Cyrus
would be God’s anointed instrument to set Judah free from exile in
Babylon. The Israelites would do their
part in carrying forth the worship and knowledge of the true God and especially
the promise of a Savior to come.
But
the Servant of God who speaks-- and is spoken of-- in these final chapters of
Isaiah’s book is none other than Jesus Christ who was stricken, smitten and
afflicted for our transgressions and by whose wounds we are healed.
In
the text for our meditation today we hear the incredible Good News that the saving
work of Jesus Christ, God’s son and servant, would not just be for the Jews but
it would be for all people, including us here today. The Messiah says: Listen
to me, O
coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar.
Throughout his earthly ministry
Jesus would speak in the same, powerful way:
“Truly, truly I say to you”. “I
tell you the truth”. “Whoever hears my
words and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life”. “My word is truth”.
In
these verses from Isaiah the Servant of God has something to say and he wants
everyone near and far to listen to it!
These
words are not just for God’s ancient people but for us and all people--for they
speak of a salvation and deliverance that extends not just to a few, but to all
who will hear and believe that the Lord—who promised that the Seed of a Woman
would destroy Satan-- has chosen a Savior who will be for all people. God’s servant says: The Lord called
me from the womb, from the body of my
mother he named my name.
When
John begins his Gospel he says that the one who was in the beginning, the one
through whom all things were made, the one who was God-- became flesh and dwelt among us.
A
promise made to Adam and Eve thousands of years earlier—that the Seed of a
Woman would be the destruction of the devil--a promise that was renewed and
expanded from one prophet to another--became flesh in the womb of his blessed
virgin mother.
Isaiah
had prophesied of this miraculous birth:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call him Immanuel.
Isaiah promised more: The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light and those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light
shined. For to us a child is born, to us
a son is given. And his name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, prince of Peace.
And
so it was that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled as the Virgin Mary conceived a
son with the help of the Holy Spirit and the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took
on flesh and was called forth from the womb and became part of humanity in
Jesus of Nazareth.
At
the angel’s command Mary and Joseph named him Jesus because he is the God who
saves us. They called him Immanuel
because he is the God who is with us. And
the angel choirs sang the birth song of the Prince of Peace—just as Isaiah promised.
700
years before these events of the very first Christmas, the Spirit of Christ who
inspired all the Old Testament prophets, inspired the prophet Isaiah to give
voice to the Messiah, God’s chosen servant and his very own son. Jesus said about his Father:
He
made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made
me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in
whom I will be glorified.”
All Jewish rabbis-- and many modern
bible scholars-- reject the idea that this is the Messiah speaking because he
is specifically called “Israel”. But the
nation of Israel cannot be the servant spoken of here because they were not
their own savior (to say nothing of their being the salvation of the Gentile
nations).
No,
this could only be the voice of the Messiah, the chosen Servant of God and the
true Israel whose words are like a sharp
sword.
In
Hebrews, the Bible says that the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. And in Revelation Jesus is portrayed this
way: In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp
two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
It
is this sword of the Spirit which is the word of God that comes forth from the
mouth of the Messiah that provides our redemption and rescue- with- one- little-
word.
And
so what is that one little word? Luther
speaks of it in the third stanza of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. He writes:
Though devils all the world
should fill, all eager to devour us—we tremble not, we fear no ill—they shall
not overpower us—this world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will—he can
harm us none—he’s judged the deed is done—one little word can fell him.
That
one little word spoken by God’s own Son, his chosen servant—that one little
word that is our redemption and rescue is the word: tetelestai. Tetelestai
spoken by our crucified Savior who was pierced for our transgression and
wounded for our iniquities and by whose stripes we are healed. Three words in English: “It is finished”.
It is finished!
The most important word ever spoken for it tells of a ransom that has
been paid to set us free from sin and death.
It tells of an atoning sacrifice that has been made, reconciling God and
man. It tells of a peace treaty that has
been signed between us and God in the shed blood of his Son Jesus Christ.
Tetelestai!
It is finished! A shout of victory spoken by a holy man dying
a criminal’s death, abandoned by friends, mocked by enemies, forsaken by God—a
humble man who just a few hours before had begged his Father to let the cup of wrath
pass by him. God’s Servant says:
“I
have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”
In these words of the Messiah we
have some of the deepest mysteries of our salvation. Here we have the mystery of the incarnation
that Jesus of Nazareth, God’s chosen servant, God in human flesh, was like us
in every way except sin.
He
grew tired and hungry and thirsty. He
sighed at the lack of faith of his disciples.
He wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. He was heartbroken over the rejection of his
kinsman and said “Jerusalem, Jerusalem
how I longed to gather you to myself but you were not willing.”
He
begged his heavenly Father to not drink the cup of his wrath on the cross but
submitted himself to his will. And he
cried out as he died “My God, my God why
have you forsaken me.”
And
yet, despite his sorrow over what sin and death has done to us, despite his
yearning for a people who would in large measure reject him, despite his real
fear at the horror of the cross and the wrath of his Father over our sins--he
knew that he had become the source of eternal salvation to all who believe in
him. His heavenly Father said about him:
“It
is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for
the nations, that my
salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
God loved his ancient people, Israel. He would raise up a deliverer named Cyrus to
bring them home and restore their fortunes.
But God wanted to bless them with more than just a land and a temple and
a city. He wanted to bless them
eternally with salvation and forgiveness and peace and he wanted to do that for
all the people of the world as well.
To
do that God would need a different kind of deliverer than a king who could win
a military victory.
He
would need a servant who would lay
down his life for the world. He would need
his Son who would be holy and
righteous in his sight. He would need a sacrifice whose life and death would
bring a world full of people back to God.
That
is why Jesus Christ came into the world—to call God’s ancient people back to
their rightful place in God’s family-- but also to be a light for the nations
so that people throughout the world could also take their place in God’s family,
including us here today.
God
wants the Good News of salvation he provided in his servant Son to reach the
end of the earth. That is why we give to
the work of the church—so that all people might hear of God’s salvation. That is why we are willing to step out of our
comfort zone and share the reason for our hope with those in our community who
have no hope.
The
salvation that is for the world-- and the hope that is for our community-- is
not found in some tract or in some long, dry theological treatise.
Salvation
for the world and hope for our community is found in one little word: tetelestai. It is
finished. One little word that
speaks forgiveness and peace and hope to a world in need.
My
God grant us the courage to speak that one little word that has changed our
lives for time and eternity. Amen.
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