ROOTED - Saturday, May 2, 2026

Isaiah 43:18, 19

18 “Remember not the former things,

    nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

    and rivers in the desert.

Reflection: I Make All Things New…

Written By:
Pastor Jesse Caro

I have not hidden my opinion that The Passion of the Christ
is the best Christian movie ever made. I don’t really, in one sense, consider
it a movie as much as a work of art… a mostly faithful and artistic depiction
of Christ death. In the film, Jesus is going to the cross and stumbles. Mary is
just a few yards away and she rushes to Christ aid, even as the film cuts to an
earlier time in Christ life where he falls and runs to his aid (Mary, no doubt,
was a loving mother). By Jesus’ side, bearing the heavy weight of the cross,
Jesus says to Mary, “Mother, behold I make all things new!” Though this is
certainly not in the Bible, I like the addition. Jesus does say these words in
Revelation 21:5:  And he who was
seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new. So, while
Jesus did not say it at the point of his crucifixion, I appreciate that Mel
Gibson (the director of The Passion) implies that the cross was part of Christ’
making-all-things-new work.

Isaiah says the same basic thing about the Messianic work. Isaiah
tells us that the work of God in the Messiah is a new thing. Forget the old
thing… it is passed away. “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” Isaiah prophesies
these words which apply to both the Messianic work on the cross (Mel Gibson is
certainly correct here) and the future work of the Messiah at Jesus’ second
coming. Isaiah had no way of knowing that, of course. The early Jewish reader
would have assumed the Messiah did all the work of God at one time (this
explains why they believed Jesus would establish his reign right then and
there). It is helpful for us now, looking backwards, to appreciate that the
Messianic work of Christ (the making-all-things-new work of God) is something
that happened (at the death and resurrection) and will happen in its finality in
the future (The second coming, where Jesus makes a new heaven and new earth). I,
for one, am glad to be in on it! How about you!?

Prayer

Lord,
thank you for giving us a new heart, even as we wait for you to complete your
work and make a new heaven and a new earth.