God Comes to Comfort His People

GOD COMES TO COMFORT HIS PEOPLE

An Exposition of Isaiah 40:1-11

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: December 18, 2022

Series: Advent

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

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.

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.”

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.

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!”
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. (Isaiah 40:1-11)

INTRODUCTION

All of humanity’s woes are ultimately tied to humanity’s sin. We were created for fellowship with God, but sin alienates the sinner from God. We were created to live in the blessing of God, but sin lands you in a far country far from God’s favor. When mankind is determined to do life on his own terms, he ends up in a heap of trouble: guilt and shame, humiliation and strife, judgment and death. This bitter fruit is evident both in the life of the individual and in the fabric of society as a whole.

Before the good news of comfort goes forth to God’s people in Isaiah 40:1, there is in the background the painful reality of sin. This comfort is not sentimental reassurance for nice people, but a dispensation of mercy for people up to their necks in moral rebellion. A few snapshots from Isaiah 1-39 will bring this terrible predicament into clear view.

The first chapter declares:

“Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, overthrown by foreigners.” (Isaiah 1:4-7)

“How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine [has become] mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.” (Isaiah 1:21-23)

The third chapter says:

“For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.” (Isaiah 3:8-9)

The fifth chapter pronounces woe upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem because “they do not regard the deeds of the LORD” (Isaiah 5:12), “they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:24). 

When people defy the Lord’s glorious presence, disregard the Lord’s mighty deeds, and despise the Lord’s words, they descend into moral ugliness. They lose the dignity that befits their status as image-bearers of God, and they forfeit the beauty that could have been theirs if they had welcomed the Holy One into their midst. Instead, they exchanged the glory of God for cheap substitutes and, sooner or later, they will come to total ruin.

We live in a dark and sinful world. It is for good reason that we sing at Christmastime: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining” (from the hymn “O Holy Night!”). It is for good reason that we sing this prayer at Christmastime: “Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, / And death’s dark shadows put to flight” (from the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”).

Israel’s story is a microcosm of the world’s story. Israel’s story is reflected in your story and in my story. Although we have been created by God and have received countless blessings from His hand, each one of us is like a sheep that has gone astray and turned to go down its own foolish path (Isaiah 53:6). “[All] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our transgressions, though often hidden from one another, are all known to God – and these transgressions stand against us, because God’s law declares that the just punishment for sin is the death of the sinner. To put it in terms of the sermon preached three weeks ago, God’s law declares that every sinner ought to meet the same end as that which befell Sodom and Gomorrah. Remarkably, not every sinner does meet that terrible end – and this fact will be celebrated in the song of the redeemed that never ends. And this fact is what Isaiah 40:1-11 is all about.

Isaiah 40:1-11 presents us with four words – with four statements. Let’s walk through them one at a time.

THE FIRST WORD: THE WORD OF COMFORT (v. 1-2)

The first word (v. 1-2) is the word of comfort, which beckons us to receive God’s comfort. Even this very morning, you ought to hear and understand and receive God’s comfort.

In verses 1-2, God says to the prophetic messenger: “Comfort… my people” and “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem”. The well-deserved words of rebuke, condemnation, and punishment are in the past, and now in their place come tender words of comfort. The messenger is instructed to “cry to her” with the comforting words that are found in verse 2. This “cry” is not the cry of the mourner, but the cry of the herald who is making a proclamation. The pronoun “her” refers back to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem itself represents God’s people (“my people” from verse 1). The message that must be cried out is:

“that her warfare [or hardship: ESV footnote on this verse] is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” (v. 2)

This is straight gospel. Warfare or hardship is the inevitable outcome of sin.  Leviticus 26:14-39 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68 describe the plagues, frustrations, devastations, and humiliations that would take place if Israel turned away from the Lord. The Leviticus 26 passage begins with panic, wasting disease, and fever “[consuming] the eyes and [making] the heart ache.” The Leviticus 26 passage concludes with the people “[perishing] among the nations” and “[rotting] away in [their] enemies’ lands”. The Deuteronomy 28 passage begins with the Lord sending “curses, confusion, and frustration” into every aspect of everyday life. The Deuteronomy 28 passage concludes with the people returning to Egypt, which signifies the undoing of the exodus. God redeemed His people out of Egypt, but to Egypt they shall return if they fall into persistent rebellion.

Time and again, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) walked in rebellion. Time and again, Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and its capital city Jerusalem turned away from the Lord. As a consequence, the Lord afflicted His people with impoverishments, defeats, and eventual captivity. Sin always leads to hardship, punishment, and death.

Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was focused on Judah and Jerusalem (as indicated in Isaiah 1:1 and also in Isaiah 40:2, 9). From the vantage point of Isaiah’s own lifetime, Judah’s defeat and captivity at the hands of the Babylonians was still more than a hundred years in the future. But the Lord revealed to Isaiah that after the devastation there would be deliverance for His people. Isaiah doesn’t pinpoint the historical moment when Jerusalem’s “warfare is ended” – for Isaiah this is, after all, a prophetic glimpse into the future. But the prophecy foretells a day when the burden of punishment comes to an end: instead of warfare, peace; instead of hardship, mercy; instead of judgment, salvation. “[Her] warfare is ended” and “her iniquity is pardoned”.

The pardoning of iniquity and the ending of hardship are closely connected. Where there is unforgiven sin, there is God’s displeasure and opposition. “[The] wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18), and as long as a person’s ungodliness and unrighteousness remain unforgiven, God’s wrath continues toward that person. Where there is unforgiven sin, guilt and shame and punishment remain. Where there is unforgiven sin, conflict grows and trouble persists. The bitter fruit of hardship grows on the rotten tree of iniquity. So, if the bitter fruit is going to be removed, then the rotten tree must be cleansed. If the consequence of sin is going to be removed, then the offense of sin must be removed. This is the promise of verse 2: your “iniquity is pardoned”, your sin is forgiven, your debt is cleared. When God forgives sin, He removes His wrath and relates to His people with compassion. As the Lord declares in Isaiah 54:

““For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:7-8)

The forgiveness of sins cannot be demanded from God’s hand. It is a free gift, freely given, on account of God’s mercy. Whenever and wherever God gives this wonderful gift, the recipients of such mercy are blessed:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:7-8)

The good news of Isaiah 40:2 is that the debt of sin is cleared away and the devastations caused by sin are brought to an end. To these two declarations is attached a third aspect of the good news: “that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

Generally speaking, if we heard that we had received double punishment for all our sins, there would be no comfort in that, mainly because the double (thorough and complete) punishment would have completely ruined us, in the same way that Babylon the great is brought to utter ruin in Revelation 18. In Revelation 18:4-6, sinful Babylon is repaid double for her sinful deeds. This is a definitive word of judgment against Babylon the great, and she comes to utter ruin. But the message of Isaiah 40:1-2 is overwhelmingly positive, so how is the statement “that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins” good news? It probably means that the punishment she has received up to this point, which devastated her but didn’t utterly ruin her, is enough; the punishment has been poured out in full measure; and there is nothing left to be poured out. And so, the good news is that the punishment has been exhausted, and now the only thing left to be poured out – upon the chosen remnant that remains – is grace. The appointed days of wrath have come to end; the appointed day of salvation has arrived.

When it comes to the way in which God redeems His people, God appoints the end of the strife of sin (“her warfare is ended”), the end of the guilt of sin (“her iniquity is pardoned”), and the end of the punishment of sin (“she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins”). By putting sin’s punishment, sin’s guilt, and sin’s strife out of the way, God has cleared the way to draw near to His people. And those who are His people, those who have heard these tender words of comfort, should prepare for the Holy One to enter their midst.

THE SECOND WORD: THE WORD OF PREPARATION (v. 3-5)

This brings us to the second word (v. 3-5), which is the word of preparation and anticipation. This second word invites us to prepare to see God’s glory. The comforting word that God has decreed mercy upon us has set the stage for God to announce His glorious arrival. 

Of course, God’s arrival always cuts in two directions: God’s arrival is bad news for people who have remained in their sin. For the wicked who continue in their wickedness, God’s coming brings about their final demise. But God’s arrival is good news for people who have been rescued from their sin – and this is the emphasis of Isaiah 40:1-11. God’s glorious coming is a wonderful gift to those whose hearts have been captured by grace.

Notice the flow of thought in verses 3-5.

Preparation for God’s Arrival

First, preparations should be made for God’s arrival: “prepare the way of the LORD” and “make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (v. 3). The familiar words of Isaac Watts are fitting:

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King,

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heav’n and nature sing.” (from the hymn “Joy to the World”)

On a very practical level, what this means is having the kind of heart, and the kind of home, and the kind of life, and the kind of church family, that if the Lord paid us a visit, we would be ready. We would be ready, because His words had already found a warm welcome in our hearts and lives. We would be ready, because we had been anticipating His arrival all along. We would be ready, because we were already seeking to honor Him, obey Him, worship Him.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke – the first three books of the New Testament – make it clear that John the Baptist is the one whose voice cries out, in keeping with Isaiah 40:3-5, in order to exhort the people to prepare for God’s arrival. John “proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). This shows us that the promise of forgiveness (Isaiah 40:2) is not a free-floating gift, but is a gift that is received in conjunction with repentance. You cannot receive God’s comforting word of forgiveness while you are still enthralled with your sin. But when the burden of sin’s strife, guilt, and punishment bear down on a poor sinner, then he hears the good news of God’s pardoning grace and he begins to reorder His life in accordance with God’s instruction. Repentance is preparation for God’s coming.

God’s Arrival Means the Leveling of the World

Second, God’s arrival will level the world: the valleys, lifted up; the mountains and hills, brought low; the uneven ground, made level; the rough places, straightened out (v. 4). This leveling of the world isn’t actually about topography. It’s actually about the world being turned on its head so that everything is straightened out from God’s point of view. Mary got it:

“He has shown strengthen with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:51-53)

Paul got it:

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

The purpose of this great leveling out has nothing to do with mankind’s foolish social justice projects. About the least desirable thing in the universe is to have sinful people attempting to engineer a great social and economic leveling out. God will do the leveling out. But here’s the thing: the leveling out, the flattening out, the straightening out of the world has one chief purpose, namely, to enable everyone to get a clear view of the glory of God. Let every human being stand on level ground, let no human being have obstacles in his line of sight, and let every human being lift up his or her eyes in order to see God. You prepare for God’s coming (v. 3) by getting your heart, expectations, and values aligned with the great leveling out (v. 4), which basically means humbling yourself before the Lord and hungering for His rule to govern the world.

All Flesh Will See God’s Glory

This brings us to the great promise of verse 5: “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (v. 5). We were not created in order for our eyes to be perpetually fixed upon created things, upon mountains and hills, upon famous and influential people, or even upon the stars of heaven. As Isaiah 40:21-26 declares,

”Do you not know? Do you not hear?
    Has it not been told you from the beginning?
    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
    and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing.” (Isaiah 40:21-26)

The high point of human experience is to stand in awe of the holiness of God, to worship Him in the splendor of His majesty, and to rejoice in His all-satisfying glory. This high point can only be attained by people who are not impressed with themselves. And this takes us to the third word.

THE THIRD WORD: THE WORD OF HUMILITY (v. 6-8)

The third word (v. 6-8) is the word of humility. This statement is introduced by another call for the prophetic messenger to cry out. The overwhelming point of verses 6-8 is to put man in his proper place, and so this third word implores us to humble ourselves beneath God’s durable Word. As long as we are impressed with ourselves and unimpressed with God’s Word (which is the terrible predicament of most human beings on the planet), we will be woefully unprepared to see the glory of the Lord when it appears before us. If “the rulers of this age” had understood God’s wisdom and hadn’t been enthralled with the world’s ungodly system, then “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). But they didn’t see the Lord of glory as glorious when He stood before them and when He spoke to them. They were impressed with the world’s words, but not with God’s words.

If you are impressed with God’s words, then you will not be impressed with yourself. Because God’s Word says,

“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, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (v. 6-8)

What are you? You are like a blade of withering grass. You are like a fading flower: your vibrancy and vitality are ebbing away. Understood collectively, humanity is like a decaying grain field or a drooping flower garden. We are like vanishing mists: we appear for a transitory moment, and then we’re gone (James 4:14). We are like little grasshoppers in comparison to the God who stretches out the heavens (Isaiah 40:22). As a nation, we “are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). In terms of brilliance and glory and might, God is not impressed with us.

Isaiah 40:6-8 is a divine arrow against the project of humanism. Mankind’s attempt to make man the measure of all things; humanity’s attempt to deify itself; people’s attempt to glorify themselves and parade their glory in front of each other; government’s attempt to make itself the ultimate lawmaker, judge, and savior of the world – all these things are obnoxious in God’s sight. In truth, we are weak and frail and mortal creatures, and on top of our finitude and neediness, we are also sinful creatures (as we saw in Isaiah 40:2). Sons and daughters of Adam, clothe yourselves with humility. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (see Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5)! Do not be impressed with your life, your ideas, your contributions, your legacy. Instead, discover the freedom and joy of being what God Almighty intends you to be – strive for nothing more, settle for nothing less.

Stand in awe of what comes forth from the Lord’s mouth. If He simply blows on you with the breath of His mouth, you’re gone (v. 7)! And hang on His words, because His words are uniquely durable: “the word of our God will stand forever.” If your life is tethered to His everlasting words, then and only then will you discover abiding significance. If your life is disconnected from His everlasting words, then the outer darkness awaits.

The very structure of Isaiah 40:1-9 is designed to anchor your confidence in God’s words. The reality that gives authority to the comforting words of verses 1-2 is that they are God-authorized words: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (v. 1). Likewise, the reality that gives authority to the prophet’s proclamation in verses 3-5 is that “the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (v. 5). Thus verses 6-8 functions as a punctuation mark on verses 1-5: God says (v. 1), the Lord has spoken (v. 5), “the word of our God will stand forever” (v. 8). Are you like the wise man who built his house on the rock: you hear the Lord’s words, believe them, and put them into practice? Or are you like the foolish man who built his house on the sand: you hear the Lord’s words but choose to ignore them, and you are unprepared for the storm that will inevitably come? (See Matthew 7:24-27)

Friend, the world wants you to be self-inventive and self-assertive with respect to your own identity and worth, and the world wants you to be cynical about any supposed revelation from God to mankind. In other words, the world wants you to be impressed with yourself, but unimpressed with God’s words. The truth of what is actually good for you, however, runs in the exact opposite direction. What you actually ought to do is to cherish and trust God’s words, and you ought to be distrustful of your attempt to establish your identity, security, and worth independently of God. In other words, you ought to be unimpressed with yourself, but impressed and overwhelmed with God’s words.[1]

Blessed is the man who stands on the word of God, because the word of God will never be pulled out from under his feet. God’s word proves to be a durable and unfailing support to those who lean upon it.

The first three words are complete, and the fourth word awaits. The first three words have prepared us for the fourth word. First, receive God’s comfort: your sins are forgiven. Second, prepare to see God’s glory: depart from the sins that God has pardoned, and discover that manner of life which is pleasing to the Lord. Third, humble yourself under God’s everlasting Word: don’t be enthralled with the self-governed life, but let God’s Word hold sway over you. Thus oriented to God’s Word (v. 8), to God’s anticipated and glorious coming (v. 5), and to God’s comfort (v. 1-2), the believer is now ready for the grand announcement.

THE FOURTH WORD: THE GRAND ANNOUNCEMENT (v. 9-11)

This brings us to the fourth word (v. 9-11), which is indeed the grand announcement. We know this is the grand announcement because it is set up in such lofty terms: “Go on up to a high mountain”, “lift up your voice with strength”, “lift I up, fear not” (v. 9). Whatever is about to be said is so important that it must be declared fearlessly in a strong voice from a high mountain, so that the word that thunders from this mountain would cascade down to the hills and valleys and plains below.

Another thing that stands out in the set-up for this grand announcement is that the messenger is specifically identified as Zion, which is synonymous with Jerusalem, and Jerusalem was earlier identified as God’s people (in v. 1): “O Zion, herald of good news”, “O Jerusalem, herald of good news” (v. 9). God’s people who reside in Jerusalem are cast as the herald of good news to the rest of the nation: “O Jerusalem… say to the cities of Judah” (v. 9). It makes one think of the gospel word being proclaimed “to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47), and from Jerusalem fanning out first to Judea and then to Samaria and eventually to everywhere else (Acts 1:8).

What is this good news that Jerusalem is called upon to herald to the cities of Judah? Simply this: “Behold your God!” The God whose Word stands forever, the God whose Word announces forgiveness, the God whose Word foretold that His glory would be revealed to all people – now this God has actually come to His people. The comforting word of God (in verse 1) is now conjoined to the comforting presence of God (in verse 11). The coming of God to save His people is the good news. The coming of God to enact His promises is the good news. The coming of God to reveal His glory for the good of His people is the good news.

Verse 9 puts it simply: “Behold your God!” Then verses 10-11 elaborate upon the significance of His coming.

Verse 10 describes His coming in general terms: “Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” He comes as the mighty and sovereign King who will establish His kingdom, accomplish His purpose, and render just judgment upon men. He has the authority and power to implement the great leveling that was foretold in verse 4.

Verse 11 describes His coming specifically in terms of how He will relate to His own people: “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.” What a wonderful and glorious juxtaposition of concepts is verses 10-11!

Behold the Glory of the Lord!

Behold the glory of the Lord: the sovereign Lord is like a shepherd who takes care of His flock.

Behold the glory of the Lord: the arm that rules is the same arm that gathers the lambs.

Behold the glory of the Lord: the One who has the authority to judge all men carries His people close to His heart.

Behold the glory of the Lord: the One who is mighty (v. 10) and “who brings princes to nothing” (v. 23) gently leads the most vulnerable ones (v. 11).

Behold the glory of the Lord: Majestic and pastoral! Sovereign and personal! Mighty and gentle! Indeed, the Lord God leverages His power for the good of His people:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)

The faint and fading flowers of verse 7 are made strong and resilient by the power of the Lord. The weary and withering blades of grass in verse 7 are refreshed and renewed by the everlasting God whose everlasting words nourish His people. Then, in our own time and place, we can lift up our voice with strength, and without fear we can declare to all who will listen that God has come to bring “eternal comfort and good hope through grace” (2 Thessalonians 2:16) to all who call upon His name.

THE GLORY OF THE LORD JESUS

The message of Isaiah 40:1-11 is timeless. But the timelessness of the message is tied to the fact that the Lord God did indeed come to His people at a particular time in a particular place. When Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3 reference Isaiah 40:3 in reference to the ministry of John the Baptist, what they mean is that John had a unique role in exhorting the people to prepare for the coming of the Lord God. Who did John prepare the way for? For the coming of the Lord God. Who came? Jesus. Jesus is the Lord God. Jesus is the Lord God who came to save His people. Jesus is the Lord God who came with might – casting out demons, healing diseases, forgiving sins, raising the dead, performing miracles, and proclaiming good news. Jesus is the Lord God who came with gentleness – gathering disciples, patiently instructing them, and equipping them to be participants in His kingdom. Jesus is the Lord God who rebuked the great storm and blessed the little children.

Jesus is the Lord God who revealed His glory in a most remarkable way: the Word became flesh. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The Word that endures forever, the Word that brings life, the Word that promises the forgiveness, the living Word came to be embodied in human flesh! The God-Man was able to be seen and looked upon and touched (1 John 1:1) and heard. Although He was able to and did outwit His opponents, He delighted to reveal the riches of His grace to ordinary lowly people who had a disposition to trust Him. He fed the hungry with words of life, but the rich who clung to their riches He sent away emptyhanded.

Jesus is the Lord God who enacted His words of comfort in a most unexpected way. These words of comfort in Isaiah 40:1-2 must ultimately be declared in light of the cross. Sin’s punishment was exhausted at the cross: the Lord God received from His own hand double for all the sins of His people. Sin’s guilt was removed at the cross: His people’s iniquity is pardoned, because His own blood was shed to make atonement. Sin’s warfare was ended at the cross: through His sacrifice, Jesus brought His people into peaceful relations with the Father. For those who believe, the captivity is done, the exile is over, and the shame is taken away. All this, because Jesus is “the good shepherd [who] lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). 

Brothers and sisters, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent in the year 2022, I say to you: Behold your God: the Good Shepherd, the Spotless Lamb and Sacrifice, Emmanuel – God with us, Jesus who saves His people from their sin.

ENDNOTES

[1] Although I didn’t attempt to replicate G. K. Chesterton’s thought in exact detail, I was definitely influenced by Chesterton’s insightful statement: “But what we suffer from to-day is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert­–himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt–the Divine Reason.” G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy: The Classic Account of a Remarkable Christian Experience. Colorado Springs: Shaw Books, 2001 (originally published in 1908): p. 38.