SERMON: BEING JOHN THE BAPTIST

 

 Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 3:1-12

 

Matthew 3:1 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.’”

 

4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

 

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

 

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.”

 

            -- several years ago, there was a movie called, "Being John Malkovich" -- it revolved around this failed puppeteer named Craig Schwartz, who is forced to take a job in a rather strange office -- as time goes by, he discovers a secret portal in the office that allows him to enter the consciousness of the actor John Malkovich for 15 minutes at a time

            -- now, while this is not a movie that I would recommend to the church, I do want us to think about the concept of the movie for just a minute -- what insights could you gain into the life of another person if you could spend 15 minutes inside of them?

-- all of us have heard the old cliché – do not judge anyone until you have walked a mile in their shoes – and there’s truth in that old cliché – because you cannot truly understand a person and what they are going through unless you have spent time in their shoes – living their life

-- that’s why empathy is needed so much in this world today – empathy is an oft maligned word in some political circles, but empathy simply means the ability to perceive, recognize, understand, and share the emotions, thoughts, and experiences of another person – to walk a mile in their shoes so that you might understand and know them better

-- as Christians, having empathy is important if we are to love someone as Christ loved us and if we are to minister to them as Christ directs in His word

 

            -- with that thought, I wanted us to spend the next little while trying to get inside the mind of John the Baptist – to walk a mile in his shoes, so that we can understand who he was and why and how God used him to get the world ready for the coming of the Messiah

-- without a doubt, John the Baptist is one of the least understood and appreciated characters in the New Testament, even though he has one of the most important roles that God ever gave to a man -- Jesus Himself said that, among those born of women, there had never been a man like John the Baptist

            -- but John is overshadowed by others in the New Testament – his ministry is like a flash that occurs early in the gospels, but then he is eclipsed by the coming of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and the ministry of Jesus and His disciples

-- and John understood this was to be the case – just like with Isaiah – if you remember the message from last week, Isaiah was told that his prophetic ministry was going to bear little fruit – that the people he was being sent to minister to would be never hearing, never seeing and never understanding

-- in this case, John knew his mission and role was only to pave the way for the Messiah – and then, once the Messiah arrived – to get out of the way – that’s why he said in John 1:30, “This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me,” and in John 3:30, “He [Jesus] must become greater; I must become less”

-- but even though his ministry and time was short, John the Baptist remains one of the most important characters in the gospel story – and since we don’t know a lot about him as a person – about who he was – I wanted us to spend some time looking at the life and times of John the Baptist and let's see what insights we can gain into his character and his place and his message and what these insights mean to us in our attempt to serve Christ in this place

 

II.  The Coming of the Herald (Luke 1:5-17)

            -- as in all good stories, it is always best to start at the beginning – so turn over to Luke 1 and let's start our study of John the Baptist there

 

            -- Luke 1:5-7

 

Luke 1:5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

 

            -- here in the beginning of Luke’s gospel, we are introduced to John's parents -- Luke describes them as being godly -- upright in the sight of God -- observing all the Lord's commandments and following the law blamelessly

-- both of them were descended from Aaron, which means that they were descended from the Jewish priestly line – they were not part of the Sanhedrin or the ruling class of priests in that day – but they served God as required by the Law and as dictated by their hearts

            -- to put this into our modern terms, what we see described here is a country preacher and his wife – people who love the Lord and who are serving Him in their lives and in the church to the best of their ability

-- however, Luke goes on to tell us that Elizabeth is barren -- she is childless -- and, in that day and age, that was a black mark against her

-- to have a child meant everything to a woman – the Bible tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord, and to not have a child would cause some to believe the couple were out of favor with God – that He was withholding His blessing from them – so, Elisabeth's failure to have a child -- even though she was the daughter and wife of a priest -- made the people in that place look down on her and Zechariah

 

            -- this just goes to show why we should never try to judge another person's relationship with the Lord until we have walked a mile in their shoes – we can never truly know the heart of another person – and we can never truly know what God is doing in and through that person

-- what we take as being out of favor with God may just be a delayed blessing, as is the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth – the same may be true of others that we look down on because they don’t seem to be living in the blessing of God at this time

-- the truth is that they may be truly godly people -- they may be serving God with their whole hearts -- but God may be withholding a blessing or a healing or a touch in their life at this moment in order to bring greater glory to Himself at a later time -- such was the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth

 

            -- verse 8-10

 

Luke 1:8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

 

-- in King David's day, the number of priests had greatly increased -- Aaron had numerous descendants who were called to serve God in the temple – so, to make things more manageable, King David divided the priests up into 24 divisions, and set up a system so that each division would fairly share the duties of serving God in the temple, with everyone eventually getting the chance to serve in the temple

            -- each of the divisions served in the temple for one week twice a year and at major festivals -- but, the highlight of a priest's service would be to offer incense at the daily sacrifice -- each priest could offer incense only once in his lifetime -- and the time finally came for Zechariah to serve in this capacity

 

            -- this is the big time – this would be like someone from Promise Keepers or the Passion conference – conferences that routinely fill stadiums and arenas with over 30,000 people -- calling me and saying, “Hey, we want you to open this year’s gathering by praying the opening prayer” – this would be a once-in-a-lifetime honor and the chance to serve God before a multitude of people

 

            -- that is what it was like for Zechariah to finally be given the chance to offer incense in the temple – part of offering incense also included offering prayers to God on behalf of the people of the nation of Israel

– as you probably know, incense in the Bible represents the prayers of the saints rising up to God – so, this opportunity of Zechariah to serve in the temple in this way wasn’t just offering incense – it was the opportunity to pray to God as the representative of the people of Israel within the holy place – to be physically closer to the Holy of Holies and the presence of God than most people in Israel would ever come in their lifetimes

            -- and Zechariah knew that – he rejoiced in that opportunity – and the text seems to indicate that while Zechariah was fulfilling his priestly duties – representing the people of Israel before the Lord – he quietly offered up a prayer of his own – a personal prayer from his heart – about something that he and Elizabeth had prayed about for years with no answer

            -- given that Zechariah and Elizabeth were up in age, it is likely that Zechariah didn’t pray for a miracle – for a child to be given to them in their old age – but it may have just been a prayer asking God to remove the pain of infertility and loneliness and their disfavor in the community

 -- Zechariah prayed from the depths of his heart, and God heard his prayers -- but God had bigger plans for this godly couple

 

            -- verse 11-17

 

Luke 1:11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

 

-- and here we are introduced to the person of John the Baptist -- we are given a glimpse of what it meant to be him -- of who he would be – God’s description of the child that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have gives us an idea of what it would be to be John the Baptist for just a moment

-- God had heard the prayers of Zechariah and had sent Gabriel to come to him and let him know that not only had his prayers been heard, but they had been answered -- the couple were going to have a son -- and not just any son

            -- not only was this child going to be a joy and a delight to Zechariah and Elizabeth, erasing the days of pain and loneliness from their lives -- but, more importantly, he was going to cause great rejoicing in the land of Israel because he was coming to prepare the way of the Lord -- he was being sent to bring the people of Israel back to their God -- to make the people ready to receive the coming Messiah

 

            -- so now that we know the extraordinary circumstances of the birth of John the Baptist, let us now turn to his ministry and the importance of who he is in the story of the coming of the Messiah

            -- turn back to Matthew 3

 

III.  A Strange Place (Matthew 3:1-6)

            -- look back at verse 1

 

Matthew 3:1 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.’”

 

4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

 

-- as we agreed earlier, the best way to understand another person is to walk a mile in their shoes -- to see life through their eyes

-- and when it comes to the Bible, that is actually the way you are supposed to approach it – there are two words that you need to know – exegesis and eisegesis

– exegesis is the way of looking at the Scriptures to uncover what God was saying through the human author of a passage to his specific audience before trying to apply those truths to our modern day lives – in other words, we have to put ourselves in the place of the original audience to understand what God was saying to them so that we can know how it applies to us – this is how to accurately let the text and God speak to us

-- eisegesis, on the other hand, is looking at Scriptures from your current world view and imparting your own biases, modern views, and assumptions onto the text – reading into the text and making it say what you want it to say

-- we should strive to always read the Bible by applying good exegesis to the passages that we are reading – and that means reading passages in context – knowing the audience and the writer – and then trying to discern what the Spirit was saying to them before applying it to us

 

            -- in an effort to help you understand this passage – to exegete it – to get out of it what God wants us to get – we need to put ourselves in the shoes of a first century Jew – so, I want you to imagine that you are living in the time of John the Baptist -- Matthew tells us that it was "in those days" -- but Luke tells us exactly when it was -- it was during the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea -- it would have been around 29 or 30 AD

            -- and one day, someone comes up to you and says, "I hear there's this great new rabbi -- this exciting new teacher and preacher -- and he's out by the Jordan River and several of us were going to go hear him and we wanted to know if you wanted to go" -- what would be the first thought in your mind?

            -- probably, it would be -- "why the Jordan River?" -- I mean, if this man is such a great teacher and preacher, why isn't he in the temple -- or at least in the synagogue -- if his message is so good, why is he out there? -- why isn't he here, where the people are?

 

            -- the gospels tell us that when John the Baptist began in his ministry -- "in those days" -- he began by preaching in the wilderness -- in the Desert of Judea -- as Luke tells it, in the region all around the Jordan -- this is the area known now as the "Jordan Rift Valley" -- it stretches from Syria all the way to the Red Sea following the drainages that make up the Jordan River

            -- the area that John preached in probably ranged from the Sea of Galilee to the north down to the Dead Sea -- now, this was truly a desolate area, with very little native vegetation -- extensive deserts -- and very little water, except for the Jordan River, and it would almost dry up from time to time -- there were a few scattered towns and villages in this region, but, by and large, it was uninhabited except for the wandering shepherd or nomad

            -- this area -- the Jordan Rift Valley -- is the lowest place in the world -- at the Sea of Galilee it is 700 feet below sea level, and drops from there to 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea

 

            -- if you were beginning a ministry, this would be an area that most church growth experts would tell you to avoid -- the experts tell you that if you are going to be successful in ministry, that you need to be in a place with a growing population -- with ready access from major highways -- with a large, highly visible church, well-tended and immaculate in appearance -- with ample parking and ample activities for all members of the family

            -- the Jordan Rift Valley is not that place -- so, why did God send John there to start his ministry? – well, sometimes, you have to leave home in order to find home -- sometimes you have to get away from the familiar in order to find what it is you are really looking for -- perhaps preaching in such a strange place is what it took for the people in John's day to open their ears and to open their eyes and to hear the good news of the gospel for the first time in their life

            -- and the people certainly responded -- Matthew tells us that people went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan

            -- which just goes to show, the places that the church growth experts think are strange -- the places that they think won't ever work -- places like small churches stuck out in the middle of nowhere – in little bitty towns no one has ever heard of – these just might be the places where God's power is made manifest through the teaching of the Word – as this passage shows, the issue is not the place, but whether God is there or not

 

IV.  A Strange Man (Matthew 3:4)

            -- but that was not the only thing that was strange about John's ministry – look back at verse 4

 

Matthew 3:4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

 

-- when I first mentioned the name of John the Baptist this morning, I imagine a vision of him popped in your head -- not a vision of him dressed in a fine robe, well-kempt and perfect in appearance, standing by the Jordan River surrounded by listeners as he calmly preached to them -- no, your vision of him was probably kind of like mine -- wild-eyed -- unkempt -- maybe his hair uncombed -- wearing this coarse brown robe -- very similar to what Matthew has described here in verse 4

            -- Matthew takes time to describe how strange John was – this view of John by normal Jews came out in the TV show, “The Chosen” – Andrew was talking about the teaching of John – John the Baptist – and Simon calls him, “Creepy John”

-- John the Baptist was strange – and this was not just because of where he preached, but also because of his appearance and behavior -- keep in mind that Matthew was a contemporary of John the Baptist – in fact, all the disciples knew John the Baptist personally -- they had seen him and talked to him and the strangeness of John, especially in his dress, would have stood out to them

            -- as a Jew, Matthew and the disciples would have grown up knowing certain rules about dress and behavior and the way good Jewish men were supposed to act

 

            -- I'm sure there were unwritten codes for Jewish men back in that day -- and while they probably didn't say things like our mothers would have said -- "wear clean underwear because you might be in an accident" – these codes probably did say things like, "wear good clothes -- behave yourself in public -- remember who you are -- you are of the people of God -- and you are to act like it"

-- this was the cultural norm -- this was how they distinguished themselves from the others in Judea -- from the Romans and the pagans and the other Gentiles there

            -- so, you can just imagine the shock that these fine, well-dressed Jews had when they made their way down to the Jordan Valley to hear this new preacher only to discover that he wasn't wearing a suit and tie -- he wasn't wearing clergy robes -- he wasn't even wearing the normal dress of the people in that day -- he was dressed in animal skins -- camel skins -- with a leather belt -- and he was going around eating locusts and all other kind of exotic food

            -- can you picture them on the riverbank approaching John, thinking to themselves, "What a strange place and what a strange man -- can he be saying anything of any value at all?"

            -- we tend to think like that, don't we? -- we tend to be somewhat judgmental of our fellow church-goers -- especially of our leaders and our teachers and our preachers -- we know how they are supposed to act and what they are supposed to wear and how they are supposed to carry themselves -- we judge them more based on their appearance and behavior than we do on what they teach and believe and the fruit they bear

            -- so, Matthew makes a point out of what John was wearing to demonstrate that God's word sometimes comes from improbable sources -- just like it sometimes comes in unlikely places

 

V.  Strange Message (Matthew 3:7-12)

            -- the other reason why Matthew makes such a big deal about John's clothes is that it points to the strangeness of his message

-- the angel Gabriel had told Zechariah, John's father, that John the Baptist would go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to make ready a people for the Lord -- when the men and women went out to hear John preaching in the Jordan wilderness -- and when they saw him and his dress -- they would immediately have been reminded of the story of Elijah from the Old Testament

            -- Elijah, too, dressed in a garment of hair with a leather belt and spent most of his time in the wilderness, preaching a message of repentance to the nation of Israel

            -- and that is the exact same message that John preached -- Mark tells us that John's appearance ushered in "the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" -- John's message would have sounded as strange to the ears of his listeners as Elijah's message had to the people of his day

 

            -- this was not the message that the Jews heard in their normal religious lives – their lives revolved around the Law and keeping the Law – and so, the Jews had been taught to justify themselves by the leaders of the church -- they were told day-in and day-out, "follow the laws -- try to live a good life -- sacrifice once a year on the day of atonement -- and you will be righteous in the eyes of God"

            -- let me put the message of the Jewish church to you in terms that you might hear today -- "go to church on Sunday -- read your Bible and pray every day -- try to live a good life -- and you'll go to heaven when you die" – you ever heard that? – you ever believed that?

-- there's a lot of people that we meet -- there's a lot of people in our churches -- that believe that -- they believe that if they're good – if they do more good things than bad things -- and if they come to church -- and if they try to live a moral and upright life -- if they follow all the rules -- then they're a Christian and that will get them into heaven

            -- that's exactly what all these fine and upstanding Jews from Jerusalem and from all Judea who were coming out to hear this strange man in this strange place thought – that was really the basis of their whole understanding of religion

-- so, when they went out to hear John the Baptist preach by the Jordan River, this is the message they expected to hear, maybe just in a different and fresh way

-- a message that would affirm what they were already trying to do in their religious life -- they were coming to hear someone tell them, "Good job! You've got it right" -- they didn't come expecting to hear a new message and a new understanding from the Word of God -- they came expecting to hear someone tickle their ears and tell them just how good and holy they were

 

            -- but the message of John the Baptist was, "No, you're not right -- you're not good or holy or righteous" -- look down at verse 7-12

 

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

 

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.”

 

-- John’s message to them wasn’t, “Keep doing good and you’ll get to heaven” – no, John proclaimed, "You brood of vipers" -- hardly the message that they expected -- but exactly the message they needed to hear

            -- John was telling them, "You may think you're righteous -- you may think you're holy -- you may think you are secure with God -- but you're not -- you're actually a brood of vipers -- your heart is not right -- you have sin in your life -- and you need to turn from your sin -- be baptized -- and put your faith in the One who is to come"

 

            -- C.S. Lewis once remarked how hard it is to evangelize good people -- and I've seen that in my own life -- I've tried to tell people at work -- good hard-working people -- people who are trying to live good lives and who don't break the law and who appear to have it all together -- I've tried to tell them about Christ and about their need for a Savior, but they tell me, "I go to church -- I do good things -- I know that I'm going to go to heaven when I die"

            -- but that's not what the Bible says -- the Bible says you can't get there on your own -- you have to make a personal decision to receive Jesus and His atoning, sacrificial death on the cross if you want to be holy and righteous in God's eyes -- that's why Jesus came

            -- one of the hardest things in the world is to convince a "good" person that they can never be "good enough" to get to heaven on their own -- that they need to turn from their sins and ask Jesus to forgive them for their sins and to ask Him to be their Lord and Savior

            -- and that, in a nutshell, was the message of John the Baptist -- and that is the message for you, this morning

 

VI.  Closing

            -- let’s wrap this up

-- John the Baptist -- a strange man in a strange place with a strange message -- someone sent by God to catch the attention of the world -- to shock them out of their comfort zone -- and to prepare their hearts to receive Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior

            -- a man who showed that it doesn't matter where you are -- or where your church is -- a man who showed that you don't have to conform to the ways of the world in dress or behavior -- in order to do great things for God

            -- the most important thing is to have the true message -- to have the Word of God in your heart -- and to faithfully share it where you are

            -- and when you do that -- the people will come -- and hearts will be transformed -- and lives will be changed through the power of the Holy Spirit made manifest in their lives

 

            -- as I close this morning, as the last hymn is played, I want you to ask yourself these questions, "Have I ever made a personal decision to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior? -- Have I ever turned from my sins and asked Jesus to forgive me for all that I have done that is wrong in His eyes?"

            -- you may have gone to church your whole life -- you might read the Bible and pray on a daily basis -- you might live a good and moral life -- but if you've never answered "Yes" to those questions, then you are as lost as all those Jews who went out to hear John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judea

            -- if you have never answered "Yes" to those questions, then I would invite you to do so this morning, before you leave here

            -- John the Baptist -- a strange man in a strange place with a strange message -- but, maybe, a message for you today

            -- let us pray

 

SERMON: HERE AM I. SEND ME

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 6:1-8

 

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

 

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

 

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

 

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

            -- for the last few months, the Secretary of Defense has been promoting a new message to inspire the U.S. military during these uncertain times with conflict in Iran and the extended deployments that have negatively impacted so many service men and women

            -- it includes inspiring videos and a tour of military installations by the Secretary of Defense, where he speaks to the active duty members and to potential recruits – the videos have gone out on TV and in social media – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram

-- the purpose of this push by the Department of Defense is to honor the service of current members – to highlight military sacrifices throughout our history – and to inspire young people and potential recruits to join the armed forces – it is to secure enthusiastic support for the various conflicts we find ourselves in

            -- all of the messaging from the Department of Defense in this initiative – whether that’s in the speeches from Secretary Hegseth – the videos on social media – or the messages that the Department of Defense has pushed out – all of them are focused around Isaiah’s response to the call of God from verse 8 of this passage

-- when God says in verse 8, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – Isaiah responds, “Here I am. Send Me”

-- that response – “Send Me” – has become the core ethos and core message for the Department of Defense in its outreach to the armed services

 

            -- without a doubt, that response – Send Me – is inspiring – it represents the moment that a single individual stands up and says, “I am here – I am willing – I will go forth to do what you have called me to do”

            -- it is a call that is reflected in Christ’s command for us to pick up our cross and to follow Him – but we have to ask ourselves what mission God is calling Isaiah to respond to? – we have to ask ourselves for what purpose did Isaiah stand up and say, “Here I am. Send me”?

 

            -- if you watch the videos from the Department of Defense or listen to any of Secretary Hegseth’s speeches, you get the impression that God is calling Isaiah to battle – to fight God’s enemies – to stand up for God in service above self

            -- but is that true? – that’s what I want us to look at this morning, because there are concerns when Bible verses or Bible messages are taken out of context and used for purposes that do not match their intent – and that is a very common critique of the Christian nationalist movement

            -- so, this morning, I want us to look at three things to set the context and background of this message – the Call of Isaiah – the Commission of Isaiah – and the Communication of Isaiah

 

II.  The Call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8)

            -- first, let’s look at the call of Isaiah – Isaiah 6:1-8 – look back with me at verse 1 and let’s read the first part of that verse

 

Isaiah 6:1a In the year that King Uzziah died…

 

            -- Isaiah opens this chapter with the statement that King Uzziah has died – King Uzziah was one of the better kings of Israel and Judah – for the 52 years that he reigned, he had tried to follow the Lord and lead the people in the way they should go – and he was very successful as king

            -- under his reign, Judah prospered – their borders were expanded -- the people of Judah became wealthy and secure – they lived in peaceful, prosperous times – but, as so often occurs when we are living in times like this, we can stray from following the Lord like we should

– we forget the source of our prosperity and our peace – and we can become prideful – believing that what we have is ours because of who we are and what we have done – and this prideful attitude began to permeate the nation of Judah – they turned away from following God – they put their faith in their own strength and even began worshiping idols – their devotion to God became merely ritual – religious acts with no true heart

            -- Uzziah was reflective of this prideful bent and turn away from God – and in his pride and in his desire for power, he attempted to usurp the priesthood – going as far as offering incense in the temple, which was forbidden for him to do

            -- when the priests confronted him and rebuked him for doing that which was dedicated solely to the priests, a great earthquake shook the ground – and Uzziah fled into the sunlight – where he discovered he had been smitten with leprosy as punishment for his sins

– for the last twelve years of his reign, Uzziah lived separated from the people of Judah – and his son Jotham served as coregent

-- but even though the people had strayed from God – even though they had turned away from Him – the nation of Judah was still prosperous and in peace throughout the reign of Uzziah

-- so, when Uzziah died after serving as king for 52 years, it introduced chaos and turmoil – it was a time of change – the foundations in Judah began crumbling as the nations around them rose in power and threatened their way of life

-- it was in that moment – when the ground was shaking beneath their feet – that God called Isaiah

 

-- look back at verse 1

 

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

 

            -- in some fashion, Isaiah was taken to the throne room of God – whether this was simply a vision or whether Isaiah was physically relocated there, we do not know – but he tells us here that in the year King Uzziah died – in the midst of the concern and the worry that encompassed the nation of Judah – he saw the Lord, high and exalted, and seated on His throne

            -- Isaiah describes the throne room of God in a similar fashion to how John described it in the Book of Revelation – God was seated on His throne – and above him were seraphim – a specific type of angel – these seraphim had six wings – with them, they covered their face – they covered their feet – which in the Hebrew, is a euphemism for their nakedness – and with the other two, they flew

            -- the seraphim led worship around the throne, calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty – the whole earth is full of His glory”

            -- this very scene was a message to Isaiah and to us – that when times are uncertain – when it looks like all is lost – when we are worried and alone and frightened with what is happening to us and to our world – God is still secure on His throne – He still reigns in righteousness and power – and His holiness sets Him apart from all of creation

 

            -- verse 5

 

Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

 

 

            -- when Isaiah saw himself in light of the majesty and glory of God, he cried out, “I am ruined” – other translations have this as, “I am undone” – when we see God, we realize our true self

            -- I’ve had conversations with people before about God and I’ve had some tell me, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to tell God this or that” – and I’m like, “No, you won’t” – because when you get to heaven and you see God, the only thing you can do is fall to your knees or fall on your face before Him

            -- even John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, when he saw Jesus on Patmos – John fell on his face in fear

            -- seeing God like Isaiah did – seeing God in His word – puts us in a rightful place and reminds us that there is a God in heaven and we are not Him

            -- Judah had forgotten that – and Isaiah, even though he was a godly man and righteous prophet, saw himself for who he was in that moment

            -- one thing I want you to notice here in verse 5 – Isaiah says, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” – notice that – Isaiah sees himself as unclean in the sight of God – and he also realizes that the nation of Judah and the people of Judah – were unclean in the sight of God, too – which is going to be the reason for his calling as a prophet and messenger to the people

 

            -- verse 6-7

 

Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 

 

            -- Isaiah’s confession of unrighteousness and repentance led to the atonement for his sins – just as our confession of unrighteousness and our repentance leads to the atonement of our sins and salvation through Jesus

            -- when Isaiah cries out, “I am ruined,” – one of the seraphim flew to him with a live coal in his hands – which he had taken from the altar before the throne of God – he touched the coal to Isaiah’s lips – and removed his guilt, atoning for his sin

            -- this process of events that we see displayed for us in Isaiah is going to be the heart of his message to the nation of Judah – to be saved, you must first become aware of your sinfulness in light of a holy God – you must confess and repent of your sin – and you must turn back to God for salvation and atonement – or judgment will come upon you

            -- that is going to be the message that Isaiah carries forth from this point on – and note that this is individual and corporate – repentance and atonement must be done personally and nationally – for both individuals and nations will be judged on the Day of the Lord

 

            -- verse 8

 

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

 

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

            -- so now we see the call from God and the response from Isaiah – God calls from His throne, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – and Isaiah responds, “Here am I.  Send me.”

            -- I want you to notice a couple of things in this verse– first, who is pronouncing the call? – it is God – it is God who is calling Isaiah to go – it is God who asks the question, “Whom shall I send?” – the calling is to accomplish the purpose and mission of God – not the purpose and mission of the leaders of Judah

            -- and it is to God that Isaiah submits – “Here am I – Send me”

            -- and notice that the calling and the response comes only after repentance and atonement – and now that he has been cleansed of his sin and his guilt, Isaiah is capable of responding in faith to the call of God, “Send me”

           

            -- but what is the calling? – what is Isaiah being sent to do?

            -- this verse and this response of Isaiah has been taken out of context for millennia – we use it to inspire people to missions – we use it to inspire people to go forth into ministry – we use it to inspire people to get up and get off the pews and go out into the world

-- the Department of Defense right now is using this verse to inspire the armed forces to go forth and make war on behalf of the U.S.

-- but is that what this means? – when God says, “Who can I send?” – and Isaiah responds by saying, “Send me” – what is God sending Isaiah to do?

            -- that brings up the next section – the Commission of Isaiah – Isaiah 6:9-13

 

III.  The Commission of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-13)

            -- verse 9-13

 

Isaiah 6:9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

 

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

    make their ears dull

    and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

 

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

 

And he answered:

 

“Until the cities lie ruined

    and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted

    and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away

    and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,

    it will again be laid waste.

But as the terebinth and oak

    leave stumps when they are cut down,

    so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

 

            -- God tells Isaiah to go and tell – and that is the calling of all of us – we are called to go and tell others about God – as we learned in our sermon series in the Book of Acts, our calling is Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells us that we will be His witnesses to the world of the gospel and the good news of salvation through Him

-- this is the same calling that God gives Isaiah here – “Go and tell – go and tell this people – the people of Judah – the people who are religious on the outside but far from Me on the inside – My message – call them to the awareness of their sins and their unrighteousness – call them to repentance – call them to salvation – call them back to Me”

 

            -- the message is always the same – the problem is the heart of the audience

            -- in this case, God tells Isaiah to go and tell the people, but to know that they will be ever hearing, but never understanding – ever seeing, but never perceiving – their hearts are calloused – their ears are dull – their eyes are closed

            -- and because of this, they cannot respond to the gospel – they cannot see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their hearts – they are unable to turn and be healed – because they have chosen to turn from God and to go their own way

 

            -- both Jesus and Paul used these verses to explain why the people were not responding to their message – at the end of the Book of Acts – Acts 28:17-28 – Paul is in Rome and calls together the local Jewish leaders and shares with them the gospel message – some of them believed, but the majority refused – they disagreed and left as Paul shared the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection – about the forgiveness of sins and the atonement that comes through Him

            -- as the Jews left Paul, he quoted these verses as an indictment against their hard hearts that refused to acknowledge their sins and the offer of salvation through Jesus – and he told them that because they refused to see and hear and understand, the message would be carried to the Gentiles

 

            -- the truth of these verses is shown in Jesus’ parable of the sower from the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke – Jesus tells the story of a sower who goes out spreading seeds – spreading the word of God – spreading the message of salvation

            -- some of the seed lands on rocky soil and the birds eat it up – some lands in shallow soil, and it quickly springs up, but withers away – some lands in the thickets and weeds, and the message is choked out by the world – but some falls on fertile ground, where it grows up and produces a harvest

 

            -- God’s message to Isaiah here is that when he goes and tells the people the message of God, the majority of them will have hardened hearts and will refuse to hear the message and see the word and understand what is being given to them

            -- in other words, God is telling Isaiah here that his ministry will not be fruitful – and that as he goes and tells the message of God to this unclean people, that most will not respond in confession and repentance and faith

 

            -- Isaiah is rocked by this – he cries out, “How long, Oh God – for how long will this happen?”

            -- and God responds in verse 11 – “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant – until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged – until the Lord has sent everyone far way and the land is utterly forsaken”

            -- the people will not respond, even as their peace and prosperity falter – even as their world breaks down around them – even as foreign enemies come into their land and conquer their nation and lead the people into exile

            -- a few will remain – a few will be the good soil that receive the word with joy and faith – a remnant will survive – but judgment will fall on the rest

 

            -- so, even though Isaiah faithfully proclaims the word of God to the people of Judah – even though he calls the people of Judah to come back to God – to confess and repent of their sins – to abandon the idols – to turn back to the true worship of their God – his words will fall on deaf ears – until disaster and tragedy overtake them and they face the judgment for this sins

            -- the rest of the Book of Isaiah contains the message that God has given Isaiah to go and tell – the message and the response of the people are always the same

 

IV.  The Communication of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7)

            -- as an example of the message that God is calling Isaiah to go and tell the people of Judah, turn back to Isaiah 5 and let’s look at the communication of Isaiah – Isaiah 5:1-7

 

-- verse 1-7

 

Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for the one I love

    a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

    on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

    and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

    and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

    but it yielded only bad fruit.

 

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

    judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

    than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

    why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you

    what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

    and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

    and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland,

    neither pruned nor cultivated,

    and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

    not to rain on it.”

 

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

    is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

    are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

    for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

 

            -- similar to the other prophecies in the Book of Isaiah for the nation of Judah, the message that has been given to Isaiah here is to help Judah understand their situation by comparing them to an unproductive vineyard

            -- keep in mind that the overall message that Isaiah is given to go and tell is for the people to recognize their sin – confess and repent of their sin – and turn back to God in faith for atonement and salvation

            -- so, in this passage, we see Israel pictured as a vineyard – many times in the Bible, God uses the vine as a picture of the nation of Israel and their relationship with Him

            -- in this case, Isaiah tells the people that his “loved one” – God – had a vineyard – Israel – that he planted on a fertile hillside

            -- notice it was fertile – it should have produced fruit – it was a perfect place and perfect environment for fruitfulness

            -- God cleared the land of the stones – He removed the people of the land ahead of Israel – this is a reminder that God cleared the land of Israel of all its inhabitants before the people came into the promised land

            -- He planted the land with the choicest vines – the chosen people of God

            -- He built a watchtower on the vineyard – He prepared for the harvest – He did everything necessary to make the people fruitful – but when He looked for good grapes, He only found bad fruit

            -- this is the sin of Israel – this is the sin of Judah – bad fruit represents their rejection of God – their turning away from Him – their chasing after idols and reliance on religious rituals rather than true faith and abiding in Him

 

            -- beginning in verse 3, God asks, “What more could I do? What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?”

            -- God had given Himself to the people – out of all the nations on earth, God had chosen the people of Israel as His own – He had led them out of Egypt – through the Red Sea on dry land – and to the Promised Land – He had given them a land of milk and honey – He had given them Himself

            -- but the people turned away – instead of good fruit, they produced bad fruit -- He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness – they continually rejected Him, even though He had done everything for them

            -- their sins were evident to all – and now, God says, they are going to face the judgment for their sin

 

            -- He says He will take away their hedge of protection – He will break down their wall – He will make the land a wasteland – He will send drought and plagues upon the land and the people

            -- He goes on in Chapter 5 to say that He is going to send other nations against Israel – He is going to raise up armies to conquer them – to destroy their towns – and to lead them into exile – the people and the nation would suffer the consequences of their sins

 

            -- this is the message that Isaiah was given for the people of Judah – this is the reason he was sent – when Isaiah stood up and said, “Here am I. Send me.” – this was his mission – this was his calling -- this is the communication of the prophet to the people – repent and return to God or face His judgment

 

            -- Gary Smith gives a fitting conclusion to this prophetic parable – he notes:

 

“The prophet’s role, and each reader’s responsibility, is to warn others of God’s impending holy judgment and to persuade the ungodly to change their ways.

 

“Like Isaiah, preachers, teachers, and parents need to weep over the evil that pervades this world. It is especially sad when friends, neighbors, fellow workers, children, and fellow church members do not classify their evil deeds as sins against God.

 

“People need to communicate their deep sadness, explain the just demands of God, encourage people to humble themselves, and warn of irresistible judgment for those who do not glorify God. There is no hope for those who ignore, scorn, or reject God (5:12,17,24). One day an Almighty Lion will roar over them (5:29).”

 

V.  Closing

-- During the Revolutionary War, there was grave concern about the behavior of American troops -- In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote about there being “too much corruption…in this infant age of our Republic.” -- He then stated, “Virtue is not in fashion. Vice is not infamous.”

-- This heavy concern was again noted when Benjamin Rush whispered a question to Adams while they sat together in Congress – Rush asked Adams if he thought America would succeed in the struggle for freedom

-- The future president replied, “Yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins.” [Source: John Adams, David McCullough, 2001, p.160]

 

-- Here am I.  Send me.

 

-- this response from Isaiah to God does not mean what the Department of Defense implies – the response, “Send me,” is not a call to go and attack an enemy – it is not a call to stand up for our country – it is not a call to war

-- it is a call for the repentance of a nation and an unclean people – when God asked the question, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – the purpose was to go and tell the people that they were unclean – that they were sinners and unrighteous in the sight of God

-- to go and tell the people to see who they truly were in light of the glory and majesty of the King – to recognize their sin and to confess their sin and to repent of their sin

-- for if they didn’t – if their hearts were too calloused to respond – if their eyes and ears were closed – if they failed to repent and turn back to God for the atonement of their sin and the removal of their guilt – they would face punishment and judgment – even exile from the Promised Land

 

-- this is what is meant in this passage – and when Isaiah cries out, “Here am I.  Send me.” – it is the cry of someone who knows who they are in God – it is the cry of someone who has been in the very presence of God – who knows their sin – and who has been cleansed by the grace of God

-- it is the cry of a forgiven sinner to an unrepentant nation to turn and come back to the Lord

-- that is what this means – and that is why we are here – to step into Isaiah’s shoes and to go and tell the people that a Savior has come, who has paid the price of our sins and transgressions by giving His own body and blood as an atoning sacrifice for us all – and to call the people to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus for salvation and eternal life

-- Here am I.  Send me.

 

-- let us pray