"Fear Not, You Are Mine" (Isaiah 43:1-7)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

Isaiah 43 begins with an unexpected thought: “But now thus says the Lord…” This is unexpected because the last verse of Isaiah 42 announced God’s burning wrath upon His people. So, why was God full of wrath? It’s because His people did not obey His Law, and they were blind and deaf to all that God had done for them. Because of their sins, God “poured the heat of His anger” (Isaiah 42:25) upon them. But His people still did not change. They did not repent. They remained spiritually blind and spiritually deaf.

 

Since God’s people ignored God, you may expect that God would call upon Isaiah to speak of a fierce judgment. Afterall, they deserved God’s judgment. God would be justified to punish such ungrateful and stubborn people to their own sins.

 

But He does the unexpected. Instead, God says, 

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

 

Now, these are some unexpected words of love and grace. Despite their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, despite their sin, God does not announce His judgment upon their sin. Instead, He says, “Fear not, sinner. Fear not My people. Instead of punishment and judgment, I will give you deliverance.”

 

His unexpected mercy comes for three reasons. 

 

First, the Lord says, “I have redeemed you.” While God’s people were spiritually blind and spiritually deaf, while God’s people were in bondage to their own sinful nature, and while God’s people were headed toward certain judgment, it was the Lord who purchased them out of their predicament. It was the Lord who redeemed them. 

 

And this was a recurring theme. God redeemed Israel when they were in bondage to Egypt. It would be true again when Israel would be taken as prisoners of war and exiled to Babylon. This remains true for every sinner. God has also rescued us from ourselves and rescued us from the consequences of our own sins and failures.

 

You see, the word “redeem” implies that God’s people – you and me – are helplessly trapped and unable to gain our own release from sin’s bondage. We can’t save ourselves. But God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” Now, that is an unexpected word of comfort and peace. 

 

Second, the Lord says, “I have called you by name.” Despite their unfaithfulness, their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, God focused on His people, not as a people group, but individually. You see, the “you” here is singular in Hebrew, not plural. It’s “you,” not “you all.”  This singular “you” denotes a focus that is individual and intimate, particular and personal.

 

God uses this expression, “I have called you by name” elsewhere in Scripture.

§  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship…’” (Exodus 31:1-4).

§  “And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me’” (1 Samuel 3:6).

§  “The LORD said to [Elijah], “What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:9).

§  “The LORD said to [Amos], “Amos, what do you see?” (Amos 7:8).

§  And: “The word of the LORD came to [Jeremiah], saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?”(Jeremiah 1:11).

 

Naming is a claim of ownership. For Jesus says, “To [the Good Shepherd] the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). Jesus calls His sheep by name. He calls upon everyone who listens to His voice. Jesus calls you by your name.

 

And even more unexpected is what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on this day nearly 2,000 years ago. On this day, we recall how Jesus stood in a line that He didn’t need to stand in. He stood in a line with sinners waiting to be baptized by John the Baptist. 

When Jesus reached the end of the line and met John, John knowing that Jesus was righteous attempted to prevent baptizing Jesus, as he said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” (Matthew 3:14) But Jesus answered him saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

 

This was a shock for John the Baptist. But it all made sense when Jesus was baptized as “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22).

 

You see, through Christ’s lowering of Himself to a sinner’s baptism, He has affixed the Name of the Triune God upon us who have been baptized into Christ!

 

Third, the Lord says, “You are mine.” We are His possession. God says, “You are mine,” for He has created you. God is the ultimate Creator for He created everything “out of nothing” (Genesis 1:1). Just as God took Israel out of nothing to be His treasured possession, He creates the Church on earth today. St. Peter wrote, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). Although we were not God’s people, God created us to be His people as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). In those waters of Holy Baptism, God re-created us. He drowned the old Adam so that we would be His new creation in Christ.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 were sweet words of comfort for God’s people then. Those words gave comfort to God’s faithful people in the days of Isaiah. Despite all the hardship God’s people went through because of their sins, God claimed them as His special possession. Throughout all those troubled days in Babylonian bondage, these words of God sustained them.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 are also sweet words of comfort for God’s people today since He has redeemed us too, but from an even greater bondage. You see, by our sins, we were slaves of sin and thus we were in bondage to eternal death and eternal punishment. Then came Jesus. As He began His public ministry through a sinner’s baptism, He would complete His mission by redeeming us through His blood on Calvary’s cross. There, He redeemed us from the powers of sin, death, and hell.

 

Then, God called you by name when you were washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. And because of your Baptism into Christ, the Holy Spirit brought you to faith, and all who trust in Christ are His possession!

 

In Holy Baptism, Christ gives us His Robe of Righteousness that covers all of our sins. With His Robe, our shame is fully covered, He makes us holy, right, and good before God the Father.

 

Now, armed with Christ’s Robe of Righteousness, Jesus does not promise that we, who are in Christ, will escape all difficulty and pass through life without trouble. So, “when you pass through the waters, [God] will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2). By God’s power, Moses made a way through the Red Sea. That deliverance stood in the background of these promises. Just as the Lord had provided such deliverance in the past, He will provide an even greater deliverance in the future!

 

Here, God cites two dangers – water and fire. Water and fire symbolize all dangers God’s people would experience. And as God’s people – you and I – we experience the dangers of this fallen world and God Himself pledges His eternal protection. 

 

Today, the Lord, who created you, the Lord who formed you, the Lord who redeemed you claims you as His own! And even today, the Lord continues to form you and me through His Word. Yes, we often rebel and resist Him. We turn away and try other things to devote our time. Nevertheless, through His Word, the Lord continues to form us, shape us, and mold us to be His people. When we are out of shape and lazy because of our sins, the Lord remolds us with His mercy and grace. Through the confession of our sins, repentance and faith, the Lord reforms us daily in the assurance of forgiveness won for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He loves us. We are His own!

 

God has made us His people, so let us confess Him and serve Him, He who created you, He who formed you, He who redeemed you. We belong to Him. We are His. So, fear not, He has called you by name, you are His! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Our Reformation Cry!" (Matthew 11:12-19)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Jesus said to the crowd: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

 

On this Reformation Sunday, we thank the Lord for the long line of saints who have remained steadfast in the truth of God’s Word – the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, saints of the Early Church, the reformers of the one true Faith, and countless faithful men and women today. Each one of them, including you and me, have paid a price in remaining faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Yes, we have all paid a price. Now, some much more than others. For many, they have paid the ultimate price – martyrdom. For others, they may have lost long friendships and family, because of remaining faithful to Christ.

 

As Christians, we must be prepared to suffer for God’s truth, since we know that Satan and his fallen world hate Christ and Christ’s Church. And why is that? Why can’t we just get along?

 

One chapter earlier in Matthew 10, Jesus chose His Twelve Apostles. He gave them “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1). Then Jesus gave them their mission: to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand as they heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons (Matthew 10:7-8). Jesus also gave them His promise: “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

 

Hitched to that promise was a declaration of war: “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Matthew 10:40).

 

So, why can’t we just all get along? It’s because of the enemy – Satan, his minions, and this fallen world – which doesn’t much like incursions into its domain.

 

Following His instructions to the Twelve Apostles, Jesus went on preaching and teaching. He was preaching and teaching in enemy territory – Satan’s fallen world. Jesus went on preaching and teaching, since He came to rescue and restore this fallen world.

 

As this is happening, John the Baptist is locked up in prison awaiting his execution. There, in his cell, John is wondering if, in fact, Jesus of Nazareth, is the promised Messiah, who has come to restore all of humanity. Or should his disciples look for another? To that question, Jesus says to John’s disciples, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” (Matthew 11:4-6).

 

Jesus then asks the crowds about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?” (Matthew 11:7b-8a)

 

Did the crowds seek someone to be swayed with the shifting winds of public opinion? No. Did they seek a man dressed in nice clothes like that of a powerful king? No.

 

What the crowds saw was the messenger preparing the way for the Christ.

 

This is what led Jesus to say: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

 

You see, when God took upon Himself human flesh, the fallen world, Satan, and our own sinful nature didn’t really appreciate it. Yet, Jesus still comes. And when Jesus comes, His kingdom comes. Jesus comes forcefully into the fallen world – a world enslaved by sin, death and the devil. And where Jesus comes, His evil foes fight back. 

 

John the Baptist experienced violence for preparing the way of the Lord. He was arrested. He was imprisoned. His severed head was placed on a platter.

 

Jesus, too, experienced violent opposition. The Pharisees and Sadducees repeatedly challenged His preaching, teaching, and healing. He was falsely accused. He was beaten and flogged. He was betrayed by His own friends. He faced the worst kind of capital punishment – crucifixion. He was nailed to a tree and suffocated to death.

Jesus’ apostles and disciples also experienced violent opposition. They were locked up. They were beaten. They were stoned. They were beheaded. They were poisoned. They were crucified. And all for simply preaching salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus alone.

 

But despite the violence, God’s kingdom keeps pressing forward. His royal banners forward go! 

 

You see, even though Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, He also descended into hell in victory! That third day, He rose from the dead! Then He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty!

 

Jesus came to redeem us lost and condemned sinners. He purchased and won us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver or gold, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death so that you and I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness!

 

For nearly two thousand years, the kingdom of heaven continues pressing forward in this fallen world. And His enemy is still pressing hard against it. Those “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12) are not just going to take the loss and lie down.

 

As you and I know, Satan and his fallen world are violently opposed to Jesus and His saving and forgiving ways as He works through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – in His Church. 

 

So, Satan and his fallen world continually attack Christ and His Church. They call Christ and His Church unloving. They seek to re-make Christ’s Church into the image of the Great Deceiver. Satan and his fallen world do not want sin called out. They don’t want to live by God’s Word. Instead, Satan and his fallen world desire to remake Christ’s Church into a lazy, go along to get along type of false Christianity. This is what we face today. This is what Christ’s Church has always faced.

 

This is why Christ’s Church must always be reformed. This is why it must always be called back to the saving work of Jesus Christ, the Church’s Bridegroom. For if we get lazy and flabby by not reading, hearing and studying God’s Word, we will form a new kind a Christianity – a false Christianity. A Christianity without Jesus. 

For if we get lazy and flabby by not joining the assembly of believers, among whom the Gospel is purely preached and the Sacraments rightly administered, we will form a new kind of Christianity – a false Christianity. Again, a Christianity without Jesus.

 

Recently, CBS Mornings aired a segment called “The State of Spirituality with Lisa Ling”[1] in which she interviewed a transvestite “Lutheran” “pastor” named Drew Stever. In case you are lost, Drew is a woman cosplaying as a man. And in case you are further lost, pondering how a transvestite can be a pastor. And to calm all fears, this “pastor” is not in fellowship with us. 

 

In the interview, Lisa Ling said to Stever, “There is a lot of people who say that according to the Bible, God made man and woman, and that couldn’t be any more clearly defined. How do you respond to them?” To that question, this confused “pastor” said, “[The Bible] is hard to relate to modern-day times, because it wasn’t written for 2024. It was written for then.”

 

The thing is, God’s Word never changes and that is the message of the Reformation. In fact, that is the motto of the Lutheran reformers: “VDMA”, which is a Latin acronym for “The Word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 2:24-25). If God’s Word did change, we would have no sure and certain hope. We would be tossed to and fro by wind and waves. But thanks be to God, His Word never changes. So, His eternal promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation are sure. 

Like the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, saints of the Early Church, and the reformers, we ought to commit fully to the purity of our Christian doctrine. For in that doctrine, we hold the great truths taught by Holy Scripture, such as God’s creating and preserving power, our justification by grace through faith in Christ alone, Christ’s presence in His Means of Grace, the clarity of God’s Law in the moral issues of our day, and of our sure forgiveness won for us through the crucified and risen Christ.

 

On this Reformation Sunday, may we take our stand and never budge from God’s truths as He teaches us in His Word. Christ says: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). This is our Reformation cry! So, may our ears be joined to right understanding and saving faith! Let our hearing be joined to His saving Word and our hearts to His Word! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDtGbosAbFA&t=73s

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord: "Transforming Us Into the Image of God" (2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

Today, we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord, and we remember how Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse of Christ’s unveiled glory upon the Mount of Transfiguration. But it is the Apostle Paul who will help us understand what truly took place upon that mountaintop. Essentially, it was the lesser – the Law – giving away to the greater – the Gospel. It is through this experience that we too are transformed into the image of God.

 

As great as the Old Covenant was, it was meant to only be temporary. The Old Covenant as revealed in the Old Testament Torah and the Prophets was never to be an end in themselves, but merely served God’s people as a guardian until the Messiah would come.

 

Well, that time has come! So, upon the Mount of Transfiguration, we see Moses and Elijah passing the torch to Jesus. The time of Moses and Elijah had passed. They served as types of the coming Messiah. They served to prepare us for the coming Messiah. There atop the mountain, Moses and Elijah, who represent the Old Covenant, which cannot save, point us to Jesus, who is the promised Savior.

 

Now, the Old Covenant also came with glory, as we heard about Moses’ shining face in our Old Testament lesson, but that glory was only “reflected” glory. Here, in our epistle, Paul compares that glory to a fading glory, because Moses’ glowing face would come to an end, so, “Moses … would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end” (2 Corinthians 3:13).

 

This is teaching us that the Law cannot save us. For the Law can only show us our sin and our need for something more permanent. Even if we kept the Torah, we would never reach the perfection God demands. In fact, in Galatians 3, Paul reminds us that the Law of Moses only had a teaching function. The Law of Moses was to only serve as a guardian instructing Israel on how sins would be truly atoned. So, with each animal that was sacrificed, Israel was being taught that without the shedding of blood, there could be no atonement. With every Passover celebration, Israel would be taught to look to the “Lamb of God,” who would once and for all take away the sins of the world.

 

That was the Old Covenant. It was glorious, but it was also veiled, and it was intended to fade away.

 

Sadly, many have never seen beyond that Old Covenant. So, a veil remains. 

 

For the Jews of Paul’s day through today, a veil remains. Each Sabbath day, they hear a public reading of the Law of Moses – and they hear it the same way as the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai heard it. They view the Law of Moses as the final word, the cure-all and end-all. They fail to see that it is only temporary. They have rejected Jesus as the Christ, for only in Christ is the veil taken away. 

 

But this veil is not just over the hearts of the Jews, this veil is over all who have not yet been enlightened by the Gospel. We all know family, friends, and neighbors who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. For many of our unbelieving friends and neighbors, it is actually “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) that has blinded their minds from seeing the light of Christ. It is the devil himself, who holds the veil over the hearts of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel.

 

By our own reason and strength, we cannot remove this veil. This veil is only removed when the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us through Word and Sacrament as He “calls, gathers, enlightens … in the one true faith.” Otherwise, we miss seeing the One who is behind the veil: Jesus Christ on every page in Scripture, Jesus absolving your sins, and Jesus under the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper!

 

It is only through the Holy Spirit’s work in us that we are able to recognize Jesus for who He truly is.

 

Paul and the Church at Corinth have true hope in the Gospel. God had indeed chosen them in Christ just as He has chosen you. 

And yet, this veil remains for many. This veil remains because of our sinful condition, since we came into this world turned from God, due to original sin. It is because of sin that this veil has kept many in Israel from receiving Jesus and it is because of this veil that many refuse to enter a church building. Remember, “[Christ] came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13).

 

God became man with the purpose of being glorified. Not through the glory atop the Mount of Transfiguration, but glorified by being lifted up on the cross. As Jesus was lifted up, the Old Covenant was being fulfilled. Through Jesus’ shed blood, the veil was lifted. As Jesus draws His dying breath, He cries out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The veil is not only being lifted, but it is also being torn from top to bottom.

 

As soon as God died on the cross, many were brought to repentance, but this conversion was only by the grace of God. As the veil is shredded, we can now see Jesus for who He truly is: our Savior from the Law, our Savior from sin, death, and the devil.

 

Through the power of Holy Spirit and His dwelling in us, it is not just Jesus who is transformed, but also you and me. By God’s grace, we have unveiled faces, so we reflect the glory of Christ as the Gospel dwells in us. The Law of Moses could never produce such a change, because we cannot keep it perfectly. But the Gospel can, because the Gospel is all about Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the cross!

 

At the Fall, we lost the image of God. But through Christ’s atoning death and His glorious resurrection, we are gradually being transformed back into the image and likeness of God. Through the Holy Spirit, the veil of spiritual dullness and misunderstanding has been removed. So, as believers in Christ, we are in the same sense like Moses at Mount Sinai. So, the glory of God shines on us directly. But we have something more than Moses, for we have the glory of the New Covenant, the gospel of forgiveness and freedom and life. “For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:16).

 

The message of the Gospel produces a metamorphosis in Christians. This is a daily transformation, which the message of the Old Covenant, the Law, could never do. This daily transformation comes from the New Covenant, the Gospel, for which we receive in Word and Sacrament, God’s Means of Grace.

 

Now, this daily transformation will not be complete until we either die in Christ or Christ returns in glory on the Last Day – whichever comes first.

 

Until that Day, the Holy Spirit continues His transforming, His transfiguring work, in us as we continue to hear the Word and receive the Sacraments.

 

As we grow in our transformation into the lost image of God, we fear, love, and trust in God above all things; we gladly hear, learn and take to heart the preaching of the Gospel and in Bible studies; we partake of His gifts; we love our neighbor as ourselves; and simply confess Christ when and where God gives us the opportunity.

 

We, as baptized believers in Christ, are those whom the Holy Spirit has lifted the veil, so we can become bold confessors of the New Covenant, like Paul, for God said, “Let light shine out of the darkness” (2 Corinthians 4:6) for Christ has “called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.   

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Advent 2: "Double Your Comfort" (Isaiah 40:1-11)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“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” (Isaiah 40:1-2).

 

This is a text that God Himself desires you to hear. In fact, He demands that you hear His words: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”

 

When Isaiah first uttered those words from God, God’s people were in desperate need of comfort. They were in need of hope. They were in need of peace.

 

You see, in 587 BC, Babylon unleashed an attack against Jerusalem. This attack included the destruction of the Temple. When Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah, it looked to the Jews that the Babylonian gods had triumphed over the God of Israel. It appeared as though Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, was no match for these foreign gods.

 

For many of the Jews, they thought the situation could be even worse. Could it be that Yahweh did not defend His people, because they had spurned Him too many times. Maybe Yahweh chose not to defend His people because they had by and large rejected Him? Worst of all, what if Yahweh did not even exist? What if their trust in Yahweh had all been in vain?

 

Whichever way the Jews were thinking, they saw the same future. They saw a future without any hope. They saw a future without any comfort. The only thing reasonable was to face the facts. Jerusalem was destroyed and they were now exiles. It was time to forget about Yahweh and just move on without Him.

 

After the fall of Jerusalem, the Prophet Jeremiah lamented, “She – Jerusalem – weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; … she has none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2). “She has no comforter” (Lamentations 1:9). “For a comforter is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16). “Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:17). “There is no one to comfort me” (Lamentations 1:21).

Israel was alone. Israel was in utter darkness.

 

Then, just as all hope was lost, Yahweh, their God, speaks: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Yahweh was not done with His people! To the pain, He commands His heavenly messengers to “comfort, comfort My people.” It was time for Israel to step out of darkness and into Yahweh’s marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9).

 

Israel’s hurt was deep, but Yahweh’s comfort was deeper. The people were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). So, Yahweh, the Lord their God, “being rich in mercy, because of His great love” (Ephesians 2:4), takes the initiative and speaks the Gospel. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel responds in repentance and faith. This comforting Gospel comes before Israel makes any effort to repent and return to God. This comforting Gospel comes only when Yahweh turns back to Israel. This comforting Gospel comes when God promises His coming!

 

Yahweh, the Lord of Hosts, is coming! And why is that good news? Why is that comforting? God appeared to have left His people before. What could stop Him from abandoning His people again?

 

But something is different. Yahweh is announcing that He is coming back not to faithful people, but to a weak, unfaithful, failing, and failed people. They are, as Isaiah proclaims: “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly” (Isaiah 1:4). Yahweh is coming back to a people who have forsaken Him. He is coming back to a people who have despised Him.

 

Due to their rebellion against God, Israel was struck by the Assyrians. Did they learn their lesson? Nope. They continued to rebel against God. Their “whole head [was] sick, and [their] whole heart faint” (Isaiah 1:5).

 

So, due to their evils against God, warfare would engulf them. And God Himself pronounced their doom. So, why is this good news?

 

It is good news because God is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as them. He is coming to a weak and sinful people, such as us – you and me. He will never abandon us. This is the greatest comfort. God is coming because of His amazing love and mercy. He is coming because we are His people.

 

And we have seen who this God is in His coming: in His manger, in His preaching, in His miracles and healing, in His sin-atoning cross, in His mighty resurrection, and in His reign at the Right Hand of God the Father.

 

In Isaiah 40, God demands that His coming be heralded as comfort upon comfort. He is doubling your comfort. He is calling sinners, like you and me as “My people.” To poor and miserable sinners, He is describing Himself as “Your God.”

 

Yahweh speaks of “making straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). He says, “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” (Isaiah 40:4).

 

So, there will be no mountain high enough and no valley low enough to keep Him from coming to you. Yahweh is coming to bring double comfort. He is coming to bring an end to warfare. He is coming to bring an end to suffering. He is coming to provide atonement for your sin. He is coming to reveal His glory to theirs and your own eyes. You will see it.

 

When Isaiah first spoke of God’s double comfort, he was pointing to the end of their exile and to their return from Babylon. But in the fullness of time, these words of Isaiah speak of the coming of Yahweh in human flesh as Emmanuel – God with us. In “the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

 

In the fullness of time, we received double our comfort in Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins through His suffering and death. The “glory of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:5) was revealed in the Advent of Jesus. By His atoning suffering and death, Jesus brought you back to Him. He paid the price for yours and my sin. Your iniquity is pardoned. And now, through Christ, you have received from God’s hand double your comfort. At the cross, Jesus was pierced for your transgressions. He was crushed for your iniquities. You have peace with God. Through Christ’s death alone, you are healed.

 

Remember, God chose the Hebrew people as His chosen people. Abraham didn’t choose Yahweh. Yahweh chose Him. He didn’t choose Abraham by his merit. He chose him out of His love, so that through him and his descendants, the Hebrew people, others would see God’s love in them. 

 

Likewise, God chose you. He chose you not by your merit. He chose you who are too weak and too helpless to save yourself. Jesus said to the His disciples: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). No one chooses God, God chooses you. And this is double comfort knowing that God’s love is for you. And to show how certain God’s love is, He shows His love when He chose you as His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. And if you ever doubt His love for you, remember your baptism by saying, “I am God’s own child, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ! He, because I could not pay it, gave my full redemption price. So, there is nothing worth comparing to this lifelong comfort sure!” (God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It, LSB 594)

 

God doubles this comfort again, as He forgives us through confession and absolution. God doubles this comfort even more as He gives us forgiveness and strength through Christ’s Body and Blood under the bread and wine.

 

So, be comforted! Through Christ alone, your sins are forgiven, and since they are wiped away, there is nothing that could separate you from Him and His love for you in Jesus Christ. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). He is with you forever to give you comfort upon comfort.

 

Since we have been doubled our comfort through Christ’s coming, God calls us to speak of this comfort of God’s forgiveness to those around you. God’s comfort is for everyone, so speak of His comfort saying, “God has come in Jesus Christ!” Christ alone has fulfilled your comfort in His first coming. The consummation of His comfort will come at His final coming. And He continues to double your comfort now in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament – as we look to the future. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.   

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +