Sunday 18th January – See, I am doing a new thing

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Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’


4 But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.’

 

5 And now the Lord says –
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength –
6 he says:
‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.


I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

7 This is what the Lord says –
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel –
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
‘Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

I find myself at the beginning of another year wondering what on earth will happen on earth and looking for more depth; more beauty, more hope and more wonder and truth with which to live life in Jesus.

I know two things. Jesus is our only hope, and the world is never neutral.

Like you, I know who Jesus is and I know he has given me a new life, not with silver or gold but with his innocent precious blood. This is beautiful enough, for sure.

But, like you, I live in the world that is not the same as it was even five years ago – did anyone ever think that Jewish people would be gunned down at Bindi? Did anyone ever think that the US would want to take over a fellow NATO county’s territory (Denmark – Greenland) for reasons no one an fathom? Did anyone ever think that the rules-based United Nations agreement and way of managing complex things between countries would be dismantled by those who agreed to put it all in place?

We should not be surprised. The world, according to the New Testament, is never just neutral – just exiting alongside of gospel faith.

The world is broken, founded on broken human being; founded on competitiveness, power and human ego and need. These things but actively squash gospel faith every day, gen the chance.

And, like you, I live with my own wayward forgetful and often blind heart when it comes to Jesus’ presence and hope in my day.

But I know him still. I know he knows and loved me. I would like more of his hope and presence in my days this year. I am hoping you might too.

I found these gifts in those many Isaiah words in the Advent season just gone.

So, I started to listen to Isaiah. I discovered that many regard his prophetic word the “fifth gospel” because he shapes so much of the four gospels. His words are the painting, the forest, the truth, the images, the predictions, the faith from which the first gospel writers drew to plumb the depth of who they encountered in Jesus.

So, what about spending some time and effort hearing this ‘fifth gospel’ in 2026? That is my invitation.

But beware, this will not be an ‘easy read’. Isaiah is no easy read or simple tale or black and white little book of simplicities. He is dense, pictorial, poetic, artistic, blunt, heated, beautiful, graceful, often at the same time!!

I read this quote from an Isaiah scholar, Ray Ortmund Jr,

God spoke eloquently through Isaiah. If you have any interest in the Bible at all, Isaiah will reward a close reading. It is “the most theologically significant book in the Old Testament.” “Of all the books in the Old Testament, Isaiah is perhaps the richest.”5 “From ancient times Isaiah has been considered the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.” The scholars who know what they are talking about prize Isaiah. What Bach’s first biographer said about his music applies to Isaiah’s prophecy:

[Bach’s music] is not merely agreeable, like other composers’, but transports us to the regions of the ideal. It does not arrest our attention momentarily but grips us the stronger the oftener we listen to it so that, after a thousand hearings, its treasures are still unexhausted and yield fresh beauties to excite our wonder.

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 17–18.

Like a well-crafted pop song, jazz tune, musical score, rock anthem, or classical piece, Isaiah has layers; lots of layers. Here are at least four:

  1. His words speak into the actual historical moment in which he lived,
  2. They speak into the New Testament first church
  3. They speak into the historic church; the church ever since,
  4. They speak into to us, in the here and now church.

This multi-layered song begins a simple invitation. The Holy Spirit whispers it to us now:

2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!

For the Lord has spoken … (Isaiah 1:1–2a)

‘The Lord has spoken”.  Here in chapter 49, God warns his people that their trusting in themselves or others is leading them to a future of captivity under the Babylonian Empire. In the blindness and deafness to his promises, the Lord is calling out for them to understand their idolatry and hear, and see, and change:,

“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!”

(Isaiah 42:18)

But, as is so often the case, they refuse to listen and see.

So, many years later, God’s people are conquered by the Babylonians and taken into exile.

But it is not over. In this little prophetic summary, we learn of God’s plan for the future rescue of his people from that bondage after some 70 years.

God is always ‘big’ on remembering. But here he is not. He invites his people to forget. He calls them to not to remember the former rescue that he gave them from Egypt (see verses 43:16-17). Why forget? So they can welcome his rescue of them in a new way.

One thing is clear in Isaiah. Our God finds ways to rescue us all the time! In a very real way, God’s people were released from physical bondage both in the times of Egyptian and then Babylonian captivity.

But there is another rescue up ahead, says Isaiah; another ‘layer’. It will be bigger, more comprehensive, more universal for humanity….

For Isaiah these physical rescues from captivity (Egypt and Babylon) are only a shadow of the great and final spiritual and complete rescue that God has in store for his people; in fact for ALL people.

Rescue will hinge on a person. Someone will complete this future rescue. He is just named ‘The Servant’.

This coming Servant will rescue this planet via unexpected and mostly misunderstood means: He will suffer for his people and save them in totality from the bondage of all idol chasing and human death.

We know who this person is. The New Testament shows us that Jesus as that Servant; that ‘Suffering Servant’.

The final layer:  In these words, God is calling out to you and me to listen, and look, and see what he is doing in our lives now; now that we live in the grace of the Servant Jesus.

He is asking us to turn towards him for his truth and beauty and hope and freedom.

He knows it is a battle. He knows our wayward heart and ways. So, he offers to forget something. He forgets ours sins if we ask; as we return, as we trust, as we seek…..

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25)

So, friends, will you commit to a close listening to this ‘challenging read’; this song of depth. I know you are busy or may not confident or possible be disinterested, but as a Christian person, when will you get serious about a thing? What might you take on a challenge like this if not now?

Our home text will be:

18 ‘Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing! (Isaiah 43: 18-19)

Jesus is the new thing doing new things for you and me. What are those new things in 2026?

Jesus, the ‘Servant’ speaks here.

Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’

Could we see some new splendour this year; something new of Jesus as we take the time to enter these layers of words with this prophet of old?

If we do, Isaiah will help make Jesus bigger and brighter for you.

Will you notice him as those ‘kings’ around the manger did? Can we travel together as kings and princes under the Prince of Peace; the King of kings?

‘Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

 

Friends, my hope is that you find even more depth and beauty and hope and truth in Jesus and so find courage, conviction and confidence in living this gospel life with Jesus.

And I will be praying to Jesus that as we do this growing and living and enjoying together, we might see more of the vision we have had these last 10+ years – to see more of God’s love coming to life where we live in his mission here to share Jesus’ love and hope.

Please,

18 ‘Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing! (Isaiah 43: 18-19)

Amen

 

MORE REFLECTION

It’s structured for 60–75 minutes, includes leader notes, open questions, and prayer prompts.

If you’d like, I can also turn this into a Word document for printing or sharing.

Isaiah 49:1–7 — “Listen, Look, See: The Servant’s New Thing”

REFLECT: Where have you seen something “new” recently—in your life, family, or surroundings?

PRAY: Servant Jesus, open our ears to hear you, our eyes to see you, and our hearts to receive the new thing you are doing among us. Amen.

READ Isaiah 49:1–7 aloud.
Who is speaking? Who is being addressed? What is God doing?

BACKGROUND: Isaiah 49 is the second Servant Song, where a mysterious figure—later revealed in the New Testament as Christ—speaks about His calling, suffering, and mission.
He is sent not only to restore Israel but to bring light and salvation to the ends of the earth.

REFLCTION:

  1. Called From the Womb (vv.1–2)

“Before I was born the LORD called me…”

  1. What stands out to you about the Servant calling everyone (“islands,” “distant nations”) to listen?
  2. What does it mean to you that Jesus’ words are like a “sharpened sword”?
  3. Where in your life do you sense a need to listen more carefully to God’s voice this year?

 

  1. When Work Feels in Vain (v.4)

“I have laboured in vain…”

  1. Can you relate to the Servant’s feeling of discouragement?
  2. What does it mean that “what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand”?
  3. How does trusting God with outcomes change our sense of purpose?
  1. A Mission That’s “Too Small” (vv.5–6)

“It is too small a thing for you to restore Israel… I will make you a light to the nations.”

  1. What does this reveal about God’s heart for the world?
  2. How might we sometimes make Jesus’ mission too small in our own thinking?
  3. Where is God inviting our congregation to broaden its vision?
  1. Honour From Rejection (v.7)

“To him who was despised…”

  1. How does this reflect the life and ministry of Jesus?
  2. How does Jesus meet us in our own experiences of rejection or feeling unnoticed?
  3. What does this verse teach us about God’s long-term faithfulness?

“Forget the former things… See, I am doing a new thing!”

THINK:

  1. What “former things” might God be inviting you to release?
  2. Where do you sense God doing a “new thing” in your life, family, or faith?
  3. What helps you notice God’s new work instead of missing it?

RESPOND: Invite each person to complete one sentence silently or aloud:

  • This year, I want to listen more closely to Jesus in…
  • The new thing I hope to see is…
  • God is inviting me to let go of…

PRAY:

  • openness to God’s new work
  • renewed attentiveness to Jesus
  • courage in discouragement
  • light for the nations through your local community

Lord Jesus, Servant and Light of the world, help us hear you, trust you, and follow where you lead. Do your new thing in us. Amen.

Follow-Up for the Week

Read Isaiah 50 (the next Servant Song).

Where do I see signs of Jesus’ light in my daily life?

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