Today, on Good Friday, we remember that the creator of heaven and earth was beaten and dragged outside the city gates and crucified. He was mocked and ridiculed and killed by wicked hands.

And the scripture tells us not to be afraid when WE are driven outside the camp. We are outcasts and exiles on this earth, but outside of the city is where we meet Jesus, crucified for us.

Just as God created his people and redeemed them from Egypt, so also he will continue to redeem them from Babylon, and will continue to redeem them from the bondage of sin and death and misery.

In Christ, mankind is re-created and redeemed to glorify God forever.

If God can redeem Israel, who was hardened in blindness and deafness, then he can redeem the whole world. So don't be afraid. He knows how to deliver his people!

The Servant is given as a covenant for the people.

He didn't come to establish a new covenant for us to keep to gain the blessings of the covenant.

Jesus IS the covenant. When we have him, we have all the blessings of the covenant already - light, sight, life, righteousness, peace.

It is a covenant that cannot be broken, for Jesus has already fulfilled it.

The Anointed One, Messiah, desires to be so united with his people that he takes the form of the Servant, the Chosen One, the Beloved Son. 

His love is profound and deep and unlike any of the powers on the earth. He does not crush or smash or argue or demand. But with gentleness and compassion he shepherds his people.

The future is in the hands of God alone. He alone determines the movements of kings and nations, and he ordains everything that comes to pass for the purpose of bringing about the redemption of creation.

When Israel was on the verge of death in the desert, God heard them and provided water. He was the only one who could do it.

Foreshadowing Pentecost, the cloud of God's glorious presence fills the tabernacle in the wilderness. God is with His people, and His people are safe.

Moses is instructed to strike the rock with the Rod of God's judgment. Israel sinned; God himself took the judgment. And that rock was Christ.

Psalm 127 isn't about large families having dominion over society. It is about Christ, the heir to the throne of David, and inheriting the nations through his obedience.