The Messianic Series - Vol 2 - God Promise Concerning His Servant

Contents
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 4
SYNOPSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Faith in Christ Jesus .............................................................................................................. 9
THE MARKER ............................................................................................................................ 14
OVERVIEW - THE SEVEN TRAILHEADS ........................................................................... 15
1st trailhead – Isaiah 42:1 ..................................................................................................... 15
2nd trailhead – Isaiah 42:2 .................................................................................................... 16
3rd trailhead – Isaiah 42:3 .................................................................................................... 17
4th trailhead – Isaiah 42:4 .................................................................................................... 18
Summary ................................................................................................................................. 23
FIRST TRAILHEAD .................................................................................................................. 24
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail ........................................................................................................ 25
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track ................................................................................... 26
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint .................................................... 28
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint – 1st Path .................................. 32
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint – 1st Path – 1st Station........... 33
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint ................................................... 34
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint – 1st Path................................. 37
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint – 2nd Path................................ 39
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint ................................................... 40
1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 4th Checkpoint .................................................... 41
1st Treasury Deposit: Verification from 1st Trail of Matthew 3:16 ........................ 42
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail ....................................................................................................... 44
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track .................................................................................. 45
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint ................................................... 47
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint .................................................. 49
Spirit of Sonship ................................................................................................................ 52
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint .................................................. 53
Jesus of Nazareth is the Faith ....................................................................................... 55
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st Path ................................ 58
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st Path – 1st Station ......... 59
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 4th Checkpoint ................................................... 60
A Grave Concern ............................................................................................................... 62
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 5th Checkpoint – 1st Path ................................ 66
1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 6th Checkpoint – 1st Path ................................ 68
2nd Treasury Deposit: Verification from 2nd Trail of Matthew 3:17 ...................... 70
Map Check .................................................................................................................................. 71
SECOND TRAILHEAD ............................................................................................................. 72
3rd Treasury Deposit: Verification from 2nd Trailhead ............................................ 74
THIRD TRAILHEAD ................................................................................................................. 75
3rd Trailhead – 1st Trail ........................................................................................................ 76
4th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 3rd Trailhead............................................. 78
FOURTH TRAILHEAD............................................................................................................. 79
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail......................................................................................................... 80
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track .................................................................................... 82
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint ..................................................... 84
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint .................................................... 86
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track ................................................................................... 88
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 1st Checkpoint .................................................... 90
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 2nd Checkpoint ................................................... 94
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint ................................................... 95
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st Path ................................. 96
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st Path – 1st Station.......... 97
The Seven Jewish Festivals ............................................................................................ 98
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st Path – 2nd Station....... 100
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 2nd Path .............................. 101
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 3rd Path .............................. 102
4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 4th Path .............................. 103
5th Depository: Verification from 4th Trailhead ....................................................... 104
FIFTH TRAILHEAD ............................................................................................................... 105
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6th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 5th Trailhead............................................... 106
SIXTH TRAILHEAD................................................................................................................ 107
7th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 6th Trailhead............................................... 109
SEVENTH TRAILHEAD......................................................................................................... 110
8th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 7th Trailhead ............................................. 111
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 113
Your Heart of Treasury: Summary of Verification..................................................... 116
First Trailhead - Isaiah 42:1.......................................................................................... 117
Second Trailhead - Isaiah 42:2 ..................................................................................... 120
Third Trailhead - Isaiah 42:3 ........................................................................................ 121
Fourth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:4...................................................................................... 122
Fifth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:5 ......................................................................................... 123
Sixth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:6 ......................................................................................... 124
Seventh Trailhead - Isaiah 42:7 ................................................................................... 125
UNWRAP THE LOVE GIFT................................................................................................... 127
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This is the second volume of “The Messianic Credentials” series. I would
encourage you to read the first volume of this series if you have not already done
so. It will facilitate a deeper appreciation of what this series is all about. You can
access the first volume HERE.
Essentially, we will be looking at how the beloved Son of God in the flesh as
Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled everything God said about His Promised Messiah
in the following four famous prophecies:
1. Isaiah 42:1-7;
2. Isaiah 49:1-9;
3. Isaiah 50:4-9; and
4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.
In this second volume, we will look at the first

prophecy as recorded in Isaiah 42:1-7. Our journey
begins with the foundation scripture of Isaiah 42:1-
7 which speaks of God’s Promise Concerning His
Servant. In the context of our hiking analogy, this
is the Marker. There are 14 trailheads in this
Marker. Some of the trailheads lead to trails that
point deeper into the huge maze of scripture
referencing while others end of themselves. We will
have an overview of these trailheads before exploring
each of them in detail.
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This is the hiking map for our trekking journey. Laden within each
trailhead and its extensions are golden nuggets of truth that you can pick up to
store into the treasury of your heart.
Click HERE to enlarge

Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6:19-21,
19 “DO
NOT STORE UP FOR
YOURSELVES [MATERIAL] TREASURES ON
EARTH, WHERE MOTH AND RUST DESTROY,
AND WHERE THIEVES BREAK IN AND
STEAL. 20 BUT STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES
TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WHERE NEITHER
MOTH NOR RUST DESTROYS, AND WHERE
THIEVES DO NOT BREAK IN AND STEAL; 21 FOR
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR
HEART [YOUR WISHES, YOUR DESIRES; THAT
ON WHICH YOUR LIFE CENTERS] WILL BE ALSO.
God Himself has provided proof of identity of the Promised Messiah. When
we believe in Jesus of Nazareth to be the beloved Son of God in the flesh to fulfill
His Messianic mission based on the evidence God has given, that faith will be
founded on the immovable and unshakeable foundation of the written Word of
God. When that happens, nothing shall ever separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord as stated in Romans 8:38-39.
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In this this connection, I would like to bring your attention to Hebrews 1:1-2.
In that passage of scripture, it is stated that God had spoken to the world through
the voices and writings of various prophets in many separate revelations and in
many ways. Each revelation set forth a portion of the truth. But in these last days,
He has spoken with finality in His Son, Who came in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth. From John 1:17, we are told that:
“GRACE AND TRUTH CAME IN THE PERSON

OF JESUS CHRIST.”
Therefore, we can see that the prophets of old actually wrote about the beloved
Son of God coming in the flesh. The prophet Isaiah was one of those prophets.
When the beloved Son of God walked the earth in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth,
He mentioned in John 5:36 and John 10:25 that the very works and miracles He
did were His credentials and the evidence testifying that He was the One Whom
the prophets wrote about. Jesus Himself revealed that He came to fulfill what
was written about Him on numerous occasions. For example:
1. Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets (collectively
the Old Testament, italics mine); I did not come to abolish but to fulfill;
2. Matthew 5:18
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest
letter or stroke shall pass from the Law (Old Testament, italics mine)
until all is accomplished;
3. Luke 18:31
All things which are written through the prophets (Old Testament,
italics mine) about the Son of Man, that is the Messiah, will be
accomplished;
4. Luke 24:44
All things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms (collectively Old Testament, italics mine) must
be fulfilled;
5. John 19:28
Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished to fulfill
the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty”; and
6. John 19:30
After He had fulfilled everything that was written about Him in the Old
Testament, He cried out, “It is finished!”
Everything that Jesus had done during His earthly ministry was to fulfill all
that were written about Him in the Old Testament. Those works were His
credentials and the evidence declaring that He is the Messiah; the Promised Seed
mentioned in Genesis 3:15.
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CHAPTER 2
SYNOPSIS
This series comes in five volumes. The first volume plays an introductory
role just as how John the Baptist announced the arrival of the Promised Messiah.
The other four volumes deal with each of the four famous Messianic prophecies,
respectively. It is very much like how the four Gospels wrote about the earthly
ministry of Jesus. I am cognizant of the fact that the Book of John is a class on its
own. John's Gospel is different from the other three accounts in that his primary
goal was not to provide a historical treatment of the life of Jesus but to exalt the
Person of Jesus so that the readers would believe on Him and be saved.
In this second volume, we will be looking at God’s Promise Concerning

His Servant. We will then follow the clues given in the Old Testament scriptures
to unearth New Testament evidence of the fulfilment of those prophecies in and
by the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. In the course of
exploration and discovery, we will rely on the following map to keep our bearing:

Hidden within the maze of scripture cross referencing in this first Marker
are 38 golden nuggets of New Testament evidence. As we explore the Marker, we
will pick up those golden nuggets and deposit them into the treasury of our heart.
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At this point, I would like to bring your attention to the italicized words and
amplifications of the Bible.
Italicised words
Italicised words are words implied, but not actually contained in the original
text. The italics “and”, “or”, “nor” serve as an alert that the word or words that
follow are amplifications not found in the Hebrew text itself, but implied by it
or by contextual factors.
Amplifications
Amplifications are used to reveal a word's intensity or power along with the
nuances of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek word used in the original text. In
this series, italicised words within quoted scriptures are boldfaced and
amplifications are highlighted orange.
All scriptures are quoted from the Amplified Bible unless otherwise
stated. As we follow the cross references or trailheads, we will get to unveil Jesus
from the Old Testament scriptures.
This is the bird’s eye view of the four Markers. I hope it will motivate you
to explore each and every one of them.
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Faith in Christ Jesus
Faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Saviour comes when we see for ourselves
how He fulfilled everything that was written about the Promised Messiah. And
that fulfilment has been revealed in the New Testament. I support this notion
with John 10:24-25 which says that:
“THE WORKS THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH DID IN

HIS FATHER’S NAME TESTIFIED CONCERNING
HIM. THOSE WORKS ARE HIS CREDENTIALS
AND THE EVIDENCE DECLARING WHO HE IS”.
Every work or miracle that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry,
as recorded in the New Testament, was to fulfill what was written about Him in
the Old Testament. Those miracles testified to His identity as the Promised
Messiah. We need to see that for ourselves. As Jesus Himself put it in Mark 8:27-
29,
“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”
Never mind what other people are saying about Him. It is what you yourself really
believe that is important. It is stated in 1 John 5:10 that:
“THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN THE SON OF GOD HAS THE

TESTIMONY WITHIN HIMSELF BECAUSE HE CAN
SPEAK AUTHORITATIVELY ABOUT CHRIST FROM HIS
OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. THE ONE WHO DOES
NOT BELIEVE GOD IN THIS WAY HAS MADE HIM OUT TO
BE A LIAR, BECAUSE HE HAS NOT BELIEVED IN THE
EVIDENCE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN REGARDING HIS
SON.”
According to that passage of scripture, God has specified a way to believe in His
Son; by the evidence that God has given regarding Him. And the works that Jesus
of Nazareth did during His earthly ministry are the evidence.
The testimony within self comes from a personal conviction which
will arise when we see for ourselves the evidence God has given about Jesus
of Nazareth from New Testament scriptures. The verse speaks of believing
in the Son of God based on the evidence that God has given regarding Him.
And those evidence refers to the works Jesus of Nazareth had done during His
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earthly ministry. In the words of Jesus Himself as written in John 10:24-25
which we have just mentioned,
THOSE WORKS ARE HIS CREDENTIALS AND THE
EVIDENCE DECLARING WHO HE IS.
I am beginning to sound like a broken recorder. Yet Romans 10:17 says that faith
comes from hearing and hearing the message concerning Christ. Repetition is the
mother of all learning. Hence, you will get to see mom a lot in this series.
1 John 5:12 says that:
“HE WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE SON OF GOD BY

PERSONAL FAITH (CONVICTION, ITALICS MINE) DOES
NOT HAVE THE LIFE”.
Take hold of that personal faith or conviction by seeing for yourself how
Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the Messianic credentials as evidenced by New
Testament scriptures. Believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the beloved Son of God Who
was crucified to set us free from the penalty for sin based on the evidence that God
has given with regards to Him. The question posed in Mark 8:27-29 accentuates
the paramount importance of seeing Jesus of Nazareth as the Saviour for
ourselves. I am inclined to think that this is what Romans 10:9 means when it
says to:
“BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART (BE CONVINCED OR
CONVICTED, ITALICS MINE) THAT GOD RAISED HIM
FROM THE DEAD”.
There is a need for the heart to be convinced or convicted. As 2

Corinthians 4:13 puts it, “I believed; therefore I have spoken. We also believe
and therefore speak”. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh
(Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45 King James Version Bible). God looks at the heart
(1 Samuel 16:7). Faith or trust in Jesus of Nazareth as the Saviour comes from
hearing the message concerning him as stated in Romans 10:17. Hearing entails
giving attention to and considering what is said about Him. It involves
internalization. As the hearer meditates on what is being said of Christ, faith
arises from within. And from that faith, the mouth speaks.
The indwelling Holy Spirit will convict believers of our righteousness as
stated in John 16:8-11. He will convince believers of their righteousness and
guide them by the written word of God. In the context of this series, we will be
convinced or convicted of our righteousness by the verification of the identity of
Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah from New Testament scriptures. John
14:26 says that the blessed Holy Spirit will do two things:
1. Teach us all things; and
2. Remind us of everything that Jesus told us.
During the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, He kept repeating that
He came to fulfill everything that the Scriptures (Old Testament) wrote about
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Him. We saw this right from the outset of this series. And everything the
scriptures (Old Testament) wrote about Him were His Messianic credentials.
Hence, the blessed Holy Spirit will remind us of how Jesus of Nazareth had
already fulfilled all those Messianic credentials as we lay eyes on the Messianic
prophecies.
The definitive verification of Jesus of Nazareth as the beloved Son of Son
was His resurrection from the dead as stated in Romans 1:4. With that
resurrection, the disciples recalled what the Old Testament scriptures wrote about
the Promised Messiah and how Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled them. It was the
fulfilment of the Messianic credentials by Jesus of Nazareth that caused them to
believe in Him as the Promised Messiah. Isn’t it good to see mom again? 
Many might have embraced Jesus because He has first delivered them from
some predicament; be it an illness or some form of dead-end situations. Hebrews
12:2 calls that the first incentive for our belief. There is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, that is the first incentive for us to want to know Him better as a Person
and not so much what else we can get out of Him. When we get to know the Person
of Jesus, we get to know God the father Himself as stated in John 14:9 and
Hebrews 1:3.
I remember a story about an orphan who was both freezing out in the winter
cold and famished. A police officer directed the boy to knock on the door of a church
and told him to just say “John 3:16” when the nun answered the door. He did just
that and was given a nice warm meal and lodging. He thought it was only for that
day. But to his delight, he was allowed to stay in the church. After a while, he
wondered what John 3:16 meant and decided to ask the nun. It was then that
the story of the loving Jesus was told to him.
The point here is that the goodness of the Lord would lead us to want to
know Him as a Person and not just what He can do for us. Another may say that
the son in the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” returned to his father because of
practical needs. While that is true, the son had the audacity to do that only
because he knew the person of his father. You can find that parable in Luke
15:11-32. We can approach the throne of grace to find practical help in times of
need because we know that the love of God for us personified is seated right there
as Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us. The key point in that passage of scripture is that of
“an appropriate blessing coming just at the right moment”. Knowing the Person
of Jesus will enable us to weather through the season of patience, silence or
waiting. We trust God through Christ Jesus based on His love for us.
When the foundation of faith in Jesus is based on only what He can do for
us, it will be highly unstable. Just imagine you have a friend who trust you just
because of what you can do for him. When you can no longer satisfy his material
needs, there goes the so called trust. I do not suppose you can call that trust, let
alone abiding trust, can you? Perhaps that is the basis for the term “rice
Christians”. Galatians 6:7 says that “God will not be mocked” and He knows
when and what blessing to manifest as stated in James 4:3.
Jesus of Nazareth is the Bread of Life; He is the Bread of God Who gives
life to the world. This was typified by the manna from heaven as recorded in
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Exodus 16:4 and John 6:31. Yet the Israelites despised the manna and craved
for the food of the world. In other words, people may crave for material blessings
from Him and not a relationship with Him. We need to allow Jesus to bring that
faith to maturity by letting the message of Christ dwell richly in us because faith
comes by hearing and hearing the message concerning Christ. The question that
begs to be asked is this, “What aspect of the message concerning Christ?” If the
message concerning Christ is just about what He can do for us, many of those who
have received miracles from Him would not have fallen away. Sadly, many have
done just that as can be seen from John 6:66. The corresponding footnote of that
verse highlights the:
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEARNER AND A

BELIEVER.
It brings to mind the question of whether a person comes to the Lord to

learn how to get blessings out of Him or believe in Him. His blessing and all the
other things He said are a composite whole; they come as a package. The Lord
Jesus is more interested in our inward transformation; the restful soul which will
be followed by outward blessings (3 John 2). Therefore, not everyone who can
speak the right spiritual lingo is a believer. The question is not meant to cast a
doubt over a person’s salvation. Rather, it serves to bring about a true
appreciation of the Person of Jesus Christ. In any case, it is a matter between an
individual and the Lord. It is also interesting to note that the falling away from
Jesus is connected to the number “666”. Does it not bring to mind Revelation
13:18? The devil is very subtle and his only intent is to stop people from being
reunited with God. One way is to get them to focus on Jesus only for material
blessings and when those blessings do not come in the way and time as expected,
it will cause many to reject Jesus. The case in point can be seen from Genesis 3:5
when Satan told Eve that the reason God forbade the eating of the forbidden fruit
was because “God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened”.
Satan insinuated that God withheld a form of blessing from the first pair of human
beings. Satan emphasized on the one thing that God did not give but negated the
abundance of provision that God has already given. When the eyes are fixed only
on material blessings and not the love of God, the end result will be the eventual
rejection of God. This has been proven and demonstrated right from the
beginning.
The devil will not deny that Jesus is the Son of God for it is recorded in
Luke 4:41 that demons came out of many people, shouting about Jesus of
Nazareth being the Son of God. According to 2 Corinthians 11:14, Satan himself
also masquerades as an angel of light in the form of “servants of righteousness”.
Not all who can speak the right spiritual lingo has a heart for and with the Lord.
(It’s mom again!  ). Jesus asked the question in Luke 6:46:
“WHY DO YOU CALL ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ AND DO NOT
PRACTICE WHAT I TELL YOU?”
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At the end of the day, we can find assurance in Galatians 6:7 which says
that “God cannot be mocked. A man sows whatever he reaps”. The apostle Paul
says in 2 Corinthians 11:15 that “Their end will correspond with their deeds”.
He also said in Philippians 1:15-20 that some preach Christ out of love while
others, out of selfish ambitions. But what does it matter? As long as in every way,
whether in pretense or in all honesty to spread the truth, Christ is being preached;
and in this, he rejoiced. God looks at the heart and dispenses rewards accordingly.
Even if someone was to start off with the wrong motive, I sincerely believe that
the Lord Jesus will bring about a genuine change of heart when that same one
stick with the written Word.
Faith will not be brought to maturity when the focus is on miracles as a
bailout. This is because the spotlight is on the worry and care. It is like saying to
Jesus, “Lord, the problem is getting serious, when will You do something about
it?” Faith on that basis is highly volatile. As stated in Mark 4:19,
“THE WORRIES AND CARES OF THE WORLD, AND THE
DECEITFULNESS OF WEALTH, AND THE PASSIONATE
DESIRES FOR ALL THE OTHER THINGS CREEP IN AND
CHOKE OUT THE WORD, AND IT BECOMES
UNFRUITFUL”.
I believe one of the things we need to keep hearing about Christ is how Jesus of
Nazareth had fulfilled everything that was written about the Promised Messiah
in the Old Testament. Don’t get me wrong. I am all for miracles and
breakthroughs. But I find that God’s blessings are not meant to be chased after.
It is like a cat chasing after its own tail. The blessings of God have been designed
to do the chasing; to hunt down and take over the righteous. It is written in
Deuteronomy 28:2 and Psalm 23:6 that the goodness and mercy of God will hunt
down and overtake the righteous. The blessings of the LORD fall on the head of
the righteous as mentioned in Proverbs 10:6. And in Proverbs 10:22, it says
that “The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addedth no sorrow”. Notice that
the word “blessing” is in the singular. It points to the Promised Messiah and
Saviour. He is THE (definite article) blessing Who maketh rich and addedth no
sorrow.
With that said, let us begin one of the most exciting, if not THE most exciting,
spiritual hiking experience ever!
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CHAPTER 2
THE MARKER
Our journey begins with the foundation scripture of Isaiah 42:1-7. It is set
in the context of the promise of God concerning the Messiah. In the context of our
hiking analogy, this is the Marker.

Each verse of the foundation scripture is a trailhead, which is the start of a
trial that in turn points deeper into the huge maze of cross referencing. Since there
are seven verses in Isaiah 42:1-7, there will be seven corresponding trailheads.
Although not every trailhead leaves a trail, I am relying on John 14:26 which says
that the blessed Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of everything
that Jesus told us. We will cover the overview of each trailhead and then explore
each of them in detail.
Without much further ado, let us take a closer look at each of the SEVEN
trailheads.
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CHAPTER 3
OVERVIEW - THE SEVEN TRAILHEADS
We will take a brief look at the seven trailheads before exploring each of
them in detail.
1st trailhead – Isaiah 42:1
In this very first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1, God made the promise to send His
Servant. It brings to mind Genesis 3:15 where God first promised to send the
Seed.
Here, God stated the manner with which He would identify the Promised
Messiah. From here, we see that the Promised Messiah would be:
1. Upheld by God. To uphold means to confirm and support. By that, I draw
inference that God would confirm the identity of the Promised Messiah
when He appeared;
2. Whom God delights;
3. The Chosen One of God;
4. Upon Whom God will put His Spirit; and
5. Brings forth justice to the world.
Taken in its entirety, the crux of Isaiah 42:1 is:
“GOD WILL IDENTIFY THE PROMISED MESSIAH.”

Let us proceed to the second trailhead.
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2nd trailhead – Isaiah 42:2
The second to fourth trailhead describes the Promised Messiah.
In this second trailhead of Isaiah 42:2, we see that the Promised Messiah
will not call out or shout aloud nor make His voice heard in the street. In other
words,
“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL KEEP A LOW

PROFILE.”
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3rd trailhead – Isaiah 42:3
The third trailhead of Isaiah 42:3 continues to describe the Promised

Messiah.
According to the verse, He will not break a broken reed or extinguish a

dimly burning wick. In other words, He will be meek and gentle. Does this not
bring to mind Matthew 11:29 where Jesus of Nazareth said that “He is gentle
and humble in heart?” He will also be faithful to fulfill His purpose of bringing
forth justice.
Therefore, the gist of Isaiah 42:3 is:
“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL BE MEEK AND

GENTLE AND FAITHFUL TO HIS PURPOSE”.
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4th trailhead – Isaiah 42:4
The fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4 is yet another continuation of the

description of the Promised Messiah.
The Promised Messiah would not be disheartened or crushed. It suggests

that the Promised Messiah would meet with intense opposition but He would
persevere. A snippet of His determination can be found in Luke 22:44 where it is
recorded that “His sweat became like drops of blood” before events leading to
His crucifixion would take place. Ultimately, He would accomplish His mission.
The violent objections would not be able to stop Him from completing His mission
to establish justice on earth and thereby establish His Law or the New Covenant.
Does this not call to remembrance Hebrews 12:2 where it is stated that “Jesus
Who for the joy of accomplishing the goal set before Him endured the cross
and disregarded the shame, and is right now seated at the right hand of the throne
of God revealing the completion of His work”? I am getting ahead of myself but I
just have to slide that in.
I submit to you the Luke 22:20 and Hebrews 8:7 to support the
interpretation of “His Law” as the “New Covenant”. In Luke 22:20 of the New
International Version, it is mentioned that "This cup is the new covenant in my
blood, which is poured out for you” and Hebrews 8:7 of the New Living
Translation says, “If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been
no need for a second covenant to replace it.” Jesus of Nazareth came to fulfill the
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requirements of the Old Covenant so as to establish the New. As the Chinese
saying goes, “旧的不去，新的不来”. It literally means “If the old doesn't go, the
new will not come”. But the intended meaning is that “One cannot make progress
by clinging to old notions”.
Therefore, the thrust of Isaiah 42:4 is:
“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL PERSEVERE

THROUGH INTENSE OPPOSITION TO
ACCOMPLISH HIS MISSION”.
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The fifth trailhead Isaiah 42:5 speaks of the One Who authorized the
Promised Messiah. He was the One Who gave the Messianic credentials to the
prophets in the Old Testament and those prophets faithfully reduced them in
writing.
In other words, this verse is about the Source of the Messianic authority.
The Commissioner of the Messiah is the Creator and Possessor of the heavens and
the earth. This reminds us of the very beginning in Genesis 1:1. He is also the
One Who gives breath and spirit. He is the Source of life as stated in John 4:24.
This calls to remembrance Psalm 36:9 and John 1:4 of the Good News
Translation Bible. The former says that “God is the Source of all life” and the
latter, “The Word was the source of life”.
As such, the heart of Isaiah 42:5 is:
“ELOHIM IS THE SOURCE OF THE MESSIANIC

AUTHORITY”.
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In this sixth trailhead, we see the first two of the four basic tenets of the
purpose for which God appointed the Promised Messiah.
The two basic tenets are:
1. Covenant to Israel; and

2. Light to the Gentiles.
The essence of Isaiah 42:6 is therefore:
“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL BE A

COVENANT TO ISRAEL AND A LIGHT TO THE
GENTILES”.
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The seventh and final trailhead of Isaiah 42:7 contains the last two basic
tenets of that purpose.
The last two basic tenets are:

1. Open the eyes of the blind; and
2. Bring prisoners out from the prison. Notice the use of the definite article
“THE”. It refers to a specific prison; the prison of sin as evident from
Galatians 3:22. The footnote to the verse explains the “prison of sin” to
mean the “effects of sin”.
“Blindness” denotes “darkness” and it brings to mind Colossians 1:13 where it
says that “God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred
us to the kingdom of His beloved Son”.
With that in mind, the nub of Isaiah 42:7 is:
“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL OPEN BLIND

EYES AND BRING PRISONERS OUT OF THE
PRISON OF SIN”.
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Summary
Let us now summarize what we have seen so far.

We can rightly divide the Marker of Isaiah 42:1-7 as such.
The first verse is about how God will identify the Promised Messiah when
He comes to earth. The second to fourth verse describes the Promised Messiah;
Who He was and what He would be like. Isaiah 42:5 tells us Who commissioned
the Promised Messiah. Finally, the last two verses reveal the purpose for which
the Promised Messiah was sent.
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CHAPTER 4
FIRST TRAILHEAD
We have earlier seen that the crux of the first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1 is
that “God will identify the Promised Messiah”. It leads to two trails of:
1. Matthew 3:16; and
2. Matthew 3:17
Next, let us explore the first trail of Matthew 3:16.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail
Matthew 3:16 is set in the context passage of Matthew 3:13-17 which

speaks of the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the verse, we see that John the Baptist testified to having seen the Spirit
of God descend on Jesus of Nazareth. Hence, the substance of Matthew 3:16 is:
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD

DESCENDED ON JESUS
From this first trail, we are led to the first track of John 1:32.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track
The first track of John 1:32 is set in the context passage of John 1:29-34.
The context passage is the testimony of John the Baptist.
Before we look at what John 1:32 is telling us, there are three significant
pieces of information that we can gather from the context passage in John 1:29-
34.
1. The reason John the Baptist came baptizing in water was to publicly
reveal the Promised Messiah to Israel;
2. God revealed the sign with which the Promised Messiah could be
identified. The person on Whom the Spirit of God descending and
remaining is the Promised Messiah; and
3. John the Baptist testified that Jesus of Nazareth is the beloved Son of
God.
The testimony of John the Baptist carried a lot of weight as the Israelites revered
him. This can be seen from Matthew 14:5.
We now turn our attention to John 1:32. In the Gospel of John, the writer
put on record the testimony of John the Baptist and provided further insight. Not
only did the Spirit of God descend on Jesus of Nazareth, He remained upon Him.
During the times of the Old Testament, the blessed Holy Spirit would come
upon individuals to empower them to accomplish a given task. When the task was
completed, he would leave the person. This can be seen from the mighty deeds of
Samson as recorded in Judges 14:6 and Judges 15:4 of the New American
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Standard Bible. Other examples include Moses and the 70 elders of Israel as
recorded in Numbers 11:17 and Gideon as written in Judges 6:34. The blessed
Holy Spirit has never remained within an individual except for Jesus of Nazareth.
Today, we have the immense privilege of the indwelling blessed Holy Spirit as
believers in Christ Jesus. It is through Him that we are empowered to do what
God has given us to do; “Not by power, not by might but by the blessed Holy Spirit”
(Zechariah 4:6).
Therefore, the thrust of John 1:32 is:
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD

DESCENDED AND REMAINED ON JESUS
The track of John 1:32 points to the following four checkpoints:

1. Matthew 3:13-17;
2. Mark 1:9-11;
3. Luke 3:22; and
4. Luke 3:23
Let’s tackle them one at a time.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint
The first checkpoint stemming from the track of John 1:32 is Matthew
3:13-17. It is set in the context of the revealing of Jesus of Nazareth as the
Promised Messiah and His wilderness temptation as recorded in Matthew 3:11
to Matthew 14:1.
Let us have a closer look at the context passage first.
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John the Baptist was preaching about the coming of the Promised Messiah
in Matthew 3:11-12. Matthew 3:13 of the context passage opens with the words
“Then Jesus came”.
Why did Jesus appear?
It was to be water baptized by John the Baptist.
Why did John the Baptist baptize in water?
John 1:31 tells us that it was to publicly reveal Jesus as the Promised
Messiah to Israel. Right after Jesus of Nazareth was water baptized, the
Spirit of God descended and remained upon Him. Then, God the Father
openly declared; “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased!” as
recorded in Matthew 3:17. Thereafter, Jesus of Nazareth was led by the
blessed Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We also get to learn the meaning of three symbols; namely wheat, chaff and
barn. As can be seen from Matthew 3:12, wheat symbolizes believers while chaff,
the unrepentant. His barn represents His Kingdom. I would imagine Matthew
3:7-12 was the essence of what John the Baptist preached. That passage of
scripture represents his sermon notes.
Returning to Matthew 3:13-17, we see that its central idea is:
JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED TO

IDENTIFY WITH SINNERS AND ULTIMATELY
BEAR THEIR SINS
Jesus was baptized to identify with sinners. That would mean that as
sinners were, so was He. We baptized in water to identify with Jesus in His death.
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As He is, so are we in this world as written in 1 John 4:17. It was at the water
baptism of Jesus the Man when God made His voice audible. As a principle, God
made His voice audible for our benefit as Jesus Himself revealed in John 12:30.
As the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus the deity has always been the
beloved Son of God. The declaration of Jesus the Man as God’s beloved Son pointed
forward to those who would subsequently believe in Jesus after His ascension. All
who accepts the gift of salvation wrought by Christ Jesus are reunited to God as
His beloved children. Contrast this to Jesus the Man on the Cross when He cried
out in Matthew 27:46, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” On the
Cross, we the sinners were rejected by God but at water baptism, we identify
ourselves with Jesus the Innocent. We are accepted in the Beloved as Ephesians
1:6 of the New King James Version tells us.
Right there at His water baptism, Jesus was made sin. Only after He was
made to be sin was He being led to be tempted by the devil. This was a
demonstration of the authenticity of the temptations such that Jesus the Man was
really tempted and knew exactly how it felt to be human in every respect as we
are, yet He did not commit any sin. This is recorded in Hebrews 4:15. As God,
Jesus cannot be tempted as written in James 1:13. However, Philippians 2:7
tells us that the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth was fully
human and as such, He took on the limitations of humanity as stated in Hebrews
2:9. By the way, Hebrews 2:9 interprets Psalm 8:4-6 to be referring to Jesus the
Man. He was crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering of death, so
that by the grace of God He might experience death for the sins of everyone. This
is an example of the Bible interpreting the Bible.
When Jesus came up out of the water of baptism, He became a full-fledge
bona fide sinner. From the point of His water baptism when He started His
earthly ministry, Jesus was God carrying the sin of mankind as Man. “He emptied
Himself by temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His
rightful dignity and was made in the likeness of men, being completely human but
was without sin; being fully God and fully man. He possessed the fullness of the
entire nature of deity without renouncing or diminishing it.” This is recorded in
Philippians 2: 5-7. Jesus the God was without sin but as Jesus the Man, He was
made to be sin as evident from 2 Corinthians 5:21.
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It can also be observed that the first checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17 points back
to the trails of Matthew 3:16 and Matthew 3:17 and leads us to the path of
Matthew 3:13.
Let’s travel down the path of Matthew 3:13.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint –
1st Path
We are now on the path of Matthew 3:13 which speaks of Jesus’ water
baptism.
Therefore, the crux of the verse is:
“JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED BY

JOHN THE BAPTIST”.
This path of Matthew 3:13 points back to the checkpoints of Mark 1:9-11
and Luke 3:22 as well as the track of John 1:32. It opens to the station of Luke
3:21. Let us visit the station and hopefully find it with air-conditioning.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint –
1st Path – 1st Station
We have arrived at the station of Luke 3:21 but alas, there is no air-
conditioning. Nonetheless, it is a windy day and I believe we should be fine.
Luke 3:21 is set in the context of the revealing of Jesus of Nazareth as the
Promised Messiah and the start of His earthly ministry. We saw a similar account
in Matthew 3:11-14:1. Looking at Luke 3:21, we are provided with a deeper
insight.
The heaven opened as Jesus was praying while in the process of water
baptism. It was a major milestone in the life of Jesus and it was accompanied by
the first record of Him praying.
Hence, the gist of Luke 3:21 is:
“THE VISIBLE HEAVEN OPENED AS JESUS WAS

PRAYING WHILE IN THE PROCESS OF WATER
BAPTISM”.
The station of Luke 3:21 points back to the checkpoints of Matthew 3:13-17 and
Mark 1:9-11 as well as to the track of John 1:32.
With this, we have completed the first checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17. Let
us proceed to the second checkpoint next.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint
We are now at the second checkpoint of Mark 1:9-11. It is set in the context
of the unveiling of Jesus as the Promised Messiah and His identification with
sinners to bear their sins through water baptism as written in Mark 1:7-12.
In the context passage, John the Baptist was announcing the impending
arrival of the Promised Messiah. The footnote to Matthew 3:1 of the Amplified
Bibles says that John the Baptist is considered the last Old Testament prophet.
By that, I take it to mean that all the prophets before Him were also preaching the
coming of the Promised Messiah.
Mark 9:1-11 is another testimony of:
GOD THE FATHER AUDIBLY DECLARING JESUS

OF NAZARETH AS HIS BELOVED SON IN WHOM
HE IS DELIGHTED.
Moving right along, we see that Mark 1:9-11 points us to the two paths of Mark
1:9 and Mark 1:11. Let’s follow the lead.
At the point of writing this, it suddenly dawned on me that the word “Eden”
means “delight” which points to Christ Jesus; the beloved Son in Whom God
delights. God has placed the first human being in the Garden of Delight as
recorded in Genesis 2:15. God the Father has always intended to put us in Christ
Jesus. Ephesians 1:5 of the Easy to Read Version Bible says that “Before the
world was made, God decided to make us His own children through Jesus Christ”.
The placing of Adam in the Garden of Eden pointed to that. Within the Garden of
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Eden was the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I see
both trees as types of Jesus Christ.
Christ Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life as can stated in John 14:6.
Jesus Himself declared this in one of the seven “I Am” declarations. I have covered
all the seven statements in the fifth volume of this series. The Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil points to the Law by which we know what is good and
what is evil. And the Bible says that the Law leads us to Christ (Romans 10:4,
Galatians 3:24). Hence, the Garden of Eden is a picture of Christ. Adam being
placed in the Garden of Eden is a picture of salvation in Christ Jesus.
As we have seen in Ephesians 1:5, before the foundations of the world were
laid, God had already planned for us to be His children through Christ. That would
mean that God also foresaw the fall of mankind and the need for redemption. But
why did God plan for it to happen that way? Why go through the very long-drawn
process? My take is that love cannot be taught or forced. Love is an experience.
God knew that His children would get into serious trouble but He was also
prepared to shoulder the responsibility for the mistakes made by His children.
This is likened to earthly parents who already knew what it would entail to have
children and have them anyways because they are prepared to bear the
responsibilities of raising them. It brings to mind Deuteronomy 1:2 and Exodus
13:18 where it is stated that the wilderness journey could have been completed in
eleven days and yet God led the Israelites the roundabout way that lasted forty
years. Throughout that time, God lavished and showered His love on the Israelites
and yet they spurned His love. I think the period of forty years is a representation
of the season where God’s children get to experience the love of God and love Him
in return because He first loved them. Sounds familiar? Does it not bring to mind
1 John 4:19 of the Living Bible?
I am reminded of a comment made by an acquaintance. He lamented that
if God would just appear, he would have no problem believing in Him. Adam and
Eve were in close and constant contact with God. He generously provided them
with more than what they would ever need. Yet, they chose to believe Satan rather
than God. It just goes to show that physical proximity with God Himself does not
necessarily result in trusting Him. Is it any wonder then that in John 20:29,
Jesus said “Blessed is he who did not see and yet believe”? Once again, it reminds
me of Romans 10:17 where it is written that faith comes by hearing, and hearing
the message concerning Christ. The question that begs to be asked is:
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE CONCERNING CHRIST?

The crowning aspect of the message concerning Christ is that He willingly
laid down His life to be punished in place of us. But the entire process leading up
to that message of victory makes up the complete message concerning Christ. My
take is that God has raised many pastors to preach the various aspects of that
process which culminated in salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. It began from
before the very foundations of the universe to all eternity. The entire process is
about the grace of God without which we would not even have been an idea, let
alone being formed. And the grace of God is embodied and personified by Christ
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Jesus, Who demonstrated the love of God for us on the Cross (Romans 5:8). We
are the very reason God created the entire universe. In one of the ten “Did you
know” statements made by Paul, he shared that believers are destined to judge
fallen angels. I have also covered all the ten statements in the fifth volume of this
series.
Let us now walk down the path of Mark 1:9.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint –
1st Path
We are now on the first path of Mark 1:9. It is also set in the context of
the unveiling of Jesus as the Promised Messiah and His identification with sinners
to bear their sins through water baptism.
Mark 1:9 mentioned that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee. Why is the
Bible so specific about where Jesus came from?
In the first century, Nazareth was a small town about 55 miles north of
Jerusalem and it had a negative reputation among the Jews. Galilee was
generally looked down upon by Judeans. Nazareth of Galilee was especially
despised. The Nazarenes were scorned by everyone. This sentiment was most
aptly represented by Nathanael when he asked this question as recorded in John
1:46, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Jesus the Man came from the
most despised town to become the most humiliated human being on the cross. This
was how lowly our Lord and Saviour came.
Taken as a whole, Mark 1:9 is about Jesus coming from the most despised
town to be identified with sinners through water baptism. This points to Jesus
identifying Himself with the lowly both physically and spiritually. It also points
to the truth that nobody is beyond hope of salvation. Jesus has gone to the rock
bottom of the abyss and has ascended to the most exalted place in the heavens to
cover the entire spectrum of time, space and matter with His saving blood. So if
you think you have gone too far out, think again. Nothing can ever separate you
from the love of God that is in Christ as Romans 8:35 tells us. Do not for a minute
think that God loves only Christians. God loved everybody as categorically stated
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in John 3:16. We accept God’s love through Christ Jesus. If Christ stands for
love, then Christians would stand for the beloved of God in Christ. I am inclined
to believe that Christians are a testimony of how God loves a person despite all
his failings. And because God loves, He also disciplines. The discipline aspect of
that love is not readily seen as it is between God and that individual. “Nothing’s
Gonna Change My Love for You” is God’s favourite song.
Hence, the thrust of Mark 1: 9 is:
JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED BY

JOHN THE BAPTIST
The verse sends us back to the checkpoints of Matthew 3:13-17 and Luke
3:22 as well as the track of John 1:32 and the station of Luke 3:21.
Let’s tread the next path of Mark 1:11.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint –
2nd Path
We are now on the second path of Mark 1:11. It is also set in the context of
the unveiling of Jesus as the Promised Messiah and His identification with sinners
through water baptism to eventually be punished for our sins on the cross.
The verse is about:
GOD DECLARING JESUS OF NAZARETH AS HIS

BELOVED SON
This path points to the track of Psalm 2:7 which will be covered in the
second trail of Matthew 3:17. It also leads back to the trailhead of Isaiah 42:1.
Next, let us checkout the third checkpoint of Luke 3:22
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint
We are now at the third checkpoint of Luke 3:22. It is also set in the context
of the unveiling of Jesus as the Promised Messiah and His identification with
sinners through water baptism to eventually bear our sins on the cross.
The heart of the verse is:
GOD DECLARED JESUS AS HIS BELOVED SON

It also points to track of Psalm 2:7 which will be covered in the second trail
of Matthew 3:17. Similarly, this third checkpoint also leads back to the trailhead
of Isaiah 42:1. Thus far, we have seen God being faithful to His promise to
identify the Promised Messiah.
Let us visit the fourth and last checkpoint of Luke 3:23.
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1st Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 4th Checkpoint
We are now at the fourth and final checkpoint of Luke 3:23. It is in the
context of the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in Luke 3:23-38.

When we look at the context passage, we see that Jesus of Nazareth is the
beloved Son of God Whom in the physical lineage descended through the family
line of David and Abraham. Jesus of Nazareth was the descendant or Child of
promise as mentioned in the Abrahamic Covenant. Going by physical descent, we
can say that Luke 3:23 testified to Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Seed
mentioned in Genesis 3:15. Again, we witness the faithfulness and integrity of
God in fulfilling what He promised.
Hence, the thrust of Luke 3:23 is:
JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE PROMISED SEED

With that, we have completed the first trail of Matthew 3:16. Before
pressing on to the next trail of Matthew 3:17, let us summarize the verification
of the fulfilment of the Isaiah 42:1 Messianic credentials from the trail of
Matthew 3:16 by Jesus of Nazareth.
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1st Treasury Deposit: Verification from 1st Trail of Matthew 3:16
It is treasure worth much more than gold and silver to see the evidence that
God has provided with regards to His beloved Son in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth. The treasury is the heart where we deposit or store up these heavenly
treasures.
We are taking stock of the golden nuggets of evidence that God has given
about His beloved Son in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth that we have deposited in
the treasury of our heart.
From Matthew 3:16, the 1st trail of the first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1, we
managed to pick up 7 lumps of golden evidence testifying to Jesus of Nazareth
having fulfilled the Messianic credentials:
Golden Nugget 1
When we compare the Messianic credentials with the written testimony of
Matthew 3:16, it is evident that Jesus of Nazareth satisfied the Messianic
credential of God putting His Spirit upon the Promised Messiah. This is what the
footnote to Matthew 3:16 is also saying. As such, Matthew 3:16 verified that the
beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the fourth
Messianic credential of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 2
The written testimony of John 1:32 also verified that Jesus of Nazareth
satisfied the Messianic credential of God putting His Spirit upon the Promised
Messiah. This is what the footnote to the verse is also saying. Earlier on, we saw
in Matthew 3:16 a similar testimony. 2 Corinthians 13:1 states that “In the
mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word shall be established.” Thus far,
we have two written testimonial of the Spirit of God being put upon Jesus of
Nazareth. And the words “put upon” is explained by John 1:32 to mean “remain
within”. It reminds me of a song entitled, “Within You’ll Remain”. This song was
made popular by Tokyo Square, a Singaporean band, way back in the 1980s’.
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Golden Nugget 3
While we were at the first checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17, we saw God the
Father openly declared Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son in Whom He is well-
pleased. As we have established in the beginning, the word “uphold” means to
confirm and support. By that, it was inferred that God would confirm the identity
of the Promised Messiah when He appeared. Since God has confirmed and
declared Jesus of Nazareth to be the Promised Messiah, it is clear that He was the
Chosen One of God.
Golden Nugget 4
We have also seen from Matthew 3:15 that by the act of water baptism, Jesus
identified Himself with sinners whose sins He would ultimately bear on the Cross.
He the Innocent would be punished for the guilty as written in 1 Peter 3:18. By
His sacrificial death, He paid for the penalty of sins and thereby brought justice
to the world.
Golden Nugget 5
In Mark 1:9, we saw Jesus identifying Himself with the lowly both physically
and spiritually through water baptism to eventually bear the sin of the world. By
so doing, He brought forth justice to the world as sin has been punished in His
body. Therefore, Mark 1:9 testified to Jesus of Nazareth having fulfilled the fifth
Messianic credential in Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 6
Mark 1:11 is another testimony of God declaring Jesus as His beloved Son and
it again testified to Jesus of Nazareth having fulfilled the first three Messianic
credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 7
We have earlier seen that Luke 3:22 is another testimony of God declaring
Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son. Hence, the verse verified that Jesus of
Nazareth had fulfilled the first three Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
With that in place, let us proceed to the second trail of Matthew 3:17.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail
We touched on this while we were at the checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17.
The thrust of this verse is:
GOD THE FATHER AUDIBLY DECLARED JESUS

OF NAZARETH AS HIS BELOVED SON IN WHOM
HE IS WELL-PLEASED.
The trail of Matthew 3:17 leads to the track of Psalm 2:7 and points back
to the trailhead of Isaiah 42:1.
Let us proceed to the track next.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track
Psalm 2:7 is set in the context of the reign of the LORD’s Anointed One as
recorded in Psalm 2:6-8.

When we read Psalm 2:7 in the context of Matthew 3:17, we can say that
the thrust of Psalm 2:7 is:
THE AUDIBLE DECLARATION OF THE PROMISED

MESSIAH FORETOLD
In this series, the general rule of the thumb is that the Old Testament
passages contain the Messianic credentials while that of the New Testament are
testimonies of how the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth had
fulfilled those Messianic credentials.
Here, we see Jesus of Nazareth hidden in the Old Testament and revealed
in the New Testament. It is an example of how the Bible interprets the Bible. The
New Testament scriptures of Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 3:5-6 and 2 Peter 1:17-18
interpret Psalm 2:7 as referring to the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth.
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This track displays six checkpoints as follows:
1. 2 Samuel 7:17;
2. Hebrews 1:5;
3. Hebrews 3:5;
4. Hebrews 3:6;
5. 2 Peter 1:17; and
6. 2 Peter 1:18
Let’s examine each checkpoint in detail.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint
The first checkpoint of 2 Samuel 7:14 is set in the context of God
establishing the Abrahamic Covenant with David as recorded in 2 Samuel 7:8-
17.

In that Covenant, God Promised to:
1. Make the name of David great;
2. Appoint and plant Israel in a place of her own where she would not
be disturbed by the wicked;
3. Give David rest from all his enemies;
4. Make David a royal dynasty;
5. Raise up a descendant after David and establish his kingdom;
6. Let that descendant build a house for His name and establish the
throne of his kingdom forever;
7. Be the Father of that descendant and he His Son;
8. Discipline that descendant with the rod of men and with the
strokes of the sons of man when he commits iniquity;
9. Not let His lovingkindness depart from that descendant; and
10. Establish the kingdom of David forever.
The above are the ten clauses of the Covenant. References were made to that
“descendant” five times with “five” being the biblical number for grace. From
John 1:17, we learn that “Grace and Truth came in the Person of Jesus Christ”.
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David was an Old Testament character with a New Testament mindset as
evident from Acts 13:22. We learn from Acts 2:30-32 that David was a prophet
who foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ. It can be said that David is
a picture of believers under the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ Jesus.
Notice that the word “descendant” is in the singular. The immediate
thought that flashed through the mind was that it pointed to Jesus of Nazareth.
But are there any scriptural proof?
To begin with, the sixth clause of the Covenant brings to mind John 2:19-
21. In that passage of scripture, Jesus referred to the Temple of God as His own
physical Body. When I checked with my study buddy, Mr. Google, I was led to a
similar account of God establishing the Abrahamic Covenant with David in 1
Chronicles 17:7-14. When we read the footnote to 1 Chronicles 17:14, we learn
that Solomon was a type of Christ. Solomon built a physical temple made with
hands. Christ Jesus builds the spiritual house of God with the living stones of
believers with Himself as the Chief Cornerstone (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians
2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:4-6). Hence, it would not be erroneous to infer that the
“descendant” in the 6th covenantal clause was pointing to Christ Jesus.
Coming back to 2 Samuel 7:14, it calls to remembrance Matthew 3:15.
Back there, Jesus said that His water baptism was to fulfill all righteousness.
When we read the footnote to the verse, we see that “The act of baptism identified
Jesus with sinners whose sins He would ultimately bear, and to whom His
righteousness would be imparted”. When the beloved Son of God in the flesh as
Jesus of Nazareth assumed the identity of a sinner, He became the Son Who was
treated as One Who committed iniquity and hence would be punished.
In view of this, the thrust of 2 Samuel 7:14 is:
THE FORESHADOWING OF THE SUFFERING AND

CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST
Moving right along, let’s read the second checkpoint of Hebrews 1:5.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint
We are now at the second checkpoint of Hebrews 1:5. It is set in the context
of God’s Final Word in His Son as recorded in Hebrews 1:3-6.
We were just trying to establish if the descendant mentioned in the

establishment of the Abrahamic Covenant with David was referring to Jesus
Christ. The verse took a quote right from 2 Samuel 7:14 which is connected to 2
Samuel 7:12 where the descendant of David was mentioned. Here, we see
Hebrews 1:5 explaining 2 Samuel 7:14, another instance of the Bible
interpreting the Bible; Jesus in the Old Testament as revealed by the New
Testament.
The context passage also points to Christ crucified as the ultimate sacrifice
for and purification from sins, with which He had established our freedom from
guilt. It is also from here that we see that Christ crucified had completed the full
work of redemption. Since the punishment for sin has already been meted out in
the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, justice has been brought
forth and thereby fulfilled one of the Messianic credentials in Isaiah 42:1.
From Hebrews 1:4, we also gather that it was because Jesus of Nazareth
had completed the work of redemption that He inherited the name Son; the name
above all names. This immediately brings to mind Philippians 2:5-10, in
particular verses 9-10, where it is written that God has bestowed upon Jesus the
name which is above every name.
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Against the backdrop of what we have just seen, the heart of Hebrews 1:5
is:
JESUS INHERITED THE NAME OF SON

This is consistent with the context passage which speaks of God’s final word being
in His Son.
God had been telling the world through Israel that He would send the
Messiah to save mankind. Now that the beloved Son of God had come in the flesh
as Jesus of Nazareth, what God promised has finally been fulfilled. The beloved
Son of God came as Jesus the Human Being to die and be resurrected as the
firstborn of a New Creation of which we now are; the sons (children) of God. The
loving Father God created humanity to be His beloved children but Satan came
along to separate us from Him through the trespass of the first human, Adam. By
the obedience of the last Adam, the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus the
Man, the way to be reunited with God the Father has been opened for all to take.
Just as Jesus the Man had inherited the name of “Son”, so will those who return
to the loving Father God through the redemptive work of the beloved Son of God
in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth be called the sons (children) of God.
Hebrews 1:5 brings to remembrance Psalm 8:4-6. In that Psalmist
passage, we see that God is mindful of the Son of Man; an earthborn man. In
Galatians 4:4, we are told that when the proper time had fully come, God sent
His Son as Jesus of Nazareth to be born of a woman under the regulations of the
Law; Jesus of Nazareth was an earthborn Man.
Psalm 8:6 immediately brings to mind 1 Corinthians 15:27 and

Ephesians 1:22. God the Father has put all things under the feet of Jesus the
Man, the Firstborn of the resurrected; the New Creation of which we are. As the
second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus has always been the beloved Son of God.
When God appointed or declared Jesus the Man as His Son, He did so for us who
would eventually be accepted in Jesus, the Beloved. This has been the will of God
from before the beginning of time as recorded in Ephesians 1:4-5.
While we were at the checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17 on the trail of
Matthew 3:16, we have established that Hebrews 2:9 interpreted Psalm 8:4-6
to be referring to Jesus the Man. He was crowned with glory and honor because
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of His suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might experience death
for the sins of everyone.
This second checkpoint makes reference to the first checkpoint of 2 Samuel
7:14 and points to the track of Psalm 2:7.
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Spirit of Sonship
As the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus has always been the beloved
Son of God even before He came in the flesh. I am inclined to believe that the
name Son refers to Jesus the Man as the firstborn of the regenerated human spirit
in an immortal body, rightly standing before God as His beloved Human Child.
The phrase “Today I have begotten You” in Hebrews 1:5 serves to support this
notion.
The beloved Son of God came in the flesh as Jesus the Man to be our
Representative. First, He represented us as sinner. By that representation, He
was punished as us for our sin. By that same token, His resurrection signified our
acquittal from the penalty of sin. With that acquittal, He was conferred the name
“Son” as our Representative. He is our Big Brother; the Firstborn of a New
Creation. As Jesus is, so are we in this world as written in 1 John 4:17.
1 Corinthians 15:20 substantiates it further. In that verse, it is stated
that “Jesus was the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body,
foreshadowing the resurrection of the rest of God’s children”.
Romans 8:15 would serve to confirm this. In that verse, it is stated that
we have received the Spirit of sonship by which we cry, “Abba, Father!” Together
with and in Christ Jesus, we, too, have inherited the name of “Son”.
Next, let us procced to the third checkpoint of Hebrews 3:5.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint
We are now at the third checkpoint of Hebrews 3:5. It is set in the context
of Jesus our High Priest as recorded in Hebrews 3:1-6.
It is stated in Hebrews 3:5 that the ministry of Moses testified to the things
that were to be spoken later; the revelation that will come in Christ. The questions
is, “What things?” The answer is found in Galatians 3:23-24. We were kept in
custody under the Law for the faith that was destined to be revealed in
Christ Jesus. That faith is revealed in Romans 10:8-10. The Law was our tutor
that leads to Christ crucified, the gift of free pardon. This gift of free pardon is to
be received by putting our trust or faith in what Jesus has accomplished. By the
grace of God, He sent His only beloved Son to pay for the penalty of our sins for
our acquittal. The way we get acquitted is to believe that the beloved Son of God
has indeed come in the flesh to be crucified and resurrected. Those things that
Moses testified to can probably be summed up by Romans 1:17 and Philippians
3:9:
IN CHRIST JESUS IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF

GOD REVEALED AND FOUND
It is for this reason that Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace
through faith. Galatians 3:17-19 tells us that the Law was given to make people
conscious of the sinfulness of sin with Moses as the mediator until the Promised
Seed would come. We see from the Galatian passage that “The Law came into
existence 430 years later after the covenant concerning the coming Messiah”. To
me, that “covenant concerning the Messiah” was none other than the Abrahamic
Covenant. And from that same passage, we are clearly told that the Seed
mentioned in Genesis 3:15 referred to none other than the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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Therefore, the essence of Hebrews 3:5 is:
CHRIST JESUS IS THE FAITH

In Hebrews 12:2, we are told that Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of faith. This
checkpoint leads to the path of Numbers 12:7.
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Jesus of Nazareth is the Faith
The beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth is the Faith. He
is the mustard seed faith as stated in Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6. That
mustard seed died and yields a harvest of saved souls as written in John 12:24.
He is the Author and Perfecter of faith as recorded in Hebrews 12:2. He was the
one to Whom the promise has been made. Jesus was the Promised Son of Whom
Isaac was a type. This leads to the next question, “What promise?”
We see from Matthew 17:20 that faith refers to trust and confidence in the
power of God. As stated in Roman 1:16, the gospel is the power of God for
salvation. According to Romans 1:1-6, the gospel is salvation through Christ
crucified.
Galatians 3:16-17 informs us that it was the promise made in the
Abrahamic Covenant concerning the coming Messiah. This also brings to mind
the first mention of the Promised Seed in Genesis 3:15. If we were to look at the
Abrahamic Covenantal promise based on what we have just discussed, the crux of
that promise would be the gift of free pardon of sin to be had in Christ Jesus. With
this free pardon, we would receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And by
that same Spirit, we who believe in Jesus have been put on right standing before
God as His beloved children. We are rightly the beloved children of God and not
prisoners of sin.
Someone may reason that the Law was given to the Jews only. Hence, the
Law is not applicable to non-Jews. Romans 2:14-16 states that when Gentiles
do instinctively the things the Law requires, as guided only by their conscience,
they are a law to themselves. Although they do not have the Law, they show that
the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their
conscience.
Romans 2:12 goes on to say, ”For all who have sinned without the
Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the
Law will be judged and condemned by the Law”.
The context passage of Hebrews 3:1-6 also brings to mind Hebrews 7:14-
17. In that passage, we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek. What that means is that Jesus became our High
Priest not because He descended from the priestly line of the Levi as required
under the Law. Jesus of Nazareth became our High Priest in the likeness of
Melchizedek who was without any ancestral line nor any record of birth or death
as Hebrews 7:3 tells us. It points to none other than God as stated in Psalm 90:2
of the Common English Bible. In other words, God Himself is my High Priest
in Whom lies the power of an indestructible and endless life. In the words of 1
Corinthians 15:54-56, the power of the indestructible and endless life had
swallowed up sin and death. Believers will inherit an immortal body that will not
decay and die as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:53. Jesus Himself said in John
11:25-26 that whoever believes in Him will never die.
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Under the Levitical priesthood as Hebrews 10:11-14 tells us, “Every
priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins”. Hebrews 10:3-4 adds that
“Those continual sacrifices brought fresh reminder of sins to be atoned
for year after year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to
take away sins”. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for
sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his
enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. It is because of His single offering
that He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. The Levitical
priesthood was based on animal sacrifices that not only could not take away sins
but served as a fresh reminder of sins. The Melchizedek priesthood completely
eradicated sin and put an end to death with the ensuing result of an eternal life
for the believer. And Jesus Christ our Lord is the High Priest after the order of
Melchizedek.
In the nutshell, the Levitical priesthood represented those who were dead
in sin being unable to conquer death. But the Melchizedek priesthood speaks of
the power of the indestructible and endless life of God having decimated death
through Christ crucified such that those who were once dead in sin became dead
to sin. The dead cannot overcome death; only life can defeat death. I remember a
story of a student who earn his doctorate in philosophy with just a one liner answer
of “The absence of death” to the question of “What is life?” That indestructible and
endless life of God is in each and every believer. For this reason, the apostle Paul
said in 2 Corinthians 4:8 that a believer may be hedged in but not crushed;
perplexed but not driven to despair. A believer might have been dealt a crappy
hand of cards in this transient journey on earth, but the power of that
indestructible and endless life keeps him going. No matter how hard the devil
tries to suppress that believer, by the power of that life of God, he bounces right
back up. This is what Jesus meant when He said in John 16:33, “In the world
you will have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous because I
have overcome the world.” Again in 1 John 5:5, it is stated that the one who
believes the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the beloved Son of God overcomes the
word.
Hebrews 10:9-10 revealed that Christ Jesus had done away with the first
covenant as a means of atoning for sin based on animal sacrifices and He had
inaugurated and established the second covenant by means of obedience. In other
words, under the first Covenant, the way to temporarily cover sins on an annual
basis was by animal sacrifices. But under the New Covenant, the one-time
sacrifice of the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth completely
eradicated sin for all time by His obedience. In Philippians 2:8, we see that Jesus
was obedient to God the Father even to the point of death on the Cross. This was
so as to complete the will of God which Jesus Himself revealed in Hebrews 10:5-
7. The will of God the Father is for the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth to fulfill all that were written about Him in the Old Testament which
culminated in His ultimate sacrifice to take away the sins of the world
This is the message of faith preached in Romans 10:8-9. Christ Jesus is
both the faith and the message of faith. Faith came in the Person of Jesus Christ
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as recorded in Galatians 3:23. He is faith personified. When we believe that He
has already washed away our sins with His precious blood and accept the gift of
free pardon, we are no longer guilty of sin. Sounds like a given does it not? When
we have been pardoned, how can we be guilty! As Romans 6:2 puts it, since we
are already dead to sin, how can we live any longer therein?
Having said that, let us follow the lead of Hebrews 3:5 to the path of
Numbers 12:7.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint –
1st Path
We are now on the path of Numbers 12:7. It is set in the context of an
attack on the authority of God’s appointed servant as written in Numbers 12:1-
8. God watches over His appointed ones.
Believers are appointed ambassadors for Christ as we are told in 2

Corinthians 5:20. When faced with opposition while fulfilling our roles, we let
God deal with the opposition. After all, our struggles are not against flesh and
blood but spiritual forces of evil as Ephesians 6:12 tells us.
We see that Numbers 12:7 and Hebrews 3:5 are similar in that both speak
of the faithfulness of Moses. However, the context determines the meaning.
In the case of Numbers 12:7, the contextual meaning will be:
GOD UPHOLDS HIS APPOINTED SERVANT

The path points back to the checkpoints of Hebrews 3:5 and Hebrews 3:6
and leads to the station of Hebrews 3:2.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 3rd Checkpoint –
1st Path – 1st Station
We are now at the station of Hebrews 3:2. It is set in the context of Jesus
our High Priest as recorded in Hebrews 3:1-6.
To reiterate, Jesus is hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New
Testament. In this connection, we can infer that Jesus was the antitype of Moses.
An antitype refers to a person or thing represented or foreshadowed by a type or
symbol; especially a figure in the Old Testament having a counterpart in the New
Testament.
Therefore, the nub of the verse is:
JESUS WAS THE ANTITYPE OF MOSES

We see that the verse points back to the path of Numbers 12:7. Let us now
move on to the fourth checkpoint of Hebrews 3:6.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 4th Checkpoint
We are now at the fourth checkpoint of Hebrews 3:6.
It is set in the context of the warning against an unbelieving heart as stated

in Hebrews 3:5-15. This reinforces the paramount importance of establishing the
heart on the solid foundation of seeing the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus
of Nazareth having fulfilled every Messianic credential as written in the Old
Testament. These things can never be changed. The devil would not be able to go
back in time to alter the events. The fulfilment of the Messianic credentials by the
beloved Son in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth is the immovable and unshakeable
foundation of faith. Faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ arises as we hear
and hear of how He had fulfilled every Messianic credentials (Romans 10:17).
Hebrews 3:6 encourages us to hold fast our confidence and sense of
triumph in our hope in Christ. The Father’s House referred to in the verse brings
to mind the 6th clause of the Abrahamic Covenant; “Let that descendant build a
house for His name and establish the throne of his kingdom forever”. That house
refers to the Church (1 Corinthians 12:27).
I am inclined to believe that it is an encouragement to stay in faith even in
the midst of intense contradictory circumstances.
Hence, the substance of Hebrews 3:6 is:
FOCUS ON THE VICTORY OF THE CROSS
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Hebrews 3:12 of the context passage expresses a concern. I do not suppose
Hebrews 3:12 was addressed to unbelievers who have yet to turn their hearts to
God through Christ Jesus. The very fact that the author of the verse addressed
the audience as brothers and sisters would indicate the intended audience to be
believers. Hebrews 6:6 made mention of those who fell away. We have also seen
the record of disciples falling away as recorded in John 6:66 with the number
“666” associated with the beast. Here, we see another record of those falling away
in Hebrew 6:6. The word "curse" is used 66 times in the Old Testament and the
word "nude" is used 66 times in the New Revised Standard Version Bible. This
is just an observation (Revelation 13:18).
In 1 John 2:19, Jesus said, “They went out from us seeming at first to be
Christians, but they were not really of us because they were not truly born again
and spiritually transformed; for if they had been of us, they would have remained
with us; but they went out teaching false doctrine, so that it would be clearly shown
that none of them are of us.” I would think that Hebrews 3:12 is a built-up from
Hebrews 3:6 to encourage believers to fight the good fight of faith. When faced
with trials and tribulations, do not respond as unbelievers do. Instead, draw
encouragement from the following passage of scriptures:
1. 2 Kings 6:16 - “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than
those who are with them.”
2. Romans 8:31 - “God is for us, who can be against us?”
3. 1 John 4:4 - “He Who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
4. 1 John 5:5 – “Who is the one who is victorious and overcomes the world? It
is the one who believes and recognizes the fact that Jesus is the beloved Son
of God.”
5. John 16:33 - “In the world you will have
tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous because the
conquest of Jesus is accomplished and His victory is abiding.”
6. 1 Peter 5:10 - “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace,
Who imparts His blessing and favor and who called you to His own eternal
glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish
you; making you what you ought to be.
7. Matthew 4:11 – After Jesus overcame the wilderness temptations with the
written word of God, angels came and ministered to Him.
The fight with the devil has already begun the moment we accepted Jesus as
personal Lord and Saviour. But the battle has already been won in Christ Jesus.
We are evicting the enemies from territories that Christ crucified has regained for
us. We stand against the devil on victory ground!
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A Grave Concern
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, the apostle Paul expressed his concern for believers
whose “minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of a sincere and
pure devotion to Christ just as Eve was beguiled by the cunning of the devil”.
Genesis 3:1-7 put on record how the devil managed to deceive Eve and
through her, caused Adam to disobey God.
We are told in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Eve was deceived and not Adam. He
blatantly defied God.
In Romans 7:11, it is revealed that sin seized its opportunity through the
commandment of the Law, beguiled and completely deceived, and used it as a
weapon to kill; separating men from God.
In Genesis 3:3, Eve misquoted the word of God against eating from the
forbidden tree. The devil immediately exploited her erroneous perception of God
and insinuated that God was a liar (Genesis 3:4). He then turned Eve’s attention
to physical circumstances. When Eve focused on those physical circumstances,
she fell into the trap of the devil. This was covered in detail in Volume 1. As it
was with Eve in the Garden of Eden back then, so it is now with us who are in
Christ. Satan can only use contradictory circumstances in his attempts to
convince even believers that God cannot be trusted. For this reason, Mark 4:19
says that “The worries and cares of the world , and the deceitfulness of wealth, and
the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and
it becomes unfruitful.” But the root is in not knowing the love of God.
I see a similarity between 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Hebrews 3:12 in that

both verses emphasized on a simple trust or reliance on God. The very foundation
of that simple trust is knowing for ourselves that God loved us. The apostle Paul
was very concerned of believers being distracted by the devil.
This brings to mind Hebrews 12:2 of the Easy-to-Read Version Bible
which tells us to never stop looking to Jesus. It follows by telling us to focus on
His death on the Cross. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 of the same version, the apostle
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said that he would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and His death on
the cross, which is the definitive proof of God’s love for us (Romans 5:8). This
underscores the importance of the constant remembrance of Christ crucified. The
question that follows is, “What is it about Christ crucified that we would need to
constantly remember”?
Romans 8:32 of the Easy-to-Read Version Bible might be a good place to start.
In that verse, it is written that “God even let his own Son suffer for us. He gave his
Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things”. While we
were still treating God as our enemy, He sent his only beloved Son to die for our
acquittal from the penalty of sin as stated in Romans 5:8-10. As 1 Corinthians
2:8 puts it, who knew that God would do that nor had faith in Him to do so?
NONE!
In the final analysis, just be settled in His love for us.
If the truth be told, the one major cause of doubt in Jesus vis-à-vis God is
when we do not get what we pray for, especially after a long season of waiting.
That is when the devil will have the time of day if we focus on what we do not have
instead of what God has already given us.
The reference to Genesis 3:4 in 2 Corinthians 11:3 deserves another look.
In Genesis 3:4, we see that the devil told Eve, “You will certainly not die”.
In other words, the devil was trying to convince Eve that God was a liar. In the
next verse, the devil suggested that God forbade Eve from eating the forbidden
fruit because of an ulterior motive at her expense. At that point, Eve was half sold
as trust in God was not forged. She was finally fully sold when she went with her
sight rather than trusting God. Even until today, if the devil can successfully
fabricate evidence against the integrity of God, the trust in God will be eroded to
the detriment of the deceived. And Satan will convince with what the naked
eyeballs can perceive. As it was in the Garden of Eden, so it is now.
I used to wonder why God did not just step in and stop Adam from eating
the forbidden fruit. Then it occurred to me that if God stopped Adam the first
time, He would have to stop Adam time and again. This is because the underlying
root of not listening to God had not been addressed. To me, that underlying root
cause of disobedience lies in not knowing the love of God. In Hosea 6:6 of the
Living Bible, God said that He wants us to know Him. Jesus came to reveal God
the Father as stated in John 1:18 and Hebrews 1:3. Jesus Himself categorically
said in John 16:27 that “The Father Himself tenderly loves you.”
It is stated in 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16 that God is love. God wants us
to know that He is love and that He loved us. Eventually, we will love God because
He first loved us as stated in 1 John 4:19, Living Bible. This is like a loving
parent telling his child not to play with fire. However, out of innocence and
naivety, the child ignored his parent’s counsel and found himself trapped in
flames. The loving parent rushed into the furnace and saved that child but died
in the rescue process. It was then that the child realized just how much he is
loved. Consequently, the love of the parent would touch the heart of the child
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resulting in reciprocated love. Effectively, God is saying that if we want to know
how much He loved us, just look at Christ and Him crucified.
When God gave Adam vis-à-vis mankind the gift of free choice, He was also
prepared to shoulder the responsibilities for the mistakes of their choices. The
single most devastating mistake with catastrophic consequences was Adam’s
abdication of dominion over the earth to Satan. But God the Father had already
planned a body for the Second Person of the Holy Trinity to indwell as a sacrifice
to make amends for that mistake. This is evident from Hebrews 10:5.
In 1 Corinthians 11:25, the apostle Paul reminded us of a practical way to
remember the victory of the Cross. It is to drink of the cup of the Holy Communion.
In the next verse, Paul said that by drinking the cup, we are proclaiming the death
of the Lord, which speaks of the victory of the cross over the spiritual forces of evil.
With this in place, let’s move on to the fifth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:17.
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We are now at the fifth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:17.
It is set in the context of eyewitnesses as recorded in 2 Peter 1:16-18. Peter

testified that he heard God the Father declaring Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved
Son.
The main idea of the verse is therefore:
PETER SAW THE GLORY OF JESUS AS THE SON

OF GOD
The verse points us to the path of Matthew 17:5. Let’s take a closer look
at it.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 5th Checkpoint –
1st Path
We are now on the path of Matthew 17:5.

It is set in the context of the transfiguration of Jesus as written in Matthew
17:1-6. This is the second occurrence of God the Father openly declaring Jesus
of Nazareth as His beloved Son. As can be seen from the context passage, Jesus
led Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain where the divine glory of Jesus
as the beloved Son of God was revealed to the three disciples.
The tenet of the verse is the:
SECOND DECLARATION OF JESUS AS THE

BELOVED SON OF GOD
The verse points back to the track of Psalm 2:7 and the trailhead of Isaiah
42:1. Let’s cover the sixth and final checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:18.
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We are now at the checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:18. It is also set in the context of
eyewitnesses as recorded in 2 Peter 1:16-18.
The crux of the verse is:
PETER TESTIFIED TO HEARING GOD DECLARE

JESUS AS HIS BELOVED SON
The verse leads to the path of Matthew 17:6. Let us hop over to it now.
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1st Trailhead – 2nd Trail – 1st Track – 6th Checkpoint –
1st Path
We are now on the path of Matthew 17:6. It is also set in the context of the
transfiguration of Jesus s mentioned in Matthew 17:1-7.
The gist of the verse is:
THE DISCIPLES REACTED TO GOD’S VOICE IN

FEAR
I am inclined to believe that the reaction of the disciples represented
mankind’s erroneous perception of God. While God is holy, He loved sinners. He
only has an axe to grind with sin. The beloved Son of God came in the flesh as
Jesus of Nazareth to reveal to us what God is really like. In Matthew 17:7, we
see Jesus immediately assuring the fearful disciples to not be afraid. This is what
God has been trying to tell us. While we respect God and hold Him in high esteem
as we would a loving Father, we do not need to fear Him in the sense of Him being
all out to get us. As a loving Father, God will discipline us but it is always for our
own good. We do not take Him lightly or flippantly but not to the extent of fearing
Him in the negative sense. The Bible says that fear involves torment. It also tells
us that God is love. In Hosea 6:6, Living Bible. God Himself says that He wants
our love and He demonstrated His great love for us through Christ crucified. I
sometimes feel that God is trying to show us that He is worthy of our love. Perhaps
it is for this reason that the Bible says that we love God because He first loved us
(1 John 4:19, Living Bible).
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We have been taught to fear (Colossians 2:20-23). “Do not handle this. Do
not taste that. Do not even touch it”. Does this not bring to mind what Eve added
to the Word of God in Genesis 3:3? This was covered in detail in Volume 1 of this
series. The element of fear has been used as a tool of control. Remember how our
parents used to warn us to behave or the police would arrest us? How about God
will punish us if we do this or that? Fear. Do not let it come near!
To learn more of what the “judgment of God” means, read the section on
“The Origin of Sin” in Volume 1 of this series.
We have just explored the entire second trail of Matthew 3:17 in the first
trailhead. Before we proceed to the second trailhead of Isaiah 42:2, let us
summarize the verification of the Isaiah 42:1 Messianic credentials from the trail
of Matthew 3:17.
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2nd Treasury Deposit: Verification from 2nd Trail of
Matthew 3:17
From the second trail of Matthew 3:17 from the first trailhead of Isaiah
42:1, we collected another 5 golden nuggets.

Golden Nugget 1
While we were at the second checkpoint of Hebrews 1:5, we witnessed from
Hebrews 1:3-6 how Jesus of Nazareth has brought forth justice to the world by
offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Hence, Hebrews 1:3-6
verified that Jesus of Nazareth has fulfilled the fifth Messianic credential of
Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 2
When we visited the third checkpoint of Hebrews 3:5, we saw how Ephesians
2:8-9 verified that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the fifth Messianic credential of
Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 3
At the fifth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:17, we read of how Peter saw the glory of
Jesus of Nazareth as the beloved Son of God. It was God upholding or confirming
His Son as the Promised Messiah. By the transfiguration of Jesus of Nazareth, it
is clear that He had fulfilled the first four Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 4
On the path of Matthew 17:5, we saw God the Father openly declared Jesus
of Nazareth as His beloved Son in Whom He is well-pleased for the second time.
It was God upholding His Son as the Promised Messiah. With confirmation and
declaration by God, it is clear that Jesus of Nazareth was the Chosen One of God.
Therefore, Matthew 17:5 verified that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the first
three Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 5
Finally, at the sixth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:18, we witnessed how Peter
testified to hearing God declared Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son and it again
testified to Jesus having fulfilled the first three Messianic credentials of Isaiah
42:1.
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Map Check
Before we proceed further, let us check the map to get our bearing.
Click HERE for enlarged map.
We have just completed the first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1. From that
trailhead, we were led to follow two trails of Matthew 3:16 and Matthew 3:17.
While exploring the trails, we were brought four levels deep into the maze
of referencing. Throughout the journey, we see that the essence of the New
Testament scriptures pointed to how God has identified the Promised Messiah.
In the process, we have also seen that these New Testament scriptures
verified the fulfilment of the Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1 by the beloved
Son of God in the flesh as Jesus as Nazareth.
Next, we will proceed to the second trailhead of Isaiah 42:2.
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CHAPTER 5
SECOND TRAILHEAD
This second trailhead speaks of the Promised Messiah keeping a low profile.
It ends in and of itself without further leads. To reiterate, the second to fourth
trailheads describe the Promised Messiah. In this second trailhead of Isaiah 42:2,
we see the first description of the Promised Messiah.
However, several passage of scriptures come to mind with regards to the beloved
Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth keeping a low profile.
In Mark 1:34, Jesus drove out many demons, but would not allow the
demons to speak, because they recognized Him as the Son of God.
In Matthew 16:20, Jesus gave strict instructions to His disciples not to tell
anyone that He was the Promised Messiah.
There are two instances of the beloved Son of God in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth healing people of leprosy during His ministry. The first case, in which
a single man was healed, can be found in Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-45,
and Luke 5:12-16. These three parallel accounts provide a more complete witness
by adding valuable details. The second occurrence of the healing of lepers,
involving ten men, is found only in Luke 17:12-19. Leprosy represented sin and
it is believed that only God can heal leprosy as recorded in 2 Kings 5:7. The
Pharisees and scribes were right when they exclaimed, “Who can forgive sins
except God alone?” as recorded in Luke 5:21. God was in the flesh forgiving sins
and yet the religious leaders refused to accept that truth.
In the first account of the healing of leprosy as recorded in Mark 1:40-45,
Jesus told the healed not to reveal who healed him but to show himself to the
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priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for the cleansing of leprosy
as a testimony to them. I believe Jesus wanted the people to see for themselves
how He had fulfilled the Messianic credentials as written in the Old Testament.
Again, I quote John 10:23-25 in support of this notion, “The works that I do in My
Father’s name testify concerning Me. They are My credentials and the evidence
declaring who I am.”
During the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Israel had many misconceptions
about who the Messiah was going to be. Some did not even believe there would be
a Messiah while others thought there would be two Messiahs; a king descended
from David and a Levite high priest. Yet others were waiting for a warrior-king
to overthrow the Romans. This can be seen from the mouths of the two Emmaus
disciples as recorded in Luke 24:21. They were hoping that Jesus of Nazareth
would overthrow the Roman Empire and set the nation of Israel free.
The resurrected Jesus demonstrated to us, who are living in this day and
age, that we are to see Him in the written word as the One Who has fulfilled every
Messianic credential as written in the Old Testament. This is evident from Luke
24:27 and Luke 24:32.
Next, let us consolidate the New Testament scriptures that verified the
fulfilment of the Isaiah 42:2 Messianic credentials by Jesus of Nazareth in this
2nd Trailhead.
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3rd Treasury Deposit: Verification from 2nd Trailhead
We managed to pick up three nuggets of gold from the second trailhead of

Isaiah 42:2.
Golden Nugget 1
As can be seen from Mark 1:34, Jesus drove out many demons but would not
allow the demons to speak, because they recognized Him as the Son of God.
Golden Nugget 2
Golden Nugget 3
Let us explore the third trailhead of Isaiah 42:3 next.
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CHAPTER 6
THIRD TRAILHEAD
In this third trailhead of Isaiah 42:3, we see the second and third
description of the Promised Messiah. He would be:
1. Meek and gentle; and
2. Faithful to His purpose.
Jesus was meek and gentle in that He came to serve and not to be served as
recorded in Mathew 20:28. The beloved Son of God came in the flesh as Jesus of
Nazareth to serve the demands of justice by offering Himself to be punished. He
did not come to demand payment from sinners. Jesus Himself repeated this in
John 3:17 and John 12:49.
This third trailhead leads to the trail of Matthew 12:17-21.
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3rd Trailhead – 1st Trail
The trail of Matthew 12:17-21 is set in the context of the spiritual leaders
of Israel rejecting Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah as written in
Matthew 12:8-24.
In the context passage, Jesus healed the withered hand of a man and as a
result, the people of Israel began to wonder in amazement if Jesus of Nazareth
could be the Messiah as recorded in Matthew 12:23. However, the religious
leaders discredited Jesus by attributing the healing miracle to satanic powers.
Here, we see the nature of Satan manifesting through the religious leaders. In
Genesis 3:4, we saw how Satan discredited God by insinuating Him to be a liar.
In John 8:44-45, Jesus said that the devil was the father of the religious leaders
because just like the devil, they did not stand in the truth. In John 17:17, it is
stated that the Word of God is truth. A withered hand speaks of helplessness.
Jesus of Nazareth restoring the withered hand pointed to Him as the hope of the
helpless.
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Hence, the main idea Matthew 12:17-21 is:
JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE HOPE OF THE

HELPLESS
This trail points to the first four trailheads. With that, we have completed this
very short trail.
Before we hop over to the fourth trailhead, let us make another deposit into
our treasury.
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4th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 3rd Trailhead
We are depositing 5 nuggets of gold that we unearthed from the third

trailhead of Isaiah 42:3.
Golden Nuggets 1 - 3
Golden Nugget 4
In Matthew 11:29, Jesus Himself cried out to all who were weary and heavily
burdened to come to Him because He is gentle and humble in heart.
Golden Nugget 5
We have just seen from Matthew 12:23 that Jesus healed the withered hand
of a man and as a result, the people of Israel began to wonder in amazement if
Jesus of Nazareth could be the Messiah. A withered hand is a picture of a battered
reed and a smoldering wick. It speaks of the helplessness of sinners who are
imprisoned and controlled by sin. It also shows the sinfulness of sin; how sin
adversely affects the life of a sinner. Sinners cannot help themselves to get out of
that prison of sin and its effects. Only Jesus the Christ can lead sinners to victory.
Although the religious leaders of His day rejected Him as the Promised Messiah,
He was faithful and obedient unto death on the Cross to fulfill His mission.
Therefore, Matthew 12:7-21 which is set in the context of the spiritual leaders of
Israel rejecting Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah was a demonstration
of the faithfulness of Jesus to His Messianic purpose.
Let us continue on to the fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4.
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CHAPTER 7
FOURTH TRAILHEAD
We have earlier seen that the fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4 is about the
Promised Messiah overcoming intense opposition to establish justice and put into
effect the New Covenant. This fourth trailhead contains the final two description
of the Promised Messiah in that He will:
1. Persevere through intense opposition; and
2. Accomplish His mission.
We see that the trailhead leads to the trail of Romans 8:22-25. Let us follow
that trail.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail
The trail of Romans 8:22-25 is set in the context of the bondage to decay
and the victory over it in Christ Jesus.
The phrase “bondage to decay” in Romans 8:21 needs to be looked at

closely.
Genesis 2:17 immediately comes to mind. In that verse, God told Adam
that “The day he eats from the forbidden tree, he will certainly die“. The moment
Adam blatantly disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree, the process of
death kicked in. It started with the human spirit being separated from God and
then the physical body beginning to decay, leading to death. This is covered in
detail under the section “The Origin of Sin” in Volume 1 of this series.
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour, our dead spirit
was regenerated; it came back to life again in that it is reunited with God.
However, the natural body is still dead. We are waiting for Christ Jesus to redeem
our physical body from decay and death. The scriptural proof is found in Romans
8:10-11.
Romans 8:22-25 speaks of the redemption and transformation of this
naturally dead body to one that will be immortal. The apostle Paul spoke of this
mystery in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 where he revealed that we will all be
completely and wondrously transformed. All who believe in Christ will have their
physical bodies raised imperishable. As recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:26, the last
enemy to be abolished and put to an end is death and we are awaiting that day to
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come. 1 Corinthians 15:53 says that this perishable part of us must put on the
imperishable nature, and this mortal part of us that is capable of dying must put
on immortality which is freedom from death.
With this in mind, the gist of Romans 8:22-25 is:
THE HOPE OF THE REDEMPTION OF THE

PHYSICAL BODY
This trail leads to two tracks of:
1. Romans 8:22; and
2. Romans 8:23.
Let’s follow the first track.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track
The track of Romans 8:22 is also set in the context of the bondage to decay
and victory over it in Christ Jesus.

As we have seen earlier, the moment Adam defiled God’s counsel and ate
from the forbidden tree, the entire creation was in bondage to decay, leading to
death. The problem was not so much that Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Rather,
it was his blatant defiance of God’s counsel that had significant and devastating
consequences.
Moaning suggests pain and torment. Since the time of Adam’s defiant act,
the whole creation was suffering from the painful consequences of sin. Creation
groaned in pain as a result of Adam’s sin and the subsequent curse on creation.
It has been so but only until now.
As an immediate aftermath of Adam’s defiant act, the ground or planet earth
was put under a curse as written in Genesis 3:17. As Romans 7:13 tells us, the
Law was given to show us how terrible sin really is; how much damage it has
caused us. Romans 3:20 adds that the Law only shows us our sin. Volume 1 of
this series takes an in-depth look at this aspect.
According to Galatians 3:13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
Law, I read that to mean that we have also been redeemed from the effects of the
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curse on the ground as pronounced in Genesis 3:17-19. One of the effects of that
curse on the ground is that “in sorrow and toil we shall eat the fruit of it all the
days of our lives. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for us and by the sweat of
our faces we will eat bread until we return to the ground”. In other words, we will
labour under stress to put food on the able. But thanks be to God, Christ crucified
has redeemed us from that curse so that “everything our hands touch shall
prosper”.
Hence, the gist of Romans 8:22 is:
THE WHOLE CREATION WAS SUFFERING FROM

THE PAINFUL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN UNTIL
NOW
The track points to the following two checkpoints:
1. Jeremiah 12:4; and
2. Jeremiah 12:11.
Let us visit the first checkpoint.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 1st Checkpoint
Jeremiah 12:4 is set in the context of the prophet Jeremiah being rebuked
by the LORD for his impatience as recorded in Jeremiah 12:1-5.

From Jeremiah 12:4, it is apparent that the prophet has been mocked for
preaching the word of God. This is in line with the crux of Isaiah 42:4 which
states that the Promised Messiah will meet with intense opposition. In fact, all
the prophets in the Old Testament met with great opposition which points to the
ultimate rejection of the Messiah Himself by Israel.
In the words of Acts 7:52 of the Amplified Bible, “Which one of the prophets
did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the
coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now
become”. The verse serves to support the claim that all the Old Testament
prophets preached the coming of the Promised Messiah.
Romans 1:22 says that men who profess themselves wise became fools. In
1 Corinthians 1:22 -24, we see that Jews demand attesting miracles and Gentiles
pursue worldly wisdom and philosophy. Both of them disregarded the message
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concerning Christ crucified Who is the power and wisdom of God. It is for this
reason that those who preached Christ crucified will be mocked. As recorded in 1
Corinthians 1:21, the straightforward message of salvation seemed foolish to
unbelievers. The apostle Paul was proficient with Old Testament writings and
Jewish law as well as conversant with Roman statutes. He was also a man of logic
and rhetoric. However, when he preached the Gospel, he focused on the
straightforward message of salvation and did not rely on rhetorical techniques of
persuasion. In the words of 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, the apostle Paul did not
proclaim the testimony of God with regards to salvation through Christ with lofty
words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might have done it. Instead,
he focused on the meaning of the redemptive, substitutionary death, and
resurrection of Christ Jesus. In Acts 26:19-29, we have a scene of the apostle Paul
preaching to King Agrippa of Judea. The apostle Paul was deemed to be out of his
mind because he spoke of salvation through the suffering and resurrection of
Christ Jesus. We see the consistency of Paul’s preaching in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5
where his sermon centered on Christ Jesus having died for our sins according to
what was written in the Old Testament and that He was buried and bodily raised
on the third day, and appeared to His disciples as well as 500 others thereafter.
It is stated in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the things of God are spiritually
discerned. We need the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us understand the things
of God. 1 Corinthians 2:12 tells us that we have received the Holy Spirit so that
we may know and understand the wonderful things freely given to us by God.
Hence, we can say that the heart of Jeremiah 12:4 is:
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH WAS MOCKED FOR

PREACHING THE COMING OF THE PROMISED
MESSIAH
Let us now hop over to the next checkpoint of Jeremiah 12:11.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 1st Track – 2nd Checkpoint
Jeremiah 12:11 is set in the context of God answering the prayer of the
prophet Jeremiah as written in Jeremiah 12:10-14.

The context passage made mention of God’s vineyard and His field. To
begin with, what is meant by God’s vineyard and field? 1 Corinthians 3:9
provides the answer. The entire world is the vineyard and field of God. Those who
accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior are the cultivated field. We see
in Matthew 3:12 that believers are referred to as wheat while the unrepentant,
the chaff.
As can be seen from the context passage, it was the invaders who made the
field of God, the world, a desolated wasteland. The invaders are the pseudo
shepherds or false teachers.
The prophet Jeremiah asked a question in Jeremiah 12:1 which I believe
is very much relevant today, “Why are wicked people successful?” If you want to
know God’s answer to that question, you may want to read Jeremiah 12:14 – 17.
Jeremiah 12:11 tells us that the reason the entire world has been made a
wasteland is because no man cared that the world was spinning out of control. As
it was then, so it is now. This is echoed in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 where it is stated that
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“The time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate
instruction; but wanting to have their ears tickled with something pleasing, they
will accumulate for themselves many teachers, one after another, chosen to satisfy
their own desires and to support the errors they hold. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions and will
accept the unacceptable.”
In the words of Isaiah 53:6, all the inhabitants of the world have wandered
away from God with each turning to his own way. People are devouring each other
for the sake of material possessions and exploiting the earth for financial gains.
God created planet earth for mankind to live in and yet mankind is destroying it
along with each other in order to live better lives. Ironical. If one destroys the
very boat he is in, who would eventually suffer? Instead of turning to God, each
has turned to his own ways to meet individual desires and wants.
Despite this, God cares and while we were still in this mode of blatant
disregard, God sent His only beloved Son in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth to die
for us as recorded in Romans 5:8. In Romans 8:28, we read that God is deeply
concerned about us.
Hence, the nub of Jeremiah 12:11 is:
NOBODY CARED THAT THE FALLEN WORLD IS

SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL
With that, we have completed the first track of Romans 8:22. Let us now move
on to the second track of Romans 8:23.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track
Romans 8:23 is also set in the context of the bondage to decay and victory
over it in Christ Jesus as stated in Romans 8:18-26. To reiterate, death preceded
by decay of the physical body is the last enemy to be conquered as stated in 1
Corinthians 15:26, which is set in the context of the sequence of resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20 states that Christ Jesus was the first to be
resurrected with an incorruptible and immortal body, foreshadowing the
resurrection of our physical bodies in like manner. There have been cases of others
who have been resurrected from the dead before Christ Jesus. Hence, how was the
resurrection of Christ Jesus different from those? We find the answer in
Colossians 1:18. In that passage of scriptures, the footnote explains that those
others who were raised had to die again. However, Christ Jesus died once for all
and was raised with an incorruptible and immortal body, never to die again.
It is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:56 that the sting of death is sin. We
have been stung by sin resulting in death of both our spirit and physical body. But
thanks be to God that He sent His only beloved Son as Jesus of Nazareth to redeem
us both spiritually and physically. It is also stated in 2 Corinthians 1:22 that it
is God Who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, like a security
deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life; which includes
the redemption of our physical body to be incorruptible and immortal. 2
Corinthians 5:1-5 reinforced this point.
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Therefore, in the light of the above, the crux of Romans 8:23 is:
THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT IS THE

GUARANTEE OF AN IMPENDING
INCORRUPTIBLE AND IMMORTAL BODY
The track of Romans 8:23 opens to three checkpoints of:
1. 2 Corinthians 5:2;
2. 2 Corinthians 5:4; and
3. Ephesians 4:30.
Let us checkout the first checkpoint.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 1st Checkpoint
2 Corinthians 5:2 is set in the context of 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 which speaks
of the promise of an immortal and eternal body.

There are two significant nuggets of golden truth that we can gather from the
context passage.
First up, when Adam said that he was naked in Genesis 3:10, it was a
reference to him becoming a mortal; capable of dying. This rendition is supported
by 2 Corinthians 5:2-3. In 2 Corinthians 5:4 of the Amplified Bible, we see
that being unclothed refers to separation from God as well as “separation by death
from the body”. This brings us right back to the beginning of the Fall. As an
immediate aftermath of the Fall, both Adam and Eve became naked and was
afraid. This is recorded in Genesis 3:7-10. When Adam and Eve realized they
were naked, it was referring to the death of not just the spirit but the physical
body. This truth is illuminated by 2 Corinthians 5:4.
Right from the moment Adam blatantly ignored God’s counsel, sin entered the
world as is written in Romans 5:12. Since then, the entire world or creation
suffers from the consequences of sin, which includes death of the spirit and that of
the physical body. It was because of what Adam did that the ground or earth has
been put under a curse. The need to work hard under stress is a result of that
curse; maximum efforts with minimum results. As a result of that curse, earth
would also produce “thorns and thistles” which referred to natural calamities and
pestilences. This can be seen in Genesis 3:17-19.
As stated in Romans 1:22, instead of turning to the solution God has provided
in Christ crucified, mankind, who profess themselves wise, resorts to exploiting
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each other in order to reduce the need to work hard themselves. This is the basis
of the dog-eat-dog world that we now live in.
I believe James 4:1-8 of the Easy-to-read Version Bible encapsulates all
that has just been spoken:
“DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FIGHTS AND

ARGUMENTS COME FROM? THEY COME FROM
THE SELFISH DESIRES THAT MAKE WAR INSIDE
YOU. YOU WANT THINGS, BUT YOU DON’T GET
THEM. SO YOU KILL AND ARE JEALOUS OF
OTHERS. BUT YOU STILL CANNOT GET WHAT
YOU WANT. SO YOU ARGUE AND FIGHT. YOU
DON’T GET WHAT YOU WANT BECAUSE YOU
DON’T ASK GOD. OR WHEN YOU ASK, YOU DON’T
RECEIVE ANYTHING BECAUSE THE REASON
YOU ASK IS WRONG. YOU ONLY WANT TO USE IT
FOR YOUR OWN PLEASURE. YOU PEOPLE ARE
NOT FAITHFUL TO GOD! YOU SHOULD KNOW
THAT LOVING WHAT THE WORLD HAS IS THE
SAME AS HATING GOD. SO ANYONE WHO
WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH THIS EVIL WORLD
BECOMES GOD’S ENEMY. DO YOU THINK THE
SCRIPTURES MEAN NOTHING? THE SCRIPTURES
SAY, “THE SPIRIT GOD MADE TO LIVE IN US
WANTS US ONLY FOR HIMSELF.” BUT THE
KINDNESS GOD SHOWS IS GREATER. AS THE
SCRIPTURE SAYS, “GOD IS AGAINST THE PROUD,
BUT HE IS KIND TO THE HUMBLE.” SO GIVE
YOURSELVES TO GOD. STAND AGAINST THE
DEVIL, AND HE WILL RUN AWAY FROM
YOU. COME NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL COME
NEAR TO YOU. YOU ARE SINNERS, SO CLEAN
SIN OUT OF YOUR LIVES. YOU ARE TRYING TO
FOLLOW GOD AND THE WORLD AT THE SAME
TIME. MAKE YOUR THINKING PURE.”
“Make your thinking pure”. Does this not bring to mind Philippians 4:8?
“Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise.
Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and
respected.” This in turn leads to 2 Corinthians 10:5 which admonishes us to
take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It was because of the
obedience of Christ even to the point of death on the cross, God has highly exalted
Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name
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of Jesus every knee shall bow in submission, of those who are in heaven, and on
earth, and under the earth (Philippians 2:9-10). Therefore, we can come against
every negative thought with the name of Jesus. Proverbs 4:23 of the Common
English Bible says to guard and protect the mind more than anything else
because life flows from it. We go where our minds take us.
The epistle of James was addressed to Jewish believers as evident from James
2:1 and James 5:19. With that being the case, the burning question to ask will
be: “How can you a believer be called a sinner?” (James 4:8, Easy-to-Read
Version Bible). Well, I believe the answer is in the difference between being
sinful and a sinner. Allow me to elaborate.
Before you embraced Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour, I am sure you have
done some good things or righteous acts, so to speak. Did that make you righteous?
No.
Now that you are a believer, were there times you stumbled and commit sin?
Most probably. But did that make you a sinner. No.
The foundation of our righteousness is Christ crucified and His resurrection.
In John 15:3, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word which I
have given you” and in John 13:10, He said, “Anyone who has bathed needs only
to wash his feet, and is completely clean. And you are clean.” Our inner man has
have been thoroughly cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus but we still need to
wash our feet on a daily basis. The feet points to walking and denotes how we
conduct our daily lives.
1 John 1:7 says that “the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us from all
sin”. If believers are not susceptible to sinful actions, 1 John 1:7 would not have
been written. I think the best example would be righteous Lot. 2 Peter 2:7
describes Lot as righteous but distressed. I would say he was trying to follow God
and the world at the same time. The long and short of it is this. A believer does
not need to prove anything to anyone. We all know best what is happening in our
own lives. How each believer choose to live out his own salvation is his own
prerogative. The choice is whether one would want to be the righteous Abraham
or a righteous Lot. Therefore, I normally get nervous when my pastor called the
congregation a righteous lot. Just kidding. 
On a more serious note, another issue comes to mind. If a believer can continue
sinning and yet be righteous, would it not be conceived as a licence to sin? To begin
with, no licence is needed for sinning. Nonetheless, the apostle Paul has issued
warnings against the righteousness sinning as a practice. This can be found in 1
Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21 and Ephesians 5:5. A righteous believer
who practices sin will not get to enjoy the sense of righteousness, peace and joy in
the Holy Spirit, which is the Kingdom of God (Romans 14:17). Before one can
enjoy something, it must first be received. According to Romans 5:17, the one
who receives the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reigns in
life through Jesus Christ. Hence, a believer who sins habitually has effectively not
received the gift and will therefore be distressed just as righteous Lot.
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The second nugget of golden truth is that God had never meant for the physical
body to decay and die. When He gave Adam the physical body, it was meant to be
immortal and eternal. The decay and death of the physical body is the final
consequence of sin as stated in Ephesians 4:30. I am getting ahead of myself.
Death first occurred spiritually and then physically. Hence, resurrection also
takes place in that same sequence or order. When we accepted Jesus as our
personal Lord and Saviour, the spirit has been resurrected or regenerated. We
are now waiting expectantly for the resurrection of the physical body when Christ
Jesus returns.
Hence, the thrust of 2 Corinthians 5:2 is:
BELIEVERS ARE WAITING FOR AN IMMORTAL

AND ETERNAL PHYSICAL BODY WHEN CHRIST
RETURNS
Let us proceed to the next checkpoint of 2 Corinthians 5:4.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 2nd Checkpoint
2 Corinthians 5:4 is also set in the context of 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 which
speaks of the promise of an immortal and eternal body.
It brings to mind the mystery that the apostle Paul shared with us in 1
Corinthians 15:51-52 which essentially speaks of the new physical body.
Against this backdrop, the essence of 2 Corinthians 5:4 is:
THE IMPENDING TRANSFORMATION OF THE

PHYSICAL BODY
Next, we look at Ephesians 4:30.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint
Ephesians 4:30 is set in the context of the Christian’s love walk as written
in Ephesians 4:29-31.

While looking at 2 Corinthians 5:2, I have gotten ahead of myself by
making reference to this verse. To reiterate, when God gave Adam the physical
body, it was meant to be immortal and eternal. The decay and death of the
physical body is the final consequence of sin as stated there.
Therefore, the crux of this verse is:
REDEMPTION OF THE PHYSICAL BODY IS THE

FINAL DELIVERANCE FROM THE
CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
The verse leads to the following four paths:
1. Ephesians 1:13;
2. Ephesians 1:14;
3. Philippians 3:20; and
4. Philippians 3:21.
Let’s tread on the first path of Ephesians 1:13.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint – 1st
Path
The first path of Ephesians 1:13 is set in the context of the blessings of
redemption as recorded in Ephesians 1:9-14.

The context passage of Ephesians 1:9-14 opens with the mystery of God’s
will. We have earlier seen in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 that the mystery essentially
speaks of the transformation of the physically dead body to an imperishable one.
This is our inheritance; our destiny. The key phrase in Ephesians 1:13 is that
believers have been stamped with the seal of the Promised Holy Spirit.
With that in mind, the heart of Ephesians 1:13 is:
BELIEVERS ARE DESTINED TO INHERIT AN

IMPERISHABLE BODY
This verse leads to the following two stations:
1. John 7:39; and
2. Acts 2:33
Let us visit the first station of John 7:39.
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Path – 1st Station
John 7:39 is set in the context of Jesus teaching on the last and most
important day of the Festival of Tabernacles or Festival of Booths. The context
passage of John 7:37-44 opens with the words “On the last and most important
day of the feast”. From John 7:1, we know that it was the Jewish Feast of
Tabernacles or Booths. It was on the last day of the last festival that Jesus spoke
about the rivers of flowing water.
John 7:39 explains that the “rivers of flowing water” refers to the
indwelling Holy Spirit Who will be sent to the world after the ascension of Jesus.
Therefore, the tenet of John 7:39 is:
THE PROMISE OF THE GIFT OF THE HOLY

SPIRIT
To better understand the context passage, let us have a look at the seven
Jewish feasts.
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The Seven Jewish Festivals
The seven appointed Jewish feasts are as follows:

1. Passover (Pesach) – Nisan 14-15;
2. Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi) – Nisan 15-22;
3. First Fruits (Yom Habikkurim) – Nisan 16-17;
4. Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – Sivan 6-7;
5. Trumpets (Yom Teru-ah) – Tishri 1;
6. Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Tishri 10; and
7. Tabernacles (Sukkot) – Tishri 15-22.
The above is in addition to The Sabbath Day (Shabbat), a weekly feast.
To have a better perspective, let us also look at the Old Testament Jewish months.

From the table, we see that first three Jewish festivals occur in the month
of Nissan (March), the fourth one in the month of Sivan (May) and the remaining
ones in the month of Tishri (September). The context passage occurred on the
Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the month of Tishri.
The Jewish New Year begins on 1 Tishri, known as Rosh Hashana or “Head
of the Year”. The New Year is celebrated in the first two days of Tishri and marks
the beginning of ten days of prayer, self-examination, and repentance. The end of
this ten-day period is also the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Yom Kippur lasts for 25 hours beginning on the evening before Yom Kippur and
ends after nightfall on Yom Kippur.
The Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot is from the 15 th to the 22nd of Tishri.
Sukkot commonly translated as Feast of Tabernacles is also known as the
Festival of Ingathering. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, "booth"
or "tabernacle". During this festival, Jewish families would construct a Sukkah
or small hastily built hut within which meals are taken throughout the festival.
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The Sukkah commemorates the huts in which the Israelites lived during the forty
years of wilderness wandering after the exodus from Egypt.
The sukkōt were temporary tents of the Israelites pending their permanent
dwelling in the Promised Land. It points to the temporary earthy tent of our
physical body while we await the celestial dwelling of our immortal and eternal
body as stated in 2 Corinthians 5: 1-3.
Sukkot is a seven-day festival, with the first day celebrated as a full festival
with special prayer services and holiday meals. Normal work is not permitted on
the first and the last day of the festival as written in Leviticus 23:39. The
seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah ("Great Hoshana “or “The Great
Salvation”). It is followed immediately by another holy day referred to as the
“eight day” in Numbers 29:35. The Jews call it Shemini Atzeret.
Sukkot represents the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus in His Kingdom
and Shemini Atzeret represents the day of the new heavens and the new earth
(Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:1). After Israel entered the Promised Land,
Sukkot was associated with the Fall harvest and came to be known as the “Festival
of the Ingathering” of the harvest.
The seven-day celebration points to the six thousand lease of earth and the
one thousand year period where Satan will be bound during the millennium reign
as stated in Revelation 20:1-6. Thereafter, the final rebellion led by Satan will
take place but he will be defeated and hurled into the lake of fire and burning
brimstone. Then, the new heaven and the new earth will come into being as
mentioned in Revelation 20:7-10 and Revelation 21:1.
Where in the Bible was it mentioned that God leased the earth to mankind
for 6,000 years? It is not explicitly stated but inferred. To begin with, God gave
dominion over the earth to mankind as stated in Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 1:28.
Then, Genesis 2:1 says that God’s work were brought to perfection at the end of
six days. In 2 Peter 3:8, it is mentioned that “a day is as a thousand years and a
thousand years a day”. When this principle is applied to the six days of the
creation account in the Book of Genesis, it would imply that the dominion over the
earth by mankind will be for six blocks of one thousand years. Another inference
can be drawn from Genesis 6:3 and Leviticus 25. In Genesis 6:3, God said that the
days of man shall be an hundred and twenty years. In Leviticus 25, every fiftieth
year was established to be a year of Jubilee. In other words, there will be 120
jubilees of 50 years making it a total of 6,000 years before the millennium reign.
This is of course highly controversial and open to much debate.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting observation.
Note: The above information is adapted from the following sources:
https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Introduction/introduction.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkot
https://www.gotquestions.org/Feast-of-Tabernacles.html
http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-jewish.html
https://cappsministries.com/pages/the-6000-year-earth-lease
With this in place, let us hop over to the next station of Acts 2:33.
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Path – 2nd Station
Acts 2:33 is set in the context of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost
when the Holy Spirit indwelt the disciples in the Upper Room as stated in Acts
2:22-24. In Acts 1:15, we read that 120 disciples were gathered in the Upper
Room awaiting the coming of the Promised Holy Spirit.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of Pentecost while Jesus’
sacrifice was the fulfillment of the Passover. If you recall, the following are the
first four Jewish festivals:
1. Passover (Pesach)
2. Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi)
3. First Fruits (Yom Habikkurim)
4. Pentecost (Shavu’ot)
This is how I read them. Jesus, the Lord of Sabbath, came to fulfill the
Passover on the Cross. He is the unleavened word of the Gospel and also the first
to be resurrected with an incorruptible and immortal body as stated in 1
Corinthians 15:20. His perfect work of redemption has resulted in the gift of the
indwelling Holy Spirit.
In view of the above, the central idea of Acts 2:33 is:
THE PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT HAS ARRIVED

With the completion of this second station of Acts 2:33, let us return to the
second path of Ephesians 1:14.
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4th Trailhead – 1st Trail – 2nd Track – 3rd Checkpoint –
2nd Path
We are now on the second path of Ephesians 1:14. It is set in the context
of the blessings of redemption as recorded in Ephesians 1:11-15.
From Ephesians 1:14, we see that the substance of the verse is:
THE HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES THE

REDEMPTION OF THE PHYSICAL BODY
Let us proceed to the third path of Philippians 3:20 next.
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3rd Path
Philippians 3:20 is set in the context of the certainty of the redemption of

the physical body as written in Philippians 3:17-21.

The point to note in the context passage is the opposition to Christ crucified.
This is consistent with the trailhead of Isaiah 42:4 which speaks of the opposition
to the Messiah.
In the context of the redemption of the physical body, Philippians 3:20 is
about:
EXPECT THE RETURN OF CHRIST

Let’s move on to the fourth and last path of Philippians 3:21.
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4th Path
Philippians 3:21 is also set in the context of the certainty of the

redemption of the physical body as stated in Philippians 3:17 – 21.
In the context of the redemption of the physical body, Philippians 3:21 is

about:
THE CERTAINTY OF THE REDEMPTION OF THE

PHYSICAL BODY
With that, we have completed the entire trailhead of Isaiah 42:4. It is time to
visit our treasury again.
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5th Depository: Verification from 4th Trailhead
We found 3 golden nuggets from the fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4.
Golden Nugget 1
In Philippians 3:18, we see the continuation of the intense opposition of
Christ Jesus even in this present age and time.
Golden Nugget 2
In Acts 2:33, we saw that the mission to give the gift of the indwelling Holy
Spirit has been accomplished.
Golden Nugget 3
The next mission of redeeming the physical body will surely happen as written
in Philippians 3:20-21.
With that in place, let us move on to the fifth trailhead.
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CHAPTER 8
FIFTH TRAILHEAD
The fifth trailhead of Isaiah 42:5 states that it was the Creator of the
heavens and the earth, the Source of all life, Who authorized the Messiah.
This trailhead also ends in and of itself without further leads. However,
John 1:1-4 come to mind with regards to Elohim as the creator of the heavens and
the earth as well as the Source of life. And of course, the very beginning of the
Bible made it clear in Genesis 1:1 that God is the Creator of the heavens and the
earth.
In John 5:19 and John 12:49, Jesus Himself revealed that everything He
did and said were authorized by God the Father.
Hence, these New Testament scriptures verified that Elohim was the
Source of the Messianic authority.
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6th Treasury Deposit: Verification from 5th Trailhead
We picked up 4 golden nuggets while on the trail of Isaiah 42:5.
Golden Nugget 1
We have just seen how John 1:1-4 verified God to be the Source of the
Messianic authority as well as the Source of all life.
Golden Nugget 2
And of course, the very beginning of the Bible made it clear in Genesis 1:1
that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
Golden Nuggets 3 – 4
In John 5:19 and John 12:49, Jesus Himself revealed that everything He
did and said were authorized by God the Father.
Next, let us move on to the sixth trailhead of Isaiah 42:6.
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CHAPTER 9
SIXTH TRAILHEAD
This sixth trailhead of Isaiah 42:6 speaks of the Messianic purpose. This
trailhead also ends in and of itself without further leads.
As can be seen, the purpose of the Messianic calling was to have the Messiah
to be a covenant to the people and a light to the nations. The following New
Testament scriptures come to mind:
1. Luke 22:20;
2. 1 Corinthians 11:25;
3. Hebrews 8:7-8;
4. Romans 8:3; and
5. John 8:12.
In Luke 22:20, Jesus said that the cup of wine represented the New Covenant
that was ratified in His blood. 1 Corinthians 11:25 further substantiates this.
Hebrews 8:7-8 tells us that God found fault with the Covenant of Law and
replaced it with the New Covenant that was instituted by Christ Jesus.
In Romans 8:3, we find that the fault with the Old Covenant of Law was that
it could not overcome sin and remove its penalty and its power. In fact, Hebrews
10:3 informs us that the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant brought annual
reminders of sins. However, under the New Covenant instituted by Christ Jesus,
God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin and He
condemned sin in the flesh by subduing and overcoming it in the person of His
Own beloved Son as Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Himself declared in John 8:12 that
He is the Light of the world and John 1:4 says that in Jesus was life and the power
to bestow life and the life was the Light of men.
A pertinent point to note from Romans 8:3 is that the flesh refers to man’s
nature without the blessed Holy Spirit. It is mentioned in Galatians 5:17 that
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the flesh or sinful nature (man’s nature without the blessed Holy Spirit) is opposed
to the Holy Spirit and vice versa. They are in direct opposition to each other
As such, these New Testament scriptures verified that Jesus of Nazareth had
fulfilled the Isaiah 42:6 Messianic credentials.
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While we were on the sixth trailhead of Isaiah 42:6, we unearthed 6 golden
nuggets.
In Luke 22:20, Jesus said that the cup of wine represented the New
Covenant that was ratified in His blood. 1 Corinthians 11:25 further
substantiates this.
Golden Nugget 3
Golden Nugget 4
In Romans 8:3, we find that the fault with the Old Covenant of Law was
that it could not overcome sin and remove its penalty and its power. In fact,
Hebrews 10:3 informs us that the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant
brought annual reminders of sins. However, under the New Covenant instituted
by Christ Jesus, God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering
for sin and He condemned sin in the flesh by subduing and overcoming it in the
person of His Own beloved Son as Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus Himself declared in John 8:12 that He is the Light of the world and
John 1:4 says that in Jesus was life and the power to bestow life and the life was
the Light of men.
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CHAPTER 10
SEVENTH TRAILHEAD
We have earlier seen that the trailhead of Isaiah 42:7 is about the Promised
Messiah opening blind eyes and bringing prisoners out of the prison of sin.
We have also identified the two Messianic credentials in this trailhead as follows:
1. The Promised Messiah will open blind eyes; and
2. He will brings prisoners out from the prison of sin.
We see that the seventh trailhead shares the same trail of Matthew 12:18-21
from the third trailhead. Hence, the gist of Matthew 12:18-21 is:
JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE HOPE OF THE

HELPLESS
Next, let’s see how Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the Isaiah 42:7 Messianic
credentials.
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We are depositing 5 nuggets of gold that we found while on the seventh
trailhead of Isaiah 42:7.
Golden Nugget 1
In Matthew 12:23, it was recorded that after Jesus restored the withered
hand of a man, the people began to wonder in amazement if Jesus of Nazareth was
the Messiah. The miraculous signs and wonders that Jesus of Nazareth performed
were for the specific purpose of opening the eyes of the people to the truth that He
was the Promised Messiah. We have also seen that from the moment Adam defied
God and ate the forbidden fruit, the process of both spiritual and physical death
was set in motion. Since then, mankind has been imprisoned by sin and subject
to its power and effects. The withered hand speaks of the effects of sin. By
restoring the withered hand, it signified the release of sinners from the prison of
sin.
Golden Nugget 2
As stated in John 10:23-25, “The works that Jesus did in the Father’s name
testified concerning Him. They were His credentials and the evidence declaring
who He was.” It was meant to open the eyes of people to recognize Him as the
Promised Messiah.
Golden Nugget 3 - 4
In Galatians 3:22, we see that it is Christ Jesus Who has released sinners
from the prison of sin. 1 Peter 3:18-20 also put on record that Christ Jesus
preached to the spirits in prison.
Golden Nugget 5
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From Matthew 12:18-21, we saw that Jesus of Nazareth is the hope of sinners
who are hopelessly because they have been imprisoned by sin.
Hence, these New Testament scriptures verified that Jesus of Nazareth has
fulfilled the Isaiah 42:7 Messianic credentials.
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CHAPTER 11
CONCLUSION
We have come quite a long way since we started to explore the first Marker
of Isaiah 42:1-7. Along the way, we collected a total of 38 golden nuggets of New
Testament scriptures that verified the fulfilment of the Isaiah 42:1-7 Messianic
credentials by Jesus of Nazareth.
Let us take a quick look at how much distance we have covered.
Click HERE to see enlarge map.
We started with the Marker and covered the overview of the seven
trailheads. Then, we proceeded to explore each trailhead in detail, digging five
levels deep into the maze of referencing. Through it all, we have witnessed for
ourselves how Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled each and every Messiah credential
in Isaiah 42:1-7.
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I speak for myself. I am not perfect. I am the recipient of the mercy and
grace of God. I am still very much a work-in-progress; the workmanship of God
until the Lord Jesus returns. By now, you would have probably noticed that from
the diction and examples I used in this volume.
I am sure this series could have been better expressed. But it was my best
shot. While every effort has been made to ensure that it is free from errors, I
might have missed it here and there. I would therefore like to appeal to your kind
patience and understanding. Should you detect any lapses, kindly drop me a note
HERE so that appropriate follow-up actions can be taken wherever appropriate
and practicable.
If you would like to support this series on “The Messianic Credentials”,

you may do so by clicking lkweric.
As your heart is being enriched by these golden truth of evidence, may 3

John 2 manifest in your life.
“Beloved, I pray that in every way you may

succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically],
just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].”
The following is a breakdown of the 38 nuggets of golden truth that we

picked up from this first Marker of Isaiah 42:1-7:
S/N Trailheads Golden Nuggets
1 Isaiah 42:1 12
2 Isaiah 42:2 3
3 Isaiah 42:3 5
4 Isaiah 42:4 3
5 Isaiah 42:5 4
6 Isaiah 42:6 6
7 Isaiah 42:7 5
TOTAL 38
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In closing, let us look at the snapshot of the Messianic credentials found in
the first Messianic prophecy.
S/N Trailheads Messianic Credentials
1 Isaiah 42:1 God will identify the Promised Messiah
2 Isaiah 42:2 Keep a low profile
3 Isaiah 42:3 Meek and gentle and faithful to His purpose
4 Isaiah 42:4 Persevere through intense opposition to accomplish

His mission
5 Isaiah 42:5 God is the Source of the Messianic Authority
6 Isaiah 42:6 The Saviour of the world
7 Isaiah 42:7 Open blind eyes and bring prisoners out of the
prison of sin
Let us also take stock of the golden nuggets that we have deposited in the
treasury of the heart.
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Your Heart of Treasury: Summary of Verification
This is a summary of New Testament scriptural evidence of the fulfilment

of each and every Isaiah 42:1-7 Messianic credential by Jesus of Nazareth. It also
serves as a checklist of the treasures you have deposited in the treasury of your
heart.
Once again, in the words of Jesus Himself as recorded in Matthew 6:19-2:
19 “DO
NOT STORE UP FOR
YOURSELVES [MATERIAL] TREASURES ON
EARTH, WHERE MOTH AND RUST DESTROY,
AND WHERE THIEVES BREAK IN AND
STEAL. 20 BUT STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES
TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WHERE NEITHER
MOTH NOR RUST DESTROYS, AND WHERE
THIEVES DO NOT BREAK IN AND STEAL; 21 FOR
WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR
HEART [YOUR WISHES, YOUR DESIRES; THAT
ON WHICH YOUR LIFE CENTERS] WILL BE ALSO.
I sincerely believe that as we make the reading and studying of the written
Word of God our stable diet, we will be enriched from within and 3 John 2 will
manifest gradually from 30-fold, to 60-fold, and finally, 100-fold as stated in Mark
4:20.
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First Trailhead - Isaiah 42:1
We collected a total of 12 golden nuggets from the first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1.
From the 1st trail of Matthew 3:16 of the first trailhead of Isaiah 42:1, we
managed to pick up seven lumps of golden evidence testifying to Jesus of Nazareth
having fulfilled the Isaiah 52:13 Messianic credentials:
Golden Nugget 1
When we compare the Messianic credentials with the written testimony of
Matthew 3:16, it is evident that Jesus of Nazareth satisfied the Messianic
credential of God putting His Spirit upon the Promised Messiah. This is what the
footnote to Matthew 3:16 is also saying. As such, Matthew 3:16 verified the
fulfillment of the fourth Messianic credential of Isaiah 42:1 by the beloved Son of
God in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth.
Golden Nugget 2
The written testimony of John 1:32 also verified that Jesus of Nazareth
satisfied the Messianic credential of God putting His Spirit upon the Promised
Messiah. This is what the footnote to the verse is also saying. Earlier on, we saw
in Matthew 3:16 a similar testimony. 2 Corinthians 13:1 states that “In the
mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word shall be established.” Thus far,
we have two written testimonial of the Spirit of God being put upon Jesus of
Nazareth. And the words “put upon” is explained by John 1:32 to mean “remain
within”. It reminds me of a song entitled, “Within You’ll Remain”. This song was
made popular by Tokyo Square, a Singaporean band, way back in the 1980s’.
Golden Nugget 3
While we were at the first checkpoint of Matthew 3:13-17, we saw God the
Father openly declared Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son in Whom He is well-
pleased. As we have established in the beginning, the word “uphold” means to
confirm and support. By that, it was inferred that God will confirm the identity
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of the Promised Messiah when He appears. Since God has confirmed and declared
Jesus of Nazareth to be the Promised Messiah, it is clear that He is the Chosen
One of God.
Golden Nugget 4
We have also seen from Matthew 3:15 that by the act of water baptism, Jesus
identified Himself with sinners whose sins He would ultimately bear on the Cross.
He the Innocent would be punished for the guilty as written in 1 Peter 3:18. By
His sacrificial death, He paid for the penalty of sins and thereby brought justice
to the world.
Golden Nugget 5
In Mark 1:9, we saw Jesus identifying Himself with the lowly both physically
and spiritually through water baptism to eventually bear the sin of the world. By
so doing, He brought forth justice to the world as sin has been punished in His
body. Therefore, Mark 1:9 testified to Jesus of Nazareth having fulfilled the fifth
Messianic credential in Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 6
Mark 1:11 is another testimony of God declaring Jesus as His beloved Son and
it again testified to Jesus of Nazareth having fulfilled the first three Messianic
credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 7
We have earlier seen that Luke 3:22 is another testimony of God declaring
Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son. Hence, the verse verified that Jesus of
Nazareth had fulfilled the first three Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
From the second trail of Matthew 3:17 from the first trailhead of
Isaiah 42:1, we collected another 5 golden nuggets.

Golden Nugget 1
While we were at the second checkpoint of Hebrews 1:5, we witnessed from
Hebrews 1:3-6 how Jesus of Nazareth has brought forth justice to the world by
offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Hence, Hebrews 1:3-6
verified that Jesus of Nazareth has fulfilled the fifth Messianic credential of
Isaiah 42:1.
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Golden Nugget 2
When we visited the third checkpoint of Hebrews 3:5, we saw how Ephesians
2:8-9 verified that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the fifth Messianic credential of
Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 3
At the fifth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:17, we read of how Peter saw the glory of
Jesus of Nazareth as the beloved Son of God. It was God upholding or confirming
His Son as the Promised Messiah. By the transfiguration of Jesus of Nazareth, it
is clear that He had fulfilled the first four Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 4
On the path of Matthew 17:5, we saw God the Father openly declared Jesus
of Nazareth as His beloved Son in Whom He is well-pleased for the second time.
It was God upholding His Son as the Promised Messiah. With confirmation and
declaration by God, it is clear that Jesus of Nazareth was the Chosen One of God.
Therefore, Matthew 17:5 verified that Jesus of Nazareth had fulfilled the first
three Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
Golden Nugget 5
Finally, at the sixth checkpoint of 2 Peter 1:18, we witnessed how Peter testified
to hearing God declared Jesus of Nazareth as His beloved Son and it again testified
to Jesus having fulfilled the first three Messianic credentials of Isaiah 42:1.
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Second Trailhead - Isaiah 42:2
We managed to pick up three nuggets of gold from the second trailhead of

Isaiah 42:2.
Golden Nugget 1
As can be seen from Mark 1:34, Jesus drove out many demons but would not
allow the demons to speak, because they recognized Him as the Son of God.
Golden Nugget 2
Golden Nugget 3
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Third Trailhead - Isaiah 42:3
We are deposited five nuggets of gold after completing the third trailhead
of Isaiah 42:3.
Golden Nugget 4
In Matthew 11:29, Jesus Himself cried out to all who were weary and heavily
burdened to come to Him because He is gentle and humble in heart.
Golden Nugget 5
We have just seen from Matthew 12:23 that Jesus healed the withered hand
of a man and as a result, the people of Israel began to wonder in amazement if
Jesus of Nazareth could be the Messiah. A withered hand is a picture of a battered
reed and a smoldering wick. It speaks of the helplessness of sinners who are
imprisoned and controlled by sin. It also shows the sinfulness of sin; how sin
adversely affects the life of a sinner. Sinners cannot help themselves to get out of
that prison of sin and its effects. Only Jesus the Christ can lead sinners to victory.
Although the religious leaders of His day rejected Him as the Promised Messiah,
He was faithful and obedient unto death on the Cross to fulfill His mission.
Therefore, Matthew 12:7-21 which is set in the context of the spiritual leaders of
Israel rejecting Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah was a demonstration
of the faithfulness of Jesus to His Messianic purpose.
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Fourth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:4
We found three golden nuggets from the fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4.
Golden Nugget 1
In Philippians 3:18, we see the continuation of the intense opposition of
Christ Jesus even in this present age and time.
Golden Nugget 2
In Acts 2:33, we saw that the mission to give the gift of the indwelling Holy
Spirit has been accomplished.
Golden Nugget 3
The next mission of redeeming the physical body will surely happen as written
in Philippians 3:20-21.
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Fifth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:5
We picked up four golden nuggets while on the trail of Isaiah 42:5.
Golden Nugget 1
We have just seen how John 1:1-4 verified God to be the Source of the
Messianic authority as well as the Source of all life.
Golden Nugget 2
And of course, the very beginning of the Bible made it clear in Genesis 1:1
that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
Golden Nuggets 3 – 4
In John 5:19 and John 12:49, Jesus Himself revealed that everything He did and
said were authorized by God the Father.
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Sixth Trailhead - Isaiah 42:6
While we were on the sixth trailhead of Isaiah 42:6, we unearthed six

golden nuggets.
In Luke 22:20, Jesus said that the cup of wine represented the New
Covenant that was ratified in His blood. 1 Corinthians 11:25 further
substantiates this.
Golden Nugget 3
Golden Nugget 4
In Romans 8:3, we find that the fault with the Old Covenant of Law was
that it could not overcome sin and remove its penalty and its power. In fact,
Hebrews 10:3 informs us that the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant
brought annual reminders of sins. However, under the New Covenant instituted
by Christ Jesus, God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering
for sin and He condemned sin in the flesh by subduing and overcoming it in the
person of His Own beloved Son as Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus Himself declared in John 8:12 that He is the Light of the world and John
1:4 says that in Jesus was life and the power to bestow life and the life was the
Light of men.
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Seventh Trailhead - Isaiah 42:7
Finally, we made our last deposit of five golden nuggets when we completed
the seventh and last trailhead of Isaiah 42:7.
Golden Nugget 1
In Matthew 12:23, it was recorded that after Jesus restored the withered
hand of a man, the people began to wonder in amazement if Jesus of Nazareth was
the Messiah. The miraculous signs and wonders that Jesus of Nazareth performed
were for the specific purpose of opening the eyes of the people to the truth that He
was the Promised Messiah. We have also seen that from the moment Adam defied
God and ate the forbidden fruit, the process of both spiritual and physical death
was set in motion. Since then, mankind has been imprisoned by sin and subject
to its power and effects. The withered hand speaks of the effects of sin. By
restoring the withered hand, it signified the release of sinners from the prison of
sin.
Golden Nugget 2
As stated in John 10:23-25, “The works that Jesus did in the Father’s name
testified concerning Him. They were His credentials and the evidence declaring
who He was.” It was meant to open the eyes of people to recognize Him as the
Promised Messiah.
Golden Nugget 3 - 4
In Galatians 3:22, we see that it is Christ Jesus Who has released sinners
from the prison of sin. 1 Peter 3:18-20 also put on record that Christ Jesus
preached to the spirits in prison.
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Golden Nugget 5
From Matthew 12:18-21, we saw that Jesus of Nazareth is the hope of sinners
who are hopelessly because they have been imprisoned by sin.
In the final close, if you have enjoyed this second volume of “The Messianic
Credentials” series, I would like to welcome you to complete the entire series.
But if for some reasons you choose not to, I would like to take this opportunity to
thank you for your fellowship with me through the written Word of Elohim.
May we be encompassed by the everlasting love of our loving Father God Who
loved us from before antiquity.
Page | 126
CHAPTER 12
UNWRAP THE LOVE GIFT
If you have not received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, THE
ONLY GATEWAY to the reunion with God the loving Father, may I invite you to
make this confession (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12):
“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. Today, I
receive your gift of salvation. I trust you as my personal Lord and Saviour.
I believe you are the beloved Son of God who died on the cross for my sins
and rose from the dead on the third day to acquit me from all divine charges.
Thank you for paying my sin debt and satisfying the demands of divine
justice with Your Precious Blood. In You, I now stand before God the loving
Father as His beloved child. Amen!”
Right this very moment, all of heaven rejoices over you (Luke 15:4-7; Luke
15: 22-24). When the Lord has set you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36)!
One of the areas that I have been set free from is that of approval addiction.
I have come to realize that it is perhaps one of the most common tool of
manipulation. This does not mean I do not heed sound advice (Psalm 1:1-6).
But with the approval of God the loving Father, that addiction can get behind me.
Along with the many members of the Body of Christ, we are accepted in the
beloved; Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:5-7, NKJV).
Welcome to the big family of loving Daddy God! He loves you!
Page | 127

The Messianic Series - Vol 2 - God Promise Concerning His Servant

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The Messianic Series - Vol 2 - God Promise Concerning His Servant

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Contents

In this second volume, we will look at the first

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“GRACE AND TRUTH CAME IN THE PERSON

In this second volume, we will be looking at God’s Promise Concerning

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“THE WORKS THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH DID IN

“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”

“THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IN THE SON OF GOD HAS THE

“HE WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE SON OF GOD BY

There is a need for the heart to be convinced or convicted. As 2

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LEARNER AND A

It brings to mind the question of whether a person comes to the Lord to

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1st trailhead – Isaiah 42:1

Taken in its entirety, the crux of Isaiah 42:1 is:

“GOD WILL IDENTIFY THE PROMISED MESSIAH.”

The second to fourth trailhead describes the Promised Messiah.

“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL KEEP A LOW

The third trailhead of Isaiah 42:3 continues to describe the Promised

According to the verse, He will not break a broken reed or extinguish a

“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL BE MEEK AND

The fourth trailhead of Isaiah 42:4 is yet another continuation of the

The Promised Messiah would not be disheartened or crushed. It suggests

“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL PERSEVERE

“ELOHIM IS THE SOURCE OF THE MESSIANIC

The two basic tenets are:

1. Covenant to Israel; and

“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL BE A

The last two basic tenets are:

With that in mind, the nub of Isaiah 42:7 is:

“THE PROMISED MESSIAH WILL OPEN BLIND

Let us now summarize what we have seen so far.

Next, let us explore the first trail of Matthew 3:16.

Matthew 3:16 is set in the context passage of Matthew 3:13-17 which

JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD

JOHN THE BAPTIST SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD

The track of John 1:32 points to the following four checkpoints:

Let us have a closer look at the context passage first.

JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED TO

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Therefore, the crux of the verse is:

“JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED BY

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“THE VISIBLE HEAVEN OPENED AS JESUS WAS

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GOD THE FATHER AUDIBLY DECLARING JESUS

WHAT IS THE MESSAGE CONCERNING CHRIST?

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JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS WATER BAPTIZED BY

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The verse is about:

GOD DECLARING JESUS OF NAZARETH AS HIS

Next, let us checkout the third checkpoint of Luke 3:22

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The heart of the verse is:

GOD DECLARED JESUS AS HIS BELOVED SON

Let us visit the fourth and last checkpoint of Luke 3:23.

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JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE PROMISED SEED

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The thrust of this verse is: