Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. | ||
| Isaiah 40:2-3 | ||
| How was Isaiah to comfort God’s people? First, he was to tell the nation that her warfare would come to an end and that her iniquity was pardoned. So too, how are we to comfort others? By telling people that warfare is coming to an end, that life is short, that life goes fast, that Jesus is coming back. In Isaiah’s day, if you couldn’t pay your creditors, a violation of your contracts would be posted on your house with a warning that in a short time, the house would be repossessed and you would be evicted - unless there was a redeemer who could pay your debt. In that case, the paper would be folded up, tacked to the wall, and marked “Paid.” That’s the message of the New Testament. Our sins are forgiven. Therefore, tell the person who feels guilty, depressed, discouraged, or defeated that Jesus is coming back and that their sins are forgiven - for those are comforting words, indeed! “Comfort My people,” Isaiah was instructed. “And prepare them for the coming of Christ.” John the Baptist used this passage when he was asked by the Pharisees who he was. “Are you the Christ?” they asked. “Are you Elijah? Are you that prophet?” “No,” he said. “I am a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing a way for the coming of the Lord” (see John 1:19-21). That’s the essence of ministry for you and me as well. We are not to draw attention to ourselves, but rather we are to prepare the way for Jesus. I can’t be like Elijah - raising the dead and calling down fire from Heaven. But I can be like John. I can talk about Jesus, preparing a way for Him. Pastor Jon Courson | ||
