[Christmas Message: Restoration In Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 30:12-17) 25 Dec. 2020.]
In recent days we studied the book of Jeremiah in our Lord’s day morning service. As with other portions of Scripture, we realised the richness of the book and the impossibility of exhausting all its teaching. Now that the series of studies is finished, it is not our of place to consider a separate message based on Jeremiah 30:17, which reads in full, ‘For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; no one seeks her.” ’
The current virus pandemic has forced us to think of avoiding infection, and of restoration to health for those who are infected. Many churches in recent years have focused much attention on the practice of healing and prophecy. Strangely, their prophetic voice is silent about healing from Covid-19 infection. For ourselves, we want to ask, “In what sense is there healing in the coming of Jesus Christ?”
We will do three things in this talk: (i) Show that the text is a reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; (ii) Determine in what sense He came to bring restoration; (iii) Draw some practical implications for ourselves today.
The Text Is A Reference To The Coming Of Jesus Christ
The text must be understood in context. These words were addressed to the nation of Judah. After the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel split into two — viz. Ephraim and Judah. The northern nation of Ephraim was also known as Israel because ten tribes were there while only two tribes were in the south. The southern nation was named after the bigger tribe of Judah. The northern nation of Ephraim sinned against God from the beginning. Jeroboam the son of Nebat made two gold calves to represent Jehovah and told the people to worship the gold calves at Bethel in the south and Dan in the north. The nation grew worse and worse through the years, committing gross idolatry. When true spirituality disappeared, immorality, wickedness, and corruption increased. Many prophets spoke against the sins of the nation, calling upon the people to return to the LORD but they were not heeded. The LORD used the nation of Assyria to come down south to attack Israel. In the year 722 BC, the nation of Israel, or Ephraim, fell. The people of Israel were taken away and scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire. People from other places were taken to inhabit Israel. They intermarried with the remaining Israelites to produce the Samaritans of Jesus Christ’s days.
What about the southern nation of Judah? It also decline spiritually. However, there were more good kings in the southern nation of Judah than in the northern nation of Israel. The good kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah attempted to bring reforms to the nation but the reforms were mostly superficial. The hearts of the people were not transformed. The nation declined spiritually. God raised up prophets to call the nation to repentance, but the calls were not heeded. After the death of Josiah, the nation declined rapidly. Jeremiah prophesied against the nation and warned that God would use the Babylonians as His instrument of judgement. The time came when the nation crossed the boundary of no return. Jeremiah began to prophesy that the nation would certainly fall to the Babylonians. The cream of the nation would be taken away to Babylon. They would be in exile for seventy years before God would cause a remnant to return and rebuild Jerusalem. Judah was attacked by the Babylonians 605 BC. Daniel and his friends were among the people taken away to Babylon in this first attack. The Babylonians attacked again in 597 BC when Ezekiel and many others were taken away. Jerusalem fell completely to the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah’s long ministry stretched past the fall of Jerusalem. His book was not written chronologically but according to themes. In Chapter 29, he wrote to the captives in Babylon, advising them to settle down and not to think of returning to Jerusalem soon. God had determined that they would be away in exile for 70 years. The exiles must repent of their sins and return to the Lord in their hearts. When the time arrived, the Lord would gather the children of Israel from wherever they have been scattered, and bring them back to their own land. Chapters 30 and 31 are about the restoration of Israel and Judah. This is not only about the return of a remnant from exile in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem. It is also about the coming of a new age when God will “make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). Jeremiah 31:31-34 is quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12 and applied to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a characteristic of biblical prophecy. A prophecy may have an immediate and temporal fulfilment as well as a longer-term spiritual fulfilment. The prophecy of Jeremiah 30 & 31 was fulfilled in the near-term and temporally by the return of the exiles from Babylon after 70 years. It also has a long-term spiritual fulfilment in the church of Jesus Christ. It follows that Jeremiah 30:17 is not only about God restoring His people from exile in Babylon but also about the coming of Jesus Christ to restore His people to Himself.
We have noted that Jeremiah 30 & 31 are about the Jews returning to the Lord in repentance and the Lord restoring them to the land of Judah. In Jeremiah 30:7, this is described as the restoration of health and the healing of wounds in the people of God. Since Jeremiah 31:31-34 finds its ultimate fulfilment in the church of Jesus Christ, the restoration and the healing of wounds spoken of in Jeremiah 30:7 must be found in Jesus Christ as well. The two chapters of the book of Jeremiah constitute one prophecy. We conclude that Jeremiah 30:7 is a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ to restore His people.
In What Sense Jesus Christ Came To Bring Restoration
Jeremiah was not the only prophet who compared the restoration of spiritual health with the restoration of physical health. We are told in Isaiah 53:5-6, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” We know that Isaiah 53 is about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to save His people from sin and its consequences. This is confirmed in 1 Peter 2:21-25,
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
In what sense are we healed? We are told in this passage that Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness” and “you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls”. This is about sinners hearing the gospel and responding by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The phrase “by whose stripes you were healed”, taken in its context, is about spiritual healing from sin and its consequences. The phrase is taken from Isaiah 53:5 which is about the coming of the Saviour who would die for the sins of His people.
There are Christians today who claim that 1 Peter 2:25 is about Christ healing us of physical sickness and diseases. They fail to take the words in its context and they fail to compare scripture with scripture — which are basic rules of interpreting the Bible. By correctly interpreting the Scripture, we find a certain consistency in the teaching of the Bible. The message of the Bible is that all human beings are descended from Adam and Eve. Adam was made by God to be the representative-head of the human race.
When Adam sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit, we all sinned in him. His guilt is our guilt. Furthermore, we have inherited the sinful nature of Adam and Eve so that all of us sin against God in thoughts, words, and deeds. We, therefore, deserve eternal damnation for our sins. God, in His mercy, sent His only begotten Son to this world to take upon Himself perfect human nature by being born of the virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit protected Jesus Christ from the sin of Mary. He grew up and began to preach publicly. He allowed Himself to be crucified on the cross in order to fulfil God’s will of paying for the sins of His chosen people. When the gospel is preached to all, those who belong to God will, along the way, repent and believe in Christ to be saved. God forgives the repentant sinner who believes in Jesus Christ, and adopts him/her as His child. That is how we are reconciled to God. We are spared from eternal damnation in hell for our sins. We are gradually transformed by the Spirit of God who dwells in us when we believe in Jesus Christ, to prepare us for life in heaven. That is what is meant by the phrase “by whose stripes you were healed”.
Does the death of Christ to save His people include also the physical healing of their bodies? We should be more precise in our question in order to get a more precise answer. We should ask, “What was the purpose for which Christ died?” The answer is that He died to save us from sin and its consequences, so that we might have eternal life. That is a far more valuable and significant purpose than healing us of physical sickness. Physical healing is concerned with temporal life on earth. Physical healing is not included in the purpose of Christ’s death for His people. He came to reconcile His people to God, which is another way of saying He has come to save His people from sin.
But wouldn’t God heal His children of sickness? Yes, God would heal them according to His sovereign will. That is why we are to pray for the sick to be healed (James 5:13-15). However, if it is not God’s will to heal the person, His grace will be sufficient for the believer to live with that sickness (2 Cor. 12:9). If the believer were to die because of the sickness, his salvation will not be affected. The healing of physical sickness through prayer is one of many blessings that may, or may not, be given to the believer. If we are healed, we will be very thankful to God and give Him all the glory. If we are not healed, we know that God’s grace will be sufficient for us to live with that sickness. If a loved one dies from sickness, his/her salvation will not affected. We will say with Job, “The LORD gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Some Practical Implications
We must now consider some practical implications. Since the healing and restoration spoken of in Jeremiah 30:17 and similar passages is about salvation in Jesus Christ, the priority must be given to preaching the gospel compared to other ministries. Our hearers should be made to see that reconciliation with God is of far greater importance than seeking physical healing. We are estranged from God by our sin. Forgiveness from God and acceptance with Him is found in Jesus Christ alone. We must not be diverted from our God-given mandate to preach the gospel of “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”.
Secondly, we need to remember that preaching the gospel must be backed up by good works. The Lord Jesus healed the sick and fed the needy while preaching the gospel (Matt. 4:23; 9:35). The apostle Paul similarly did good works while preaching the gospel (Acts 20:20-21, 35; Tit. 3:8, 14). Good works will adorn the preaching of the gospel. Although there is always the likelihood of some who come to us for temporal gains rather than to hear the gospel, we are not to neglect good works. The Lord chastised those who came to Him for temporal gains, in John 6:26-27, but He never ceased to do good works.
Thirdly, the current virus pandemic requires that both gospel proclamation and good works be carried out according to circumstances and opportunities. Wisdom from above and zeal for the Lord will drive us to act according to the present circumstances and to seek opportunities of service. Social media must be harnessed to proclaim the word of God, both to build up believers in the faith and to win souls to Christ. Those who lose their jobs need to be ministered to. Those facing financial difficulties must be helped in some tangible ways. The pooling together of resources by church members, and the sharing of burden between churches, will go a long way to meet needs. Prayer for one another for safety and health will be be honoured by God who hears the prayer of His people. Acting responsibly means that we should constantly remind one another to be careful in our going out and coming in.
Finally, the worship of God and thanksgiving for the coming of our Saviour should take on a heightened significance at this time of the year. So many have died from virus infection. Everyone is wary of becoming infected. The world economy has taken a bashing. Many governments are hard-pressed to strike a balance between containing the spread of the virus and sustaining the economy. In such a global situation, God’s children must trust in their Father in heaven who controls all things. When the pandemic will end is in His hands. Who, and how many, will die are in His sovereign control. The pandemic is a call for repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. The coming of the Son of God to save His people may be commemorated with true joy and thankfulness by God’s people. From the examples of Scripture, we should celebrate the coming of the Saviour. It is not the day of His coming that is special. It is the event, namely the coming of the Saviour, that is important. Consider, for example, Luke 2:8-20. Let us lift up our hearts in worship of the Lord.
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!