As I concluded in Real Contender, Part 1, “We can confidently place our complete trust in Jesus, our Real Contender, to fulfill all He has set out to accomplish in bringing justice and real hope to all the Earth and deliver exactly what is promised to those who need real hope.”
Jesus is not just the Real Contender, He is the only contender. He is the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Also, salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
And additionally, this Chosen One of God will be set apart from the pretenders by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit, which will not only empower Him for His task, but also indicate to all He is the One set apart by God.
“I will put My Spirit upon him.” (Isaiah 42:1)
No others will receive this anointing, the Spirit of God descending upon Him in bodily form like a dove as in, “And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3: 16, 17)
No others will be guaranteed to do what He does and bring what He will bring for those who desperately need hope. That’s what makes the Servant of the Lord different from the pretenders.
“He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets.” (Isaiah 42: 2)
Because He is chosen by God and upheld by Him, He carries out His task in the quiet confidence that He is doing God’s will. When this true Servant of the Lord was arrested and stood before Pilate facing many false accusations, He had no need to defend Himself. So, He remained silent. Because He is anointed by the Spirit, He does not need to depend on persuasive arguments or slick promotional campaigns to convince people He is able to bring God’s justice to the world. He doesn’t sell Himself. He gives himself!
The Servant of the Lord is also different from all the pretenders because He will show compassion on those weak and wavering – near the breaking point – or whose faith is flickering.
“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42: 3)
If you’re that one whose conscience is wounded and spirit is weak, He will not write you off as someone beyond hope or not worth the effort. He won’t tell you, you need to try harder to escape your problem, or pray harder, or be more sincere in faith. He is so different from the pretenders. He’ll come to you and bind you up with His healing Word of forgiveness.
This Servant of the Lord is also unique, is the Real Contender, in that He shines above the pretenders. This Servant of the Lord shines above them because He is sent to set the prisoner free from the dungeon of darkness and sin.
“. . . to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isiah 42: 7)
While all the false gods only imprison, this Servant of the Lord sets free and brings light and life.
Hear it in the testimony of someone from today who’s lived it in his own life, who needed a real contender. Tyler is a young man who sat in prison, anxiously waiting the day of his release. In prison through the ministry of a local pastor, the Holy Spirit called him to repentance and faith.
He said, “Every day waking up in prison is a nightmare. Not that it’s particularly scary or a place I fear. It’s the aspect of having no options. I am told by those in authority what to do and when to do it. When it’s time to eat, they tell me. I have no choice when or what to eat. Rec time is the same way: outside my control. It’s all outside my control.”
He continues.
“Spiritual imprisonment to sin is, in many ways, the same. When you’re spiritually imprisoned to sin, your flesh is calling all the shots. You are not in control. Your sin is in control, and you are a slave to it. Whether it’s drugs, stealing, or sexual immorality, violence, or all of the above.”
He concludes.
“I have found time and time again that, when left to my own devices, I am always snared by sin. I have found that the only way out of this prison is Jesus Christ. He gives me the strength to resist the paths of sin, which lead only to death. How is that possible? Because Christ died for the sins of the world and rose again on the third day, triumphing over sin and death so that I can be set free from my bondage.”
This is the testimony of someone who sat in darkness, imprisoned by his sin, who had his eyes opened by the Real Contender, God’s chosen servant.
Long ago, in the days of Isaiah, God designated his Servant to set the prisoner free. The Servant delivered on that promise for Tyler, who was baptized behind prison bars but given the ultimate freedom. He knows what justice is, sentenced for his offenses.
But he knows what God’s justice is, having been made right with God in Jesus and declared completely forgiven and renewed in Christ, a prisoner brought out of the darkness of the dungeon. That Servant came not only for Tyler; he came for you and me as well.
We know that the Servant of the Lord was promised and now has come, manifest at the waters of the Jordan River. God has not only promised; He has delivered the true contender.
And in him, He has delivered you from all false hope!
Blessings!
Rev. Terry Goerz,
Redeemer Lutheran Church.