“Facing Our Judge; Following Our Savior”

Isaiah 35:1-10

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.”

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among [humankind]. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his [people], and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new’.”

“… [John the Baptist] sent word by his disciples and said to [Jesus], ‘Are you the one who has come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear!’… Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”

Four quotes from four very different books of the Bible: one from an epistle of Paul, another from the Apocalypse of John, a third from Matthew’s Gospel, and a fourth from the prophecies of Isaiah. One has to do with individual salvation in which a person becomes a new being in Christ. One deals with that great time to come when God’s Kingdom will reign in all its fullness. One contains Jesus’ answer to John the Baptist’s question of whether or not he really is the Messiah. The last one deals with Israel’s impending deliverance from Babylon. All of them deal with various facets of God’s Shalom, God’s peace.

Shalom, what is shalom? Shalom is that condition of healing, wholeness, and health in every aspect of one’s life. The spiritual and emotional peace that passes all understanding that comes from knowing that we are in Christ. The peace that will rule throughout all eternity when God’s will has fully triumphed over sin, death, and evil. The peace that comes to those who have had a healing encounter with Christ. The peace of knowing that God seeks reconciliation with his sinful people, the peace of knowing God’s forgiveness, redemption and deliverance.

This is the peace on earth announced by the angels at the birth of Jesus. It’s God’s reconciling grace made manifest in Jesus. It’s the serenity that allows us to follow God wherever he may lead us; trusting that he will do whatever is necessary to make the journey possible, knowing that God will give us the courage and strength to walk in the way of salvation. It is the consolation that comes from knowing that God loves, protects, and delivers even the weakest and most imperfect of his children: the fearful, the feeble, the disabled, and even the foolish.

Today’s words from Isaiah are words originally spoken to the people of God who were languishing in their Babylonian exile. They are words of hope and promise, words spoken by God through Isaiah to reassure his people that nothing could prevent their return to the Promised Land. God would go before them creating a safe and wonderful road through the hostile dessert. Hurts, even the worst of human disabilities, would be healed. Fears would be alleviated. “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Did you notice the similarities between Isaiah’s words to Israel and the words John heard from the throne in Revelation 21? Those are words of grace, words of peace, words of Shalom. But they are spoken within the context of judgment. The God who delivers is also the God who judges. The throne of grace is also a throne of judgment. Even a healing encounter with Christ can be a moment of judgment. To stand before our God is to stand before our Judge. To be in the healing, saving presence of Jesus is to be in the presence of utterly honest judgment.

We cannot come before God; we cannot encounter Jesus, without experiencing judgment. Being reconciled with God means admitting that that our relationship with him has been broken. God doesn’t redeem us from perfection or sinlessness. God redeems us from sin. To admit that we are in need of his redeeming love is to admit that we are indeed sinners. To stand in the presence of Jesus is to stand stripped bare of all excuses, rationalizations, and hypocrisies. We can no longer hide from the reality of our own spiritual poverty. The depth of our sinfulness is revealed to us in all its shameful ugliness. There is no escape from the knowledge of our unworthiness.

That is the judgment through which all who would experience redemption must pass. There are no exceptions. There are no exemptions. We must all face up to that vast discrepancy between what God has created us to be and what we have become. Such judgment is painful. It is scary. It is also necessary. Until we turn and face Jesus our Judge we cannot follow Jesus our Savior.

We need to stop thinking of judgment as a bad thing and confusing it with condemnation. When we stand before Jesus, humbled by the reality of our sinfulness, we also stand before Jesus with every defense mechanism dismantled. In that moment we experience a time of clarifying honesty in which there is no escape from the truth. The good news is that it is such truth that sets us free. In spite of our fears to the contrary, this judgment does not destroy us. It purifies us. It makes us stronger. It burns away every sinful thing that disrupts our peace and corrupts our lives. Beyond this judgment there lies grace. In this grace is found that peace which passes all understanding.

John the Baptist wanted to make sure that Jesus was the Messiah. He wanted to know that the Savior-Judge he had foretold had really come. Jesus assured him that his highest hopes had been realized. The Messiah had come: a healing Messiah, a saving Messiah, a bearer of God's Good News, the One who exercised God’s power and judgment. The Messiah had come. In him people could become new creatures altogether. They could reclaim their true humanity. They could be who and what God had created them to be. The Messiah had come. Redemption was at hand.

The Messiah has come. By the power of the Spirit he moves among us in healing, redeeming ways, proving true the words of Paul: “… if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation…” The Messiah is coming. Jesus is coming again to judge the quick and the dead. Beyond this judgment will come what the prophets foretold: “… everlasting joy shall be upon [our] heads; [we] shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sadness will pass away… [God] will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more…” Our bondage to sin and our exile in darkness will be ended. Having faced our Judge, we can be with our Savior forever. Amen.