God’s Servant is our Savior.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 2/Baptism of Jesus, January 14, 2024

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Isaiah 49:1-6  Listen to me, you coastlands.  Pay attention, you faraway peoples!  The Lord called me from the womb.  When I was inside my mother, he mentioned my name.  ²He made my mouth like a sharpened sword.  He hid me in the shadow of his hand.  He made me a polished arrow.  He concealed me in his quiver.  ³He said to me, “You are my servant Israel, in whom I will display my glory.”  ⁴But I said to myself, “I have labored in vain.  I spent my strength and came up empty, with nothing.  Yet a just verdict for me rests with the Lord, and my reward is with my God.”  ⁵But now the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, because my God has been my strength—⁶the Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth. (EHV)

God’s Servant is our Savior.

Dear fellow redeemed,

For many in the early Christian Church, understanding the nature of God’s Son, Jesus, was often the most difficult part.  Some thought that since Jesus is God, and destined to be our Judge, He must also be very angry, and therefore, they portrayed Christ in ways that terrified sensitive believers.  Others couldn’t believe that someone who looked so human could actually be true God, so they denied Jesus’ divinity.  Sadly, disputes such as these can still rear their ugly heads and trouble the tender-hearted faithful in our day, even though our fathers in the Church already fought those battles to a faithful conclusion.  The best advice we might give to someone struggling with how to understand God and His Son is simply to let Jesus be who He is, for God’s Servant is our Savior.

The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, calls out His message to you and me.  Today, some twenty-seven hundred years after Isaiah lived, we are among the people for whom the Savior calls when He says, " Listen to me, you coastlands.  Pay attention, you faraway peoples!”  The Lord God was mightily concerned about the salvation of the Israelites, but His concern covered many more people as well, in fact, He extended His love to many people of the world in every age.  So, this invitation is as contemporary to our day as to any other.  Our Savior has been calling out to sinners since before He was born of Mary, pleading for our attention, pleading for all to believe and be saved.

Hundreds of years before God’s Son took on human flesh, He announced how He would enter the world to save it: “The Lord called me from the womb.  When I was inside my mother, he mentioned my name.”  When ancient heretics denied that Jesus could be both God and Man, they should have been reading Isaiah’s prophecy and realized that the Savior would be born of a woman while yet remaining the true Son of God, just as the angel announced to Mary before she became pregnant.  When the time had fully come for the Christ to enter our world, Gabriel assured Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

The One called by God to serve declared, “He made my mouth like a sharpened sword.  He hid me in the shadow of his hand.  He made me a polished arrow.  He concealed me in his quiver.” (John 1:14)  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer to the Hebrews confirmed the Christ’s divine power: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.  It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)  The Lord’s law cuts through all our lies and fantasies, piercing right to the heart of our problem: we have sinned against God and deserve only death, which the law would certainly bring us if our Savior does not intervene.

However, God’s Word doesn’t end with the law and neither does God’s Servant.  Though the Father hid His Son in this world, covering Him in human flesh, He is at the same time not polluted by the sins that condemn us.  He is “a polished shaft,” a perfect arrow, straight and true, hitting God’s target perfectly in every thought, word, deed, and desire.  This, God’s Servant, is our Savior.

God expressed His intention to the pre-incarnate Savior, "You are my servant Israel, in whom I will display my glory.”  There are Jewish rabbis, today, who teach that these words apply to the Jewish people, that their service glorifies God, even when they continue to reject God’s Son.  In fact, however, the Servant who speaks, here, can only be God’s only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus.  Several times during Jesus’ life on earth, the Father announced from heaven that Jesus was pleasing and glorifying Him with His faithful, servant-life.  It is to God’s glory that His Son humbled Himself to servanthood, in order to save people who are corrupted by sin, who had rebelled against their Creator, and served only themselves.  With His holy life and sacrificial death, Jesus brought glory to His Father in heaven—by saving people like you and me, and He continues to do so.

For most of Isaiah’s ministry, the descendants of Israel rejected the God who had rescued them from Egypt, who had promised forgiveness and salvation to all who would walk in the faith of Abraham.  Because of the rebellion of that stubborn people, God’s Servant cried out, “I have labored in vain.  I spent my strength and came up empty, with nothing.  Yet a just verdict for me rests with the Lord, and my reward is with my God."  God’s Servant is faithful.  Pre-incarnate, He served His Father as the go-between with Israel.  Then, having taken on human flesh through His birth from Mary’s womb, Jesus remained perfectly faithful to the Father’s plan to save.  He cries out here outside of time, calling Israel to repentance for their rejection of God’s will and their ignorance of His promised Savior. 

Furthermore, even though there is little evidence to show that very many in Israel remained faithful, the Servant Himself stayed the course, living the holiness God’s righteous justice demands.  For His faithfulness, the Servant receives His reward.  The Servant spoke again with a message of comfort and peace for all the ages of time: "But now the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, because my God has been my strength—the Lord said: ‘It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth.'"  Humbly trust that God’s Servant is our Savior.

God’s Servant is salvation to the ends of the earth.  Dear friends, you and I reside about as far from the land of Israel as you can get on this planet, yet God’s salvation is here for us in the person of Christ Jesus.  He comes to you and me in His holy Word, washes away our sins in Baptism, and strengthens and feeds us in His holy Supper.  God is always too magnanimous to withhold His forgiveness from any repentant sinner who trusts in Christ.  God sent His own beloved Son to live and die and rise again for you and me.  His Holy Spirit caused us to hear the Word and believe it.  God wants you to live.  He wants you to believe in Jesus and dwell with Him forever in heaven.

All three persons of the Triune God worked together to bring about the means of our salvation.  The Father sent His Son, Jesus, to serve.  The Holy Spirit caused His physical incarnation.  Jesus walked among us enduring and resisting the temptations that snare us.  God the Son suffered on the cross for our guilt.  As God’s Servant, He died on the cross in full payment for your sins.  Nothing more is needed to make you righteous before God but the faith in Jesus that the Holy Spirit gives through Word and Sacrament.

It was too small a thing for God to save only Israel.  This was not some new revelation.  God had long earlier promised Abraham, “In your Seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 26:4)  God does not happily hand anyone over to Satan.  It is only by the perversity of man that anyone will be condemned, because Jesus died for all.  He paid the price for every sinner, enduring the full penalty for all our guilt, and in exchange, He offers free release to all who believe. 

Today, some will call Jesus a good teacher but nothing more.  For that type of Christian there can be nothing sadder; they have the Word of promise but don’t believe it.  Through Isaiah’s writings, God promised the world a Savior.  This Servant Savior spoke from eternity, calling all people to turn away from their sin and believe in Him for life and salvation.  He calls to us again, today, imploring us to trust His free salvation.  Jesus became our Light when He was born of Mary.  Jesus was baptized by John to put Himself under the same law that was condemning us to eternal punishment so that He became our Savior with His perfect life and innocent sacrifice on the cross.  Jesus proved His worth as He rose from the grave Easter morning in triumph over sin, death, and the devil. 

Today, once more, Jesus calls out for your soul: " Listen to me, you coastlands.  Pay attention, you faraway peoples!”  Christ Jesus did everything necessary to give you everlasting peace with His Father.  By becoming God’s Servant, Jesus became your humble Servant, too.  He took your death, the punishment for all your sins; in exchange He offers you life everlasting for the Father has forgiven us all for Jesus’ sake.  Indeed, Jesus took to heart His Father’s promise, “It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth.”  Rejoice, one and all, for God’s Servant is our Savior.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.