Extreme Comfort
Isaiah 40:1-5 November 30, 2008
You are probably busy with all the things you have to do before December 25th. You have four weeks and that is all you have until Christmas. I think we need to take a little road trip this first Sunday of Advent as the Christmas rush gets going. I have just the place to visit, Jerusalem. This will be no ordinary trip to Jerusalem. I have made some special arrangements. We are not simply going to Jerusalem; we are going back to the Jerusalem of Isaiah’s time.
I know this is a dangerous thing to do during a sermon but I want you to close your eyes and imagine yourself on the streets of ancient Jerusalem. I want you to imagine yourself on a street in that ancient city. Why are we going to Jerusalem?
We are there to listen to Isaiah the prophet. You’ve read the words, now let’s go back and hear them right from his lips. As we hear him preach the mad rush of this season diminishes and we understand the real comfort of this season. We see God’s comfort brought into our lives in an extreme way. Now for that trip. Close your eyes, listen, and imagine.
You are on a street corner in Jerusalem on a warm, sunny day. Standing in the shade on a warm sunny day you are listening to Isaiah preach. Other folks are listening intently; others pass by and toss an insult or heckle at him. What would you think?
“’Comfort, comfort, my people,’ says your God. ‘Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’” What do you think as you hear those words? What is your reaction?
Several things in Isaiah’s words stand out in your mind. The first are those words of comforts; “‘Comfort, comfort, my people,’ says your God.” You had heard all the words of condemnation from Isaiah but now you hear words of comfort. You now understand there is more to God’s discipline than his wrath. God will not level your city and walk away. There is also comfort, God’s divine comfort that is coming.
“‘Comfort, comfort, my people,’ says your God.” The thing that strikes you about those words is the note of deep and tender concern. That image arrests your thoughts as you stand there listening to Isaiah. That phrase communicates a loving, caring concern a mother carries for her child. In fact, the poetry of these verses expresses a deep maternal emotion. The word, "comfort" is a motherly word. It flows off Isaiah’s lips in the way a mother would say them to a crying child who has fallen as she scoops him up into her arms and comforts him. That deep sense of loving comfort in the prophecy arrests your attention as you realized that God has that same loving concern for his people. He has that same loving concern for you.
Then, I believe, something else stands out in your mind. You would think about the one who is providing that loving comfort. That is the second thing that arrests your thoughts. These words you heard do not describe an angel or other heavenly being. They describe God himself. As you turn the words over in your mind that realization becomes very clear, as clear as the Hebrew words themselves. God himself is coming to his people. God himself is coming to provide this loving, extreme comfort.
Of course we today recognize the verses that follow as those words upon the lips the John the Baptist. “Prepare the way of the Lord!” In Jerusalem listening to the oracle you hear them for the first time. You hear the divine name of God.
These words literally read, “Prepare the way of Yahweh!” Yahweh was the closest one could come for God’s name. For all of your friends it is a word too holy to pronounce, yet you heard it just now from Isaiah. God is the one who is bringing this comfort. God himself! Could such a thing be true? It would be like the days of Moses only better. Instead of speaking through Moses or other prophet you could speak to God one on one! You run that imagery over in your mind as you stand there listening on the dusty street.
As a mother rushes to her young child who has fallen and crying, God himself is going to rush to the comfort of his own people. These verses speak about us! Think of that image! God scooping us up into his arms and holding us until the hurt is gone. He will be our God and we will be his people, face to face, person to person. It is almost too much for you to comprehend.
God will hold onto your life with a never-let-go grasp. You say the words again; you hear them in your mind. “Comfort, comfort, my people,” says God. “I’m coming for you!” There is one more thing in Isaiah’s words that grab you.
It is the seal on the promise. It was as good as the clay seal on a letter of love. You hear Isaiah put God’s signature upon this promise, “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” That phrase is God’s seal upon these promises. It reminds you of the clay seal you place on your letters and contracts. That clay seal is your promise, your credibility, your ownership. Likewise God himself has placed his own seal upon these promises you are hearing. “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
You repeat the words as you consider why you should believe what you have just heard Isaiah declare. “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A simple phrase, yet a phrase you could hang your life on. Why? God has spoken, God will do it. God has signed off on the promise.
Those three things would capture your attention as you stand there in the shade listening. You are, of course, filled with apprehension concerning the previous judgments Isaiah has preached. You’ve heard them all. But this prophecy put everything into perspective for you. There is more than judgment in store for you. There is also comfort. God himself will bring that comfort. God himself promised these things. The comfort and the glory of God are going to be revealed.
Come back now to this time and place. As you carry these verses into our modern lives what do they say to you?
This prophecy from the lips of Isaiah tells us why Advent and Christmas are so important. We experience the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in the birth of Jesus. You and I see and celebrate events Isaiah longed to see, but never did. Imagine if you had been left there with Isaiah and had not lived to see what we see now?
Jesus’ birth revealed the comfort and glory of God by making our rebirth possible. God did not intend this poetry to become a dusty, obscure prophecy in an Old Testament book. This prophecy of God’s comfort was fulfilled when Jesus was born. This prophecy is fulfilled in you when you open your life to the glory and comfort of God through Jesus Christ.
God himself rushed to our comfort when he arrived for us in Jesus Christ. How did God reveal his comfort and glory with Jesus’ birth? Through Jesus Christ God’s judgment for our sins is adverted. That is, Jesus came to take our death penalty, to die in our place for the transgressions you and I committed. Our sins, transgressing God’s righteousness, brought upon us God’s everlasting judgment. As the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem so sin destroys your relationship with God. God must deal with the offense of our sin. Jesus Christ paid your penalty. God’s comfort comes to you through Jesus Christ when you accept Jesus as your savior.
It's ironic the time of year we celebrate the fulfillment of this prophecy we often fail to appreciate God’s comfort. It is not that we don’t want to open our lives to God’s comfort and glory; it is that we are often too busy to do so! Think of all the things this time of year requires of you.
The simple act of choosing and decorating a Christmas tree, for example, can nearly cause the death of a marriage! There are all those decisions and compromises. Even before roaming through the lot looking for a tree, you must first agree as to the size, shape, price and kind of tree. Artificial or live? Short or long needle? That is only the beginning.
Wrestling the tree to your car you must carry it home and into your house. A feat often easier said than done. You must agree as to where the tree will stand; the living room? The family room? The garage? Then the real negotiations begin. Tinsel or no tinsel? Color of lights? Regular or blinking? Your family traditions or my family traditions? Where is all our Christmas stuff anyway?
Once you manage to get your tree up and decorated you still have the shopping to do, or at least the gift wrapping. Then there are the Christmas programs in school, church, and many cases, at work. You get all those cards mailed, all that baking done, and hang the stockings.
I wonder what Isaiah would think about all this? If he came back with us on this road trip and could follow us around as we shop and decorate, and argue I wonder what he would think? My guess is he would think we are fools! Why? Because we live in the promise, we celebrate events Isaiah longed to see. Yet we are often too busy or too tired or too harried to thank God for this wondrous blessing!
Is it any wonder we miss God’s comfort and glory? We’re too busy and too tired and too annoyed to see it, understand it, and enjoy it. How do we slow things down? It’s nearly a cliché, I hesitate to say it. Let Christ live in your Christmas this year!
Let Christ live in your Christmas? Yes. How? Remember these verses, read them and let them into your mind and life. Long ago a prophet preached of the hope to come, the hope you and I see, experience, and enjoy. A hope that we often take for granted. Will you miss out on the greatest part of Christmas, the very reason we celebrate this day?
Listen to Isaiah; he never saw what you and I see. I suspect he would change places with you or me in an instant, if he could, to behold the Messiah, God’s mercy and glory revealed. We often treat this season more as a burden than a blessing. Don’t do that! Make this Christmas different! Let Christ live in your Christmas this year!
Open your lives to the comfort and glory of God! Listen to what Isaiah yearned to see. “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Do you see it? Will you take the time this year to see it, to live it, to celebrate the comfort and glory of God? When things become tense for you this Advent and Christmas season take a break. Take a break and read these verses. Open your life to the comfort and glory of Christmas.