My dad passed away about four years ago and trying to process his death along with some other difficult things in life left me disoriented – For a time, I couldn’t put words to why I was disoriented – I couldn’t even articulate that I was disoriented – I just knew something was out of place – But as I began trying to sort through it with a few people, it became clear that I was disoriented and that, at root of it, what was so disorienting to me was the simultaneous coexistence of sorrow and beauty
I had experienced sorrow in life – And I had experienced beauty in life – But I had never experienced either of them that deeply at the same time – I wasn’t sure what to think or feel or do other than put my head down and keep going
I did that for a while, but I knew I couldn’t do that forever and be healthy – An older man who was advising me through process recommended I write a poem about my experience – I was skeptical of the idea at first – I’m not a big fan of poetry or of expressing my emotions, but I tried it, and it ended up being a really helpful process for me – It helped me see sorrow and beauty in light of Jesus, the Gospel, and Christian life – Here are two sections of poem I wrote:
As the nail that received the hand, and the thorn that received the brow, so sorrow received beauty, and together they were bound.
Not forever will it be this way, for He will wipe the tear away. Beauty will rise up and swallow sorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.”
This morning we are going to overview Isaiah 59-66, a section that is coming up in the reading this week and section in which we find three themes woven together: The Sorrow of Sin – The Beauty of Salvation – The Glory of God’s Redeemer – We are going to survey those themes, talk about how they come together in Jesus, and talk about implications for our lives
The Sorrow of Sin
Isaiah 59 opens with a perceptive explanation of Judah’s problem – Isaiah writes:
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isa. 59:1-2)
Isaiah wants to make sure people of Judah understand reason for their predicament – He wants to make sure they understand why they are teetering on verge of collapse and doomed to fall to Babylon – He wants Judah to know that this is not because of God’s inadequacy; it is because of the people’s iniquity – Their lack of faith – Their sinfulness – Their immorality – Judah’s sin has separated her from God
Isaiah gives several examples throughout chapter 59 – Judah has: broken covenant Law, denied the Lord, shed innocent blood, uttered lies, and committed injustice – Judah’s sin has separated her from God
Now, some of people of Judah, at least in their sober moments, saw their sin with clarity and felt the sorrow of it – They experienced The Sorrow of Sin
Isaiah 64:5-7 – Judah crying out to God – Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. (Isa. 64:5-7)
Two things I want you to see here as Judah confesses The Sorrow of Sin – See how sin is universal and insurmountable – And this isn’t just true of Judah in 8th century BC – It’s true of every person everywhere – Paul makes this clear in Romans 3 – Sin’s application is universal and insurmountable for all of humanity – So these words are as true for us as they were for people of Judah
They say: “We have all become like one who is unclean…” – It’s not: “The priests have become unclean…” – Or: “They common people have become unclean…” – Or: “The politicians have become unclean…” – Or: “The poor have become unclean…” – It is “We have all become like one who is unclean…” – We have all become like those whose worldly affairs have made them unfit for God’s holy presence – And the effect is this: “There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you…” – Sin and its consequences are universal
And they are insurmountable – Judah confesses: “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” – It’s not: “Some of our righteous deeds…” – It’s all of them – The word “polluted” is reference to women’s menstrual period – Hebrew is literally: “all of our righteousness is like a garment of menstruation” – In Jewish context, kind of garment that was saturated with uncleanness – In our context, kind of garment that makes men squirm – Garment that women hide and discard
That’s what our most righteous deeds are like before a holy God – Scriptures is clear that there is zero chance that we will overcome effects of sin by our righteous deeds – There is zero chance we will satisfy God’s perfect standards by our good works (Galatians 3:10-14) – Sin and its consequences are insurmountable – And the effect is this: “We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” – As wind runs away with a leaf, so sin has run away with even the best of men
And for that reason, one inescapable aspect of life on this earth is experience The Sorrow of Sin – Sin produces evil and pain and suffering and loss and sorrow in this world, which we cannot escape – And sin produces separation from God – Because God, who is perfectly holy, cannot have fellowship with anything unholy – And God, who is perfectly just, must express that justice as righteous anger against sin
This creates a problem in relationship between God and His people – Isaiah 59:15-16, “The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede…”
This is what lays beneath The Sorrow of Sin – God and His people have been estranged – There is no justice – There is no man – There is no one to intercede
But that’s not all Isaiah has to say in these final eight chapters – Not only does he speak of The Sorrow of Sin, but also The Beauty of Salvation – And what can be incredibly disorienting for us is that Isaiah sometimes speaks of them in same breath
Sometimes reading prophets can feel like mental whiplash because they bounce back and forth, quickly and frequently, between hope and judgment – Our modern, Western minds are used to a logical or chronological progression – Prophetic writings are rarely written in that format
So, if you’ve been confused as you’ve been reading Isaiah, take heart, it is complex – Several times in past couple weeks my wife has finished her Bible reading and asked me, “What is he talking about?” – And I’ve had to say, “I’m don’t know.”
The danger when that happens is to believe that Bible is unclear or too difficult to understand – That’s not true – We must admit that certain parts of it are more difficult to understand than others – And we must admit that certain aspects of it remain beyond our capacity to understand – But, at same time, we must admit that the Bible is very clear on what is essential to know who God is, who we are, and how we can live in relationship with Him
And what Isaiah makes very clear is that The Sorrow of Sin will not be end of story for God’s people – Rather, at some day in his future, it will be overcome by The Beauty of Salvation
Isaiah 61:11, 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (Isa. 61:11)
Isaiah sees a future day when The Beauty of Salvation will sprout up under loving sovereignty of God – And this day of salvation will involve three key components: a reshaping of God’s people, a recreation of God’s place, and a revival of God’s purposes
Reshaping of God’s People
Isaiah 62:2-5 – Isaiah speaking about God’s people on that future day – 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. 3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isa. 62:2-5)
In this day of future salvation, God will make His people righteous – He will give them a new name – He will redefine them – God will raise them up in palm of His hand, like a precious crown of beauty, for all nations and kings of earth to behold – God will delight in them, as a Father delights in His children – He will rejoice over them, as groom rejoices over His bride – There will be a Reshaping of God’s People
And there will be a Recreation of God’s Place
Isaiah 62 – 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days…23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isa. 62:17-25)
In this future day of salvation, God will create a new heavens and a new earth, redeemed from pain of sin and death – A place where He will dwell with His people, no longer separated by sin – A place where weeping will be replaced by rejoicing – And the cry of distress by the shout of gladness – A place where death will be swallowed up by life – And the curse of sin by the blessing of righteousness – A place where violence will be overthrown by peace – And destruction by the glory of Lord
A Reshaping of God’s People – A Recreation of God’s place – And A Revival of God’s Purposes
Isaiah 66:18-25 – 18 “…the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations…21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” (Isa. 66:18-25)
In this day of salvation that lies in Isaiah’s future, God will gather people from all nations to worship Him and behold His glory – Not only will He gather these Gentiles in to worship alongside Jews; He will also send them back out to those who have not heard of the Lord’s fame – And He will even incorporate Gentiles into His priesthood, to lead and work in worship of His name
But notice that result of this future day of salvation will not be experienced in same way by all people – Those people, Jew and Gentile alike, who have been gathered to worship glory of Lord, will experience a permanent state of blessing in presence of Lord – They will remain before Him forever
But other group of people, who have rebelled against Lord, will experience a permanent state of shame and death – Their worm will not die, nor their fire be quenched – Not all will experience this future day of salvation – But, in all of this, we see A Revival of God’s Purposes
So, Isaiah sees The Sorrow of Sin in Israel’s present – And He sees The Beauty of Salvation in Israel’s future – But how will these two realities be reconciled? – How will they ever come together? – Where will they meet?
Let’s go back to Isaiah 59:15-16 – “The Lord saw that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede…” – But that’s only part of verse 16 – Here’s how it ends: “then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.”
God will take initiative to deliver His people from their universal and insurmountable sin, because He’s only one who can – God will bring justice – God will provide a man – God, Himself, will intercede – The Sorrow of Sin and The Beauty of Salvation meet in The Glory of God’s Redeemer
A Redeemer who is promised in Isaiah 59:20, “a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.
This Promised Redeemer is described in more detail in Isaiah 61:1-3:
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Isa. 61:1-3)
Now, men and women much smarter than me have all kinds of debates about who this is referring to in Isaiah’s context – But there is no debate about who this is referring to in broader context of salvation history, because Jesus leaves no room for debate
Luke 4, describes how, early in Jesus’ ministry, he visited his hometown of Nazareth – While He was there, He attended the synagogue on Sabbath, like usual – But on that Sabbath He was asked to do Torah reading, and He was handed scroll of Isaiah – Luke says that Jesus found this section, read it, and sat down
And I don’t know what it would be like to hear Word of God read Word of God, but it must have been powerful, because Luke says that every eye in synagogue was fixed on Jesus after He sat back down – There was silence – People were waiting to see if Jesus would give an interpretation of section He had just read – And He did
This is what He said: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
In Christ Jesus, the day of salvation that Isaiah foresaw would be realized – Jesus was the Redeemer who had come to Zion – The Anointed One, who came to bring Good News to poor – To bind up brokenhearted and to set captives free
Through Christ Jesus, the world would experience a Reshaping of God’s People as God would begin to call people from every tribe and nation to Himself and incorporate them into one body, His church – He would make them righteous by blood of Jesus and give them a new name – He would redefine them and raise them up in palm of His hand, like a crown of beauty, rejoicing in them, and showing them off to world
Through Christ Jesus, the world would experience a Recreation of God’s place as God’s Kingdom would break through heavens and begin to be established on earth – In this Kingdom, dead souls would be given new life – Citizens of Kingdom would be transformed from inside out and, having been set free from sin, they would experience real fellowship with God and one another – In this Kingdom, peace and love and blessing would prevail over strife and hatred and the curse
And through Christ Jesus, the world would experience a Revival of God’s Purposes as God would send a small band of witnesses throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth to start a movement that would absolutely change world over next 2,000 years as Good News of Jesus spread to far reaches of earth
All of this is true – In Christ Jesus, The Beauty of Salvation has come in an undeniable, transformational way – It is available to you and to me today – You don’t have to wait to get to heaven to taste it – But you do have to wait to get to heaven to taste all of it – The Beauty of Salvation is here in realness, but it is not here in fullness
New Testament makes it clear that some of Isaiah’s prophecy remains in our future – Culmination of Jesus’ reign will not be established until He returns and establishes New Heavens and the New Earth in permanency
And where that leaves us, as followers of Jesus, is living in the “already-not yet” era of salvation history, wherein we’ve already experienced The Beauty of Salvation and that salvation is secure, but it’s still mixed up in The Sorrow of Sin – In reality, reading Isaiah isn’t only thing that can give us mental whiplash – our own lives can do that – We can feel caught awkwardly between The Sorrow of Sin and The Beauty of Salvation
In Gospel, God has made us to be righteous, yet we still struggle to do what is righteous – In Gospel, God has given us a new name, but sometimes we still answer to old one – God has redeemed us from pain of sin and death, and yet we face it all day long – God stirs up rejoicing one minute and the world stirs up weeping the next – The cry of distress is heard alongside the shout of gladness while the nations both come to Lord and rage against Him – It’s a disorienting world to live in
What do we do with that? – Two things:
1) Look to the Cross
The cross is the fulcrum on which Christianity turns – If you take the cross out of Christianity, you’ll have nothing left – And image of cross is an image that captures, in one moment, our whole Christian experience
You have Jesus, the glorious Son of God – The Messiah of Israel – The Savior of the World – The Beauty of Salvation
And you have the cross, a brutal symbol of death – The weapon of sinners – The object of shame – The aim of mockers – The Sorrow of Sin
And what the nails do is bind them together – “As the nail received the hand, and the crown received the brow, so sorrow received beauty, and together they are bound.”
To be a Christian is not simply to know The Beauty of Salvation – To be a Christian is not simply to know The Sorrow of Sin – To be a Christian is to know both – And even in this to be conformed to our Savior, who knew both – God intends to use this awkward, disorienting experience to draw us deeper into Christlikeness – He intends to use this experience to help us know Him more deeply and more fully – And He intends to use this experience for His glory now and forevermore
I find it fascinating to consider that Jesus’ resurrected body – His glorified body – The one that came up from tomb and ascended to heaven had scars – It still bore marks of nails so that Thomas could look upon them to believe and cry out: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) – “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Cor. 4:17)
Even in this, Jesus leads the way – He understands – With hope we look to cross and we press on
2) Look to Heaven
Because Jesus didn’t stay on the cross, that place where The Sorrow of Sin and The Beauty of Salvation met – No, He didn’t stay in it – He defeated it – He defeated sin and death once and for all – He’s sitting at right hand of Father, free from effects of sin and death – But He won’t stay there either – Someday He will return to judge the living and the dead and to establish New Heavens and New Earth
And on that day, every single part of Isaiah’s vision will be fulfilled – On that day, every “not yet” will become an “already” – The Beauty of Salvation will triumph over every Sorrow of Sin once and for all
And we look forward to that day – Some nights, my wife and I go to bed, and all we can say is, “I can’t wait for heaven.” – Not that our life is that bad or hard – And not that we are wishing away our lives – We’re committed to being faithful until day we die – But, sometimes, what gets us up in the morning is the reality that salvation is here – And what puts us in bed at night is the reality that salvation is not yet – That’s a normal part of Christian experience this side of heaven
We have to hold that tension – We can’t let go of The Beauty of Salvation and become fatalistic – Nor can we let go of The Sorrow of Sin and become triumphalistic – In this life, we must hold both – And as we do, we look to the future with hope, knowing that this won’t be our experience for long
“Not forever will it be this way, for He will wipe the tear away. Beauty will rise up and swallow sorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.”