“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” —Isaiah 35:3–7

When you think of a prophet, what comes to mind? Wise old man? Long gray beard? Soothsayer? There is some truth in all of these images. Isaiah for instance, told of what was to come for the exiled people of Judah. Yet deeper than “future-teller,” a prophet’s whole reason to be is to bring the Word of God to the people’s ears, which will do much more than predict—God’s word goes out and accomplishes what it says. So Isaiah tells of the promise given to Judah, and the world. He reminds us that the promise is not found in our own personal striving, but solely in the person of Jesus Christ.

In this way, while the prophet Isaiah is used to spread the word, Jesus becomes truly the last and ultimate prophet—because he brings himself, the Word of God (John 1), to us. He is both the message and the delivery, showing up on the world’s scene just in time to give sight to the blind (I once was blind but now I see) and hearing to the deaf (open our ears Lord!).

So now, the work that was once prophecy of what was coming has become proclaiming the work that has already been accomplished. So let me point you to Christ—not in what is to come, but to what has already happened on the cross! The world was judged, and found sinful. Yet Jesus died to save it anyway. And then he was raised so that you too might be raised up from your sin and death. During this season of Lent—when the early spring air can still feel awfully dry—hear the promise that gushes forth living water in our wild places, which streams through our dry, crackled deserts: “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus is the culmination of all the prophets—the one who fulfills all prophecy, and he has come for your sake.

Pastor Jason Burggraff