Advent 4

Introduction

What is in today’s Text.

We are in the Book of Isaiah, right at its most significant transition. Chapters 1-39 are prophecies of comfort to the people around Isaiah.

Assyrian Crisis.

Chapter 40 to the end are prophecies to the People of God who would go into Exile 70 years in the future. The exile to Babylon was a crisis for the psyche of the People of Israel. They knew as long as they inhabited the land they were God’s special people but the Exile is there eviction from the land completely and they are wondering if they have permanently lost the their status as God’s special people and if they would never see the arrival of promised Messiah.

The promised Messiah was going to bring a fuller revelation of God’s Character and a fuller expression of his kingdom that would encompass all nations. And now they did not know if they would ever get to see that.

So to those anxieties Isaiah prophecies that there would be a time of return to the land and the people would see the arrival of the Messiah and the kingdom.

Verse 1+2 [1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] 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.

So this Traumatized people who are away from their promised inheritance get first the Comfort of God’s word and the assurance of Pardon. They are not in Babylon because of bad luck or that God happens to be mean they are in Babylon because they refused to obey God’s commands. They worship false gods they had no moral compass, they would sleep around, take advantage of the poor, even sacrifice their children to idols. God would warn them and they refused to change and so they are in Babylon as a punishment, and now their sins are atoned for. They can return home.

[3] A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. [5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

So now that their sin is atoned for they can return home to the promise land. Babylon and Jerusalem are separated by some pretty rough terrain and so the Herald cries out, prep the way through the wilderness. A flattening of the ground and making the rough way smooth. And not only will the Israelites come on this high way to God’s glory but all people. All flesh will see it together.

[6] A voice says, “Cry!”And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

God calls out for someone to declare his word, and there are a series of three messages

[7] The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Message one. People are like grass, with a delicate beauty but also a lack of eternality. But God’s word is eternal.

[9] Go on 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!”

Second Utterance, In Jerusalem, and in Zion there will be a revelation of God, he will be made known. The Temple on mount Zion in the City of Jerusalem was the place where God would geographically dwell with his people, making Jerusalem the center of all Religious, Political, Economic and social life. Right before the exile God declares his divorce of the people and leaves the temple in a vision to Ezekiel, and then the temple is destroyed.

Bu the herald is declaring a new revelation of God. A greater revelation. Good news to the returning exiles.

[10] Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. [11] 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. (ESV)

At the time of the exile God dealt very strongly with his people. They were invaded by outside armies and taken into slavery. Now is the time God will gather them as a shepherd, at his bosom. This is a caring and Pastoral image of God.

Main Point: The Advent Season should help us learn how to await Jesus first coming as practice for the Joyous second arrival fo Christ.

So the editors of our Lectionary thought this OT passage would be a the right way to help us prepare for Christmas, so lets see if we can find the Christmas in it.

Verse 1+2 [1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] 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.

Jesus Christ will be a new Temple, better than the one in Jerusalem and will die to atone for the peoples sins.

[3] A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. [5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Just as Israel returns from Babylon under God’s care and leading and this predicts all nations will as well. But God brings the wise men from Babylon leading them with a star. They behold the glory of God as it rests in the manger.

[6] A voice says, “Cry!”And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.[7] The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

This couplet tells us that humans are delicate and that God’s word is forever. In the manger we see the union of a delicate humanity to the word of God…John 1:14

[9] Go on 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!”

We see in the baby God. Colossians 1:14 Or as the hymn says pleased with Man as man to dwell…We can point into the manger and tell all humanity behold your God.

[10] Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. [11] 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. (ESV)

Finally this imagery of the good shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd.

Main Point: The Advent Season should help us learn how to await Jesus first coming as practice for the Joyous second arrival fo Christ.

So as a student of the Bible I am as excited by the next guy by prophetic utterance and its fulfillment. To see Jesus Christ fulfill those things predicted by God gets my heart rate up and I sweat with excitement. At the same time there has got to be a way this forms us into the image and likeness of God.

A Few thoughts. Jesus answers the questions of the OT and he answers the question we ask now. How do we relate to money, power, our physical world.

Money he had none and was still of the highest value in the universe. You are more valuable then what you have. If you do have it is given that you might partner with God in Changing the world. If you have not. You do not lack value and influence. Just look at Jesus

Power: The baby in the manger was the God of the universe under the care and eye of God the father and God the Holy Spirit. He had all power and came to us meek. He associated with the lowly in-fact his parents are lowly. Your power is not yours to use as you wish but yours to steward in making God seem great, especially to those who might feel forsaken by God.

The Physical world: The new age movement often wants us to think in terms of transcending our physical bodies and realizing our fullest selves as purely spiritual. Jesus is the New Adam the perfect human and he is the union of the spirit and the physical world. In his incarnation and in his resurrection he redeems our relationship to the physical. This is why it is important that we relate well to our physical bodies. Taking steps to being physically healthy, treating our sexual lives well, interacting with the created order well. Jesus taking on physical flesh shows us that the physical world is part of God’s redemptive story the Physical effects the spiritual.

No where is this more true than on the the cross. On the cross Jesus the new Adam takes the punishment for the Old Adam and his children. We have all violated God’s Law. We all live in rebellion to what God intends for us. And the wages of sin is death according the Bible. That is those who refuse God’s will will live eternally separated from God. But Jesus Christ dying on the Cross takes that eternal death for all those who would trust in him. This allows us to have the reward given to him for his obedience. The cross, made possible by the coming to the manger is the place where we will be given access to experience God forever.

In the Garden we were given the choice to eat from the tree of life or the tree that leads to death. Man chose wrong. Today we are given a chance to try again. Coming to the communion rail is our way of reach up and eating from a new tree…the cross. And when we eat from that tree we regain what Adam and eve lost, what Christmas was ment to restore.