Have Courage Because Christ Has Come (Isaiah 35:1-10)
In the book, the Hobbit, there is an interesting narrator comment that has always struck me as incredibly wise. Bilbo was on an adventure that he really did not want to be in. He had just enough curiosity to go and Gandalf had lied to get him involved. And as time passed by, Bilbo would reluctantly keep moving on. And he found himself about to be face to face with a dragon. He was terrified, but he decided in that moment that he was going to go in and face this dragon. He took the first step and went into action and the comment made was that the first step was an incredible act of bravery.
The reason that I’ve always found this to be such an intriguing comment is that it is so profoundly true. The hardest thing about courage is not what you’re doing in the moment, but the decision you make before you go into action. It’s the decision to move through the fear and face the hardship.
This is a theme that, in some way, shows up time and time again in our stories. In The Space Trilogy written by C.S. Lewis, Ransom repeatedly must talk himself into doing hard things. Think also to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter Pevensie was tasked with leading the army to fight the White Witch while Aslan was away and had to pull himself together to do so.
On the other side of this we also see the overanxious person who messes things up, or almost does so in stories as well. Peter Pevensie does this as well, as many people die when he plans and leads a night raid into the castle of the Talmarine Castle. And you can likely think of stories where a solo person rushes into the fray and does more harm than good.
There is also the overanxious person that never gets started at all. How many stories do you see a person trying to talk the hero out of moving at all because they are held captive by their fear? One thinks of how reluctant Simba was to rescue the lions in Lion King. It took a lot of effort and a baboon with a stick to convince him to go. One can also look at the recently released Star Wars story, “Andor”, and see that because of the fear of the empire it took a whole lot for Cassian to desire to join the fight.
These stories are found over and over again in writing because they are so often a part of the human existence. When difficulties arise people respond in a variety of ways. Fear will keep some of them from moving at all. It will lock them up, frozen and unable to function. Fear will cause some to get overanxious, overeager, and unable to wait patiently to do what is right. I think you would all agree that you see these things repeatedly in real life.
How often have you seen people cave under pressure? How often have you seen people get overanxious and fight? How often have you felt it in your own life? How often have you been too afraid to share the gospel with your neighbor or invite them to church? How often have you been anxious about starting a Bible Study with your kids, so you just didn’t do it?
And this is what Isaiah addresses in our text today. Because the Messiah would one day come, they were to be strengthened and patient in the Lord. It is not because they had to muster it up from within themselves, but because of what the Lord would do they could have strength and patient trust in the Lord in the face of many struggles.
I don’t have to remind you that our society is moving further and further from the Lord. And as it does so, tremendous damage is being done that we fear would bring devastating consequences to us and to our children. Some people are frozen in fear right now. Some people are overanxious and want to charge into battle in a foolish way. But we are called to patiently trust the Lord and be courageous.
For us, that message should be easier to understand than it was for Isaiah’s hearers. For we see that the Messiah has already come. And we see more clearly what He is in the process of bringing.
Have courage for the Messiah has come!
We can have patient courage in the face of incredible circumstances because Christ has come. Have courage for the Messiah has come!
Let’s read together Isaiah 35:1-10.
God Will Restore (Isaiah 35:1-2)
There is tremendous beauty in the description we read in Verses 1-2, but it begins with devastation. And with that dark background before us, the beauty of this passage will become evident. Read it and admire what is taking place. Wilderness and dry land are barren places. And they are barren from neglect. Nothing has taken care of it. Therefore, it has been left to barrenness. But that is not the end of the story for these places.
The neglected and devastated places will be made wonderful and glorious. Notice that the desert will blossom. This place devastated by heat and dryness will blossom like the crocus. Think about that for a moment. The harsh and dry desert will blossom like the beautiful crocus. And it won’t just blossom, it will blossom “abundantly” and “rejoice with singing” (Isaiah 35:2). And these deserts will be compared to some glorious places.
The places mentioned here are fertile and beautiful places. Lebanon was well known for its tall and powerful trees and the beauty of its land. I’ve seen a lot of pictures of deserts, and none of this is what comes to mind. But that is what the devastated deserts will look like. And Carmel had much natural spring water in the area, and because of that it was known for its beauty. And the Sharon Plain, which is along the Israeli Coast was well known for its fertile ground and flourishing farmlands. And the neglected wilderness and the desert will be glorious like these places.
Think through this for a moment and you’ll realize the beauty of it and its application to your life. This is all about our future hope and future inheritance. These places that are completely devastated will one day be made whole. There is coming a day when the deserts will flourish and the frozen places green with delightful beauty. The concrete jungles will be green again.
This is about restoration.
Did you know that the world needs human beings in order for it to maintain a proper balance? It has been proposed that without human beings large animals would take over the Earth. We know that, here in Arkansas, hunting and fishing limits are decided based on the flourishing of wildlife. We also know that, here in Arkansas, a forest left to itself will become unhealthy. We have controlled burns that help the health of our forests and also control forest fires. Certain wild berries need to be occasionally burned in order to produce a lot of berries. Native Americans would burn wild blueberries for a higher yield.
But we also have the capacity to greatly damage the world we are supposed to be taking care of. We have, as a species, killed off many entire species of animals and plants through overhunting and industrialization. Even today we find that a number of animals are on the endangered wildlife lists because of overhunting, pollution, or loss of habitat. Mankind has the capacity for great good and great devastation.
And here is a message that one needs to hear today. God will restore. God will bring life to the waste places. God placed mankind upon the Earth to explore the Earth, to build, to care for the Earth. We have succeeded in many ways. But we have failed in many ways. And God will bring restoration. The waste places will be restored.
God Will Save (Isaiah 35:3-7)
God is at work doing a restoration of the world. There was much to be concerned about in Israel when this was written. Where did that put His people? What good did this do His people?
To put this another way, there are many things to be worried about right now. The world will be restored. What good does this do God’s people? And the answer is that God will save His people.
He begins by telling the people to be strengthened and calmed. This is commanded in a picture that we are forced to think through.
“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.” (Isaiah 35:3 ESV)
Those who, through fear of what is happening or what is coming have weak hands and feeble knees, are to strengthen them. The message of what is coming should begin to help that and this further explanation of it will do more of that. This message is supposed to put to flight the current fears that you have about all sorts of things that are currently happening. This message is also supposed to calm anxious hearts.
“Say to those that have an anxious heart, ‘be strong; fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:4 ESV)
The future looked bleak to many people in Israel. Those who had the ability to see what was happening would look around and see that there was trouble ahead. And then they heard messages from the prophets that spoke of the devastation that God would bring upon the people due to their disobedience. Things did not look happy and bright. But they were called upon to be strong and courageous.
This was not a strength and courage that they were just supposed to find deep within their selves. They were supposed to look at the things described in this text and have strength and courage as they trusted that these things would come to pass. We have already seen that God would bring restoration. And we see hear that God is bringing judgment. He is bringing vengeance. And He is bringing salvation.
So notice what happens over the course of the next few verses.
“He will come and save you…” (Isaiah 35:4 ESV)
God will not just allow these things to completely devastate His people. God would save them. But not only would God save them, He would “come and save” them. In other words, God would not be distant from them in their salvation.
At Christmastime our minds immediately run to the declaration of who Jesus would be. He would be called “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”. We consider that God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. That is what we celebrate at Christmas. God gave the gift of His Son. And this Son lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the grave three days later. And why did He do this? He did it to completely accomplish the salvation of sinful people. We rebelled against God’s Law and earned for ourselves God’s wrath and justice. God had every right to just reign His justice and wrath down upon us and be done with it. He would have been just and right to do so. But God did not do that. He chose to come to us and save us righteously through the gift of His Son.
What wonderful and glorious grace!
But are we right to think of this?
Yes, we are.
Notice what will happen when God comes to save His people.
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.” (Isaiah 35:4-7 ESV)
When John the Baptist began to have doubts and likely lose courage he wanted confirmation concerning who Jesus was. Was Jesus the promised Messiah? So he sent some folks to talk with Jesus and we read about that in Luke 7:18-23.
“The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”” (Luke 7:18-23 ESV)
Jesus’s answer was to say that those things that were foretold in Isaiah 35 are taking place. Jesus is telling John as plainly as possible that He is the long awaited Messiah that would bring all of the things promised.
But how can this be? Well, God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. While on Earth He did many miracles as was mentioned here. He lived a perfectly sinless life and accomplished salvation for His people. And because of what He has done, He will usher in the glorious things promised in this text. Because He came and accomplished all of this,
“waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.” (Isaiah 35:7 ESV)
Be strengthened, be of good courage, not because you are to be strong in yourself, but because you trust the Lord.
Because God the Son took on human flesh and accomplished salvation for us we can walk faithfully amid horrid darkness. Because Christ has conquered sin, death, and Satan through His life, death, and resurrection I can live with courage in this world.
What will happen if sickness falls upon me? I will go to be with Jesus if it overtakes me. And I will be with Him forever.
What would happen if some awful human killed me because he didn’t like what I had to say? What if he was so offended by my teaching from Scripture that he decided he would end my life? What would happen? Christ has paid the punishment for my sin. Christ has given to me redemption. He has given to me new life in Him. He has made a way for me to live with Him in eternity forever. What would happen to me? I would go to be with the Lord. I would be numbered among the persecuted saints we see in the Book of Revelation. And God will avenge the blood of his saints.
What will happen to this world that we so often lament about? We witness crime rising and the powerful in our society participating in awful wickedness. God will bring judgment through His Son and make all things right. And God will restore it through the blood of the cross. Jesus accomplished the redemption, not just of mankind but of all things.
God Will Bring Holiness And Safety (Isaiah 35:8-10)
Notice how this has worked so far. The weakened knees and feeble hands are to find strength because God will restore, God will save, and now we see that God will bring to us holiness and safety.
The picture here is also quite beautiful. Not only will these places that are devastated be restored, but a highway will be there. There will be travelers to these locations. And since they are restored this makes complete sense. But this is no normal highway. This is Highway of Holiness.
On this highway there will be no wickedness. It will be without blemish. No one unclean or unrighteous will pass through it. It is “the Way of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8). And it’s ways will be marked out and kept so well that even the most foolish of people will know and obey right from wrong. There will be no one who falls out of “the Way of Holiness”. And a large part of the reason for this is that the wicked will not be there (Isaiah 35:8).
In this case “fool” must be an insinuation of just how easy it will be for a person to follow the way of righteousness. Oftentimes the word “fool” is used in Scripture to describe the wicked, but since the wicked are not there it must mean something else. And, it makes complete sense that the people of God would be saved to a place that has a righteousness that they would not be able to fall from.
And not only will this place be safe from wickedness, it will be kept safe from any and all evil and outside dangers. Only the redeemed of the Lord will be there. And they will exist there in complete peace. Shalom will reign there forever (Isaiah 35:9b-10). And they will have everlasting joy. They will be filled with gladness and joy. And in that day and in that place there will be no more sorrow.
What a beautiful picture! And it’s a beautiful picture that is intended to strengthen you in your weakness.
Have courage for the Lord is bringing something glorious through Christ. Through Christ we have this as our inheritance and this as our hope. Everlasting joy will be ours.
If you are in Christ then this will be yours in Christ. You will walk on “the Way of Holiness” and because of that you can have courage.
But I want to say this to everyone here today. This also means that you must be numbered among the redeemed to be on this “Way of Holiness”. You cannot get there on your own. And you know this.
Your sins have separated you from God and without redemption you will be counted among those who are eliminated from this way. You will be counted among those whom God’s judgment falls.
We all deserve God’s wrath and justice.
Here is how Solomon described the wickedness of mankind in his sermon from Ecclesiastes.
“See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29 ESV)
And notice how Paul describes it in the Book of Romans.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned– for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:12-19 ESV)
And Isaiah, in that wonderful passage describing the death of Christ over 500 years before it happened.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:6-10 ESV)
All those who turn from ruling their own lives and trust in Christ are united to Him, brought into His family, and will live forever in peace and harmony with the Lord. Those who trust in Christ may face hardships, but they will be given peace with God and a glorious future. And that is worth more than anything this world has to offer.
And if you are a believer here today, you have a glorious future awaiting you. It is a glorious future that we can stake our lives upon, look forward to, and have encouragement from it so that we can be strengthened for the days that lie ahead.
Conclusion
We have many reasons to look around and be anxious and fearful. I can understand why we would feel that way and would be lying if I said I didn’t feel some of these things myself at times. But the truth of the matter is that Christ has come. God promised long ago that great and glorious things would occur through the Messiah. And when the Virgin Mary gave birth to Him the message changed from “Have courage for the Messiah will come” to “Have courage for the Messiah has come!”
And I want to end by reading another passage of Scripture. It is one with a very similar message to the sermon that I gave today. It is from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10 ESV
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10 ESV)
R. Dwain Minor
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