#DailyDevotion Jesus Is The Hope Of The Nations
Romans 158I tell you Christ became a servant to the Jews to do what God promised the fathers — showing that He tells the truth — 9and to have the other nations praise God for His mercy, as it is written: For this I will praise You among the nations and sing to honor Your name. 10And again: Be happy, you other nations, with His own people! 11And again: All you nations, praise the Lord, and all the people should praise Him. 12Again, Isaiah says: Jesse will have the Descendant Who will rise to rule the nations, and He will be the Hope of the nations. 13The God of hope fill you with perfect happiness and peace as you believe, to make you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We see in these verse God’s faithfulness and how the Bible, the Old Testament in particular encourages us and gives us hope. Jesus would tell in the gospels how the Law, the prophets and the writings were fulfilled in him. This is basically what St. Paul is saying in verse eight, Jesus did what God had promised the fathers. An anointed one had come. The seed of the woman has crushed the head of the serpent. Abraham’s seed was offered to God as a substituted and all nations of the earth are blessed through him. Judah retained the scepter as Christ ascends to the right hand of the Father. David has a seed who will rule forever on his throne. The servant is crushed for our transgressions. We regarded him as stricken, smitten and afflicted by God. He rose from the dead never to die again. By his blood a new covenant is made by God with Israel and the world that the LORD would call us his people and not remember our sins anymore. In Jesus we see God tells the truth.
As Paul developed the theme in chapters nine and ten and as he describes it even more in his letter to the Ephesians, the nations, the Goy, you and me, praise God for his mercy shown them in Christ Jesus. Paul then quotes the scriptures which speak of this day. Jesus is the praise and glory of God from the nations and he is the hope of the nations. For in Jesus the nations are grafted into Jesus who is the true Israel. Through baptism the nations of the world are joined with Christ Jesus and made the people of God, Abraham’s seed, his descendents. As Jesus prophesied he has raised up from stones children for Abraham. All who believe and baptized now have the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel as their own. They are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus of the kingdom of God.
Since such is the case, the Father is called the God of hope. Hope is a joyful and confident expectation of what is promised. Christ having fulfilled all that God has promised gives us the hope of the things promised in and through Christ his son. He is the basis of how we are to be filled with all gladness or “perfect happiness.” Our joy is made complete in him. His promises of forgiveness, a kingdom, the resurrection to eternal life, seeing God is that which our gladness or happiness. Our faith in Jesus is what gives us this peace Paul prays for us. It is a peace knowing that God is for us and not against us. It is a peace knowing, no matter what we are experiencing, God has been reconciled to us in Christ and at his appearing everything will work out for us. Jesus by the Holy Spirit has us overflowing with hope. Not overflowing with hope? Go back and read the promises fulfilled by Christ and his promises to you.
O God of all hope, fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may be filled with all gladness and peace all the days of our life in Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.