Return to the Lord
Who Redeemed You
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We heard some
pretty incredible words from the prophet Isaiah tonight. “I
have redeemed you.” “The Lord has redeemed Jacob.” “The Lord [is] your
Redeemer.” “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins
like mist.” And because of these things, the Lord calls all
of creation to rejoice and sing: the heavens, the depths of the earth, the
mountains, the forest and every tree in it. God calls creation to rejoice
because our Redeemer is also creation’s Redeemer. Just like humanity, all of
creation is subjected to sin and death. It is groaning, Paul says, writhing in
agony, like a woman in labor. Creation is longing for its redemption.
God spoke these words through the
prophet Isaiah as if it has all already happened, though it wouldn’t actually
happen for another 700 years. But Isaiah is looking to the future, to when God would
fulfill this promise in Christ. God speaks this way through Isaiah because He
knows that salvation is a foregone conclusion. When God makes a promise, you
can speak of it as if it has already happened, and know that you are speaking
the truth. Every Word of God is true and sure. Every Word will come to pass.
And this one, Isaiah says, will come
to pass through the one God calls His shepherd, our Good Shepherd, who would
set us free from our captivity to sin and death. Or maybe better to say it this
way: He would set us free from our slavery
to sin and death. Yes, slavery. That’s the way Jesus spoke to the
Jews of His day. When Jesus spoke of this slavery, they said Him, “We are sons of Abraham, and we have never been
enslaved to anyone. How is it you say, ‘You will become free’?” Perhaps,
like them, you bristle at this way of speaking. We’re Americans; we have never
been slaves of anyone.
But Jesus says that you are slaves. “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
Jesus doesn’t dodge that reality, as unpleasant as it may sound. When we think
of slavery, we probably think of what we learned in school, of those who were
enslaved here in America.
Slavery didn’t only happen here, but that’s probably what we know best. And for
those who were enslaved here, it was horrible and unjust and cruel. Surely
that’s not us!
But the slavery Jesus speaks of is
even worse. Those who enslaved the body couldn’t enslave the soul. Think of all
the spiritual songs that came out of slavery in American history. But the
slavery of which Jesus speaks is slavery of the soul. Think of those sins you
do even though you hate them and don’t want to do them. That’s slavery. Those
sins are your ruthless master. Think about it. You despair though you know you
should not despair. You lust though you know you should not lust. You rage
though you know you should not rage. You disobey your parents though you know
you should obey them. That is true slavery, a slavery that drives us deeper
into slavery. It is a never-ending, ever-descending cycle from which we cannot
set ourselves free. This is why we need a Redeemer, someone to pay our price
and set us free.
This is the Good News which makes
creation rejoice: you have a Redeemer. This One who sets you free is the Son of
God Himself. This is no temporary or partial redemption; it is full and
complete and everlasting, for, as Jesus said, “If
the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” Through His death and
resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom all things were made, creates us
anew. Our Lord has freed us from our slavery to sin and death to give new life
to us and to all creation. We will be rebuilt upon the cornerstone of Jesus,
never to be torn down again. We live new lives as children of God, with a
Father instead of a master.
As Isaiah says, “Remember
these things.” No matter how things seem, no matter how bad things
may get, “you will not be forgotten.” Repent
and return to the Lord. He continues to be “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love.” He is your Redeemer. He gives you
life. He sets you free. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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