Sermon for Lent 5, March 17, 2024
Isaiah 43:1-7 But now this is what the Lord says, the
Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed you, O Israel. “Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed
you. I have called you by name. You are mine.
2When you cross through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross the rivers, they will not
sweep you away. When you walk through
fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not set you on fire. 3Because I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I gave Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba
in exchange for you. 4Because
you are precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you, I will give
people in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life. 5Do not be afraid, because I am
with you. From the east I will bring
your offspring, and from the west I will gather you. 6I will say to the north, “Give
them back!” and to the south, “Do not hold them.” Bring my sons from far away and my daughters
from the end of the earth—7everyone who is called
by my name, everyone I created for my glory, everyone I formed, yes, everyone I
have made.” (EHV)
Do not be afraid; God
is with you!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We could
spend a good amount of time examining how this prophecy was carried out among
the people of Israel in the centuries after Isaiah lived. However, what should truly interest us is how
it applies to us today, for this word from our God extends down through the
centuries to all God’s people, and the message remains the same: Do not be afraid; God is with you!
Now, we may never suffer the wrath of God for
blatant idolatry and rebellion as Isaiah prophesied for the people living in
his day, yet our world is ever in opposition to God’s people, so we too will
face much hardship, many trials and temptations as we go through life. And though we are unlikely to be carted off
into exile in a foreign land, many people still today face persecution from
their neighbors and hostility all around.
Likewise, we may not be guilty of blatant
idolatry, yet, we must take the words of St. John to heart when he writes by
the power of the Holy Spirit, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Any believer who is honest with himself will
quickly admit that there is not a commandment of our God that we do not
regularly break. Without falling astray,
we can’t even get past the first Commandment, “You shall have no other gods
beside me.” (Exodus 20:3). Every worry
we might have is an indication that we don’t trust God enough to handle our
troubles. Every time we fret over how we
might survive the new year, or the next international threat, or even the next
political administration is a reminder that we haven’t fully placed our
confidence in the Lord. Furthermore,
every time we break any of the other commandments, whether by thought, word, or
deed, we live our defiance against our Holy God.
Now, for all of these faults, and any other we
might have, we deserve nothing better than the destruction and discipline God
warned about through His prophets to Israel.
On our own, we too deserve nothing but God’s wrath and eternal death for
our sins. Therefore, whenever we
recognize the depths of our guilt, it is especially important that we also hear
this message, Do not be afraid; God is with you!
Truly, that is the message of God’s absolution
for our sins. The guilt has been removed
from us as far as east is from the west for the Holy Spirit moved the psalmist
to declare, “As distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed
our rebellious acts from us. As a father
has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear
him.” (Psalm 103:12-13) Here, “This
is what the Lord says, the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed
you, O Israel. ‘Do not be afraid,
because I have redeemed you. I have
called you by name. You are mine.’”
There is a ton of comfort for us packed in that
sentence. First, this applies to all
those who believe in Jesus as their Savior.
When the Lord refers to the nation of Israel as Jacob, he is referring
to all who believe in Him and walk in that faith. How do we know we are included? Because the Bible promises us in several New
Testament texts, “Understand, then, that those who believe are the children
of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7)
Likewise, Paul wrote to the Roman congregation, “Abraham is the
father of all the uncircumcised people who believe, so that righteousness would
also be credited to them. He is also the
father of the circumcised people who are not merely circumcised but also walk
in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised.” (Romans 4:11-12)
Furthermore, this saving faith that connects us
with God isn’t something we do or something we have to find. The Lord redeemed us, as it says here. He bought us at the price of the blood of His
Son. Having called us through the Word,
He calls us by name at our baptisms. Oh,
we might imagine that we pick the names for our children, but God puts His
sovereign name over us as well. He
claims us as His own through the faith His Holy Spirit works in us, and then He
says, “Do not be afraid,…You are mine.”
With God as our Father, what power, what enemy
force would dare hurt us? What evil
thing could steal us away from God? The
absolute truth is that as long as we don’t walk away from God and turn against
Him, no one and no thing can truly harm us.
Oh, that isn’t to say we will never have trouble, sorrow, or pain. After all, we live in a world broken by sin,
and cursed because of sin. Though
defeated for all eternity, “Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a
roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) However, even though he will try his hardest
to deceive and accuse us, Satan can’t have us, because by His holy life and
innocent death, Jesus has given us the victory over that ancient liar. Furthermore, even as He promised through
Isaiah, Jesus assures His disciples, “Surely I am with you always until the
end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
What could the devil do that Jesus could not, would not, deflect away
from us?
Through Isaiah, God promised to give nations to
ransom Israel. This was a foreshadowing
of the true ransom price for all God’s people, the sacrifice of His own dear
Son so that we have been reconciled to our Creator to live with Him forever in
peace. The Lord declared, “you are
precious and honored in my eyes, and I myself love you.” So much did He love us, and so greatly did
God value us, that He gave of Himself, the Only-Begotten Son, in exchange for
our lives.
Isaiah wrote to warn Israel and Judah of the
punishment that would come against them for their wandering ways and rejection
of the Lord. As he wrote this portion of
his prophecies, Isaiah was telling God’s people that the discipline planned for
their rebellious ways wouldn’t go on forever.
After a certain time, God would bring back a remnant to the land
promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This too pictures God’s plan for us.
Though we live in a foreign land, not the home of our heavenly Father,
but in a world cursed by sin with all the troubles and sorrows that go along
with sin, God has plans to take us to our eternal home of peace and glory in
the Promised Land of heaven.
Isaiah wrote the promise of our Lord, “Do
not be afraid, because I am with you.
From the east I will bring your offspring, and from the west I will
gather you. I will say to the north, ‘Give
them back!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them.’ Bring my sons from far away and my daughters
from the end of the earth—everyone who is called
by my name, everyone I created for my glory, everyone I formed, yes, everyone I
have made.” To the far reaches of the planet, God has
sent His messengers: apostles, prophets, missionaries, gospel workers, pastors,
and teachers, to call God’s people into His kingdom of grace. God’s invitation is for all people, because
it is not God’s desire that any should be lost.
(1 Timothy 2:4)
Through the hearing of God’s gracious Word, you
and I and millions upon millions of others have come to believe in God’s
promises, and especially in Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of the
world. Through that faith, He made us
His own, and through His Word of promise, He keeps us believing so that, unlike
those who reject God’s gracious promise and will, we walk with Jesus, dressed
in the righteousness Jesus lived for us, washed clean in the water and blood of
His sacrifice, and fed by His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
So, what does this prophecy given twenty-seven
hundred years ago mean for you and me?
It tells the story of God’s never ending love for those He has chosen to
be His people. It tells us that He never
forgets us, no matter what hardships and trials might lie before us in this
troubled world. Especially, He reminds
us again and again, Do not be afraid; God is with you! Amen.
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and
in every way. The Lord be with you all. Amen.
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