What's the Good Word? :: Isaiah 55:10-13
Thus will be my word that comes from my lip; it will not return to me empty, but it will do that which I delight in; it will prosper the purpose for which I send it; for you will go out in joy, and you will be led in peace (vv 11-12a).
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
1. The Lord is reminding us again through the prophet that God’s Word always does what he says it will do.
This is the way it was in the beginning. This is the way it was through the Exodus we heard about last week. This is the way it was in the Reformation. And it is the way it still is.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning toward God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be that has come to be (Jn 1:1-3).
That is to say ... in the beginning, God spoke, and it was a good word. In the beginning, he created something out of nothing, and it was a good word. He brought order out of chaos, and it was good. He created the heavens and the earth, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, the great beasts of the earth, and it was good. He created the flowers and the fields, mountains and hills and valleys, and it was good. He makes the sun shine and the rain fall. He brings forth plants yielding seed. He created man and woman, and he made them one. God’s Good Word has always done what he says it will do.
Then the Word of God continued to speak. He spoke all through the Exodus. After leading the people through the waters of baptism and nourishing them with the daily bread of life, all the people [of God] answered with one voice, and said, all the words that Yahweh has spoken, we will do. And Moses wrote down all the words (Ex 24:3-4). And it was good. The Word of God set them apart from all the nations. And the Word [of God] became flesh, and he tabernacled among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only begotten from God, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). He then spoke and told us that Amen, Amen, I say to you whoever hears [this] Word and has faith in him who sent [him] has eternal life ... he will never see death (Jn 5:24, 8:51). God’s Word always does what he says he says it will do.
And it still has a purpose ... a good purpose.
Luther heard this Word, and God changed the world through the ensuing reformation. Today, we preach the Gospel ... God’s good word ... and administer the sacraments ... God’s good word in and with means of grace.
In witness to this truth, please now turn to page 324 in your [Lutheran Service Book] and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. As the Head of the Family should teach it in a simple way to his household ... What is the Second Petition? ... What does this mean? ... How does God’s kingdom come? ...
God’s Good Word has always done what he says it will do. We don’t always understand how God delivers this Word or who will hear this Word, or even why we should receive this word. We don’t always understand its purpose is for good. That is part of the point in the Parable of the Sower we heard Jesus tell us in our Good Word of Good News from Luke chapter 8.
Sometimes it falls alongside the Way ... you know the church, because the church is the Way. But then the devil comes and snatches the Word from their hearts so that they may not have faith and be saved. Sometimes the Word falls on the rock. It might pop up for a day, but then the sun scorches it because they are not rooted in the Word; they don’t trust God’s Word. Sometimes it falls among the thorns, you know, the barriers of life that try to choke us and keep us away from the means of grace that bears abundant fruit. But God’s Word still does what he says it will do. It achieves the purpose for which he sends it. It even falls on the rich, black earth that God created (Lk 8:11-15). For God who said let the light shine out of the darkness made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).
2. Thus, we find that God’s good word has a purpose that is inviting.
Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 55 is one of the most beautiful chapters in the entire written Word of God. With sixteen Gospel imperatives, God encourages his redeemed children to receive his free gifts of grace. He begins with the inviting call to come (55:1). He encourages us to listen (55:2). He enables us to see (55:4). He announces absolution (55:7). He showers us with baptism, and he feeds us his supper (55:10). And then he ends all this Gospel with the promise that in the end you will go forth in joy (55:12).
Listen again to this Good Word ... all who are thirsty: Come to the waters. Whoever has no money, Come, buy grain and eat. Come, buy without money and without price wine and milk. ...
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good. Delight yourself in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me. Listen well so that you may come to life. For I will certainly cut with you an everlasting covenant, the faithful covenant mercies of David. ...
Seek Yahweh while he allows himself to be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the unbeliever abandon his way. And let a man of wickedness [abandon] his thoughts, and let him turn to Yahweh, and he will show him mercy, and [let him turn] to our God because he will abundantly forgive ... (55:1, 2b-3, 6-7).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when you are weak, he will give you strength. When you are fearful and anxious, he will give you peace. When you are laden with sin and guilt, he says you are forgiven. When we are weary, he says, come and I will give you rest. This all come through his good word and his means of grace.
So what are you waiting for?
3. God’s good word leads us to the good word of repentance.
That means we must change ... even when we don’t want to. We are all adverse to change. We don’t like change. We don’t want to change our minds or hearts. We don’t want to change our tradition or way of living. This is the way we’ve always done it. But that doesn’t mean it’s good.
In the name of Jesus, we must change, or I should say, repent, because that is what the word actually means. Repentance is good change. Repentance begins by hearing God’s good word that shows us our sin and our need to change. And just as importantly, it shows us that our sin is forgiven on account of our savior. And that is very good!
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Good Word who became good flesh to achieve the good purpose for which he was sent ... being born without sin and living without sin ... you know, the good life. In this way, he became the Lamb of God who takes away all sin ... yesterday’s sin, today’s sin, tomorrow’s sin. Talk about a good word!
The Word of God achieved his purpose for you by bearing all of your sin on the cross, where Jesus suffered and died for you. Your sin died with Jesus. And because God is just, he then raised our Lord from the dead. He is now risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah.
Talk about a good word that achieves the purpose for which he sent it.
4. And that Good Word saves you ... the ultimate purpose for which it was sent.
In order to offer and convey to you the merits which Christ has secured for you by his bloody death and glorious resurrection, God employs certain visible means through which the Holy Spirit works to create, sustain, and nourish faith, thus accomplishing God’s will ... your salvation.
That is the clear teaching of Isaiah 55.
Yahweh declares ... Because the rain and snow come down from the heavens and do not return there ... It quenches the earth, makes it give birth and causes it to sprout, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Thus will be my Word that comes from my lip; it will not return to me empty, but it will do that which I delight in; it will achieve the purpose for which I send it (vv 10-11).
Brothers and sisters in Christ, you cannot separate God’s means of grace. All of his means work together for your good and his glory. None of them are more important than another. They all achieve the purpose for which God gave them ... they deliver his salvation.
The Gospel is a means of grace, not only in that it offers grace to the sinner, but also because it actually absolves him from all sins ... washes him clean of all sins, sanctifying him ... making him holy just as the Lord is holy ... setting him apart to receive the nourishing bread of life and the cup of salvation from God himself. All of these means all do the same thing: Proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. They all impart life and salvation to those who believe God’s word that in them the forgiveness of sins are given.
And as Isaiah proclaims ... Then you will go forth in joy and in peace you will be led; the mountains and the hills before you will be carried along; the mountains and the hills will break out with a proclamation of praise before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (v 12).
So when you realize the enormity of your sin ... when you recognize how many dangers abound in your life, and when you hear how awesome Christ’s gifts are, then return to your baptism and receive the Lord’s Supper whenever humanly possible and all the company of heaven will sing for joy ... This is God’s Good Word for you every day ... in Jesus’ name.