Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Isaiah 40. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- The appearance of John the Baptist on the bulletin cover reminds us of the fiery message of this last prophet, the one appointed to “prepare the way of the Lord.” We can remember some of the harshness of his message, requiring genuine repentance and dismissing the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees as a “brood of vipers,” people who acted all pious and holy on the outside but who rejected God’s Word and His messengers, and were filled with evil and violence within.
- Most people think of Jesus as gentle and mild, and of course He was, especially to those who were genuinely repentant, humble and downtrodden in sin and guilt, eager to receive and embrace God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation. But of course, Jesus also had very harsh words for the self-righteous and prissy people of His time – those eager to remove the speck from other people’s eyes, but doing nothing about the log in their own eye.”
- In view of human sin, human rejection of His Word, human antipathy to God’s way, the way of genuine repentance, faith, and love, God could have come down to earth with full wrath and fury – as He did with the flood. Instead, “HE CAME DOWN WITH GOOD NEWS,” as Isaiah predicted in our text for today. But we need to remember that the message is nuanced and specific.
- At no time does Jesus countenance sin. At no time does He leave the impenitent with peace and security. Always He commands repentance – honesty and integrity in keeping with truth. But the Good News always follows – a message of forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation with God. And this Good News has come down also to us, through God’s Word of Holy Scripture. It is a wondrous and marvelous thing that:
I. Jesus Came Down With Good News Of Comfort , Peace With God, And Forgiveness
Text: “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.”
Statement: We must understand that there is no comfort, no peace with God, apart from His pardon of our iniquities. Oh, this requires the painful honesty of acknowledging our wretched sin and guilt – and we dare hold nothing back in hypocrisy and falsehood, for He knows all things and will not be fooled by the likes of us. There is much for us to fear from our sin and guilt, and Christ’s urging to “fear not” falls on deaf ears if there is no acknowledgement of what we deserve for our sin. So we begin our worship with confession – and this is essential, to prepare us for the Good News from Jesus.
Application: And that Good News follows quickly upon our confession – the pronouncement of forgiveness that Jesus commands His servants to pronounce upon the repentant and fearful. And this is no mere philosophical or educational moment, but rather a direct application of the Words and promises of God to us, a continuing pronouncement of the Good News Jesus came to accomplish and communicate as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” What thanks and praise, service and obedience we owe to our great God and Savior! And remarkably:
II. Christ Himself Came Down, The Lord Our God, To Give Us Hope, Life, And Salvation
John’s task was clear: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
The Good News is “behold your God! The Lord God comes with might.”
A. He Comes To Us Even Though We Are Weak And Perishing – And We See God’s Glory In Christ Jesus
Text: “All flesh is as 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.”
But we have the assurance of God’s Word that we see His glory in Christ – through His Word and in His Sacrament:
2 Cor. 3:18 “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.”
B. And We Have His Word Which Stands Forever, And So We Who Are Of Faith Also Remain Forever Through His Word
Text: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.”
John 3:36 “He that believes the Son has everlasting life.”
Statement: We recognize the truth of this description. It doesn’t take long before we can no longer do what we once could do. Whether this comes early – at age 20, 25, or 30, or whether it comes later – at 40, 45, 50, 60, or 70, it inevitably comes to all of us and we realize that “surely the people are grass” and that we “wither and fade.” Our sin and guilt consume us and we cannot deliver ourselves. But the wondrous Lord God our Savior has come with Good News of forgiveness and mercy – and His Word is truth, and stands forever.
Application: So we too are invited to rejoice, and to fear not, and to revel in the coming of the Lord. He has called us to faith through His Word, declared us to be forgiven, cleansed, and righteous in His sight. His Word has declared that we have eternal life, and His Word stands forever – and so it is that we too will stand forever in His Word. This is what Christ came to do and what He accomplished – thanks and praise be to God! And so we have eternal hope, peace, confidence, comfort, and joy, for:
III. God Saves Us Through His Word Of Power And Love
A. He Gathers Us To Himself
Text: “He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms.”
B. He Brings Eternal Rewards With Him, And He Administers Them With All Power And Might
Text: “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”
C. And So He Carries Us Gently Through This Life And To Himself In Heaven
Text: “He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
Matt. 28:20 “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
John 14:3 “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and take you unto Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”
Statement: God proclaims these things to us, God Who is Almighty, full of power and might, with His Word – which stands and abides forever. He does so tenderly, with great care and compassion for our weakness and need – “in His bosom, gently, like lambs in His arms.” You see how this makes our salvation sure and certain – it is all in God’s hands, and according to His Word.
Application: Yes, this means that we will have to hear and heed His Word in regard to our sin, and that we will humble ourselves in repentance. But all of this is preparatory to our hearing and receiving the Good News of Jesus, what He came down to proclaim to us and all the world. It is in God alone, in His Word, that we find boldness to fear not, and courage to live under His rule and might. Thanks and praise be to God that “HE CAME DOWN WITH GOOD NEWS.”
Conclusion: Now there remain in this world, even in the presence of Christ Who came down with good news, those who arrogantly exalt themselves in self-righteous piety and claim no need for God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy! Some may yet be among us – God forbid! These feel no need to fear God, no need of His grace, and no desire to repent. There is no good news for them, but only God’s wrath, disapproval, and condemnation!
But for those who are humble, and who tremble at God’s Word, there is nothing but forgiveness, cleansing, gracious mercy, peace with God, and His eternal divine providence and protection! His Word insures all of this to us, and His Word stands forever!
Such is our joy because of Christmas, because of Christ’s coming, and it is an eternal joy that we look forward to. May His gracious Word of power keep us in repentance and faith until He comes again in glory! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the truth faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.