Behold The Servant of the Lord – Epiphany 2

Behold: The Servant of the Lord

Epiphany 2 T Isaiah 49:1-7, John 1:29-42a

INI

Last week, Isaiah prophesied that God would send a servant to save His people. That text from Isaiah 42 was one of several “servant songs”, as it’s been characterized, in the book of Isaiah. This first servant song gave a picture of a servant anointed by the Holy Spirit and He would bring justice to the nations. One of the more famous servant songs is the Suffering Servant, in Isaiah 53, where this servant “was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities’ upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes, we are healed (Is. 53:5).” We hear of this characteristic of the servant during Holy Week.

         But today we hear another Servant Song, from Isaiah 49. The servant—first identified with the nation of Israel—had failed in his calling. Though God formed Israel by covenant to be a faithful people, set apart in His holiness, they proved to be an unfaithful servant. The Lord even speaks of His labor as seeming wasted. He says “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity (Is. 49:4).”

And so the Lord promises to raise up a new Servant—one who would do what Israel couldn’t: restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the preserved of Israel. Yet this work would not stop there. This Servant is also given to the nations, made “a light for the Gentiles,” so that God’s salvation would reach to the ends of the earth.

         But for God to save His people, and be a light to the nations, they must know their sin. They must know how lost they truly are.

         When looking at the rest of Isaiah, the sins of Israel and the nations are on full display. First, looking at the sins of Israel, most abhorrent was their faithless worship. Even though they knew better, because they had received God’s law for worship, they worshiped idols made with their own hands. They merged pagan worship practices with their own. And when they did God’s prescribed acts of worship, they ended up trusting the ritual itself instead of God, the object of their object. They had outward forms of worship while their hearts were far from God. They made sacrifices to God in the temple to atone for their sins, while they continued, without any prick of the conscience, to exploit the poor and powerless. They were satisfied with corruption amongst the leaders and priests. Externally, it seemed their sins were covered. But internally, they were just as corrupt.

         And that’s the beauty of Isaiah. He’s not only a prophet to Israel. He’s a prophet to you and me. He preaches against our sins too. Because even when we’re here – inside the church building, and doing the right things, and saying the right words – we can be lost too. The temptation is to trust the ritual of just BEING here, and saying the words, while our hearts are unknowingly adrift from the Lord.

         This should cause us to think about our time in worship. Do you come in prepared? Do you come acknowledging your sins? Not just in a vague ‘I’m a sinner’ way, but a true examination of the heart, and the actions throughout your week? Don’t be deceived, God cannot be mocked. And we mock God when we think we can just say the words of confession and receive the absolution. Or just receive the body and blood on the tongue and receive it for our salvation and not harm, without any faith that seeks salvation in God, because of our corrupt WE are.

         God gives us these means of grace as gifts to soothe our conscience. Not to harden it against God’s Law. For the Servant in Isaiah said, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword.” God’s Word pierces the soul and divides between desires of the flesh and desires of the spirit. And so, we need to genuinely ask ourselves before the Confession and Absolution, and before we receive the Lord’s Supper, this one thing: “do I struggle with sin? Or do I let it have its way with me?” In the Small Catechism, Luther gives some practical examples to reflect on – “Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Have you been disobedient, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm?”

         After examining your life, you could examine your heart in worship – “Am I coming before God today as one on bended knee, asking for His mercy? Do I come as one who agrees with the punishments when I transgress against God’s Law? Do I come as often as I should? And when I’m here, where’s my attention devoted? Is my mind or body distracted unnecessarily? Or am I resisting that struggle of my sinful flesh to be distracted? So that I can engage with the healing Word of God?”

When you no longer struggle with your sin, fail to examine your life in light of the Ten Commandments, and come without a heart devoted to the Word of God, we cut ourselves off from the salvific benefits of the Divine Service, treating it as a ritual, and not a gift. As ‘religion’ in the worst sense of the word, and not an act of faith.

Talking about the sins of Israel is most pertinent to us as the church – because we have received God’s Word. We have received the new covenant, as Christ drew us in by His marvelous light. And sin for God’s people doesn’t really change all that much. So, Isaiah’s preaching is to Israel, but also, US.

Though, Isaiah does denounce the sins of the pagan nations too. They exhibit enormous amounts of pride. They disregard Yahweh and his people, even oppressing them. They think of themselves as gods, due to their cruel violence demonstrated in their conquest of other nations. But perhaps that’s expected. Pagans are going to act like pagans. Doesn’t make it okay in the sight of God. But this is the beauty of the promise in Isaiah.

God will draw the pagan nations out of their darkness, into the light of God’s Servant. And that’s God’s promise in our text from Isaiah. Not only will Israel be raised from their faithless worship, so too will the Gentile nations be raised from godless, idolatrous living, and receive the light of the Gospel. He says “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth… Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you (Is 49:6-7).”

But for this light to the nations to come, there must be atonement. There must be satisfaction for sin. God is a just God. The sins of Israel and the pagan nations must find atonement by sacrifice. But what sacrifice is grand enough to cover such a debt?

Let me be like John, and tell you – “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Having witnessed the Spirit descending upon Jesus at His baptism, John knew that Jesus was the Servant from Isaiah. He is the one to suffer for sin – though, not just the sin of the Jews, but for the WHOLE world! All the nations are invited to receive this light, to receive the Holy Spirit of God, and receive the atonement for their sins that only this Suffering Servant could achieve!

And we, aren’t God’s people by flesh and blood. We don’t have a lineage dating back to Abraham. But we have been adopted into God’s family by baptism, and made heirs of His heavenly inheritance. He has called you into fellowship with the Father, through the blood of the Lamb of God which covers you. And in this blessed communion, you find peace. You can freely examine your life of sin and trust that there’s no sin too great for God to bear. Your conscience will grow then grow over time to be more attentive to the Word of God and sensitive to disobedience as you grow in sanctification.

But do not fear. Your heavenly Father has sent you the light – Jesus Christ, His Son, your Lord. Your master. He owns you – for He has bought you with His holy precious blood, and now, He freely bestows this forgiveness upon you in the Lord’s Supper.

And as you approach Him in His body and blood present FOR YOU in the Lord’s Supper, don’t hide your sin. Lay it bear. For this isn’t just a ritual, this is a cleansing of your soul, your conscience. For He is the Lamb who bears your sin for you. May the cleansing of this atonement renew your conscience to take joy in God’s ways, and develop the fruits of His Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Israel’s sin, the nations’ pride, and our own faithless hearts all demand atonement—and God Himself provides it. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and who now gives Himself to you for forgiveness, life, and salvation.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston