Advent
Isaiah 35:1–10
Is. 35:1–10
1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. 3Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus: That's a wonderful promise, a blessed promise, a reason for singing and dancing. But it assumes a desert. For this to be good news, there must first be a dry and barren wilderness. A desert of scorched sand and rock. A place where the wind blows and erodes the soil, quickly covering over any roads. A place where only wild animals, lions, jackals, scorpions and deadly snakes dwell. Such a place is uninhabitable by humans. They cannot survive there. It is a place without water; a place of scorching sun; a place of dry bones and old skeletons, a place of death.
This is the biblical concept of a wilderness. This is the Hebrew understanding of a desert. For us today, we may not be able to grasp the full significance of a biblical wilderness. With modern construction and materials, air conditioning, modern modes of transportation and the ability to bring in water from hundreds of miles away, we don't fully comprehend the deadly nature of a desert wilderness. But the Hebrews knew it well. For 40 years they wandered in the wilderness, sometimes starving without food, sometimes parched and dry mouths, sometimes overcome by the heat of the sun. They learned to trust completely on the Lord. They learned how small and weak we humans are and how utterly dependent we are on God's mercy. They knew just how close to death they were at every step along the way. And they saw firsthand the power of God as he miraculously provided them with food and water.
There are other wildernesses in the Bible. The wilderness where Elijah, the prophet, lived with only the bare necessities of life. The wilderness where John the Baptist lived with only locusts and wild honey to eat and camel's hair for clothing. The wilderness concept was a place of suffering, temptation, and death.
The most important wilderness was the wilderness where Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days. Here we see it fully as a place of temptation and suffering, a place which fully shows what life in Satan's kingdom is all about. Here, in the wilderness of sin and death, Jesus overcame Satan. Jesus went into the wilderness to face our enemy and defeat temptation. Here in this wilderness Jesus won the battle between man and Satan which Adam, in a garden, lost. This is the most crucial wilderness of all, because what Jesus did in this wilderness is more important for your salvation than what you do in your life in the wilderness of this earth.
So where is the true biblical wilderness? It is inside ourselves. It is our darkened and cold hearts. It is our lives in this world with its constant temptations, and with lusts and desires, with suffering and grief. In the wilderness of our heart Satan tempts just as he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Yes, life in this world is a wilderness where we live filled with turmoil, strife, and greed. This is a wilderness where we are never more than one step from death. Where everything deteriorates and dries up. Where we will all suffer illness, old age and eventually die and our bodies decay back into the dust of the earth. Mankind has lived in the wilderness from the day that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden into the wilderness and an angel was placed at the door to make sure they could never return to the garden.
So here we sit in futility and wait with eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God. Not just us, but the whole creation groans together in the pains of childbirth until now. The desert longs for an oasis. The dry land for water. The wilderness for the blossom of life. Here we are without hope and without God in this world, separated from God and his kingdom, strangers and aliens to the covenants of promise. (Rom 8; Eph 2).
We are like a carcass covered by the blowing sand in the desert. We are by nature dead in our trespasses and sins. We are by nature enemies of God. By nature we are under the wrath and condemnation of God and his most terrible punishment. And there is nothing we can do about it. Because a dead carcass lying in the desert can do nothing to save himself.
But now hear this! The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus. That means you. That means the desert of sorrow and suffering in which you live will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That means that your own personal desert of sinful lusts and thoughts inside you will become renewed and cleansed and will blossom like the crocus. That means there is liberation from the desert. There is salvation. As God performed powerful signs to the Israelites in the wilderness, so he has performed powerful signs to you: the sign of the cross. The sign of baptism and Communion. Signs that tell you of his deliverance from all sin and evil and death. We wait and long for our redemption, our deliverance from the wilderness of sin. Surely it will come for the Lord has spoken. Surely it is near at hand. Jesus teaches us to pray for this deliverance by praying: "Thy kingdom come," and "deliver us from evil."
The day will come. The Day of the Lord when we shall be delivered from this dry land of death and given life, like a desert when it rains and the flowers bloom and the rivers flow.
Therefore, be strong and do not faint. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to one another, "be strong; fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." Encourage one another. Lift up one another when they stumble. Strengthen one another when some are weak. Because we have the faith, the hope, and the love and know what the outcome will be. Our suffering and death will end. Your desert shall be watered with the waters of baptism. New life will blossom forth from the dry land in your heart. You shall be made children of the Most High. As James says in the Epistle lesson, "The coming of the Lord is at hand...remain steadfast in suffering and patience."
In the day of the Lord, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped and the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy. This day has already begun. John sent his messengers to ask Jesus if he was the one that was to come. Jesus responded, "Go, tell John what you see and hear taking place. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them." John knew this prophecy in Isaiah 35. So when he saw what Jesus was doing he knew that this prophecy was being fulfilled. Jesus is the one who fulfills it. Jesus is the water that breaks forth in the wilderness. He is the stream of living water in the desert. He is the pool of living water that cools the burning sand and he is the spring of living water that gives life to the thirsty ground. What Isaiah had foretold 700 years before, now has come true.
With the coming of Jesus the new era begins. The day of the Lord is inaugurated. By his healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and cleansing the leper he began his work of transforming the desert. By his raising the dead he began the work of bringing life to the wilderness of death. By his standing up to Satan in the wilderness of temptation, he began his work of freeing us from temptation. By his death on the cross he paid for your sin and the wilderness of sin that dwells in your heart has been forgiven. By his resurrection he has brought life to the wilderness; he has promised that you will be raised to eternal life. By his ascension he sits at the right hand of the Father to continue his task, to continue watering the dry land and causing life to spring up until the time is complete and all things are placed under his feet in heaven and on earth. In baptism he waters your soul and begins your journey on the Highway of Holiness to live and walk in the holiness of God. By Holy Communion he keeps you on the Highway of Holiness until you reach the Father on the day when all things are completed.
Jesus is the Highway of Holiness. We enter on that highway through the gates of Baptism. The unclean shall not pass over it. Those who walk in sin and unrighteousness shall not pass there. But the ransomed of the Lord walk there in holiness and shall not go astray because through his Word he will guide your footsteps and keep you on the way with his body and blood in Holy Communion.
This is the Highway through the wilderness, but not in the wilderness. For on this highway no lion shall be, nor any ravenous beast, nor jackals, nor scorpion, nor rattlesnake or cobra. But only the redeemed shall walk there.
And by this highway the ransomed of the Lord shall return to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be upon your heads. You shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Amen.