February 6 2022
Epiphany 5 February 6th 2022
Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13) “Fat hearts … heavy ears … shut eyes”
Psalm: Psalm 138 “The Lord … regards the lowly”
Epistle: 1st Corinthians 14:12b-20 “Mature in thinking”
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11 “Depart from me … I am a sinful man”
Sermon Text: Isaiah 6:1-13
Sermon Title: “Woe is Me”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Apostle Peter said to Jesus, after the great catch of fish, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”. (Luke 5:8b) Isaiah said to the Lord sitting on His throne, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips”. (Isaiah 6:5a) Moses also, at the burning bush, “hid his face for he was afraid to look at God”. (Exodus 3:6b) Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees”. (Genesis 3:8b) And John, in the book of Revelation was terrified in the presence of God saying, “when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead”. (Revelation 1:17) Why all of this fear in the presence of God? And from His own people!
The Lord said to Moses in the Holy Scriptures, in the book of Exodus, “you cannot see My face, for no man shall not see Me and live”. (Exodus 33:20) To be in the presence of the perfectly Holy, Almighty God is a scary proposition, because we are not perfect or holy, we are in fact born sinful; “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) as the Apostle Paul describes it. “For the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and wickedness of men”. (Romans 1:18a) That is why man is afraid to be in the presence of almighty God.
Imagine being Isaiah in our text this morning and seeing this vision; “I saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. (angels) Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew”. (Isaiah 6:1b-2) Even the mighty seraphim covered their faces in reverence for the most Holy God.
Their number is not mentioned, but their number was great. Isaiah reports that “one called to another and said; Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts (which means armies); the whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook (violently) at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke”. (Isaiah 6:3-4) It was after Isaiah saw this sight that he declared; “Woe is me. For I am lost; (I am undone. I am as good as dead.) for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King; the Lord of hosts”. (Isaiah 6:5)
As a prophet of God, Isaiah had been allowed to see what no sinful human being would normally see and he was terrified; very much aware of his sinful/fallen nature; that he had sinned against God “in thought, word, and deed”; as we confess. He was very much aware that he could not stay in the presence of God without some intervention that had to come from outside of himself. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said; Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, your sin is atoned for”. (Isaiah 6:6-7)
Only the Lord could make such a sinner righteous and He took care of Isaiah’s sin and has now prepared him for the ministry; his vocation as a prophet; of speaking God’s Word to the people of Israel. As one whose sins have been forgiven, Isaiah was able to freely answer. “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying; whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me”. (Isaiah 6:8) In addition to calling Isaiah, the Lord is also bearing witness to His triune nature, using both the singular and the plural to refer to Himself; “Whom shall I send? Who will go for US”. (Isaiah 6:8b)
Then Isaiah is told what his ministry will be like. It is contrary to what many pastors and congregations want or expect to happen. The Lord said to Isaiah, “Go and say to this people; keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed”. (Isaiah 6:9-10)
In other words, Isaiah will have a long, hard ministry of preaching repentance to a mostly unwilling audience. Israel refused to listen to the Lord’s call to repent. Interestingly, verses 9-10 are quoted six times in the New Testament; in each of the four Gospels and in Acts and Romans. The Word of God; the Gospel in particular, will have one of two effects on those who hear; either it will strengthen the faith of those who gladly hear it, or it will further harden the hearts of those who reject it; for even though Scripture declares that God desires all to be saved, Jesus said some “are not willing”. (Matthew 23:37b)
Through the prophet, the Lord further describes the rebellious Israelites, who were unwilling to hear the Word of the Lord in this way; “Sinful nation. A people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged”. (Isaiah 1:4)
God did not destroy them immediately, He gave them repeated warnings, but eventually Jerusalem will be destroyed and all of them that are not killed, will be carried away into exile. Yet, there is also always a remnant who will believe the Word/Gospel of the Lord; “for the Lord knows those who are His” (2nd Timothy 2:19b) and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” the church. (Matthew 16:18b)
Therefore, we know that some will hear the words of Isaiah and will repent and return to the Lord their God. He compares them to a mighty tree, “when it is felled and only a stump remains”. (Isaiah 6:13b) But from that seemingly dead stump will come forth something wonderful.
He said, “the holy seed is its stump” (Isaiah 6:13c) which is referring to Christ. Later he prophesies, “there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit”. (Isaiah 11:1) Again speaking of Christ Jesus, through whom the sins of the world would be atoned for. So, despite his fear, Isaiah is told that “your sin is taken away and your guilt atoned for”. (Isaiah 6:7b) Despite his fear, Peter is told, “Do not be afraid, for from now on, you will be catching men”. (Luke 5:10b)
The means for doing this is of course the Word of God. Isaiah, like all of the prophets, preached repentance and forgiveness of sins to the people of Israel; and Peter, like all of the Apostles, preached “repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. (Acts 2:38) Our Lord calls all sinful people to repentance and saving faith through the same means of grace; and through the office of the ministry, He always uses sinful men to preach His Gospel. (for all pastors are damned sinners, just like everyone else)
Nothing other than the Word of God; the Holy Scriptures; by the power the Holy Spirit, can convert the hardened heart of sinful man. The entirety of the Bible is God’s Word, as Peter said, “No prophesy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. (2nd Peter 1:20b-21) Paul also declared, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness”. (2nd Timothy 3:16)
Scripture owes its origins to God alone; “whose Word is truth”. (John 17:17b) Jesus said, “MY Word will not pass away”. (Luke 21:33b) “It is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit; of joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. (Hebrews 4:12) Therefore, we are urged as Christians, “to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16a) for “His Word possessed authority”. (Luke 4:32)
Since we also know that (saving) “faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful … not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging each other all the more as you see the day (of His second coming) approaching”. (Hebrews 10:23, 25) The Apostle Paul warns us, “if anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ … he is puffed up with conceit and knows nothings”. (1st Timothy 6:3-4a)
We “preach the Word urgently, in season and out of season” (2nd Timothy 4:2a); we preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27b) because the unbelieving world needs to hear His Word; we preach because our neighbor needs to hear the Word; We preach because we Christians also need to hear the Words and promises of God, over and over again; that He has atoned for our sins and taken away our guilt. For Jesus said “If you abide/remain in My Word, you are truly My disciples”. (John 8:31)
So, we pray that God would let everything that happens in our lives; whether sickness, trial and tribulation and certainly every blessing, drive us to cling to Christ Jesus and His perfect inspired, inerrant Word; the Gospel of our salvation. Amen.
The peace of God …