Full Sermon God’s Word About Jesus Stands Forever based on Isaiah 40:6-8

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Maybe you remember the TV show with that famous masked man, the Lone Ranger. For, “nowhere in those sterling pages of yesteryear can one find a greater champion of justice. We turn again to those thrilling days when out of the past come the thundering hoof-beats of the great horse Silver. For the Lone Ranger Rides again!”

In every episode 29 minutes and 30 seconds into the half-hour program, somebody would have to ask the question, “Who was that Masked Man?” Here was someone who had been close to death; without a gun or in a prison, and the Lone Ranger had delivered, saved and rescued them. And they missed the most important part!

Isaiah knew, too. Isaiah 40:1-5 stated, “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. A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 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. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.’” And the people missed the most important part!

How do we know? Isaiah 40:6-8 declared, “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. The grass withers, the flower fades.”

Isaiah pointed to the futility of the quickly passing years of human life in Isaiah 40:6–8 where “grass” is used to describe people four times. People are only on this earth for a little while.

Isaiah’s words with King Hezekiah in chapter 39 was the prophet’s closest example of this “grass-like” nature of people. When confronted by Isaiah with his sin of showing the treasures of his kingdom to the Babylonians and told that everything in his palace along with some of his descendants would be carried off to Babylon, King Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.” (Isaiah 39:8)

King Hezekiah was selfish and shortsighted! Lots of leaders disappoint us.

Isaiah 40:7 stated, “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.” The “breath” or Spirit of the LORD is normally a life-giving breath, but He can also bring death upon whom He blows. In this way, the Spirit of LORD is like the hot, dry desert winds that come upon Israel in May to turn the lush green countryside to a brown desert-like land. This change can take place in less than forty-eight hours. The Babylonian devastation of Judah and Jerusalem would be similar to that kind of withering.

And you and I are no different. God speaks the message of Isaiah 40:1–5 and we miss the point. In the waters of Baptism we were called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. In the Lord’s Supper we are fed and nourished for the forgiveness of our many sins. God has again and again delivered us, saved us, and rescued us. And yet we still can miss the important point! Why?

Hear the word of the LORD from John 3:19: “This is the verdict, light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” We at times love the darkness of selfishness; live in the darkness of lies and half-truths; long for more of the darkness that feeds our flesh. The Prince of Darkness likes to see our failures to serve the Lord. When we look at our failures we can be distressed.

When we look at God’s Word and believe, we are blessed. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

Are God’s Gospel promises of Isaiah 40:1–5 forgotten? Has God’s love come to an end? Has he given up on his people?

Never! “The word of our God will stand forever.” God’s word is indestructible! God’s Word is “forever fixed in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89). God’s word brings joy! “When your word came I ate it; it was the joy and delight of my life” (Jeremiah 15:16). God’s word brings light! “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). God’s word brings protection! “The word of God is living and sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). The gospel promises in Isaiah 40:1–5 still stand! God’s Word works!

God’s Word climactically took on human flesh and blood. “For us and for our salvation He came down” in the whisper of a Baby. This Baby exchanged the robes of eternity for swaddling clothes. He exchanged His golden throne room for a lowly manger. Worshiping angels singing “Holy, holy, holy” were exchanged for simple shepherds.

Jesus took on flesh and blood so that He could take you into His arms, heal your hurts, forgive your filth, and destroy your darkness. Jesus took on flesh, not to demonstrate the innocence of infancy, but to live the life we could not and die our death so we need not. Hallelujah!

A story is told. [The time was 7:51 in the morning on January 12, 2007. A young man began playing his violin in a Washington, DC subway station. He played for the next hour, performing six classical pieces. During that time 1,097 people passed by. Some even tossed money into his violin case, to the tune of $32.17. Of those 1,097 people only seven paused longer than sixty seconds.

Who was playing the violin in such a strange place? It was Joshua Bell, a Grammy-award winning violinist who had just filled Boston’s Symphony Hall. Though Bell’s talents command one-thousand dollars a minute, that day in the subway he made $32.17 for an hour’s worth of work. You can’t fault his instrument. It was a Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million. And you can’t fault the music. Bell played a piece from Johann Sebastian Bach that he called “one of the greatest achievements of any person in history.”

There were shoe-shine stands on either side of Joshua Bell where people were buying lattes and lotto tickets. Besides, who had time to stop? Who could afford to be late for work? Not expecting majesty in the midst of the mundane—people missed it!]

Missing the promises of Isaiah 40:1-5 we look around and are distressed; we look within and get depressed; look at the Word and be blessed! This Christmas day we look to the hope and promise brought into our world by the Babe of Bethlehem. This Christmas day we trust in the saving mission of the son of Mary who came to comfort and save His people then and now. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. (Based on sermon by Dr. Reed Lessing.)