Sermon Text: Isaiah 49:1-6
Date: January 14, 2024
Event: The Baptism of Our Lord (Observed), Year B
Isaiah 49:1-6 (EHV)
Listen to me, you coastlands.
Pay attention, you faraway peoples!
The Lord called me from the womb.
When I was inside my mother, he mentioned my name.
2He made my mouth like a sharpened sword.
He hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me a polished arrow.
He concealed me in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant Israel,
in whom I will display my glory.”
4But I said to myself, “I have labored in vain.
I spent my strength and came up empty, with nothing.
Yet a just verdict for me rests with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.”
5But now the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to turn Jacob back to him,
so that Israel might be gathered to him,
so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord,
because my God has been my strength—
6the Lord said:
It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant
to raise up only the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel,
so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations,
so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth.
The Messiah Follows God’s Will
How are you at planning? That is a large weak spot for me. I tend to react in the moment to things rather than charting a course. And even if I chart a course, sticking to that plan is entirely different. That’s not necessarily a good or bad thing; it just tends to differ between people. Some people meticulously plan every moment, some fly by the seat of their pants all day, and probably most people fall somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
What about God? Is he reactionary? Hardly. Sometimes, God allows it to look like that for the sake of the people he interacts with. (A good example would be his apparent hot temper at the Israelites when they were worshiping the golden calf, which allowed Moses to plead for the people and see his dedication to God’s people.) Even if we can’t clearly see or understand what God is doing or why, he always has a plan, is always organized, and perfectly executes his plan.
There is no clearer place to see that than in his plan of salvation. God knew exactly what, how, and when he would save mankind from our sins. While God slowly let people know the plan's details, that wasn’t because he was still figuring it out. It was just that he had reason to dole out that information steadily through the generations. At Jesus’s baptism, we can see that plan coming to fruition. John understandably hesitates to baptize Jesus, recognizing that John should be the one being baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. But Jesus assured him that this is part of the plan, that it’s right to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
In our First Reading for this morning from Isaiah 49, we get an idea of the plan. As the Messiah speaks through the prophet’s pen, we learn that his calling and this plan were not arbitrary. God called him from the beginning to be the Savior of all people. Listen to me, you coastlands. Pay attention, you faraway peoples! The Lord called me from the womb. When I was inside my mother, he mentioned my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me a polished arrow. He concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant Israel, in whom I will display my glory.”
God didn’t just randomly pick some guy someday and have John baptize him and claim him as his Son. No, the eternal Son of God was always going to be the Savior. God had a clear plan and would fulfill that plan.
But we hear a very human perspective from the lips of the Messiah. But I said to myself, “I have labored in vain. I spent my strength and came up empty, with nothing.” Perhaps we hear echoes of Jesus in Gethsemane pleading with the Father to let this cup of suffering pass from him—not by Jesus’ will, but as the Father willed. Or perhaps the cry of anguish as Jesus suffers hell on the cross for our sins, pleading from the torment of being forsaken and abandoned by God, the true and full definition of hell. Or perhaps this could even be seen as the Messiah giving voice to the people around the cross. They had hoped Jesus was the one! And now? He was dead on the cross and then laid in a tomb. By all human measures that is labor in vain.
But God’s will and plan didn’t end with the cross; it didn’t end with a tormented servant, and it didn’t end with a dead Messiah. The angels appear at the tomb and roll the stone away, not to remove the body or let Jesus out, but to show that he was already gone. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves that God accepted his sacrifice and did everything the Father had ordained for him to do. His work was truly finished, complete. Jesus’ resurrection was the Father’s seal of approval on everything he did. “Yet a just verdict for me rests with the Lord, and my reward is with my God.”
But what is the result of all of this will-following on Jesus’ part? What happened because Jesus’ ministry was complete, from his baptism to his resurrection and ascension? God states it clearly: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth. I love this phrasing and attitude from God. He says, “You know what? If you were just the Savior of one people, of one nation, that’s ridiculously easy. That’s tiny, almost like a child’s game. You, dear Messiah, will be the Savior of all people. A light for all nations, to bring the forgiveness of sins to everyone, to the ends of the earth.”
We noted last week, as the Wise Men came to visit the child Jesus in Bethlehem, how this child was for all people. As these Gentiles came to worship the King born from the Jewish people, it was recognition not just of authority and power but of his divinity. This God-Man was not like the pagan gods who supposedly had jurisdiction over a small sliver of the earth; this was the true God, come to be the Savior of all.
And that fact, as difficult as it was even for the early Jewish Christians to grapple with, was never something that was hidden or secret. God was always clear that the Savior would be for all. The Messiah would come to rescue all people from all nations, every descendant of Adam and Eve, and everyone in the family tree of Noah; these are the people Jesus came to save.
That means you and that means me. No matter your family, racial, or religious background, Jesus is your Savior. Every sin you’ve ever committed was laid on Jesus at the cross. Your forgiveness is why he carried out his work; his love for you is why he began his formal ministry at his baptism. Because the Father noted that saving others but not saving you would have been beneath Jesus, too small a thing. Because your Savior God is greater than any challenge or task placed before him, you can be confident that his work means your sins are gone, you are forgiven, and eternal life stands waiting for you.
The will of God was that mankind not suffer in hell for our sins, and the Messiah accomplished that will. By his perfect life in our place, his innocent death that paid the penalty our sins deserve. This is for you; this is for everyone. So, just as Jesus began his public work at his baptism, we continue making this good news known in all places—our homes, our communities, and even far-off lands where we personally might never set foot. Where there are people, there are objects of God’s affection, the desire of his will, and the ones he has saved. Let us cherish and continue to share this good news until our Savior brings us home to himself. Amen.
