Eisenach Lent 4
Isaiah 52:7-10 March 6, 2016
Dear Friends in Christ,
Our text for this morning is one that comes to us from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Most often when we think of the Old Testament prophets, we think of all the doom and gloom that they predicted would happen to God’s rebellious people. Much of what the Old Testament prophets wrote was about how God would punish and even destroy those who disobeyed His commands. And for the rebellious children of Israel, this was a common message. God was always sending prophets to tell them that destruction was on its way.
Isaiah was no exception to this. As prophet of God he was called upon to bring many messages of upcoming destruction, captivity and death to the Israelites. And for Isaiah, this was something that was almost a lifelong work. For unlike other prophets who were called by God during their middle aged years, Isaiah was called as a very young man to talk to Israel about all the destruction that was to come. Because of this, Isaiah prophesied Israel’s destruction for over 40 years and was one of the longest lived prophets.
Added to this long career of Isaiah is the timing of His prophecies. Isaiah lived at a very critical time in the history of God’s chosen people. He lived during the days just before the remaining people of Israel were carried into captivity into Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. The ten northern tribes had already been taken away by the Assyrian army, never to be heard from again, and the last two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, were next. Because of their unbelief and their lack of obedience to God’s Will, they, too, were going to be carried off by an invading King.
Though this whole situation seems like there is nothing but a deserved death and destruction for the remaining Israelites, they were rebellious and they did not listen to what God said through His called prophets, Isaiah had for them a message that offered them some hope. For even though Isaiah told of the great destruction and sorrow that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would bring on the Israelites because of their rebellion, he also was called upon by God to tell the Israelites that if they repented of their sins, there would be forgiveness. The rebellions and sins that had separated them from God would be forgotten by God and He would again take them back as His people.
But this was not something that God was going to do it right away. No, these people would have to face the consequences of their sins. They would still be carried away into captivity for 70 years and live in a foreign land under a foreign king. But after the 70 years was up and after they had seen that God is serious about sin and that God does indeed demand obedience, God was going to make things right. God was going to forgive their sins and not only bring Israel back to their own land, but He was going to bring them peace and glad tidings. He was going to comfort them and show them that He truly is the God who forgives.
As Isaiah makes this prophecy of God’s goodness to these few remaining people who really did not deserve it, he also makes mention of how happy it will make them feel. God was going to teach these people so well that they not only would understand their great sinfulness and rebellion, but they would rejoice greatly in His forgiveness. Their joy in being forgiven would be so great that not only would they thank God and thank those that God had sent to bring this good news, but they would even think that the feet of those who brought this news were beautiful.
Obviously it is not for the sake of feet that they would see beauty but for the sake of the message of their forgiveness. It would be because of the Gospel that they would see beauty. It would be because of God’s forgiveness that anything connected with it would be beautiful. We are encouraged to see the beauty of God’s Grace as well and are directed in that way with our theme for this morning, “SEE THE BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL” In the first part we see I. THE BEAUTY OF THOSE WHO BRING IT. Secondly we see II. THE BEAUTY OF HIM WHO CREATED IT.
Now as we consider the beauty that is the Gospel and the real beauty that is there in knowing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to take away all of our sins, think of how much more joyous and more beautiful it was going to be for Israel. Remember again the setting of Isaiah and the Israelites. The people had forsaken God and rebelled against God. They had sinned. Because of this sin, God was going to punish them. He was going to send them into captivity for 70 years. But the good news that Isaiah then added to this was that after the 70 years was up, the few remaining Israelites, those who believed and trusted in the promises of God, would be allowed to return home. God would forgive their past sins and let them start all over again.
Although at the time that Isaiah was writing this, it was very meaningless to the Israelites, for they were in a state of rebellion, he writes it in a way that tells them there would come a day when this would be good news to them. There would come a day when they would rejoice not only at the beauty of the Gospel, but also at the very feet of those who brought them this message. And though this may not ring a strong note with us, you have to remember that in those days there were no Air Jordans or Nunn Bush shoes and socks to keep your feet clean. People did not regularly bath and wash like we do today. Feet were never considered beautiful either in how they looked or how they smelled.
Yet Isaiah says that the message that would be brought to them, the Good News of God’s forgiveness and the salvation that He alone could offer would be so beautiful that even the feet of those who brought it would look good. Even the dirty, smelly unwashed feet of the messengers would seem as if they were the most beautiful of roses or the sweetest of flowers. And the reason would be because of the message that those feet brought. It would be because God was forgiving sins that should only bring about death.
Yet the old saying is true, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This was not some new gift of forgiveness that God was giving to Israel. It was not a brand new message of forgiveness that evil Israel had never heard and because of this was more beautiful than anything else Israel had ever seen. God had always promised forgiveness to anyone who knew that our sins deserve death and that in God there is forgiveness. This has always been God’s plan of salvation and it always will be. But there were many who saw now beauty in this message because they did not believe their sins were that bad or God’s Grace was that good.
And as sad as it seems for all those Israelites that lost their salvation because they did not see the beauty that God was giving to them, the same sadness is present today. Just like in Israel, there are untold thousands, even millions who have no idea just how bad their sins are. There are Christians who think that they are good enough to deserve God’s salvation. There are believers who think that they must earn or match the Grace that God gives. And there are even times when we who know and understand the incomparable gift of God’s love think that we somehow deserve it because of what we do.
For we are not immune to missing the beauty of the Gospel. We, like Israel, can miss the great joy there is in knowing that each and every sin of theft or lying or pride or hatred or jealousy or taking God’s name in vain is indeed worthy of death, but forgiven. We can miss the beauty that is seen having our sins forgiven through the proclamation of the word or through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We can miss the beauty of the Gospel.
But because it is so easy for us to miss the beauty that is the Gospel message, we have this season of Lent. For these Sundays in lent help us see just how beautiful our Savior is in bringing us salvation as a free and gracious gift. For even though the world saw Christ as something hideous and as something to be disdained, we see Him as our beautiful Savior. We see Him as the one who willingly and freely came and took away our sins so that we might have everlasting life.
And even though the picture of Christ is one that may make us turn our heads, for who wants to see the bloodshed and the beating and the mocking and the pain and the suffering, we know that all that we really meant for us. Yes all that Christ went through was for us. Even for one of our sins, even for a little white lie, even for sleeping in on a Sunday morning, even for watching that TV show that we know we should not watch the nails were driven into our Savior’s hands. The scourge was laid to His back. The spear was thrust into His side.
And though there may not be much to look at in terms of beauty in the sorrowful death of Christ, there is the great beauty of the forgiveness of our sins. There is the great beauty in knowing that in the death of Christ all mankind has the hope of everlasting life.
Certainly we can understand the joy that Israel would have felt when their captivity was over and God allowed them to return home. But we do not need anything as dramatic as that to realize all of our sins deserve the same punishment, the same death. Yet by the beauty that is Christ we know “The Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem, the Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Amen.
7How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
8Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
9Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.