Isaiah 40:1–11

Advent Midweek 2

Waiting with Comfort (Peace)

Isaiah 40:1–11

Sermon Outline

God Gives Comforting Words to His Waiting People.

I. He gives the double word, "Comfort, comfort," of restoration from captivity.

II. He gives word of comfort from death in what the Babe of Bethlehem did.

Sermon

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (vv 1–2)

Advent is a time of waiting and preparation or repentance for the coming of Christ. Through the prophet Isaiah,

God Gives Comforting Words

to His Waiting People;

Words of Peace

I.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned" (vv 1–2). God himself spoke these words of peace to Isaiah. These words of comfort and peace were particularly encouraging for the children of Israel during the lowest point in their national history—while enslaved far from home as captives in Babylon (present-day Iraq). The cities and towns of Israel were destroyed along with Jerusalem and the temple. The prophet Ezekiel tells of a chilling vision shown him by the Lord God in which he saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple. The presence of the Lord and his loving kindness and forgiveness was no longer present among God's people. No temple and thus no liturgy in which the Lord God was present with his mercy atoning for the sins of the people. This is why the musicians refused to sing liturgical hymns when their captors in Babylon demanded, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" Instead, they sang what is now Psalm 137: "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs. . . . How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?" (137:1–3, 4). Liturgical music could not be sung in a foreign land while the temple was in ruins and the glory of the Lord absent.

And Israel is a picture of us today. We, the people of God, are the true Israel. And we, just as Israel, often live in Babylonian captivity. Captivity to sin and death. We are corrupt flesh, sinful by nature. Our thoughts and attitudes are sinful. We are lacking in love for one another. We doubt God and lack trust in his help. We are reluctant to help our neighbor. We are self-centered and jealously defend our turf; our possessions, our times, our ease and comfort instead of honoring others and considering others to be greater than we. These attitudes, these thoughts of self-righteousness; the thoughts of our heart God sees and knows. There is no escaping the eyes of a holy God. He knows our shallow and cold hearts.

And so just as the glory of God had departed from Jerusalem, and the Israelites were far from God in a godless country, so often because of our sinful thoughts and attitudes the glory of God has departed from our souls too. And we become exiles in a godless world and life.

But God does not abandon his children, as he did not abandon the Israelites.

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." The Lord repeats himself: "Comfort, comfort!" Comfort is a Gospel word, and once is never enough with the Gospel. It is a message of peace. Comfort ye, comfort ye, God is at peace with you. The Gospel is always more than we expect, desire, need, or deserve. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her" (v 1). Liberation comes through the word, through the comforting, tenderly spoken words that her "warfare is ended," that peace is restored, that soon her captivity in Babylon will be over. The words of liberation are not a command to organize an army of freedom fighters or terrorists to fill the streets of Babylon with innocent blood. Rather, the words of comfort deal with the deeper warfare and spiritual captivity of sin and death. "Cry to her . . . that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (vv 1–2). Double comfort (v 1) is the language of the Gospel. Double gifts (v 2) from the Lord for all her sins is the Gospel language of forgiveness. It is always more than we expect, desire, need, or deserve. It gives us peace, peace with God, peace within ourselves.

God calls them, and us, to repentance. To acknowledge their sins and separation from God and the sinfulness of our ways and desires and thoughts. Advent is a time for examining our sinful hearts and repenting.

To those who are repentant and turn their back on sin and seek righteousness, Isaiah goes on to describe their liberation and restoration with the picture of a king returning home from battle. Heralds are sent out ahead of him to announce his arrival and to urge all the people to get to work preparing the road on which the king will arrive, coming with his victorious army and traveling through the wilderness. The people are to prepare his way by undertaking a major highway project. Valleys raised, mountains made low, rough ground leveled, and rugged places made plain. This is a picture of repentance and turning your heart away from sin. This king is not simply another successful earthly monarch; it is the Lord God himself who is returning to Zion. The glory of the Lord had departed the temple, and now Isaiah proclaims: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken" (v 5). And so it came to pass that the people returned to Israel after seventy years in captivity. To the amazement of the Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Samaritans, and all flesh, the temple was rebuilt, the liturgy was restored. The worship of Israel was nothing other than God's people gathered in his name, in his presence, that is to say, where the glory of the Lord was truly present. At the very heart and center of the Lord's glory is the revealing and giving out of his mercy and forgiveness of sins.

If Israel and the nations living in the fifth century BC marveled at how an insignificant little nation such as Israel could survive amid the rise and fall of the super powers such as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, the greater surprise would come years later when a boy child from the insignificant tribe of Judah would be born to a young virgin named Mary. This is the ultimate meaning of Isaiah's prophecy: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Thus the evangelist St. John tells us: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father" (Jn 1:14).

A voice (that is, God) says, "Cry out." To which Isaiah responds, "What shall I cry?" Many a pastor has had this same conversation with God. The pastor prays, "What shall I cry? What shall I proclaim? What shall I say? There is only one place for the preacher to go for the answer—the text, the Word of God. The amazing thing is that when Isaiah said, "What shall I cry?" the answer was nothing other than Law and Gospel. To Israel, who was held captive by the most powerful nation on earth, the prophet Isaiah was given the following to say: "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass" (vv 6–7). We are all going to die. We all deserve hell and God's wrath. This does not sound very comforting, nor should it, because it is Law, not Gospel. Still, it is what God told Isaiah to say. No matter how powerful, wealthy, and successful you are, like the grass and flowers of the earth, you will die. But the Word of God stands forever, and he who created the world by his eternal Word also pardons your sins and gives you eternal life. "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Is 55:11).

Isaiah was told to preach Law and Gospel. As for the Gospel, or good tidings to Zion, God told Isaiah to shout it from a high mountain, that is, so everyone could hear the good news.

Get you up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

"Behold your God!" (v 9)

It is a frightening and dangerous thing for sinners to come into the presence of the holy Lord God. For Israel, as for those who repent of their sins, their her sins have been pardoned, forgiveness has been tenderly pronounced to her, her warfare is completed. God had restored peace. Thus it is good news, the Gospel, which says, "Do not be afraid" and "Behold your God!" He is once again here with you, Emmanuel, God with us, in our temple and liturgy and sacrifices. Yet the ultimate good tidings of which Isaiah spoke would take place when a virgin would conceive a son and call his name Immanuel (Is 7:14). On a humble mountain called Calvary, this Child would give his holy and divine life to atone for the sins of Israel and all nations. Thus Isaiah prophesied, "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it" (Is 2:2). Israel's warfare, Israel's punishment and captivity was completed, not because of her good works and righteousness, but on account of God's mercy—on account of the Lord's gracious words of promise. Likewise, our struggle in the captivity of sin and death is ended and completed, not because of our good works and righteousness, but because of what the babe of Bethlehem, Emmanuel, did and said on the mountain outside of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus cried out from the cross: Tetelestai. "It is finished," that is, "It is completed." With that, he "bowed his head and gave up his spirit" (Jn 19:30).

Christmas Day is coming. Like it or not, it is coming. Our preparation will not make it come sooner. It will come whether or not we are prepared. Of course, we will make preparations. The church has a lot of work to do before Christmas Day. Pastors, church musicians, organists, choirs, altar guilds, trustees will put in extra hours. Families will also make preparations, which include buying presents, cooking, organizing parties, and putting up decorations—all of which reflect the joy and thanksgiving that comes with such a glorious celebration. Nevertheless, our preparations do not make Christmas come. We prepare and celebrate because Christ is coming. He is coming for each one of us on the day of our death in this world. He is coming at the Last Day to raise the dead and judge all mankind. At the heart of our preparation is repentance. The King is entering his holy city. Our repentance does not cause his coming among us. The cause is none other than God's gracious nature. And when the King comes in great might, Isaiah then changes the metaphor to reveal just what kind of King he will be—a King unlike any other.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. (v 11)

Dear friends in Christ, behold your God, your King, your Good Shepherd, for this is your God, and his tender words to you this Advent night are "Be comforted; be comforted." Amen.