Mighty to Save

While listening to the song Mighty to Save and preparing the lesson for Sunday’s class(The last chapter of our study from Your Jesus is too Safe), I decided to look up Mighty to save. I feel confident that I have read the passage before, because the phrase Mighty to save comes from Isaiah 63: 1. I have read Isaiah before, so maybe I just forgot this passage, or more than likely skimmed over it to get finished with my bible reading for that day. But when I pulled it up on Wednesday and read the full passage, and then read the notes on the passage, I was blown away. Really I think my first thought was “Holy Crap!”

Here is the passage:

“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.” Isaiah 63:1-4

If you don’t know, like I didn’t know, Edom was an enemy to Israel. So here is what is happening. The question “Who is coming from Edom?” in verse one is a question of fear. Who is this powerful guy with red garments on who is marching towards us. There was the concern that it was their enemy from Edom. But the response is “It is I, Mighty to save.” So God says, don’t worry it’s just me. And then he goes on to say, the reason my clothes are red is that I just went and destroyed your enemy and it is their blood that I am drenched in.

So God and Jesus are mighty to save because they will wage war against the evil in this world. They will destroy it. It is a powerful verse for us to hold onto as believers and it is a terrifying verse for those that are not. I guess the thing that hit me was that so often we get caught up in the loving side of God that we forget the all powerful side that wages war against evil and will ultimately destroy all evil in the end.

I was reading some of a sermon from Spurgeon on the idea of Jesus being Mighty to save that he gave in the 1850’s and it was impressive. One of the points that he made was that not only is Jesus Mighty to save us from evil of the world, but he is also Mighty to save us from ourselves. Not only does he wage war with the evil that we face, but he also wages war against the evil in our own hearts. Jesus is so powerful that he can enter our lives and completely destroy the evil in our hearts. It is not just about us making a decision to let Jesus into our hearts, he discussed the ability of Jesus to invade our lives whether we want him to or not, and turn everything upside down.

Just take a moment and stand in awe at the Mighty power of God and Jesus Christ!!!

(The reference from Spurgeon is just a summary of one of his points with my own wording and thoughts blended into it. You can see His full sermon if you google, Spurgeon sermon A Mighty Saviour. He says it far better than I can.)