Isaiah 35:1-10 Sermon

Third Sunday of Advent

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Christmas and Christ’s Kingdom: “Christ’s Kingdom Give Us Strength and Courage”

Isaiah 35:1-10

1The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (NIV)

It takes courage to live as a Christian.  It takes courage to stand up for our beliefs, knowing that confidently expressing them will likely result in ridicule.  It takes courage to confess a belief in creationism in a world that has turned bad science into a deity, and it takes courage to speak up for one-man-and-woman marriage amidst the din of “live and let live” and a “mind your own business” mentality so prevalent in the world.  Such things take courage.

But most of us can deal with those things.  Where Christianity really takes courage, where strength is really needed, is in the day-to-day stuff.  It’s needed as the Holy Spirit takes what’s in here (Bible), gets it to sink into here (heart), and ultimately guides us to reflect it in our daily behaviors and actions.  It’s easy to look the other way when the words or actions of a brother or sister in the faith clearly undermine God’s will; it takes courage to be strong enough to lovingly point it out.  It takes courage to pray together with my family when I am deathly afraid of sounding foolish not if, but when, I stumble.  It’s easy to resort to moralizing in raising my children, but it takes courage to point out the blunt reality of sin and follow it with the consolation and comfort of the gospel.  It’s easy to slam the shortcomings of a spouse, but it takes courage to admit that my own sin at the very least plays some part in the reason this marriage isn’t as strong as it could be.  Yes, in so many areas, it takes courage to put the Christian faith into practice.

Well I have good news for you then this morning, or I should say Isaiah has good news.  In the past two weeks God has used Isaiah to assure us that Christ’s Kingdom is Coming and that It is Worth the Wait; this morning he promises that Christ’s Kingdom Gives Us Strength and Courage.  Strength and courage may not be the first two things that come to mind when we reflect on a baby in a manger, yet the imagery that Isaiah conveys for us this morning give us the confidence that Christmas and Christ’s kingdom do in fact provide us with strength and courage.

By now we’re used to the word pictures of the prophet Isaiah; nevertheless, this morning once again he takes somewhat abstract concepts of strength and courage and makes them concrete for us by using recognizable pictures.  Through these pictures, Isaiah touches on what we might identify as being five areas in which Christ’s Kingdom has made us strong and courageous.

The first is in the area of Appearance.  The change in appearance prophesied by Isaiah would hardly go unnoticed.  It is about as drastic a change as can be.  Isaiah writes, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God” (v.1,2).  One does not need to be a gardener or work in a nursery to appreciate the eye-popping change between a parched desert and a one that has just been doused with rain.  Life seems to appear out of nowhere.  Dust and dirt and earthy tones give way to bright and vibrant colors of plant life after the rain.

You and I can relate.  If we were somehow able to compare a “before” and “after” picture that could reflect the difference in appearance between what we were originally, before belonging to Christ’s Kingdom, and what we are now, we’d be unrecognizable.  The desert landscape of unbelief is dotted with the bone-dry soil of sin and the withered and crunchy plants of failed perfection.  The luscious landscape of life in Jesus, however, is strikingly different.  Grace blossoms in abundance.  Forgiveness flowers in a splendid array of colors.  Salvation springs forth in celebration of what we’ve become in Christ.

We notice the difference when we see it in fellow Christians.  The grace of God glows in the brother or sister becoming more and more spiritually mature.  Others notice it too.  They may not tell you initially, or ever, but they notice it.  Year after year those who have begged off on religion have taken notice of how you differ in appearance.  The wayward, the wondering – they have noticed that you are different, because you are.  Being in Christ’s Kingdom changes our appearance.

It also has given us strength and courage in our Ability.  “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way” (v.3).  It’s undeniable: as we age, our bodies aren’t able to do what they used to.  We can’t lift as much, we cannot grip as tightly, we have trouble even keeping ourselves steady and stable.  But it works the other way around spiritually.  Spiritually speaking, without God we have feeble hands and unreliable knees, but once we are brought into his kingdom, we become strong and continue to be strengthened.  We become able do that which we couldn’t before we belonged to Christ.  We become able to do more as we spiritually mature than when we were infants in the faith.  And it isn’t us, but the Holy Spirit working in us who equips us to grow in our ability to lead, to pray, to serve, to give, to evangelize, and so on.

Not surprisingly, a change in appearance and ability is often accompanied by a change in Attitude.  Isaiah wrote, “say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you” (v.4).  Isaiah is expressing the same confident attitude that God encouraged Joshua to have when he told him, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  It is the same attitude of King David, who wrote in Psalm 56, “in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” (v.11).  Man is able to carry out the unthinkable and reprehensible to fellow man – but only in this life.  God, however, is the one who determines where a soul ends up in the next life.  And, dear friends, because Christ came at Christmas and he still rules and reigns in his kingdom right at this very moment, we have absolutely nothing to be afraid of at this very moment.  Our attitude is fearless.  We have been claimed by Christ, and he comes again for those he claims.  Until he does on that Last Day, he also promises to be with us always.  We have nothing to fear.  Let the world paint its bull’s eye on your back for being a narrow-minded, uneducated, “anti-everything” Christian; sticks and stones, right? 

A strong and courageous attitude not only allows us to weather the storm of Christian-bashing rhetoric, but it makes us bold enough to act on the only real solution to the problem – changing the hearts of those opposed to Christ and his church.  Sure, we could hide away.  We could circle the wagons with other Christians and badmouth the world.  We could resort to the common misperception that what we really need is prayer in schools, “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy holidays,” stores closed on Sundays, etc….. Those are the things Christians resort to when they’re afraid.  But remember – our attitudes have changed and we have nothing to fear, so we’re unafraid to personally address the real need the world has: it needs the gospel.  It needs Jesus.  That means that sin must be pointed out so that the world can know of and admit its need for a Savior.  You belong to the church for that very purpose.  God hasn’t called anyone else but you and me to proclaim Jesus to the world, and he’s made us a part of his kingdom so that we have the proper attitude to do it.

Being a part of that kingdom has also opened our eyes, hasn’t it?  It has given us Awareness.  We read and study God’s Word, which so clearly spells out both our need for a Savior and the confidence that we have one in Jesus, and we become increasingly aware of how important that message is for ourselves, our family, and our friends and neighbors.  Isaiah said, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (v.5).  Before being brought into Christ’s kingdom, we were clueless, clueless of our own personal need of a Savior, and clueless of that need for others.  All that has changed.  Our eyes and ears have been opened.  Our awareness has changed our perspective, so that we essentially have two priorities: God, and everything else, in that order.

When that happens, finally, there is something phenomenal about being a part of Christ’s Kingdom that simply cannot be bottled up and hidden away.  Faith in Jesus and the free gift of forgiveness and salvation and peace and joy and, and, and… simply can’t be topped.  So we express our Appreciation.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.  Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (v.6).  “Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (v.10).  Isaiah uses animals and nature to personify the sheer joy that cannot help but be expressed in appreciation for all that we have in Christ’s Kingdom.  Such appreciation does not need to be coerced; it comes naturally.  Watch a child attack an ice cream Sunday and it is quite evident how much she appreciates it.  In the same way, watch Christ work in the life of a believer and see how much she appreciates it.  It becomes evident in every facet of life.

Christ’s Kingdom Gives Us Strength and Courage, and, as Isaiah points out, it is evident in our lives through our appearance, ability, attitude, awareness, and appreciation.  May the grace that ushered the Christ child into our world to give us all things, continue to give us strength and courage in Christ’s Kingdom.  Amen.

                                                             

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Isaiah 11:1-10 Sermon

Second Sunday of Advent

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Christmas and Christ’s Kingdom: “Christ’s Kingdom Is Worth Waiting For”

Isaiah 11:1-10

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

In my church growing up, in the front of the sanctuary we had two wreathes displayed on either side, each of which would gradually display three purple ornaments and one pink one over the course of Advent.  I must confess that as a young child, the first Sunday I saw those wreathes displayed with their one purple bulb, my thought was not, “ah, the season of advent, a time for reflection and patient pondering is upon us,” but rather something along the lines of, “oh man, we still have three more weeks of colored bulbs until Christmas!”  It is no shock to anyone that waiting patiently does not tend to be a virtue with which many children are blessed.  Actually, come to think of it, many of the adults here would have to admit that waiting patiently is not always a virtue with which many of us are blessed.

More often than not, what dictates whether or not we’re willing to wait patiently comes down to determining if something is worth waiting for.  Some may be willing to wait behind a long line of cars to save several cents per gallon on gas; others may not.  Some can wait until the movie comes out on Blu-ray, while others need to see it the night it opens.  But there are certain things that we would pretty much universally agree are worth the wait: a life-saving surgery or treatment, getting hired for a new job, or a loved one returning from being deployed, to give a few examples.  This morning, as we continue our “Christmas and Christ’s Kingdom” series, we will see that Christ’s Kingdom is – and always has been – worth waiting for.

Once again we allow the prophet Isaiah to show this to be true.  We pick up in the eleventh chapter of his book this morning.  In the chapter just before, Isaiah spoke words of judgment concerning the nation of Assyria, both Israel’s enemy and the superpower of Isaiah’s day.  While it would have been difficult for anyone in Isaiah’s time to imagine the leading nation of Assyria being cut down, that is precisely what Isaiah prophesied.  And, just as shocking, if not more so, was his prophesy in our verses this morning that the weak and fractured nation of Israel would rise to prominence in a way that the world had never seen – through its contribution/deliverance of the promised Messiah, who because of the freedom from sin which he would bring, would be well worth the wait.

It is this Messiah about whom Isaiah is speaking in our verses for consideration this morning.  The line of mighty King David had been humbled and brought to its knees.  The era of Israel’s power and prosperity was a thing of the past, and God’s people had endured the embarrassing experience of exile.  What once had been a mighty oak of a superpower was now referred to as a “stump” by the prophet Isaiah.  In an effort to depict how low God’s people had fallen, Isaiah doesn’t even refer to it as the stump of David, but refers further back in his line to the more meager roots of the father, Jesse.  Jesse, we recall, was from Bethlehem, which was by no means a leading city at any point in Israel’s history.  Yet Isaiah tells us, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (v.1).  From a stump, a symbol of death, would come a shoot, a symbol of new life.

We have seen the picture.  The lifeless stump sits alone, appearing dried out and dead, possibly even for years.  But where there were previously no signs of life, a little blade of green slices out of the shell of bleached bark to show signs of life.  And, if given the chance, that shoot will split and spread, and branches and leaves will form, eventually flourishing into a tree.

And as Isaiah makes clear, that fruit-bearing Branch can only refer to its messianic fulfillment, Jesus Christ.  Isaiah explained, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” (v.2).  John the Baptist made the connection for us when he shared his eyewitness testimony at Jesus’ baptism, testifying, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34).  At the house of the centurion, Cornelius, Peter preached about Jesus being anointed with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 10:38), further illustrating that Jesus was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy; he is the Branch that would bear fruit and flourish.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit for a purpose, and Jesus himself made clear: “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11).  Jesus recognized he had come to earth to carry out his Father’s work, just as Isaiah had foretold – “and he will delight in the fear of the Lord” (v.3). 

Isaiah clarified what that work of his Father would entail.  “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears” (v.3).  When we attempt to determine what type of person someone is, we can do no more than make an assessment based on what we’ve seen and heard from that person, or from others about that person.  We have no other means or method or basis by which to judge others.  That doesn’t always work out.  We may draw the wrong conclusion about a person based on what she did, when we don’t have any idea about the “why” behind it.  Or, we may take a person’s words in the kindest way, but if we could see into his heart, we would in some cases see that such words did not stem from kindness at all.  Judging by external words and actions isn’t always accurate, but we have no other choice.

The One promised through Isaiah, on the other hand, chooses not to judge by what his eyes see and ears hear.  Thank goodness!  If that were the case, there would be more than enough spiteful words spit from our mouths and damning deeds done by our hands to condemn us for eternity!  Thank goodness the promised Messiah doesn’t judge on the basis of our external actions.  But wait – what does that leave?  Will we fare any better if he judges our hearts instead of just our words and actions?  Heavens, no!  In fact, our hearts would condemn us even more!  See how true to self the apostle Paul was being when he lamented what a wretched man he was, when he labeled himself “chief of sinners?”  He knew both his condemning outward actions as well as his condemning inward heart.  We do, too!

And so we cannot begin to explain the difference it makes to know that the Savior came to judge by the standard of righteousness, but not your righteousness or mine – for no such righteousness exists. No, he must judge on the basis of his own righteousness.  And Isaiah assures us that is exactly what he came to do.  “But with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth” (v.4a).  His own righteousness will be the basis by which he judges us.  This is where faith comes in.  Faith is God’s gift to you and me which receives the perfect righteousness of Christ as if it was our own.  Paul pens it time and again that righteousness is ours by faith (e.g., Romans 4).  So if righteousness is the basis for Jesus’ judgment of you and me, and that very righteousness belongs to us by faith, what do we have to worry about?  Nothing.  As Christ’s kingdom comes to us through his powerful Word, that Word has bestowed on us his righteousness.  It has made us to be declared guiltless.

It will not, though, have the same effect on those who reject it.  Sadly, the same Word of God that worked Christ’s righteousness in us, is a devastating weapon that wreaks havoc on any who in unbelief refuse God’s free gifts. Isaiah said, “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked” (v.4b).  Christ’s kingdom is shut out to those who reject him in unbelief.

But what a different picture for all who by his free gift of righteousness and full forgiveness have gained access into his kingdom!  Isaiah takes a page out of nature that the Fallen world would never witness – predator and prey at peace.  Wars cease, men will refrain from attacking and abusing each other, even if only temporarily, but never will the world we know now be a place where enemies in the animal kingdom will suddenly get along.  Never will the world we know now be a place where an helpless child will not only need not fear a treacherous animal, but actually play with it and frolic with it.  It isn’t this life that Isaiah is explaining, but the kingdom to come, the one that will be ushered in when the One who came first as a baby returns a second time as all-glorious, conquering hero.  What idea is Isaiah attempting to convey with his animal pictures?  Peace.  A kingdom of peace is what awaits those who long for the Branch to fully flourish, lacking nothing, and overseeing all things in a flawless eternity.

Until that time comes, a foretaste of that peace has been deposited into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  It’s peace in the midst of unmet deadlines, unfinished tasks, and unkept promises.  More importantly, it’s peace that replaces the guilt of sin.  It’s peace that flows from forgiveness.  It’s peace that means freedom from fear of judgment.  It’s peace that comes through Jesus, peace that comes to you because he came to you that first Christmas, and he will come to you again on the Last Day.  It’s peace that makes Christ’s Kingdom worth waiting for.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Isaiah 2:1-5 Sermon

First Sunday of Advent

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

Christmas and Christ’s Kingdom: “Christ’s Kingdom Is Coming”

Isaiah 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains;
     it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

    “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”
    The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.
    They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
    Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (NIV)

                 

As you and a friend are enjoying some conversation, somehow the discussion turns to a review of some of your favorite movies.  As you recall some of the movies that really stand out among the others, you take turns repeating some of the more memorable scenes, pointing out what it was about each scene that made it so great.  The more you discuss these scenes, the more you find yourself wanting to sit down and watch some of them, as it has been too long since you’ve last watched them.  Yet, as good as each of the scenes that you’ve been recalling may be, you wouldn’t very likely just spend an evening skipping through a handful of movies only to watch those memorable scenes; you’d watch the whole movie.  You recognize that the rest of the movie contributed to making those individual scenes so great.  Knowing the background and history of the characters, recognizing what they’re trying to accomplish, appreciating the unique plot details – all of these factors contribute significantly to making individual scenes that stand out in memory.  To remember why you appreciated the scene so much, you’re best off watching the whole movie all together.

Christmas can become like that favorite scene in a movie.   Many of us know the scene so well by now.  More Christmases ago than we can even count, we memorized portions of Luke for our recitation in the Christmas service.  Decades of Christmases have seen cards and letters with similar pictures and phrases.  Familiar Christmas carols continue to have a way of whisking us to where the shepherds gathered around the manger to catch sight of the newborn King.  For many of us, Christmas is our favorite scene of the church year.

But to appreciate it at its fullest, we have to see the whole movie.  During this season of Advent, which begins this morning, we will review how that one scene fits into the overall plan that God had laid out from eternity.  The prayer is that doing so will help us put the favorite scene of Christmas into its proper context, so that we might find our celebration of the Savior’s birth to be even more enriching and fulfilling.  Our Advent series, “Christmas and Christ’s Kingdom,” will seek to help us review and recall the overall picture of Christ’s Kingdom, so that Christmas will stand out even more.  During this series, we’ll let the prophet Isaiah be our guide.  This morning he assures us, Christ’s Kingdom Is Coming.

Listen for a moment to some of the words of rebuke from the first chapter of Isaiah: “rebelled… sinful nation… brood of evildoers…children given to corruption… forsaken the LORD… spurned the Holy One of Israel… turned their backs on him… Stop bringing meaningless offerings… Your incense is detestable to me… I cannot bear your evil assemblies…Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates… When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen… Take your evil deeds out of my sight… Stop doing wrong… Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts” (Isaiah 1).  The words from the first chapter of Isaiah cut to the heart.  While they are harsh, they are a little easier to swallow if we understand them to be spoken to Israel’s enemies.  The only problem is, they aren’t being spoken to Israel’s enemies; they’re being spoken to Israel herself.

I don’t know how well such a rebuke would go over today.  Concern over damaging consciences and future self-esteem issues would raise red flags from many in our society today.  Only positive encouragement and words of affirmation are permitted.  But God knows best what his people need to hear, and so he spoke what needed to be said through his prophet Isaiah.  The book of Isaiah can be broken down into two parts.  The first part, chapters 1–39, focuses on judgment and promises of future deliverance.  In the second part, chapters 40–66, God pours out his comfort on his hurting people.  We might think of chapter one as serving as sort of an introduction to the entire book. Chapter two, including our verses for this morning, while it includes some of the same themes of rebuke we see in the first chapter, also provides us with a peek of the promises to come.  When the sting of God’s law is felt, as it most certainly is in the first chapter, the soothing comfort of good news through God’s gracious promises is appreciated all the more.  It is precisely because the prophet Isaiah paints pictures of gospel comfort with so much rich imagery throughout this book that he has been referred to as the Fifth Evangelist.  That is, in addition to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Isaiah stands right along side them in many respects in his communication of the gospel promises of God through Christ.

To communicate those promises in our verses this morning, Isaiah draws our attention to a mountain.  To understand and appreciate the picture Isaiah is painting, we remember that in Israel’s day, there were a number of mountains that held special significance.  One of those was Mt. Moriah.  Mt. Moriah was the mountain on which Abraham was willing to take his son Isaac’s life at God’s command.  Remember that God had promised to bless all nations through Abraham’s descendant, Jesus.  On top of that mountain, God foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice by which those nations would be blessed.  Years later, as God had multiplied Abraham’s descendants into the people of Israel, Mt. Moriah again held special significance, as it was the location of Solomon’s temple, the center piece of Old Testament worship.  There at the temple, too, through the sacrifice of animals, God foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice through which he would bring deliverance, the sacrifice of Jesus.  This mountain was of primary importance to God’s people.  Their lives revolved around it, for their lives revolved around the promises illustrated by God through temple worship.

While Isaiah certainly had the sacred mountain on which God’s people worshiped in mind, it wasn’t the only picture he wished to convey through his poetic imagery.  Hear his words again: “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (v.2-3).  We can know from Isaiah’s own words that he had something more in mind than just the sacred mountain of his day, since he says, “in the last days.”  Isaiah is looking at some point in the future when he speaks of people being drawn to the mountain.  So when would it happen?  What mountain will be raised up and exalted?  To which mountain will nations stream?  How will people be taught God’s ways, which will go out from Zion, from Jerusalem?

Isaiah is looking ahead and seeing God’s promise of deliverance fulfilled.  In his day, one’s walk with God revolved around a physical mountain.  In the last days, as he pictures, the focal point is no longer a physical mountain, but Isaiah used that picture nonetheless because it was a familiar one to his hearers.  In the last days, what had previously been carried out on the temple mountain would be carried out in an entirely different way.  God would carry out this work through the words and works of his Son, Jesus.  People came from all over to hear the words of Jesus and to witness first hand his mighty works.  They followed him to be taught the ways of God and walk in his paths.  The law – God’s Word – came to God’s people through God’s Son, Jesus, in the last days.  He came to speak the good news of life and salvation, and he came to fulfill the good news of life and salvation.

We are still in the last days today, for the last days refer to the time between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming.  People still gather around the Word of God to hear the good news of the gospel.  God’s people still proclaim what Jesus has done to bring deliverance.  Still today we speak of another mountain, or hill, really – Calvary, on which our sacrificial Lamb died so that we might live.  Where the gospel is proclaimed today, Isaiah’s words are being fulfilled.  The Church carries out the work entrusted to it to see to it that the word of the Lord goes out, and that what goes out is the good news of redemption and sins forgiven.  It is the news of sins paid for and eternal life.  It is the message of being at peace with God.  It is the good news of the gospel, and where the good news of the gospel is proclaimed, the work of Christ’s Kingdom is coming and being carried out.

But there is more to Isaiah’s picture that awaits fulfillment.  He prophesied, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (v.4).  Isaiah is speaking of a time that hasn’t fully arrived.  Yes, while we are at peace with God because our sins have been forgiven, the true and permanent peace that will fill the world will not arrive until Jesus arrives for the second time.  Only then will wars cease, resulting in true and permanent peace.  When that happens at Jesus’ return, Christ’s Kingdom will have come in the fullest sense.

So what does this all have to do with Christmas?  Only everything.  If God had not kept his promise of deliverance, the promise given to Isaiah and to so many before him, then our salvation would be ruled out.  But he did keep his promise.  He did so at the first Christmas.  With the arrival of the Christ born in Bethlehem came the arrival of Christ’s Kingdom and the work of the gospel.  Without Christmas there is no Kingdom.  Without any Kingdom we have no gospel.  Without the gospel, we have no hope.  But the Christ was born, and his kingdom still comes when the gospel is proclaimed.  Merry Christmas – Christ came, and his kingdom is still coming.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)