Clear the Path to Christ - December 22, 2019 - Isaiah 40:1-6

The Clear Path to Comfort

1. In John’s task as Forerunner

2. In Jesus’ accomplishment as Savior

Last weekend we talked about time and its inevitable march forward. When it comes to the passage of time, especially when there’s a big build-up, there’s plenty of waiting involved. The thing is when waiting is paired with expectation, it often results in disappointment. We have a way of building things up in our minds to the point of unrealistic expectations.

Think about it, when is the last time you waited for something and were disappointed? It probably happens so often that you tend not to remember it in the long run. Sometimes, we’re disappointed because what we were expecting never happened or didn’t happen the way we thought it would. I remember a few months ago we went out for pizza at a fancier place – submitted our order and paid for it, only to come back an hour later and hear that they had forgotten to start making it. We’d have to wait another 45 minutes because they wouldn’t even put our order ahead of the others. Waiting. Expectation. Disappointment. But that’s only for a mere pizza.

At other times, we’re disappointed because whatever we were expecting just wasn’t what it was made out to be. Ever been hyped for a movie only to fall asleep out of boredom? Our read a book that was recommended by someone and you just couldn’t make it all the way through? Another way this plays out often today is in the latest internet fad. Something becomes an instant sensation out of nowhere and by the time you actually see it or experience it the build-up has been so monumental that your only outcome is to be disappointed.

This happens a lot as we wait for things. It happened as people waiting for Jesus to come also. But many of the disappointments we face are so trivial compared to the birth of the Messiah. We get upset about a pizza order or some trend on social media, whereas faithful OT believers waited generations for their Savior to come.

The question we consider today is why did the same result happen. Why were so many people disappointed in Jesus? Was He all just hype and build-up? Was He not what the people needed? We see our answer today in God’s Word as we study a prophecy about the very one that God would send to prepare the way for His Son. God wanted people to be ready for Jesus – but part of that work would involve shattering their false expectations. That was John the Baptist’s job as the forerunner of the Messiah, and we thank the Lord for it today. We also ask the Holy Spirit to bless us and strengthen our faith through this Word today that we may be prepared to receive Jesus in our hearts. We read from Isaiah 40:1-6: 

Isaiah 40:1-6 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD's hand Double for all her sins." 3 A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (NASB)

In the first verse of Genesis chapter 4, we’re told that Eve gave birth to the first child of the world – Cain. The verse goes on to tell us what Eve said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD.” Some believe that Eve was indicating that she thought this child was the promised one, that literally she had given birth to the LORD incarnate. That’s possible, but Eve could also have been speaking about the promise that God gave in which she would be the mother of all the living – that the LORD made good on that promise.

Either way, in that moment, at the birth of the first child, the promise of God was clearly on Adam and Eve’s minds. Obviously, Cain wasn’t the Messiah, even if that was Eve’s initial reaction. It would take many more children, and thousands of years, for God to send His Son. And when He did, the promise had died down to a mere smoldering wick.

We have a reading today from one of God’s prophets. They were charged with the solemn task of keeping the peoples’ focus on the coming Messiah. They preached the Word. They called the people to repent of sin. They received and gave special promises about the Savior – what He would do, how He would come, how He would die, even the very town He would be born in. Although the light of gospel grew quite dim in the Old Testament, Isaiah was one who encouraged His people to remember the promise. In chapter 60 he wrote, Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. In chapter 61, he gave the very words that Christ would quote in the synagogue of Nazareth to confirm His Messiahship. All throughout the books of the prophets, these special references to Jesus are sprinkled in. They were meant to keep the people ready – even more ready than Eve was.

But it didn’t seem to work very well. We have one of the more famous prophecies this morning – not exactly about Jesus, but about His coming. This is the foremost prophecy of John the Baptist. In each of the four Gospel accounts, Isaiah 40 is quoted to confirm that John the Baptist was the Forerunner of Jesus. You see, not only did God prepare His people throughout the ages with recorded promises given by His servants, He sent a special prophet whose only task was to get people ready for Christ’s birth. John the Baptist was a Messenger within a group of messengers, and He was the final prophet before Jesus’ birth.

And so, Isaiah tells us what John needed to do. "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 "Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Essentially, the obstacles to Jesus needed to be removed. What were those barriers? Well, many spiritual mountains and sin-laden terrain had formed in the nation of Israel. People were more concerned about political power and control and how to wrestle it back from the Romans. Religious purists were more intent on proving themselves worthy through how they keep the commands of God, rather than showing the same mercy and love that God does. The people wanted a Messiah to fill their stomachs with food and their homes with riches, rather than giving them the Bread and Water of life in God’s Word.

John’s job was not to overcome these barriers on his own, indeed he would not. Even up to the point of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, mankind still tried to coerce Him into being the type of Savior they wanted. Truly, in many ways these mountains, valleys, and rough terrain continue to be obstacles today. Look at the list of spiritual blind spots that people had at the time of Christ, and really ask yourself if it’s any different today. How many people focus too much on civil leaders and political powers, either trusting those in office too much or raging against them in disdain? That inner spiritual desire to prove myself worthy before God and more righteous than my neighbor is not going anywhere while this world remains. It is the oldest lie and the single most common source of all sin and wickedness in the history of mankind. And you certainly don’t have to look far around Christmas to see the growing blindness of materialism and earthly attachment in our world and, sadly in our hearts. We are all too eager to pin our fulfillment of joy and purpose in life to something made by human hands or someone offering fleeting and temporary promises for today.

No, the obstacles John faced haven’t really gone anywhere. And yet, at the same time, this prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus. The mountains have been leveled, the valleys filled, and rough terrain smoothed away. But perhaps the way Christ did it wasn’t what you expected. Perhaps many people today don’t believe in Jesus because He’s not the Savior they want.

John was a unique prophet for a unique Messiah. As Isaiah said, John preached in the wilderness. The New Testament tells us that John wore camel’s hair and ate strange things. He seemed like a crazy hermit, not the personal envoy of the King of heaven and earth. And yet, wasn’t that part of the point? John was counter-cultural before it was popular. John faced scorn, punishment, and even death for holding fast to the faithful word. And indeed, in a world racing toward sin, evil, and hell – all who walk John’s path today experience the same. The early believers summarized their life and John’s, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

Those who believe in the true Messiah will seem different and weird to the world. We have an example of that is John’s life as he was imprisoned by King Herod for preaching the 6^th commandment – that even a king should not commit sexual immorality. That single episode was part of the preparing and clearing process for the Messiah – breaking the people out of their self-conformed molds of twisting and manipulating the Word of God. And the purpose was not judgment only, but that they would see more clearly the Savior who was present – for exactly who He is and what He does. But who among us doesn’t try to do the same thing Herod did, cutting corners on commandments as quickly as we can? Lust, unfaithfulness, porn, looking but not touching, encouraging and supporting infidelity and homosexuality. The birth of Jesus is not just about sins against the 6^th commandment. We take that example from something John endured in his life which is parallel to what we experience today. We could talk at length about many other sins against other commandments. The list goes on. We aren’t innocent either. We build up barriers that keep us from really seeing who Jesus is so that we can live more comfortably in sin.

So, what kind of Savior is Jesus? What are the proper expectations? We must be careful about allowing ourselves, or the world around us, to turn Jesus into something that He’s not. Because ultimately, it strikes at the truly unique gift He gives. Isaiah declares, "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD's hand Double for all her sins."

That’s truly a Savior who is different – who was proclaimed by a different type of prophet. Jesus does not overlook sin, but removes it. That’s the beauty of faith. Even while the obstacles remain in this world of sin, for the believer they are removed. Their effect and condemnation is null for the one who has Christ. Though all outward sight tells us we deserve damnation, Jesus wants us to be comforted in the hope of forgiveness. The uniqueness of Jesus is built into that word, comfort. Comfort is not something you wear or that can be seen with eyes. Comfort is in the heart. Though the mountains of sin and the thorns of thistles of evil seem to be ever present in our lives and even growing at times, there is always comfort in Jesus because He can keep you safe from those barriers. And that’s why we must be different like John and Jesus – to share and protect the treasure that is our faith.

It is God’s will that you know and believe that you have comfort against sin through Jesus – so much so that He placed a double emphasis on it. It’s akin to what Paul said to the Romans, Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20). And also to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

A different prophet, for a different Savior, who offers a different blessing. Against every human assumption, even seeming impossible to us, Jesus comforts. Amen.