Comfort & Joy I // Prepare the Way
A Message by Rev. Dr. Mark Jordan, Pastor
Advent is…
- Time of preparation for Christmas
- Different from Lent when it’s about fasting and spring cleaning
- Advent is a time of preparation like cooking, cleaning, and decorating for an important guest
- We focus on peace, hope, joy, and love
Isaiah 40:1-5 (NIV) | 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
- Interesting how Isaiah 39 is pretty doom and gloom
- Everything King Hezekiah and his ancestors, including his descendants, will be taken off into Babylonian exile
- Even the men will be castrated to become eunuchs, meaning bloodlines will end
- So comfort?
- God told Isaiah to comfort the people after the doom and gloom
- Did you note how verse 2 says to speak tenderly, that the hard service has been completed, sin paid for?
- Preparation is what we see next and is key
- Prepare for the redemption that is to come
- God is bringing new contours even to the landscape
- People will see it together!
- “The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
We fast forward to the New Testament and see how the Bible ties this concept together…
Matthew 3:1-3, 11-12 (NIV) | 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Repent: make a 180° turn in your life
- Jesus brings the Holy Spirit
- Jesus divides the righteous from unrighteous (Matthew 25 and whatever you do for the least of these you do to me)
Prepare
- Strive to be like Jesus
- Prepare for suffering (with perspective)
- Be ready to share what God has done for you
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) | …in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
- You can have the comfort and joy of eternity
- Prepare your life to be like Jesus
- Prepare to share your Jesus story so they, too, can have that eternal comfort and joy!
Reflection Questions
- What is the season of Advent? How does it differ from the season of Lent?
- How do we read Isaiah 40 in light of Isaiah 39? How can this bring comfort?
- Isaiah connects the idea of preparation of comfort. What does this mean to you? How might it help you prepare for Christmas?
- John the Baptist quoted Isaiah as he told people to prepare for the coming of Jesus. How do these two work together? What is the implication?
- How can you prepare what you would say to someone who needs some hope this time of year?