholding them Through him upholding this people and the nation's will bring him glory through him destroying the nation's

They will be exchanged as it had said in verse 3 for I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel your servant

Your Savior I give Egypt as your ransom kush in seba in exchange for you

That great exchange something that will happen and so the people are gathered together both

God's people and the nation's they're all to bring their witnesses and Testify whether they understand what the

Lord has done what has taken place and whether or not they are able to understand it There's several sources of blindness.

There are two sources in particular first of all their sin Because of sin we are

Blind to things that God is accomplishing that we would otherwise be able to see this is the emphasis in the previous chapter where it says here you deaf and look you blind and He laments how blind his servant is that he can see things, but but can't hear

That he can see things, but doesn't understand them. He has ears, but he doesn't hear

So that is one source of blindness is sin another source of blindness is simply our natural limitations

God's plan transcends man's ability to Anticipate what he is doing and that seems to be more his intention here

As to not refer merely to his people as being blind on account of their sin but even being blind on account of their natural limitations that none is

Capable of understanding what the Lord has done because his plan is greater than any of their plans

He is greater than all of them Consider the various ways that this is true

The world does not know the things of God 2nd Corinthians 4 4 says that he has blinded the minds of unbelievers

They do not understand the things of God even those demons who are

Very ancient they have lived a long time. They are very intelligent.

They are likewise Notice he's he's speaking of idols in this whole passage.

They likewise do not know what he is doing They can study everything the Lord is doing. They do not know what is taking place

Consider the particular people that he is writing this to Those who are going to go into Babylonian exile and be taken out of it

They don't understand what the Lord is going to do. They don't realize that he is going to miraculously save them through Persia Even though he is very explicit about it in his word that there's a

Limitation that they have both by their sin and by their own Human limitations that they do not understand that he will take them out of Babylon through unexpected means of Persia coming and defeating

Babylon and Cyrus giving proclamation and even Gifts necessary in order that the people be able to rebuild the temple

Then leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ While anticipating a

Messiah the particular means at the end Messiah is given through the incarnation It's not someone something that anyone anticipated once again, though it is spoken of many times

The Bible speaks in such ways that the only possibility would be that The Messiah be one who is both

God and man and yet the incarnation is not something that was Anticipated because it's beyond man's ability to understand these things

Then even while Christ walked with his disciples on the earth and He told them about his death that he would die that he would rise again in three days and the disciples afterwards in Luke 24 recount that he had told them all these things and hadn't understood

They hear these things with their ears, but they don't process them to be able to understand that Oh, he must die in order to be raised again all of these things surpass

Man's ability to anticipate both on account of his sin and on his natural limitations, but it is by people's observing these things and later being able to recount that they had observed these things and even

Testifying to these things in repeating the reality that has occurred Before it comes to full fruition that God is glorified by blind by blind servants

There are many things now that we do not understand There are many things in what he is doing that we do not understand.

He has revealed many mysteries to us He has revealed the mystery of Christ that he is drawn together

Jew and Gentile and to one that he has given a great forgiveness in Jesus Christ but there are mysteries that he has likewise not revealed in Ephesians 5 that Book that speaks repeatedly of the mystery of Christ Speaking of the union between Christ in the church as still being a mystery means that we do not yet know

What exactly will be accomplished what it will be like for the church to be? Not just betrothed to the groom but To have that union fully consummated.

These things are mysteries to us. We do not fully understand What is?

We do not fully understand what is taking place we are friends of We are friends of God he has

Told us much of what we are doing what much of what he is doing Jesus has called us friends

We are not merely his servants so that we would not understand what he is doing at all and he has told us much of That but he has not told us all of that.

There are many things that remain yet to be seen In 1st Corinthians 13 12 it says for now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face now

I know in part then I shall know fully even as I have been fully known Many things that we do not see and understand at this point

Romans 8 verse 18 and 19 say For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God The glories that are to be revealed have not yet been revealed what

God is accomplishing Something that he has not revealed to us Completely also how he has accomplished it is something that he has not revealed to us completely

Just later on in this very chapter It says and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good

For those who are called according to his purpose Now this verse gives great comfort that the

Lord is working all things even the difficult trials that affect us Is all those things work together for good?

The fact that we do not understand how exactly they are all working together for good is

Testimony in itself that he has not revealed all the ways in which he is working that we are still in a sense blind servants we may not be blind as Many were before the death of Christ that he would

That he opened eyes during his earthly ministry and most especially after and for the outpouring of the Spirit many people see now with an enlightenment that is

Exceptional yet at the same time There is a sense in which he is still working in the same way through blind servants through people who are observing

What he is doing but not being able to process it not being able to put all the cords together to understand the harmonies later on in 9

Romans 9 22 Says what if God?

Desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power has endured with much patience Vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy which he prepared beforehand for glory

Here he is answering the question of What God's purposes are and it's interesting that he phrases this as a question

I don't believe that we are to take this and say that maybe this is true. Maybe not This is something that is certainly true that God is accomplishing this but by in phrasing it as a question

I believe what Paul is intimating in part is there may be and almost certainly are many other additional answers for what

God is accomplishing in his purposes of having Arranged things the way he has where there are some prepared for destruction and some that are prepared for mercy

We do not understand each one of those purposes We do not understand all the what of where he is taking us

We do not understand all the how of even what he is accomplishing now though We have the great privilege of being New Testament Saints who understand much more of the how much more of the what then?

Then those had in previous times and this is true of all things.

It is not God does not work a little here and a little there and one day we will see a few threads come together

He is working in Everything everything is replete with the workings of God the lot falls in the lap

But it's every decision belongs to the Lord. Everything is taking place at the hand of God He has his purposes in everything.

He works all things according to the counsel of his will Says in Ephesians 1 9 says that he is making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose

Which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth

Paul speaks of something that has been accomplished in Christ that Christ has

United all things in him in heaven and on earth, but he also speaks to something that has yet to find a fuller

Fulfillment all things will know their purpose eventually in Jesus Christ. All things will be known as Having their purpose in him he has arranged all things all things were created for him

All things were created through him. All things were created by him But the mystery is how everything is for him.

We do not understand all those details Revelation chapter 15 says in verse 3 and they sing the song of Moses the servant of God in the song of the

Lamb saying Great and amazing are your deeds O Lord God the Almighty just and true are your ways

O King of the nations Who will not fear O Lord and glorify your name for you alone are holy all?

Nations will come and worship you for your righteous acts have been revealed

Note the relation to this passage Why does he have these blind servants in order that they may know that he alone is

God when it says I am he in Isaiah chapter 43

What it's saying is all these different gods are Contesting for being ones of power, but the only one is power is me

I am he says the Lord in Revelation 15 for it says for you alone are holy

God the Holy One of Israel the one who is not like the other gods because it is only he who is powerful who understands

All nations will come and worship you why for your righteous acts have been revealed the righteous righteous acts exist in Such abundant qualities you are entirely unaware of how abundant they are, but they will all be revealed so that They will be known in fuller measure

Now once again This is found fulfillment in Jesus Christ in that the nations are already coming to him his righteous works in the

Old Testament Have been revealed in great measure yet. There is a Continuing work that is happening during this era that still remains a mystery that we will discover more and so We find ourselves to be blind servants

Our eyes have been open and yet at the same time We have limitations that God will glorify himself through us observing what he is doing but not understanding completely until the end

Consider those who are in the exile even those Who are saved?

Israel at that time is a mixed people. There are people in Israel who truly know the Lord who are filled with the

Spirit Without the spirits outpouring in the great measure that we enjoy him today yet have the spirits

Do they have life in themselves? through the work of God their minds are enlightened and still they do not they did not know what

God was doing in Taking them into exile and out of exile They did not know that Babylon was necessary in order that salvation through Persia might happen they did not know that it was necessary for the staff and through the

Wickedness of the people in order that God's righteousness might be displayed that the details were Not made known to them and this principle is true in general the witness that God brings to this courtroom

Vindicates him and gives him an exceptional glory on account of that witness being blind if you were to bring witness to court and he is one who is a part of your tribe a part of your

Kingdom and you're going to court an international court against all the other nations

Well, of course you would expect this one to give an account that lines up with the things that you want him to say

But what is happening here is there's no bias There's no poisoning the mind of the witness with anything either good or ill it is simply

What have you observed you blind witness who does not understand any of the things that he is seeing?

recount these things and Then because I the

Lord have arranged things So perfectly will be able to show that even by this blind witness that does not understand

These things have taken place on account of my greatness The Jews as they celebrated of the

Israelites and then later on the Jews The Jew people of Judea being split off from the rest of Israel Celebrated the various ceremonies that God had given.

What are they doing at this time? They are being blind to witnesses. They are Observing the sacrifices not knowing how they will be fulfilled in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ They are

Observing the they were observing the various feasts not knowing how they would point to Jesus Christ Observing all the different regulations all the different dietary restrictions all the different Clothing restrictions not knowing how they pointed to the kingdom of Jesus Christ all of these things are then being a

Blind not in the spirit not in the moral sense of sin, but even in their natural limitations.

They are blind witnesses Testifying to what God is going to do Not even realizing that they're testifying to what

God is going to do even now as we Proclaim God's Word as we treasure it in our heart and store it up in our heart

Not knowing what those glories are that await for us We ourselves are in a ways blind witnesses

Because though he has opened our eyes to many things there are things that are still not yet revealed to us

But that he has spoken of in his word such that on that day we will

Open our eyes further and realize What he has accomplished that these glories that he has spoken of are

Many of them will have been spoken of in such a way where we will see directly from the pages that we were witnesses to these things the whole time and how

How do we not know all the details? Well, we are simply a limited people that God is using to Proclaim his glory by calling his shot beforehand permitting us to Observe these things without being able to process all of them yet giving us a privileged position of being able to process much of it

Especially as known as in the incarnation and the resurrection of Jesus Christ But then ultimately having this more fully revealed on that last day

And this is if not evident already by the scriptures that I've brought forward to you

Just consider the fact that many believers Cannot agree on what

God has prepared for the end Take a handful of believers and you'll get a handful of different views of the end times and I know of no one who has such arrogance to think that he is

Perfectly certain about many of those details. They might have the broad framework down But no one feels like even the things that are explained in the scripture are

Perfectly manifest to them now. They are given to us to be understood I'm not saying that they are they are mysteries that are not designed to be understood

But there is a fullness of revelation that we just yet do not appreciate that will be made known

These are God's purposes He says in Isaiah chapter 43

Verse 10 you are my witnesses declares the Lord my servant whom I have chosen that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he

Just consider what that verse is saying for a minute. This is not usually why you choose a witness Usually you choose a witness because he knows and understands

God is choosing his witness in order that the witness would know and understand it is

By being witness of of these things in a blind way Not fully processing what

God is doing Him making it known only later that he is able to show how great a

Savior he is the fact that it is beyond our comprehension that was beyond comprehension before the incarnation the resurrection of Jesus Christ and then now

The glories that await still not known to us in fullness He has chosen us to be blind witnesses in that way in order that we know his greatness the reverse of how you think of a witness

Witness because someone knows no witness in order to know likewise Why a servant the various gods have their servants in order to be served

The Lord has his servants. He did not come to serve but to he did not come to be servants

But to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many he has his servants. We serve him in order to Have benefit from him in order to have a greater

Appreciation of him it is through the service of him is through the witnessing of him That our blessings are accomplished.

God is blessing us through all these things even through Choosing not to reveal the glories that are to later be revealed

It is very ironic that the Jehovah's Witnesses choose this particular passage

From which they get their name to be sort of their life verse as it were

You are my witnesses declares the Lord my servant whom I have chosen Jehovah's Witnesses appeal to this to speak of themselves as ones who understand what

God has done and what God will do and yet They clearly do not understand They do not understand what

God has done. They cannot explain the gospel as being Forgiveness of sin by the substitution of Jesus Christ.

They have a view of works righteousness They do not understand that God has joined with man in the person of Jesus Christ in the incarnation in fact as they argue against the doctrine of the

Trinity they typically I've never met a Jehovah's Witness who actually understands what the doctrine of the

Trinity is even speaking with them for long time They still at the end of it do not understand and I don't mean a lot of people will say that Because someone doesn't agree with it.

I'm saying they simply do not understand what the belief is. They will argue against it They will try to show you all sorts of passages that say the father is not the son and the clear answer is yes

The father is not the son. You simply don't understand what the doctrine the Trinity is Jude 1 10 says but these people blaspheme all that they do not understand and they are destroyed by all that they like unreasoning animals understand instinctively

How many people go about life they have an arrogance about them that does not realize

That the things of God are often deeper than our natural intuition would lead us to realize and Your natural intuition should lead you to realize that the things of God are going to be deeper than you anticipate

Do not be like an unreasonable animal recognize that while we are witnesses in God while God has revealed much

There are things that he has not completely revealed and there are things about him that are beyond our comprehension

There are things that will be revealed. There's are things that simply cannot be revealed because They are unlike anything in creation, there's no analogy that can be given for The nature of God is one

Three persons one being in three persons in summary

First you should marvel at the things of God this should give you reason to Consider the wonders of what

God has done if you were someone who grew up in a church as I am A lot of these things that we read about seem very normal to you

Seems very normal to speak about the incarnation to speak about the resurrection, etc but if you contemplate what it must have been like to anticipate things beforehand and how these are so far outside of the ability to anticipate

It will give you a sense of how Great it is the work that God has done and how great it must be the work that he is doing now that we don't fully understand

Marvel at those things marvel at what God has done develop in yourself a wonder at the incarnation at the resurrection do not allow these things to grow dull to you and Likewise anticipate what

God will do anticipate it with humility. This is also great reason for peace Because if you recognize that you are not supposed to understand

What God is taking you to in complete detail how God is taking you there in complete detail

If you're able to allow the secret things to be the secret things leave those things to the Lord And give you a great reason for peace.

These all belong to the Lord Psalm 131 says Oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up.

My eyes are not raised too high I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me

But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother like a weaned child is my soul within me

Oh Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore We should not raise our eyes beyond where they are to be raised.

We should not occupy ourselves with thoughts that are too high but rather We are to be quieted knowing that we cannot understand all the things of the

Lord that he has Left some of these things to be revealed much later and his ways are much greater than our ways

His ways are much higher than ours. Amen Dear Heavenly Father.

We thank you for the wonderful gospel that we have in Jesus Christ. We thank you for the Incarnation There's something that could not be anticipated and yet it was spoken of so many times

The resurrection was not anticipated yet the Lord had spoken to his disciples about it so many times

We looked forward to the work That you will do to the work that you have accomplished and are doing

We thank you that on that final day when every last enemy is placed under Christ's feet we will see him face to face and we thank you for the