The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
First, a little history. In 722 BC, the mighty Assyrian army destroyed the northern kingdom called Israel. Having wiped out the northern kingdom, never to see it rise again, the Assyrians threatened to destroy Judah, the southern kingdom, as well. Now imagine being a Judean around 700 BC, with all the threats around you from kingdoms that had the power to do anything they wanted to do to you, to your family, and to your country. Imagine what life would be like, every day having to watch the horizon to see if raiders from the neighboring kingdoms were going to come and rape and pillage in your village. Imagine having to work with that idea — that as you’re working on the farm, taking care of the sheep, or bringing in the harvest, you have to look to the horizon to see if there’s a column of soldiers marching down upon your land. Well, the Judeans didn’t have to imagine that. They lived in constant fear over daily bread: lawless raiders, armies of tens of thousands, that at any time could impose their will and haul whoever they want away to slavery. They lived in constant state of fear of these things and much more. And that fear made them fainthearted when it came to trusting the Lord God’s Word, when it came to thinking and acting and believing as children of the heavenly Father.
Now, fear is defined in the following way — as an unpleasant, kind of an understatement, but often strong emotion caused by an anticipation or an awareness of danger. And fear, fear is a major theme in the Bible. The word occurs 437 times, and the word “afraid” 165 times, in the English Standard translation. The emotion is also present in the New Testament, and in key moments when the disciples were in fear for their lives — whether it was getting out of a boat, walking on the water, or hiding behind locked doors — Jesus often greeted them with the greeting: “Do not be afraid.” When the prophet Isaiah then wrote these words in chapter 35:4, “Take courage, fear not” — both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah both deserved to be conquered. The destruction of Israel and the impending doom of Judah was a consequence of their idolatrous behavior, the forsaking of the Lord God, the God of their fathers, and all the sins that they had committed against God had earned them God’s judgment. And His judgment upon the north was severe and decisive and final. Yet even though they had sinned greatly in the south against their Lord God and deserved to be conquered as well, the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to prophesy not the destruction of Judah per se, but rather the ultimate destruction of Judah’s enemies. More than that, Isaiah was given to point the Hebrew people to the day when they would see the destruction of all of their enemies and their ascension as truly glorious children of the heavenly Father.
Now remember this biblical principle about prophecies in the Old Testament, among the prophets: prophecies always have a “now” and a “not yet” aspect to them. That is, they’re addressed to an immediate circumstance and context, and there is going to be some kind of fulfillment of that prophecy in the time-space history continuum. But those prophecies always are given to point to the final victory that our Lord will win over sin, death, and the power of the devil. That means that these prophecies address current circumstances and may impart blessing and woes in the present circumstance, but what really, finally counts is the result at the end, the end times — that word, eschaton. So when the people of Isaiah’s day heard and read Isaiah 35, likely they focused on the current events, the most immediate context. After all, that’s what we sinners tend to do. We’re like sheep. We’re very shortsighted. We’re only interested in the thing right before us, right in the immediate context. And when we’re in fear, we want it to end. And when we’re suffering, we want it to end. So the Judeans might have thought that Isaiah’s prophecy came to pass in 701 BC, during the later part of King Hezekiah’s reign, when they proved victorious over a battle with the Assyrians, where God thwarted the efforts of the Assyrians to invade Judah. They thought, “Gee, see, the prophet Isaiah had come true.” But instead of devastation and slavery after that victory, why, the Lord caused them to flourish. That’s what chapter 37 is all about, by the way. But the national and religious renewal didn’t last. They frittered it away once again. They fell away from the Lord God over time, over decades, and they began to worship once again the gods of Baal. Then they received their judgment. In 597 BC, the mighty Babylonian Empire invaded, conquered Judah, and hauled most of the Hebrews back to Babylon, where they were enslaved for the next 80 years.
Now, in the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And in the Small Catechism we confess that God provides for our daily bread. We confess that He protects us from all harm and danger, and guards us and preserves us from all evil. And He does all this, the Catechism says, out of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, and without any merit or worthiness in us. For the Christian, there is really nothing that we ought to fear but God Himself — and even that’s a fear of reverence, not one of terror. Jesus taught the same lesson to His disciples in Luke 12:6–7: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” In other words, we have nothing to fear. Time and time again, both the Old and the New Testament tell us that as Christians we are to be fearless. We are to be people of courage who speak the Gospel truth even in the presence of enemies. Yet a great many of us — indeed, every single one of us in our lives — live with some kind of level of fear. Now, I’m not going to deny that the world can be a frightening place. It’s true that a great many people have figured out how to generate fear, fuel fear, use fear for selfish and evil reasons. We have a name for that. We call it fearmongering. That is, people ginning up fear so that they can control you personally and your personal life, or control the masses so that they achieve their particular goals. It’s a way of manipulation. And in our worst moments, we practice it too, toward our family and toward our friends. See, because there’s three fundamental facts we know are true and really are innately built into human nature: one, we’re all sinners; two, we will all die a mortal death; and three, between birth and death, we’re going to be continually harassed by this thing, this emotion called fear.
Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit. God came to them, walking in the garden. And then Genesis 3:9 and 10: “And the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.'” Fear has been with us ever since. Luther said he didn’t need God to walk in the garden to make him afraid. A falling leaf would have frightened him in the moment, because he became aware of just how sinful he had become. He became aware that his very life was now in danger, and he was hiding from the consequences of their sin. From that moment on, life is filled with countless undesirable possibilities in life: diseases, cancer, decay brought on by aging, bodies giving way to poor health, problems in hearing and sight, mobility, cognitive declines — the list could go on and on and on of just the physical threats, let alone the emotional, psychological threats. And then, of course, there’s the danger that’s coming at the second coming, that the world tends to ignore but Christians are mightily aware of. Luke 21:25 through 26: “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among the nations, and perplexity at the roaring of the seas and the waves, and people fainting from fear and the expectation of things coming upon the world.” Everywhere we look, it looks as if evil and fear will prevail. The righteous suffer, the wicked prosper, injustice prevails in our neighborhood and in our nation and across the globe. And all you need to do is turn on the nightly news, or go to a board meeting, or survey social media, or talk to your state and federal representatives, and you’ll come to realize just how dangerous a world we actually live in — from our very homes to the halls of power around the globe. And I wish I could say that the church was immune to fear. Me too. But it’s not. It gins up all kinds of fear to get people to do what they want them to do.
But fear exists because sin and death exist. Eliminate sin and death, and fear vanishes too. All fear has its foundation in God’s judgment against sin. That’s why God the Father sent His only-begotten Son into the flesh: to save us from eternal judgment, of damnation. It’s why He sent the prophet Isaiah to the Israelites. He sent him to preach and to teach the Law and the Gospel. He was sent to also speak the ultimate peace that surpasses all understanding. Thus God sent the prophet, saying, “Say to those with anxious hearts, ‘Take courage, fear not.'” There you go. It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? “Just be brave all the time. Don’t worry about a thing. Don’t be anxious. Don’t give it a second thought.” I’m going to suggest, when you’re crossing the street, you give it a second thought — especially in the way they’re driving today. God’s Word has issued to you a directive: “Take courage, fear not.” That’s how it’s supposed to be for Christians. If we could and would do what the Word of God instructs us to do, if we could keep the commandments and not be afraid, we wouldn’t need a Savior now. But the fact of the matter is, we are by nature fearful creatures. But listen: when God says “Fear not,” it’s not an empty platitude. It’s a command, but it’s not empty. It has its own power. It has something more than just the instilling of fear. The words of God themselves cast out fear, because God is acting on our behalf in His Word, and in the Word made flesh. God doesn’t command us to do something, then wait around until we muster up the courage and the power to do it. He, in fact, speaks it and enables us to do it and to live in it.
Listen to what else Isaiah said, when he was given by the Word of God to write about fear: “You are not to fear what others fear, or be in dread of it.” “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will also help you. I will uphold you with My righteous hand. For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.'” It’s a promise. He says to the Israelites: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are Mine.” He is our Father, and as a good Father, He is going to take care and deliver His family safely to their heavenly home. God proclaims to the angel on Christmas night: “Fear not, for behold, I bring good news of great joy that will be for all people.” “Do not be afraid” — on Easter morning, Jesus said to the women outside the tomb, “Do not be afraid.” Later that day, when the disciples were locked behind closed doors for, quote, “fear of the Jews” — Jesus came, and they were talking about all these things, and Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be to you.” It’s the opposite of fear, to be at peace. Being at peace is the opposite of fear. Yet we spend more time in fear than we do in peace. Eight days after that appearance on Easter — eight days later — His disciples were again inside the room, hiding in fear, and Thomas was with them, and the doors were locked. And Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
This morning I preached you what Isaiah preached to those faithful Hebrews of his day, who could be invaded and hauled off to slavery at any moment, or butchered by the sword of raiders. But I say to you the same thing Isaiah said to them: no matter what in life is befalling you now, no matter what in life will come to you in the future, your fear is answered in Christ Jesus. Be strong, fear not, be in peace. The Lord fights for you. You belong to His family. You were made His child in the water and the Word of Holy Baptism. Christ is your remedy for fear. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit protects you from what can truly harm you and yours. Romans 8:31 and following: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for all of us, how will He also not with Him give freely us all things? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ is He who died, but rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God, and who intercedes on our behalf. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation?” The answer is no. “Shall disease?” The answer is no. “Persecution?” No. “Famine?” No. “Want of nakedness?” No. “Or danger, or sword?” No. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
God’s vengeance isn’t against you. He’s not punishing you in vengeance for something that you didn’t confess. He didn’t need to turn it on you, because He turned it on His own Son. His Son became our recompense. Recompense, by the way, is a payment. It means to award compensation to someone, usually for a wrong that had been done. That’s recompense. Jesus Christ is our recompense. He’s the payment that God the Father was owed, and He paid it in your behalf. First John 2:2: “Christ Jesus is the propitiation for our sin.” It’s a fancy word for a blood atonement, payment for a payment of blood on the cross — and not for yours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” — from the vengeance of God — “by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who has hung on a tree.'” Romans 5:9: “Since, therefore, we have been justified by His blood, much more we shall be saved by Him from the wrath” — the vengeance of God. Jesus Christ took what was rightfully yours — sin, judgment, vengeance — and He gave to you what is His: holiness, righteousness, and peace. He comes to do and to show that He is the promised Messiah, by fulfilling that which was written in Isaiah 61:1–3. He came to bring the good news to the humble, to bind up the brokenhearted, to release the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, or oil of gladness instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit, so they will be called oaks of righteousness. The Son of God came into this fierce, scarred, fear-filled world to save you from your sin, and to give to you, in good times and bad, true peace. And He will come again, and He will usher in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. And in the meantime, Christ speaks to you, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, My power is made perfect in weakness” — that is, your weakness. “Therefore I will boast more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me,” St. Paul wrote. “That’s why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardship, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” So be strong, fear not. Behold, your Lord has come with vengeance and with recompense, Christ. He has paid for your sin, and now He’ll come to save you, because your sins are forgiven, and you’re on your way to your new home, where there is no fear at all. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.