The Word of the Lord Fulfilled in Christ (Isaiah 55:10-11 and Hebrews 4:12-13)

The Word of the Lord fulfilled in Christ is one of the great themes running through all of Scripture. From the opening words of Genesis to the risen Christ explaining the Old Testament in Luke 24, the Bible reveals one unified story: God speaks, God promises, God sends His Word, and that Word is ultimately Jesus Christ. https://youtu.be/zg74q5OenbU Table of contentsThe Word of the Lord Created All ThingsThe Word of the Lord Came Throughout the Old TestamentThe Word of the Lord Became FleshThe Word of the Lord Reveals Christ from Creation to ConsummationJesus Opened the Old Testament to His DisciplesThe Law, Prophets, and Psalms Point to ChristAll God’s Promises Find Their Yes in ChristConclusion: Worship the Word Fulfilled in Christ Have you ever noticed how much harder it is to understand something when you come in near the end? You walk into the final scene of a movie, and everyone around you is emotional. Some are crying. Some are rejoicing. But because you missed the beginning, the ending does not carry the same weight. Or you catch the last few minutes of a sporting event. You see who wins and who loses, but because you do not know how close the game was, how many times the lead changed, or what happened along the way, the victory does not mean as much. Or you walk into the end of a conversation and hear only the last few sentences. Even if the conversation is important, you do not really understand what is happening because you missed what led up to it. That is what happened with many people in the Gospels. They saw the final scenes of Jesus’ earthly ministry: His arrest, trial, crucifixion, darkness, death, burial, and empty tomb. But they did not understand what they were seeing because they did not understand the story that had led up to it. Even the disciples struggled with this. They loved Jesus. They followed Him. They listened to Him. But when He suffered and died, they were confused, discouraged, and afraid. They saw the end of the story, but they could not make sense of it because they had not put the pieces together from everything that came before in the Old Testament. So before we can rightly understand Luke 24, we need to go back to the beginning. We need to start where the Bible starts, because if we want to understand the end, we need to understand the beginning. The end of Jesus’ earthly life was not disconnected from the rest of Scripture. His death and resurrection were the fulfillment of the story God had been telling from the very first page of the Bible. And that story begins with God speaking. The Word of the Lord Created All Things We first see God’s Word at creation: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”Genesis 1:3 That phrase is repeated throughout Genesis 1. God said, “Let there be an expanse.” God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together.” God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation.” God said, “Let there be lights.” God said, “Let the waters swarm.” God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures.” God created everything by speaking. He created all things by His Word. The rest of Scripture emphasizes this same truth: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”Psalm 33:6 “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”Psalm 33:9 The New Testament says the same thing: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God.”Hebrews 11:3 Creation itself reveals the power of God’s Word. God did not struggle to create the universe. He spoke, and it came to be. The Word of the Lord Came Throughout the Old Testament God spoke at creation, but He did not stop speaking then. He continued speaking, not to create, but to communicate. Throughout the Old Testament, we repeatedly read phrases such as “The word of the LORD came to…” The word of the Lord came to Abraham. The word of the Lord came to Samuel. The word of the Lord came to Nathan. It came to David, Gad, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and many others. This shows us that God is a speaking God. He reveals Himself. He makes His will known. He sends forth His Word. One of the most important Old Testament passages about the Word of the Lord is Isaiah 55:10–11: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.”Isaiah 55:10–11 These verses are often applied to Scripture, and there is certainly a relationship between God’s written Word and this passage. But Isaiah 55 also beautifully points us to Christ, the Incarnate Word. The rain and snow come down from heaven, accomplish their purpose, and then return. This is exactly what Jesus did. He came down from heaven, accomplished the Father’s will, and returned to heaven. Jesus said: “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”John 6:38 He also said: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”John 4:34 Isaiah said God’s Word would not return empty but would accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. Jesus is that Word. He came from the Father, accomplished the Father’s will, and returned to the Father. The Word of the Lord Became Flesh If all we had was Genesis 1, we would know God created everything by His Word. But we might think of that Word as an impersonal force, an abstract power, or divine creative energy. Then John opens his Gospel this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”John 1:1 John intentionally echoes Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”Genesis 1:1 Genesis tells us that God created by His Word. John tells us that the Word is not an impersonal force. The Word is a Person. The Word was with God, which shows distinction. The Word was God, which shows deity. The Word is distinct from the Father, yet fully God. Then John says: “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”John 1:3 Because God created all things by His Word, and Jesus is the Word, Jesus is identified as the Creator. Then John gives us one of the most glorious statements in all of Scripture: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”John 1:14 The Word through whom God created all things became a Man. The eternal Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among us. This helps us understand why Jesus speaks the way He does. In John 14:6, Jesus does not merely say, “I will show you the way,” or “I will teach you the truth,” or “I will give you life.” He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”John 14:6 Jesus does not merely bring the truth. He is the truth. He does not merely speak the Word of God. He is the Word of God. Hebrews says: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.”Hebrews 1:1 Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke by the prophets. The word of the Lord came to them, and they delivered that word to the people. But then Hebrews says: “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”Hebrews 1:2 That is not worded the way we might expect. We might expect it to say God has spoken to us through His Son. But it says God has spoken to us by His Son. Jesus is not merely the messenger. He is the message. He is the Word God has spoken to us. The Word of the Lord Reveals Christ from Creation to Consummation Jesus is not only called the Word in His first coming. He is also called the Word in His second coming. Revelation 19:13 says: “He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” From creation to consummation, God reveals Himself through His Word, and that Word is Jesus Christ. God created all things by His Word. The word of the Lord came throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah pictured God’s Word coming down from heaven, accomplishing His purpose, and returning. John tells us the Word became flesh. Revelation tells us that when Jesus returns in glory, He is still called “The Word of God.” This is the sweep of Scripture. The written Word bears witness to the living Word. The Scriptures reveal Christ. The Bible is one unified story, and Jesus is the center. Jesus Opened the Old Testament to His Disciples This brings us to Luke 24. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were discouraged and confused because they did not understand why Jesus had suffered and died. Then Luke tells us: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”Luke 24:27 Jesus showed them that the Old Testament had been pointing to Him all along. Later, Jesus appeared to the larger group of disciples. They were frightened and thought they saw a spirit. But Jesus graciously showed them His hands and feet, invited them to touch Him, and ate in front of them so they would know His resurrection was physical. Then He said: “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”Luke 24:44 Jesus did for the larger group what He had done for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He opened the Old Testament and showed them that it was about Him. Notice the word must. Jesus did not say everything written about Him might be fulfilled or should be fulfilled. He said it must be fulfilled. This is divine necessity. God’s Word cannot fail. The Law, Prophets, and Psalms Point to Christ When Jesus referred to “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms,...