Isaiah 40 1-11 2005
Advent 2
Isaiah 40:1-11, Mark 1:1-8
December 4, 2005
“Where is Comfort Found”
Introduction: Isaiah speaks these words in our Old Testament text, Isaiah 40:1 "Comfort, ye, comfort ye My people!" Says your God. 2 "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins." But then Isaiah asks what shall I cry out and God gives him these words, “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.”
These are words of judgment and condemnation, because just as the grass withers and the flowers fade away we too wither, and what little glory we have fades away. This is the effect of sin in our lives. We are withered by it in every aspect of our lives. The beauty of a new born infant is challenged by the long hard nights when we are kept awake. The beauty and strength of our youthful years is sapped as we enter in to the middles ages and the twilight of Old age, the blossom of new love and romance fades with time and familiarity. Even the strong branches of family are shaken and broken as we look out for our own best interests and satisfy our own sinful desires. We are broken, withering and fading and we are destined for the compost pile of eternity. Where is comfort to be found?
Of course Isaiah’s words foreshadowed another prophet that would prepare the way for the Lord. "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You."3"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' "That prophet was John the Baptist. What does he say about where comfort is to be found? 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Where is comfort to be found? Naturally we want to find it in a God that forgives us our sins. We want to find it as Isaiah says, in “"Beholding our God!" 10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”
But before we are ready to hear these words we must hear god’s word of Law and Condemnation. We must recognize our lost condition before we are to be found. We must be prepared to receive the3 comfort that God so desperately wants us to have. That is why Isaiah tells the people that they are likfe withering grass and fading flowers. And that is why John the Baptist came preparing the way of the Lord Jesus with a call to repentance and baptism.
True comfort is found first as we confess that we are sinners, that we are in need of God’s unmerited favor and grace. True comfort only begins when we recognize that we are lost and separated from God because of our sins, and that without him we wither and fade like the grass and the flowers.
When I was a child I received a brand new beautiful sled. It was awesome. Not long after Christmas I went out sledding with a friend. His name was Mark too. We went to the top of a hill with a very steep slope and at the bottom was a wooden fence. We both knew that we shouldn’t have sledded there but we did anyway. On my first trip down I ran right into the fence and bent up my brand new sled. What was I to do? Mark wasn’t going home with me and I knew that my parents wouldn’t see him for a long while, so I figured that he wouldn’t be able to tell on me or come to his own defense. So I decided to lie about the sled and I blamed its bent frame on him riding down that steep hill and not me. Days past, after telling the lie, I realized I had gotten away with it, so I wished. Slowly my conscious kept crying out against me with accusations of truth…you are the one that did it, you lied to your parents, and you falsely blamed someone else. Oh how I yearned for comfort from the burden that I was bearing. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and with tears in my eyes I confessed what I did to my parents.
Comfort came as I admitted what I did and who I was, a disobedient liar. Of course that laid the foundation for my parents to offer me their unconditional love and forgiveness. The way of comfort is had in admitting that we are wrong, in speaking the truth. The words “I am sorry” are some of the sweetest words in the human vocabulary. Why? Because they make a way for forgiveness to flow. Isaiah said that this is the way of the Lord, “Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth and then, “The glory of the LORD shall be revealed.” Confession of sin is the preparation that needs to take place for the comfort of the Lord to flow into our lives.
Then we are ready for God’s word of grace and comfort, as Isaiah said,” That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned” and “10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.” With repentant hearts we gladly hear and receive these words of grace.
We find true comfort in what God has done for us, “The Lord God shall come with a strong hand…with his work before Him.” He has come. Jesus Christ came as the strong hand of the Lord and the work before Him was the way to the cross and His sacrificial suffering and death. On the cross our sin was taken upon Him and His glory that never withers or fades away was given to us. Through His death and resurrection He is able to gather the lambs with His arm and carry them next to His bosom and gently lead them. Just like my parents gathered me in their arms and gave me the comfort that I desperately needed and wanted, our God, through Jesus Christ gathers, carries and leads to understand the wonderful forgiveness that He has given to us.
John the Baptist led the people to repent and then to be baptized. Baptism is God’s work of forgiveness through water and His Word. It has been instituted for our comfort. For we know that God saves us through the water of baptism connected to our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Salvation and forgiveness is God’s work and not ours, so that all the glory may be His. When we are in doubt or weighed down by our ever nagging conscience we find comfort in knowing that we are baptized children of God. Martin Luther was often nagged by the devil and His own conscious. When He was assailed in a loud voice He would shout, “I am baptized.” In other words, he knew that he was forgiven and always would be, for though he sinned much he was forgiven even more. It is the same for us. We are baptized, and forgiven with faith in our Savior Jesus. And that is it, period.
Isaiah points to the salvation of the Lord. John the Baptist points to the salvation of the Lord. And both of them point to Jesus Christ. It is in Him that comfort is found. Jesus said come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. As Peter the Apostle said, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. /// The God of love, of grace, of gentleness, whose overwhelming passion is to help and to bless us and to give us comfort has done it all through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: Comfort, Comfort ye my people, Speak ye peace saith our God; Comfort those who sit in darkness, Mourning neath their sorrows load. Speak ye to Jerusalem of the peace that waits for them; Tell her that her sins I cover and her warfare now is over.
Where do we find comfort? We find comfort in speaking the truth that we are lost in sin. We find comfort in the one that forgives that sin, Jesus Christ. We find comfort in the promise of God pledged to us in the waters of holy baptism. The Lord’s way is prepared as He comes to us again and again, offering and giving us His grace and mercy. In His arms we find everlasting comfort. Amen