Epiphany of Our Lord
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons
With an Eye to the New
Object:
Isaiah 60-62 represents a sharp contrast with what has gone before in the preceding chapters of Third Isaiah (chs. 56-66). Up to this point in Isaiah's collection are found a mixture of conditional promises, scathing judgments, warnings, and calls to repentance. But beginning in chapter 60, the tone changes and we find nothing but unconditional, soaring, lyrical proclamations of salvation. Our text forms the first six verses of that glad announcement, and is a portion of the whole poem of 60:1-22.
Here God offers his open-hearted mercy to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, even though they have done nothing to deserve it. As is true throughout the scriptures, God's action of mercy precedes any repentance and turning on his people's part. And it is that unmerited love of God to which the remnant of Judah is asked to respond in answering love. We turn to God in love and obedience when we see with what love he has loved us in Jesus Christ. "We love because he first loved us."
Those things that are offered to the remnant of Judah in this message are no less than the gifts of the kingdom of God. In chapters 60-62, Third Isaiah pictures the coming of that kingdom, and it is in the light of that coming that Judah is asked to be faithful and obedient -- not in order that the kingdom will come, but because it is in fact coming.
Jerusalem is addressed in verse 1 as a woman, mourning in the dust. But she is bidden to arise, because God is going to be present with her in his glory (vv. 1-2). Here, God's glory is portrayed as his shining effulgence, as his material manifestation of his Being on earth (cf. 35:2; 40:5; 58:8; 59:19; Ezekiel 1:26-28). God, whose presence is often described in terms of light, is coming to his people!
As a result, Jerusalem will shine with the reflected light of God's glory (vv. 2-3), just as Moses' face shone when he descended from talking to God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18). To this reflected light, all the nations, who now dwell in darkness, will be drawn (vv. 2-3), because they will realize that God is to be found with Jerusalem (cf. Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 2:3). It is a cosmic and universal picture.
When the nations are drawn to Jerusalem, they will also bring back with them all of Israel's exiled children who have been scattered throughout the world (v. 4; cf. v. 9), and so Judah's heart will swell with joy (v. 5), like that of a mother's exulting over the return of her lost children.
The nations will not only come to Jerusalem to return Israel's lost children, however. They will also come up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. They will bring their treasures to be used in rebuilding the ruined temple (vv. 5-7), and they will bring their animals to be offered as sacrifices upon the altar (vv. 6-7). There will be caravans of camels bringing gifts from the southwest desert tribes of Midian and Ephah; gold and frankincense from the Arabian trading center of Seba; herds from Kedar and Nabaioth, famous for their sheep and rams; silver and gold from the sea peoples; fine timber from the North (vv. 6, 9, 13). All will be used to pay homage to the one Lord of all.
In short, what we find in these six introductory sentences to this poem is a picture of the reversal of the fortunes of Judah, which is, in Third Isaiah's time, a struggling little subprovince of the Persian Empire, scratching out an existence among the ruins of Jerusalem. The prophet proclaims that there will be the return of her God to her in forgiveness and mercy, the light of God's salvation shone upon her, the pilgrimage of all nations to Jerusalem, with their treasures, to worship the one God who is seen as Lord of them all. Such is the promise for the future coming of his universal kingdom that the Lord holds out to his struggling and suffering people.
Obviously, this text from Third Isaiah has been designated for the celebration of Epiphany, because it mentions that gold and frankincense will be brought by the foreign nations to honor God (v. 6). According to Matthew 2:11, those are two of the gifts that the astrologers from the East brought to the infant Jesus, and perhaps Matthew understands those gifts as a fulfillment of this Isaiah prophecy. But that connection between our text and Matthew has many implications.
First, the presence of God with his covenant people, of which the church is now a part, is understood to be found in the birth of Jesus. God has indeed come to us in his Son. This Word of Third Isaiah has become flesh in Jesus Christ, who dwells among us by his Spirit. And we, like Judah in our text, are totally undeserving of that favor. We, too, have been disobedient and unrepentant, but God in his overwhelming mercy has nevertheless come to us in his incarnation, offering his abundant love to which we are called to respond in answering love.
Second, in Jesus Christ, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, as Jerusalem was promised. "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' " writes Paul, "who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The full effulgence of our glorious God is veiled in the flesh of our Lord.
Third, as followers of our Lord, we are to reflect that glorious presence, as Jerusalem in our text would reflect it. "You are the light of the world," Jesus taught us (Matthew 5:14). But our light is not our own. It is the reflection of the light of Jesus Christ, who by his Spirit lives and works within and through us (cf. Galatians 2:20). And we are to reflect Christ's life, Christ's glory, in everything we do and say.
Fourth, if we truly reflect the love and life of Christ in our lives, then indeed, the nations of the world will be drawn to that light. For "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself," Jesus promised (John 12:32). If we lift up the death of Jesus on the cross, and his resurrection, if we shine forth with his glorious love for all, all nations everywhere will be drawn to come to him and to worship him as the one Lord of their lives.
Fifth and finally, all of these things, Third Isaiah promised, would come to pass in the Kingdom of God. And with the birth of our Lord, that kingdom has in fact begun to break into our world. God's abundant and eternal life, promised to his people, has now intervened in our history. And while its fullness is not yet realized, it has begun and will come to be. So we can join in the announcement of the prophet on this day of Epiphany. "Arise, shine!" all you Christian people, "for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"
Here God offers his open-hearted mercy to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, even though they have done nothing to deserve it. As is true throughout the scriptures, God's action of mercy precedes any repentance and turning on his people's part. And it is that unmerited love of God to which the remnant of Judah is asked to respond in answering love. We turn to God in love and obedience when we see with what love he has loved us in Jesus Christ. "We love because he first loved us."
Those things that are offered to the remnant of Judah in this message are no less than the gifts of the kingdom of God. In chapters 60-62, Third Isaiah pictures the coming of that kingdom, and it is in the light of that coming that Judah is asked to be faithful and obedient -- not in order that the kingdom will come, but because it is in fact coming.
Jerusalem is addressed in verse 1 as a woman, mourning in the dust. But she is bidden to arise, because God is going to be present with her in his glory (vv. 1-2). Here, God's glory is portrayed as his shining effulgence, as his material manifestation of his Being on earth (cf. 35:2; 40:5; 58:8; 59:19; Ezekiel 1:26-28). God, whose presence is often described in terms of light, is coming to his people!
As a result, Jerusalem will shine with the reflected light of God's glory (vv. 2-3), just as Moses' face shone when he descended from talking to God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29; 2 Corinthians 3:12-18). To this reflected light, all the nations, who now dwell in darkness, will be drawn (vv. 2-3), because they will realize that God is to be found with Jerusalem (cf. Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 2:3). It is a cosmic and universal picture.
When the nations are drawn to Jerusalem, they will also bring back with them all of Israel's exiled children who have been scattered throughout the world (v. 4; cf. v. 9), and so Judah's heart will swell with joy (v. 5), like that of a mother's exulting over the return of her lost children.
The nations will not only come to Jerusalem to return Israel's lost children, however. They will also come up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. They will bring their treasures to be used in rebuilding the ruined temple (vv. 5-7), and they will bring their animals to be offered as sacrifices upon the altar (vv. 6-7). There will be caravans of camels bringing gifts from the southwest desert tribes of Midian and Ephah; gold and frankincense from the Arabian trading center of Seba; herds from Kedar and Nabaioth, famous for their sheep and rams; silver and gold from the sea peoples; fine timber from the North (vv. 6, 9, 13). All will be used to pay homage to the one Lord of all.
In short, what we find in these six introductory sentences to this poem is a picture of the reversal of the fortunes of Judah, which is, in Third Isaiah's time, a struggling little subprovince of the Persian Empire, scratching out an existence among the ruins of Jerusalem. The prophet proclaims that there will be the return of her God to her in forgiveness and mercy, the light of God's salvation shone upon her, the pilgrimage of all nations to Jerusalem, with their treasures, to worship the one God who is seen as Lord of them all. Such is the promise for the future coming of his universal kingdom that the Lord holds out to his struggling and suffering people.
Obviously, this text from Third Isaiah has been designated for the celebration of Epiphany, because it mentions that gold and frankincense will be brought by the foreign nations to honor God (v. 6). According to Matthew 2:11, those are two of the gifts that the astrologers from the East brought to the infant Jesus, and perhaps Matthew understands those gifts as a fulfillment of this Isaiah prophecy. But that connection between our text and Matthew has many implications.
First, the presence of God with his covenant people, of which the church is now a part, is understood to be found in the birth of Jesus. God has indeed come to us in his Son. This Word of Third Isaiah has become flesh in Jesus Christ, who dwells among us by his Spirit. And we, like Judah in our text, are totally undeserving of that favor. We, too, have been disobedient and unrepentant, but God in his overwhelming mercy has nevertheless come to us in his incarnation, offering his abundant love to which we are called to respond in answering love.
Second, in Jesus Christ, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, as Jerusalem was promised. "For it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' " writes Paul, "who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The full effulgence of our glorious God is veiled in the flesh of our Lord.
Third, as followers of our Lord, we are to reflect that glorious presence, as Jerusalem in our text would reflect it. "You are the light of the world," Jesus taught us (Matthew 5:14). But our light is not our own. It is the reflection of the light of Jesus Christ, who by his Spirit lives and works within and through us (cf. Galatians 2:20). And we are to reflect Christ's life, Christ's glory, in everything we do and say.
Fourth, if we truly reflect the love and life of Christ in our lives, then indeed, the nations of the world will be drawn to that light. For "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself," Jesus promised (John 12:32). If we lift up the death of Jesus on the cross, and his resurrection, if we shine forth with his glorious love for all, all nations everywhere will be drawn to come to him and to worship him as the one Lord of their lives.
Fifth and finally, all of these things, Third Isaiah promised, would come to pass in the Kingdom of God. And with the birth of our Lord, that kingdom has in fact begun to break into our world. God's abundant and eternal life, promised to his people, has now intervened in our history. And while its fullness is not yet realized, it has begun and will come to be. So we can join in the announcement of the prophet on this day of Epiphany. "Arise, shine!" all you Christian people, "for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"
