Advent 2

Mark 1:1-8

December 8, 2002

“A Word of Comfort Answers The Cry for Mercy”*

I.  The Lord Comes

"Prepare the way of the LORD; Make his paths straight!" John the Baptist is the preacher who fulfills this prophecy.  It's Isaiah who utters it by the Lord's inspiration in Isaiah 40; not only does he foretell John the Baptist, but he also tells why the Lord comes.

John the Baptist tells the people; The LORD GOD Almighty is coming.  The All powerful, all knowing God that created all things is coming.  Yahweh Himself is on the way.

But is this good news? Yahweh is holy and righteous, a consuming fire that destroys sin and unrepentant sinners.  When Moses came down from Mt.  Sinai and God's presence, his face glowed for weeks.  On that same mountain God told the people that if they saw Him they would die.  Do these people listening to John the Baptist really want to risk seeing the Lord when He comes? They're sinful-that's why they've gone to John in the wilderness.  They are far from holy, and deserve God’s wrath.  Do they really want the Lord to come?

Isaiah 40 should set them at ease, because the prophet declares that the Lord comes to save.  He comes to comfort His people-to declare the end of warfare and pardon for iniquity.  He comes to declare abundant grace in His eternal Word.  He comes with a strong hand to shepherd His sheep and hold them dear.  He is not coming with wrath, but with grace.  He isn't going to give them what they deserve for their sins.  The Lord is coming with a word of comfort for their cries of mercy.

And so His way must be prepared.  If the Lord comes in power and glory, no preparation is needed-for no one can resist His appearance or strength.  This is how it will be on the Last Day.  But when the Lord comes to the banks of the Jordan River, He comes to have mercy.  He comes with love and forgiveness.  He comes with words of comfort, as the prophet Isaiah foretold – Comfort, Comfort Ye My people.  But He will not coerce anyone to be loved or forgiven.  If they wish to remain in bondage to sin, He will not force His grace and mercy upon them.  The people must be prepared along the Lord's way, so that they are ready for Him to have mercy.

This is the task of John the Baptist, preparing the way.  If people are going to rejoice in the Lord's mercy, they must first understand how much they need it.  With physical sickness, it is easy; the leper looks at the decay in his body and earnestly desires a cure.  With sin it's more difficult, because people naturally believe they are good enough.  They must hear differently.  This is why John the Baptist must preach to them a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  He must tell them of their sin, how they deserve God's wrath and punishment.  When they understand that they do not deserve grace and life, they will be ready to hear that their sins are pardoned.  They will be ready to receive what they don't deserve.  They will be ready for the Lord's mercy.  Those people who reject the idea that they need to repent reject needing a savior who comes with a word of comfort for a cry of mercy.

When the Lord comes, true to His Word He lives a life of mercy.  Mercifully, He masks His glory in human flesh, lest His holiness destroy sinners, as they deserve.  Mercifully, He heals the sick and frees those who are held captive by the Devil.  He is able to make the blind see and mute tongue shout for joy.  Those people that have been waiting for the Lord's coming waste no time when He appears.  They come to Him for comfort and mercy.

Two blind men cry out, "Have mercy" (Matt 9:27).  They have done nothing for the Lord so that He owes them, but He heals them all the same.  Why, because He has come to have mercy and to comfort them in their cries for mercy.  He came not to give them what they deserve, judgment, rather, He gives them sight.   The Canaanite woman pleads with the Lord, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.  My daughter is severely demon-possessed" (Matt.  15:22).  He does not treat her based upon who she is, but who He is; and He is the Lord who comes to have to give comfort and have mercy on those in trouble. 

This is how the ministry of Jesus goes, all the way to the cross.  Wherever the Lord Jesus goes, people who understand their desperate need gather in His way.  And because He is there, present with them, they cry out to Him for mercy.  They receive mercy for both their bodies and their souls.  Ultimately, the Lord Jesus comes to comfort those who are distraught by their sin.  In His mercy He forgives them and gives them eternal life.  

Christ’s mercy determines that He must go to the cross.  Jesus Christ must be crucified in order to be merciful.  Remember, this is the Son of God, the second person of Trinity.  He is equal with God the Father-holy and righteous, a consuming fire that destroys sin.  Therefore, to be merciful to sinners, the Lord cannot just excuse sin.  He cannot just pretend it does not exist, for it is a dreadful offense.  It offends His very nature.  The sinner deserves God's wrath and judgment for sin.  The Lord's mercy does not make that judgment disappear.  He will not make God's judgment go away; but He can shift its target as He puts Himself on the cross.

The Lord comes to have mercy and comfort.  We find that comfort at the cross where the Son of God, Jesus Christ, received the wrath of God that we deserved.  In His mercy, the Lord does not give us the wrath that we deserve; He takes it upon Himself instead.  He suffers God’s judgment for the sake of the world.

II.  Kyrie

The Lord is merciful.  You know this, and that is part of why you are here.  If the Lord were hostile and unrelenting, what would be the point of being here? You could, at best, hope for a halfway decent life before the beginning of judgment.  But the Lord is merciful, and that is why you are here.

There is another reason why you are here: The merciful Lord comes.  He has come for you.  Of Course He came for you by His becoming man, His ministry and death.  But the Lord still comes for you, here and now.  Has the way of the Lord been prepared in you?

Our Sunday morning service begins with the order of Confession and Absolution.  According to God's Word, we confess that we are poor, miserable sinners who justly deserve His wrath and punishment.  We confess that these sins are wrong, and thus we voice our repentance.  Then we hear the Absolution, "In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen." The Word of God which he speaks declares to you that your sins are forgiven; that forgiveness renews your Baptism, where the Lord first washed you clean and made you His own.  Martin Luther said that confession and absolution are nothing more than returning to the grace that has been given to us in our baptisms.  Confession and Absolution prepares us for His coming.  In other words, we are prepared by Baptism, repentance and the remission of sins.

So He comes to us.  We have been prepared to receive Him.  He is really present with us in His Word and Sacrament.  The Lord comes, fully God and fully man.  He is just as present with us as He was when He stood with the two blind men or the Canaanite woman.  People cried out "Lord, have mercy" because Jesus was there with them.  They cried out when they were in His presence.  So do we.  As we sing the Kyrie, we are acknowledging the presence of the Lord and our need for His mercy.  We speak their words, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy”.  We do so knowing that He mercifully comes to us with words of comfort.  By His Word, He announces to us our sinfulness and need for salvation.  And thus prepared, He says to you, "Your sin is forgiven.  So He has mercy upon you.  The forgiveness that He won on the cross is placed into your ears by His Gospel.  It is placed into your mouth as the Lord who is present with us says, "Take and eat, this is My body…take and eat, this is My blood…for the forgiveness of sins."

The Lord comes.  His way has been prepared in us.  We hear His Law and confess our sin; we repent and trust in His Word of grace.  Therefore, we are confident that when the Lord comes to be present among us, He comes to comfort us with His mercy.  We cast our cares upon Him, trusting in Him, for He declares these words to us:  Comfort ye, Comfort ye my people,  "Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Amen.