Return From Exile

One cannot read the beautiful passages of Isaiah chapters 40-55 without being moved by the wonders of God's plans for Israel and the return from Exile. Isaiah paints a picture of God renewing Creation and sending forth a Servant that would accomplish His purposes. Isaiah 55 also gives us a picture as to how powerful God's word really is. Isaiah tells us that God's word will go forth and accomplish His purpose.
We know from history that Israel returned from Babylonian Exile after the Persians took over, but at the time of Christ many Jews were wondering if they had truly returned from Exile. Many read the passages of Isaiah and saw that they were still under bondage in their own homeland. Just a look at the Roman garrisons in Jerusalem would quickly remind them of this. Many of these 'Return from Exile' passage had not been fulfilled yet and many saw themselves as still in a state of Exile.
With this in thought we see the coming of Christ. In this post I would like to propose that John chapter 1 is a passage chocked full of connections to Isaiah's vision of the Return. John presents to us that Christ is the true Return from Exile that all of the Jews had anticipated.

First, we pick up in John chapter 1:1-3 and verse 14

“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

4 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

We see here a parallel with Isaiah 55:10 -11

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding {in the matter} for which I sent it.

In John chapter 1 we see the very personification of the Word. We see God incarnate come into our world to accomplish the purposes of the Father in ways that the Jews could have never imagined. God's Word would truly accomplish His purpose by completing His rescue operation by returning man from the Exile of Sin.

Secondly, we pick up on the idea of God's Presence in the Temple. Many pre-exilic prophets envisioned a time when God's Glory would leave the Temple because of Israel's sin. God would leave the Holy of Holies and leave the Jews to the Babylonians. We see in John 1:14 that God's presence has returned in a new and more full sense. John tells us that the Word became flesh and Tabernacled (skene- or Templed) among us. God's presence had truly returned to His people and it was found in Jesus of Nazareth.

Thirdly, we see John the Baptist as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the forerunner. In Isaiah 40:3-4 we see that passage about the one that would prepare a way through the desert for the return. The Jews in Isaiah's day saw this as a literal highway that would be plowed through the desert that separated Babylon from Israel. The path the Jews would normally take to Babylon would have them travel north and then South East. This new path would go directly to Zion. John the Baptist in John 1: 23 tells us that he is the fulfillment of this passage and he is the voice that calls in the wilderness. He is the one that makes the paths straight. It would not be a literal path through the desert but it would be a spiritual path of repentance that would lead people to the true return from Exile through the Christ.

Lastly, Isaiah presents to us a mysterious figure of the Servant that would become like a Lamb to fulfill God's purpose of Return From Exile. This Servant would suffer for the people and be vindicated. He would be punished for Israel's sin. Many people in Jesus' day saw the Servant as the nation of Israel but Jesus would take on the role of the Servant and would represent the entire nation. We see in John 1:29 that John the Baptist identifies Jesus as this Servant by calling Him the Lamb of God. Jesus would be the one that would suffer for the people but be vindicated.

In this post I tried to lay out a case that John 1 is giving us a message of a true Return from Exile in Jesus Christ. This return is God's ultimate purpose to lead us from the Exile of Sin and into a New Creation.