Sermon Tone Analysis

I read a story one time about Charles de Gaulle, a former president of France.

He led France during World War 2 and was the preeminent French politician for 30 years.

de Gaulle was a very serious man.

When you spend your entire adult life fighting the Nazis I suppose you learn to be pretty straight-edged.

Anyway, one time a French diplomat came to say farewell to the president as the diplomat was being reassigned, and he said, “Mr.

President, I am filled with joy at my new appointment.”

De Gaulle, in his own hard-line way, replied, “Monsieur, you are a career diplomat.

Joy is an inappropriate emotion in your profession.”

We’re talking about joy today.

You can go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 35 which starts on page 401 of the pew Bible.

And I want to say the exact opposite of President de Gaulle to you: “Christian, you are a career diplomat of heaven.

Joy is exactly the appropriate emotion in your profession.”

Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of the heart when the King is in residence there.

As disciples of Jesus, we have the privilege of being joyful in all things.

Even the painful things, even in suffering, even when the world is crashing — because of the restorative acts of God through Jesus.

Here’s our big idea from Isaiah 35, and in it is the source of our joy:

Big Idea

By the redemption accomplished in Jesus the Christ, God is restoring the cursed creation and suffering humanity to their original purposes.

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The first question of the Westminster Catechism is this:

What is the chief end of man?

That is, what is our purpose, why are we here, what is our aim in life?

What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Through the redemption accomplished by Jesus, God is restoring us to that purpose.

And as we — and all of creation — are restored to that purpose, we will exude joy as we walk the road of life.

Let’s read Isaiah 35:

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Isaiah 35:1–10 CSB

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower.

It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees!

Say to the cowardly: “Be strong; do not fear!

Here is your God; vengeance is coming.

God’s retribution is coming; he will save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;

the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land, springs.

In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus.

A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way.

The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path.

Fools will not wander on it.

There will be no lion there, and no vicious beast will go up on it; they will not be found there.

But the redeemed will walk on it,

and the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy.

Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

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Creation Transformed: From Sterile Desert to Fruitful Garden

We live in a world that is constantly groaning under the weight of human sin.

When Adam fell into sin in the garden of Eden, God cursed the garden and the world just as He cursed mankind.

Where there were once glorious blooms, now grew thorns and thistles.

Praise the Lord that, by His grace, He allowed a great deal of beauty to remain — we can still see sunsets, flowers, stars, and rainbows, but all of those are under the curse.

We’ve never seen a redeemed sunset through redeemed eyes.

Isaiah, throughout his book, refers to this corruption, the results of this curse, as a fertile field that has been turned into a wasteland.

The transformation of the very good Earth of Genesis 1 to the cursed desert is part of the penalty for human sin.

Paul says in Romans 8 that all creation is groaning all the time under the weight of this bondage to decay.

It’s waiting, like a woman in labor, to be remade for its original purpose.

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But more painful than the curse of the land is the curse upon humanity itself.

Our bodies are subject to disease that attacks organs and bodily functions.

Eyes that were created to see the glory of God’s light go blind; ears that were created to hear the various sounds of God’s creation go deaf; legs that were crafted with strength and flexibility become paralyzed.

Hands that were designed to work the earth and provide compassionate touch become weak and frail.

But more painful even than that, is the curse that corrupts our minds so that they are filled constantly sinful thoughts.

The curse of death upon our hearts so that they delight in evil instead of God’s goodness.

The sin of Adam and, by its generation, our sin has done unfathomable damage to to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

But Isaiah 35 is a poem that stands as a glorious prophecy of God’s intention to transform this cursed world through Christ.

In Isaiah 2 and Isaiah 11, we’ve seen the prophecy of transformation already: weapons, economies, social orders, animals.

Isaiah 35 steps up and says, “The whole world and everything in it will be changed.

So be strong, don’t fear.

It starts with the transformation of creation: the desert of decay will rejoice and blossom like a rose, singing praise songs to the God of salvation.

What was formerly marred by human sin is now lavishly replenished.

Every piece of the restored earth will forever proclaim the glory of God.

When we take steps in the new earth, it will radiate with the glory of God in Jesus Christ to a degree that no sun will be needed for light.

At last, Isaiah says, the earth will liberated from her bondage to decay.

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People Transformed: From Cursed Weakness to Blessed Strength

But just as the curse of humanity is more painful than the curse of creation, so will humanity’s renewal be so much more joyous.

The consummation of Isaiah 35 promises physical perfection for every redeemed human being.

Blind eyes, deaf ears, lame legs, and mute tongues are no more.

Death will be abolished.

Isaiah promises that every single human being will function as God intended in creation; joy will fill their hearts and their mouths will erupt in praise for God, verse 6, as they look on a universe redeemed from the same curse they were under — water flowing where once was desert.

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The Transforming Event: “Your God Is Coming to Save You”

Of course, Isaiah’s words go so far beyond anything that happened in the Old Testament.

Even when the exiles returned from Babylon, rebuilt the temple, and rebuilt the city — it was clear that the glorious restoration that Isaiah prophesied had not yet come.

In fact, many of the returned exiles were disappointed with the restoration — we saw that in the prophet Haggai.

The physical restoration of the remnant to Jerusalem fell short of the promises here.

The people were still waiting for that transformative event; the physical exile was over, but we were still exiles spiritually.

The words of Isaiah 35:1–7 were looking ahead to a moment in history where everything changed and glory was ushered into a broken world, when heaven would come to us: verse 4, “Here is your God…He will save you.”

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Jesus the Christ is the Yes and Amen of the promise of Isaiah 35, his birth was the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of darkness.

There’s a reason that Jesus pointed John the Baptizer back to this Scripture when he asked whether or not Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus replies, go and see!

Matthew 11:5 CSB

The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,

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In Jesus, our God has come to save us.

By his wondrous ministry he began restoring fallen humanity.

He caused the blind to see while on earth and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the blind are made to see the light of Jesus for salvation.

Jesus caused the deaf to hear and the Holy Spirit now opens ears deaf to the call of the gospel and allows them to hear of saving grace.

Jesus loosed the tongues of the mute and now, by the Spirit, our tongues are loosed to proclaim the freedom from sin wrought by the death and resurrection of our Savior!

O, for a thousand tongues to sing/My great Redeemer’s praise

The glories of my God and King/The triumphs of his grace

My gracious Master and my God/Assist me to proclaim

To spread through all the earth abroad/the honors of thy name

Jesus the name that calms my fears/that bids my sorrows cease