WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:22.000 Thank you, Lowell. 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:22.879 Good morning. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:23.679 Welcome. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:31.519 I am so thankful for the Word of God that reminds us that our God is sovereign. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:41.039 I believe it's in the book of Job where it says that the Lord has storehouses for the snow, and every once in a while he has to empty those storehouses. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:43.600 I'm assuming that that's the way that works. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:56.880 Good reminder that when these times are upon us and we have to get up early to shovel or run the snowblower, it's an opportunity for us to be reminded of the greatness of our God. 00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:06.640 So, too, our Christmas theme this December, as we embark on a walk through some of Isaiah. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:18.000 You know, it seems that people were reluctant to read and believe the Old Testament 500 years ago, even as many do today. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:37.040 I say that because when Martin Luther began to work on his translation of the Old Testament into German, he also composed a preface that encouraged people to read the Old Testament. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:43.519 Here's what Luther wrote in the preface to the first five books of the Old Testament. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:46.159 It was so long, you know, handwritten. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:50.400 It was so long that he just composed, just translated the first five books of the Old Testament. 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:51.359 Here's what he said. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:56.400 There are some who have little regard for the Old Testament. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:06.959 They think of it as a book that was given to the Jewish people only, but it's now out of date, containing only stories of past times. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:18.159 But Jesus says in John chapter 5, Martin Luther wrote, Search the Scriptures, for it's those scriptures, those Old Testament scriptures that bear witness to me. 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:24.400 The scriptures of the Old Testament are not to be despised, he says, but diligently read. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:52.560 Therefore, dismiss your own opinions and feelings and think of the scriptures as the loftiest and the noblest of holy things, as the richest of minds, which can never be sufficiently explored, in order that you may find that divine wisdom which God here lays before you in such simple guise as to quench all pride. 00:02:53.599 --> 00:03:00.080 Here you will find the swaddling claws and the manger in which Christ lies. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:08.240 Simple and lowly are these swaddling claws, but dear is the treasure. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.360 Christ who lies in them. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:14.000 Isn't that fantastic? 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:19.120 Luther employed the image of the manger. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:31.199 Christ, the baby wrapped in swaddling claws, strips of claws wrapped around him, binding him up as an infant, to picture the Old Testament. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:40.560 And I'm inviting you this December to go on a journey to sort of unwrap some of those claws. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:50.319 Claws from the Old Testament that, like a snugly bound newborn child, enwrap the good news of God's promise to send a redeemer. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:04:04.960 And what we're going to see as we walk down this road together is very similar to what those disciples on the Emmaus road heard from a man they didn't initially recognize. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:22.240 See, the gospel is a Christian's hope. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:25.360 The gospel is a Christian's joy. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.000 It's the foundation of our faith. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:42.800 But there was a time when the good news, the gospel promise, was known only as an anticipated promise, as hoped-for good news for those who waited on God's promise. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:54.079 We're going to see several aspects of that promise in the coming weeks, but we're going to begin this morning in the Gospel of Mark, now that you've already made your way in your Bibles to Isaiah. 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:12.399 And the road to the gospel according to Isaiah begins in Mark. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.959 I know that sounds backwards, but hopefully you'll come to understand what I mean by that. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:22.160 Mark begins his gospel in Mark chapter 1 in this way. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:29.600 It says, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:38.240 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:45.279 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:53.519 And John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:06:07.920 Our English translations read a little bit like an introduction, followed by a sentence that introduces a quotation. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.439 So we have that period that ends a sentence, right? 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:14.959 Here's the title to Mark's gospel. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.560 This is the beginning of the gospel of Christ, the Son of God. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:26.639 Now, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, somebody's going to come and prepare the way. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.240 That's the way it sounds in our English translations. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:37.360 And that's not wrong, but it is a translator's interpretation of what Mark wrote. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.279 Because Mark didn't write exactly like that. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:47.199 None of the books in the Bible had punctuation marks when they were first written. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:53.680 The languages were written at that time without punctuation marks anywhere in the text. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:55.279 So let me show you. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:57.839 Hopefully, this can come across okay. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:07.279 This may be the oldest copy of Mark chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 that we have in our possession today. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:11.360 This is what comes from what's called the Codex or the Book Vaticanus. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:16.879 Written sometime around, sometime in the 300s A.D. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.360 And you can see that there are no punctuation marks. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.639 And there are no breaks between the words. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:32.399 Right? 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:40.800 Thankfully, all modern versions of the Greek New Testament separate the words for us so we can read it a little more easily. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:42.959 Now, why is this important? 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:45.680 Why is this significant? 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:51.279 Well, it makes it a little easier, I think, to grasp what Mark is doing. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:08:00.639 Let's go back to our English translation and take out the punctuation. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:08.399 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.680 Behold, I'm sending my messenger before your face. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:21.199 Now you may hear the difference, but not be able to explain what you hear. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:23.519 So let me let me try to help you a little bit. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:43.600 If you remove the period from our English translations and you leave it as one long run-on sentence, what it does is it tells us that the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ is less about what Mark is doing and more about what Isaiah already did. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:52.320 In other words, our English translation, as our English translations put it, the title at the beginning tells us about Mark's writing. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:57.039 That is, Mark tells us this is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:08:58.480 Period. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:08.720 That's the way our English translations put it, and that's not necessarily wrong, but it communicates that Mark is telling us about the beginning of the good news of Jesus. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:09.919 And he is. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:11.600 He is doing that. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:26.000 But if we remove the period, it indicates that Mark is telling us that his gospel story has its beginnings more directly in Isaiah the prophet. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:32.559 The story of Jesus, in other words, is found in Isaiah. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:45.440 So when we talk about the good news of Jesus according to Mark, we must begin not with Mark, but with Isaiah, because Isaiah speaks about the gospel, the good news of God. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:49.679 But we can get even more specific than that because Mark is very assertive. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:56.399 He not only claims that Isaiah preached the good news, but that he preached the good news about Jesus. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:08.799 See, Mark quotes Isaiah 40, and he applies it here in verse 2 to John the Baptizer, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I'm going to send my messenger. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:09.679 Right? 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:10.639 Isaiah 40. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.519 So he applies that to John the Baptizer in verse 4. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:14.960 John appears. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.159 He's going to prepare the way. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.759 Prepare the way for whom? 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:22.879 What does Mark say? 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:25.840 Prepare the way of the Lord. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.559 But who is who is the Lord? 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.320 Well, it's Jesus, right? 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:33.919 We know the rest of the story. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:41.039 That's what Mark wants us to know is that the Lord that is being prepared for coming is Jesus. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.279 John the baptizer is there to prepare the way for Jesus. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:46.639 We know that. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:48.480 What else do we know? 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:59.600 Well, we know in verse 7 that John says the one that's coming, the Lord that's coming, is greater, is mightier than John. 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:05.279 How mighty is this Lord Jesus? 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.919 Well, look over at chapter 2 of Mark. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:12.720 The beginning of chapter 2, Jesus heals a paralyzed man. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:17.039 But before he heals the paralyzed man, he forgives his sins. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:25.919 Now that might not mean anything to you and I who are accustomed to coming to church and hearing about the forgiveness of sins. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:38.240 But when Jesus says to this paralyzed man lying on a pallet on the ground, son, your sins are forgiven, the Pharisees and the scribes that are surrounding him gasp probably audibly. 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:46.240 How could a human being say your sins are forgiven because only God can forgive sins? 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:48.879 And that's right. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:50.960 They were right. 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:53.519 That's true. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.200 Only God can forgive sins. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:01.039 But that's exactly what Mark wants you to know. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:07.200 Mark wants you to know that God talked about Jesus. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.000 He talked about Jesus through Isaiah. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.639 And Isaiah said, all of this is going to happen. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.440 That somebody's going to come to prepare the way. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.120 And somebody's going to come and prepare the way for the Lord. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.159 And the Lord is going to forgive sins. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:27.120 No. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.080 600 years before Jesus came? 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:34.960 Are you serious? 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.600 We could go on and on and point out more things like this, but we need to get to the gospel according to Isaiah. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:47.919 So let's leave off here and go to Isaiah chapter 40. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:57.919 Mark starts his gospel according to Mark, Mark's perspective on the scriptures and what Jesus said and did. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:03.840 And he starts his gospel by saying that the beginning of what he has to say has its origins in Isaiah. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.279 Isaiah proclaimed the good news. 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:12.480 And we can see in that the fulfillment of a promise. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:18.320 That a voice would come, Mark says, to prepare the way for the Lord. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:24.320 Some of you wished that a snow plow would have come and prepared the way before you left home. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:30.240 John came to prepare the way for the Lord. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:35.360 And that Lord, Mark says, is Jesus who can forgive sins. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.600 Now let's go to Isaiah 40. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:40.799 Comfort. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.480 Comfort my people, says your God. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:58.960 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity, her sin, is pardoned. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:04.399 That she has received from Yahweh's hand double for all her sins. 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:12.879 For a voice cries, In the wilderness, prepare the way of Yahweh, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:24.799 Every valley will be lifted up, every mountain hind hill shall be made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain, and the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:31.039 And all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.360 A voice says, Cry. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.159 And I said, What shall I cry? 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:45.440 All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:50.159 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of Yahweh blows on it. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:52.720 Surely the people are grass. 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.799 The grass withers, the flower fades. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.240 But the word of our God will stand forever. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.720 Get up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:08.320 Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.320 Lift it up, fear not. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.840 Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:19.600 Behold, the Lord Yahweh comes with might, and his arm rules for him. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.360 Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:32.720 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. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:33.679 Amen. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:35.039 We'll stop there. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.080 Might pick up in a little bit to read some more here. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.240 We'll see what how much time we have. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:50.000 Mark uses a word in chapter one of Mark that is translated into English as gospel. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.440 Simply means the good news. 00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:01.759 Did you know that the same word is used five times in the Greek translation of the book of Isaiah? 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:09.360 Isaiah mentions the gospel, the good news, five times. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.799 The first time that he mentions the good news is Isaiah chapter 40. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:24.080 The very passage that Mark quotes from as the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:30.320 This is what Mark refers to as the beginning of the good news about Jesus. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:36.000 Prophets foretold the good news, but what's the good news of which they spoke? 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.639 Well, that's what we're going to see over the next few weeks. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:45.840 Step by step as we walk through Isaiah's gospel road, unwrapping the clause, as it were, we're going to see Jesus. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:52.559 Now you might still be a little skeptical that Isaiah spoke about Jesus 600 years before Christ came. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:17:02.879 If so, it's this is a good place to begin because it's here that we have the opportunity to open our ears and our hearts to hear three gospel voices. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.240 Three voices proclaiming a message. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:08.799 Maybe you caught those three voices as we read. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:14.880 Verse 3 is the first voice, verse 6 is a second voice, verse 9 is the third voice. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:27.440 But before we hear those voices, we need to feel some of the tension that existed before these voices rang out. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:33.440 We need to grasp some of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:38.480 Yes, I'm going to preach through the first 39 chapters of Isaiah very quickly. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:45.200 You see, back in the very first chapter, God said, Let me tell you about my children. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:50.319 I've raised up children, I've brought them up, but they've rebelled against me. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:53.359 He says, you know what's incredible? 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.480 An ox knows his own owner. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.119 A donkey knows its master's crib. 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:10.160 But my people, Israel, doesn't know. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.559 My people do not understand. 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:18.799 It's a shocking statement. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:21.440 That's how the book of Isaiah begins. 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.039 You see, you feel some of the tension there. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:36.960 The ruler of all things who who drew Israel to himself and promised them blessing upon blessing and began to provide that, says, they have rebelled against me. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:39.440 And God continues to do that. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:45.200 He continues to call Israel a sinful nation, overflowing, he says, with sin. 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:47.839 All they did was produce more evildoers. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:51.759 They couldn't even worship God in a way that pleased him. 00:18:55.279 --> 00:19:04.079 Yet there's a flip side to this, and that is that God was continually willing to be merciful if they repented of their sins and turned to Him. 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:08.799 Here's the first chapter, still, in the first chapter, verse 18, he says, Come now. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.400 Let us reason together, says Yahweh. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:18.079 Even though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:23.519 What grace and mercy is there in this God? 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.160 That they would rebel against him, not even knowing who he is, and yet he says, I'm here. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.880 If you'll just come back. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:45.039 And there's this back and forth between hope in God's mercy on the one hand and judgment and condemnation for Israel's sin on the other, but that whole storyline is undergirded by the holiness of a holy God. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:59.599 We see that in chapter 6, where Isaiah is brought in a vision to the throne room of God, and it's there that the cherubim surround the throne of God and they say continually, holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts. 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:06.559 You remember Isaiah's reaction, I'm sure. 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:08.720 Uh-oh. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:12.079 I'm dead. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:15.839 That was Isaiah's response. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:19.680 He said, There's absolutely no way I'm going to survive this situation. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:25.200 He said, I'm a sinful human being and I and I live in a people of sin. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:27.200 Our sin is overflowing. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.599 All we do is re is produce rebel. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.400 There's no way I'm getting out of this situation alive. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:47.839 And if the prophet was too sinful to stand in the presence of a holy God, then what would that mean for God's people? 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.480 Oh, but there's another part of that story, isn't there? 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:58.799 There's another part of that vision where God says, in essence, to Isaiah, yes, you're right. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:00.079 You are sinful. 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:01.839 Let's take care of that. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:13.440 And an angel takes a pair of tongs to a heavenly altar and picks up a glowing coal from that altar. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:20.240 And he takes it over to Isaiah and he touches Isaiah's lips with it. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:25.759 Have you ever thought that that coal was too hot for the angel to grab? 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:32.079 And then he touches it to Isaiah's lips. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:34.079 What's God doing? 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.400 He's atoning for Isaiah's sin. 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:40.720 He says, You're absolutely right. 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:44.160 You cannot stand in my holy presence and live. 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:46.319 So let's take care of your sin. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.079 Let's atone for it. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.240 Let's get rid of it. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:57.920 That's what the angel was doing, so that Isaiah can then be commissioned to go out and to serve Christ in his world. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.759 God atoned for Isaiah. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.720 Sin from a heavenly altar because only God can forgive sin. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:08.400 And then Isaiah is commissioned to go out and preach. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:10.799 And what is Isaiah to preach? 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:13.920 Isaiah 6, chapter 9. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:17.200 God says, Here's what you're to preach, Isaiah. 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:25.279 Go out and tell the people, keep on hearing, but do not understand, keep on seeing, but do not perceive. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:41.359 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:51.039 Isaiah asked how long he was supposed to preach without anyone responding to his preaching with repentance. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:23:08.240 And God said, Do this until cities lie waste without inhabitants, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:19.039 Isaiah preach a gospel that people aren't going to respond to until I destroy them. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:23.440 It's devastating. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:30.799 That's why Isaiah would write in chapter 13, verse 6, wail, for the day of Yahweh is near. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:32.880 Wail. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:40.880 Chapter 30, verse 9, it says, They are a rebellious people. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.240 They are lying children. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:49.920 They are children unwilling to hear the instruction of Yahweh. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:56.160 And they would say, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.440 Can you imagine that? 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:14.799 Some of you have have experienced this in your own life where you have a family member who has who has said to another family member, I don't want to ever see you again. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:16.319 I want nothing more to do with you. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:18.319 That's what Israel was saying to her God. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:21.359 The God who redeemed her. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.359 She said, I don't, I don't, I don't want to hear anything, don't want to talk about God. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:27.920 I don't want nothing more to do with God. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:29.359 It's devastating. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:45.119 Israel had so abandoned God that they no longer wanted to hear about him, yet God was still merciful, for he says in chapter 30, verse 18, therefore Yahweh waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself in order to show mercy to you. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:52.000 For Yahweh is a God of justice, and blessed are all those who wait for him. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:25:04.559 Do you see this tension between sin and rebellion against a holy God on the one hand, and yet on the other, God saying, I'm still here and I'm waiting to show mercy to you. 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:09.759 And back and forth we go, back and forth, again and again. 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:23.519 And we find that even a righteous king leading God's people, a righteous king named Hezekiah, could not turn back the flow of sin and evil among the people. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:27.680 Hezekiah's reign was a good one. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:30.400 It was prosperous and righteous. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:34.799 He was obedient to God, and God caused the nation to prosper. 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:40.400 You might say it was a time of low unemployment, low inflation, and everybody was doing well. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:46.480 The economy was thriving, people were happy, they were trusting God with their lives, everything was good. 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:50.799 And God even extended Hezekiah's life by 15 years. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:58.480 When Hezekiah was sick and about to die, and he repented and mourned over his sin, and God said, Okay, I'm going to give you 15 more years. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:04.240 But then Hezekiah did something faithless. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.400 Faithless. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:10.079 He let in some foreign dignitaries. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:10.960 That happened. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:13.359 Dignitaries came to town to visit. 00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:18.799 He let them in, and in his pride, he displayed all of his wealth to them. 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:21.599 He said, Let me show you how God's blessed me. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:23.599 Look at all that I have. 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:31.119 It's as though he took them to Fort Knox and opened the door and said, Can you see how wealthy I am? 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:32.960 Look at all this. 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:35.920 And he did it out of his pride. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:39.680 By the way, that's Isaiah chapter 38 and 39. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.119 It's Isaiah 38 and 39. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:48.880 And God promised judgment from that nation in chapter 39 of Isaiah. 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.240 That ancient nation of Babylon. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:55.119 He said they would come and destroy Jerusalem. 00:26:55.599 --> 00:27:03.599 They would wipe it out, they would take everything that they had seen, and they would even take Hezekiah's own children back to Babylon as slaves. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:05.759 And Hezekiah said, okay, that's okay. 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:08.079 It's going to be in my children's time, not mine. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:08.960 That's good. 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:10.559 What? 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:15.680 What kind of a response is that? 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:27.279 So even there, in a righteous king, we have this tension of rebelling against God and God being merciful. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.440 Hezekiah just blew it off. 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.599 He said, Yeah, it's not going to happen in my time. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:35.279 I'm not going to have to worry about it. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:40.880 Guess you could maybe draw a parallel to the way our nation addresses its own debt. 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:43.599 We're not going to have to worry about that. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:46.400 Now it'll be the next generation, the next generation after that. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:28:02.799 Israel's sin was so great, her sin debt was so great that in his justice, the holy God, the holder of that debt, would come to collect by means of a foreign invader who would destroy everything and take everything of value back to his home. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:10.880 And that's the heavy, heavy picture that we are left with before God says, Comfort. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:15.279 Comfort, my people, says your God. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:19.519 Justice would be carried out. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.839 Judgment would come for sin. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:27.119 But in his mercy, God offers comfort. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:30.160 How does God offer comfort? 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:35.279 Through words. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.960 Through words. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:52.799 Interestingly, when this was translated into the Greek language so that the people coming back to Israel after that Babylonian judgment could understand it. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:59.440 They didn't, they kind of lost most of their Hebrew, and so they had to translate it so that people could understand their Bibles again. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:08.559 They used a word here for comfort that Jesus would use when he spoke of sending the Holy Spirit to his people to be another comforter. 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:20.720 The words that God spoke to comfort his people in Isaiah would one day be replaced by the very Spirit of God giving power to those words as he indwelt his people. 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:26.079 So now we have the background that helps us to understand some of the difficulties here. 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:30.480 The people weren't listening to God, they had turned off their ears. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.720 Strangely, my parents said that to me sometimes. 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:43.359 And Isaiah was to keep on preaching to people who wouldn't hear, who wouldn't listen. 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:51.279 And what does God provide to those people that wouldn't listen to give them comfort in the midst of judgment? 00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:52.720 Words. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:55.519 He speaks. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:30:03.599 He speaks words of hope and comfort to people that would tune them out. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:08.079 Now that's all the background to these three voices. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.880 Three voices cry out. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:16.799 And before we get to these three voices, it's worth asking us. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:24.880 What voices do we listen to when judgment comes? 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:37.599 What voices do we listen to when disappointment looms largely in front of us? 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:39.519 What words do we listen to? 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:45.039 What voices do we listen to when we're thriving in prosperity? 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:51.920 See, the underlying element here is: do we listen when God speaks? 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:59.519 The first voice is in verses three, four, and five, and it is a voice of preparation. 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:06.240 A voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of Yahweh, make straight in the desert a way for our God. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:16.880 Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill be made low, even an uneven ground shall become level, rough places a plain, and the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:20.880 And all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken. 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:29.119 You know, a good a good practical application of this is every Sunday, or even even the Christmas season. 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:41.680 The key to a successful Sunday morning of worship and gathering together as God's people to hear Him speak and to be challenged and to be motivated towards sanctification and growth. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:46.079 That preparation begins before Sunday ever starts. 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:53.279 The key to a successful Christmas season begins with preparation. 00:31:54.720 --> 00:32:00.079 Some of you have been listening to Christmas songs for months now, and I don't understand that. 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:01.680 You're preparing yourselves, though. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:03.279 That's good, I guess. 00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:07.039 Preparation. 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:10.960 Prepare your hearts, prepare your ears to hear. 00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:14.559 And this first voice was a cry to the people to get ready. 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:21.519 It's likely a nod to the way that ancient kings would arrive in a new territory. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:27.359 Imagine the preparations that go on for a community today to receive a dignitary like a president. 00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:32.079 There's a lot of work that goes into that, a lot of preparation. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:37.599 Now imagine an entire people, an entire world preparing to receive their God. 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:45.039 The language here is all about making the reception go off without a hitch. 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:53.759 Straighten the highways, level the pathways, smooth out the road, make sure the potholes are all filled, repair the bridges, paint over the graffiti. 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:54.559 Why? 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.519 Our God is coming. 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:02.000 This is the cry of preparation. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:04.559 Preparing for what? 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:09.920 For beholding the glory of Yahweh. 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:15.279 And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed, verse 5, and all flesh shall see it together. 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:21.759 Isaiah may be referring here back in Israel's history to Mount Sinai. 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:35.279 Remember when they came out of Egypt so miraculously, they crossed the Red Sea and they went to the mountain of Sinai, and God said, This is where I'm going to set up all of the parameters and the laws and the regulations that are going to guide me ruling over my people. 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:43.920 Moses went up on the mountain and God met him on the mountain, and there were dark clouds all around. 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:45.680 There was lightning, there was fire. 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:53.680 Moses comes down and the people are shaking in their sandals and they're saying, Moses, we don't ever want to experience God's glory and God's speaking ever again. 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:55.839 You go. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:00.079 You go and you talk to God and you come back down and you tell us what he said. 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:06.799 We don't want to hear him, we don't want to see his glory, we don't want to have any part of it because we are afraid. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:26.079 Here, the prophet Isaiah that reveals the mouth of God speaking again, declaring that comfort for his people is going to come when they prepare the way for their God so that they might behold his glory again. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:31.519 Notice the parallel too with Isaiah chapter 6. 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:34.320 Remember Isaiah's vision? 00:34:34.559 --> 00:34:37.920 Beholding the Lord high and lifted up. 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.559 Holy, holy, holy. 00:34:40.880 --> 00:34:45.360 He thought he would die because he was a sinful human being who lived among sinful human beings. 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:49.840 But God, in his mercy and grace, atoned for Isaiah's sin. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:59.440 Now God promises that people will behold his glory just like Isaiah did in that vision, and it will be a comfort to them, not a fear. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:00.400 Why? 00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:02.480 Because of verse 2. 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:05.519 Their iniquity is pardon. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:14.639 They're going to be able to stand in the presence of a holy, glorious God because their sins are forgiven. 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:19.920 But who alone can forgive sin? 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:23.039 Only God, right? 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:27.519 This is rich, and I wish we could camp here for a while. 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:30.639 But notice just a couple of tidbits. 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:40.800 The cries of these voices come in the context of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. 00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:46.559 Her iniquity is pardoned. 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:55.679 My friends, it is only as our sin is forgiven by a holy God that we can dare to stand in his presence. 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:04.400 The cry of preparation is preparation for repentance. 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:07.760 We read it in Mark. 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:19.199 Mark began by saying that the good news, beginning in Isaiah 40, with the promise of a voice crying out to prepare the way for the Lord, was preparing for John the baptizer. 00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:21.920 Now listen to Mark chapter 1, verse 4 again. 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:27.119 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of what? 00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:31.440 Repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:37.280 John is crying out exactly what God said would happen in Isaiah chapter 40. 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:50.079 God is going to come and prepare the way to forgive his people's sins so that they might receive and behold the glory of God yet again without fear. 00:36:52.480 --> 00:37:12.079 So as we unwrap the manger clause, we hear a voice crying, and it reminds us that our greatest preparation is not for the gifts under the tree or for the family gathering together, but preparing to repent of our sins in order to behold the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:19.840 The second voice is a voice that is a crying about opposites. 00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:29.360 The first voice cries out for us to prepare to behold the glory of God, and the only way we can do that is through repentance and forgiveness. 00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:34.000 Then a second voice cries, and it cries out, You are not God. 00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:38.000 Don't know if that's a surprise to you or not, you are not God. 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:42.159 And the point here is simple to see. 00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:57.280 Grass and flowers fade. 00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:04.960 At the very least, they get covered by snow in North Dakota. 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:12.559 We will all go the way of the flowers and the grass. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:16.079 But God's word remains forever. 00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:22.800 Again, there's much richness here to mine out of this cry, much that we could learn about God's word, much that we could learn about humanity. 00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:27.920 But for now, we need to ask the question: how does this fit into Isaiah chapter 40? 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:32.800 Because on the surface, it seems a bit out of place, honestly. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:36.719 That's why the context is so important. 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:46.639 Because as you read through Isaiah, you get this sense of the changes that happen in political powers. 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:49.440 Governments come and go. 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:53.039 Nations rise up and nations disappear. 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:57.840 There are shifts in political philosophy, there are shifts in religious attitudes. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:03.519 And the greatest shift now that we have heard is the announcement of judgment on God's people. 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:13.280 The same nation that Hezekiah welcomed and blabbered to about his riches is the same nation that's going to come and carry it all away. 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.840 My friends, here is the point of this cry. 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:23.199