Isaiah 40:1-11

Go Up to a High Mountain

3^rd Sunday in Advent (Gaudete)

December 17, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Today, on the third Sunday of Advent, we remember and head the preaching of the greatest prophet and preacher.   John the Baptist was that great forerunner of Jesus, announcing the Good News of the coming Messiah and the salvation He brings with Him. He is the one of whom Isaiah spoke about. A voice in the wilderness crying out, the one sent by God to prepare the way. John doesn’t prepare for another man, another prophet or king.  He prepares the way of the Lord Himself. He prepares the hearts of men with the Lord’s words, harsh words calling for repentance and tender words of comfort and peace.

Now, we know how well that turned out for John, with his head separated from his shoulders. At the time of our Gospel reading, John has been in prison for about a year, jailed by King Herod Antipas. He had heard about the words and works of Jesus and so sent some of his followers to verify these reports. If Jesus was the One who John had been preaching about, then Jesus wasn’t quite living up to the hype.  He witnesses heaven open up and the Spirit descend on Jesus at His baptism, yet the fire and brimstone preaching of John didn’t quite seem to be fulfilled in Jesus. And so John wanted to know if there was someone else that He should be waiting for, or if Jesus was the One.

This certainty isn’t a new feeling. Ever since the first promise of Messiah to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God’s people had been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Sometimes their patience was not so good and they would complain to God that He wasn’t holding up to promises, that He was ignoring their prayers, or not acting as fast as they would like, or differently than expected.

This isn’t a new feeling for us either. We wait for God’s answer to our prayer and when we get it, our reaction is sometimes, “Is that it?  That’s all I’ve been waiting for?” We see this especially at Christmas time. There’s so much expectation and hype and stress and worry, that by the time Christmas shows up we are exhausted and worn out and almost disappointed.  It’s over as soon as it comes. All we’re left with is a dying tree and credit card debt from too many presents.  Is that all there is to Christmas?

Jesus doesn’t mince any words in His response. As in the way that John was fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah of the messenger coming out of the wilderness, so too was Jesus fulfilling the promises of God. He points to His mighty works of healing, proclamation of the good news to the poor. And He ends with a beatitude, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”  These deeds and these words verified that Jesus was the long expected Messiah – the One who speaks comfort, comfort ye My people.

God desires to speak tenderly to us. He knows that our hearts are broken, that we have been beat up and dragged down by the devil, by the world, and by our sinful nature. So He tells His prophets, Isaiah and John the Baptist and all who are set into the office to bring His Word to His people, to speak comfort, to tell her not to be afraid, that her warfare is ended and iniquity pardoned, her sin paid for.

Today is the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudete Sunday, which means “rejoice.” With all the stress and heartache and worry at this time of the year, we are reminded that is nothing compared to the joy we have in Christ coming to us.  Even when you don’t feel it, even when you are so overwhelmed by everything, Jesus comes for you. Nothing that steal that joy away.

This salvation which you have received is not just so that you can bask in God’s glory. It is also for the sake of the world. This begins at Zion, seeing the Lord’s approach, and shouting the good news to those around you.  Zion is called to become the Lord’s means of announcing the Good News.  In Isaiah’s day, the Lord’s choice of Zion, of Jerusalem, which would be destroyed and then restored, as His witness to the Gospel doesn’t seem to match the glory of people’s expectations. Though she will lie in ruins and mourn over the Lord’s absence, she will be resurrected. Then she will be able to get up to a high mountain and announce her glad tidings.  Zion’s future is clarified in Isaiah 2, where the prophet foresees the day when Zion will be lifted up to the highest of all mountains and the Gentile nations will stream to her.

This is all foreshadows Christ, the one who was lifted upon Mt. Calvary. The One whom even a Gentile Roman soldier declared upon His death, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). By the cross, your comfort is declared. By the cross, your peace with God is accomplished. By the cross, the your warfare is ended. By the cross, we have received from the Lord’s hand good things in double proportion to the punishment we deserve for our sins.

The Lord’s grace and commission to Zion foreshadow His plan not only for the death and resurrection of Jesus, but also for the baptized living under the cross.  The Church is the Lord’s chosen Zion, the heavenly and eternal Jerusalem already now in this present age. Isaiah proclaims, “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news.” We must boldly announce the Good News, “Behold, your God!  He is here, now, for us in grace in the Word of Christ, in Baptism into Christ, and in the Holy Supper of Christ’s body and blood.  Zion’s message is not to behold just any god, but to gaze upon your God, to look to Christ. A god who is powerful but unloving would have little concern for us. A god who is loving but not powerful would have no power to help us

At times, we may feel as lonely or isolated as John the Baptist. We may question whether this Jesus is worth it, whether He really is the Son of God.  When faced with such questions, when wondering about your faith and the point of it all, follow the example of the greatest man born of women: go to Jesus with your questions, with your concerns, with your fears, your tears. Look at His deeds. Hear His answers.  Our God is both sovereign and saving. And then go up to a mountain and shout it out.  This Jesus is the coming one who has come for you.