We receive everything we need for our life and salvation from our Messiah Jesus. Think about how much He takes on just to have us.
These verses are, essentially, a pile of instances when the Lord demonstrated His kindness to His people in the midst of their rebellion. His kindheartedness really was an undeserved gift given out of pure grace. This word from Isaiah consistently shows how God has been gracious to His people time and again. Every time they were afflicted, “He was afflicted” (63:9), in their place with them and for them. When they suffer, He suffers with them and for them. This reading from Isaiah rehearses the grand ol’ story of the times the Lord has graciously given them deliverance.
There is an interesting note here in our reading about an Angel (63:9) who is present. This presence, which during Christmas time is reminiscent of the ones we put on the top of our Christmas trees, is a shining reminder of the presence of the Lord. Likewise, there are times when the Angel atop our tree during the holidays is the thing that characterizes our trees as a part of a Christian message. The “angel of His presence” here in Isaiah is another way of speaking about the “Angel of the Lord.” He speaks as the representative of the Lord, and, at times, even clothes himself in the Lord’s characteristics (Genesis 16:7-13; 22:15-18; 31:11-13; Exodus 3:2-6).
But notice the significant connection to our Gospel lesson for this Sunday from Matthew 2:13-23. There we have angels coming with a message of warning and deliverance (2:13; 19) for the holy Family. Their angelic presence in the story of Christ’s nativity demonstrates a narrative bridge to the powerful presence of God through the gift of His Word given and the gift of His Word incarnate in Jesus Christ.
Now, we all know it would not be the angels on our Christmas trees, or even in our texts, which show us the grace and gift of the Lord for our deliverance. Instead, it would be Christ on Calvary’s tree who would show us the greatest gift given to us by the Lord, free and full salvation in Him! It is important to make the connection with our Isaiah reading to our Gospel reading when we see Jesus suffering the affliction of all Israel when He too is called, as a Son, out of Egypt. Fleeing from the infant-murdering-madness of a new Pharoah-esque villain in Herod, we see Jesus as all of Israel in one person, the Lord. The Son of God exchanged what was His for what God’s people had and vice versa. We know the blessing of God’s deliverance in what is recognized as the divine exchange. This reminds me of something Luther said in The Freedom of a Christian about the grand exchange that takes place for us in Christ:
“For now, it is impossible for her (the Church whom Christ loves and takes to be His own) sins to destroy her, because they have been laid upon Christ and devoured by Him. In Christ, her bridegroom, she has her righteousness, which she can enjoy as her very own property. And with confidence she can set this righteousness over against all of her sins and in opposition to death and hell and can say, “Sure, I have sinned, but my Christ, in whom I trust, has not sinned. All that is His is mine and all that is mine is His.” As it says in the Song of Solomon [2:16]: “My beloved is mine, and I am his.” This is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15[:57]: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” But this “victory” is over sin and death, as he notes in the previous verse [v. 56]: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.”[1]
We know the blessing of God’s deliverance in what is recognized as the divine exchange.
What a powerful gift this text proclaims. We receive everything we need for our life and salvation from our Messiah Jesus. Think about how much He takes on just to have us. It truly is a divine exchange.
There is an analogy you can use to unpack the Gospel from both our Old and New Testament lessons. It is the analogy of a “gift exchange” which is a common idea in our culture. Now, if you have ever been a part of one of these events, you must keep your humor about you, because there is always a winner and loser. Someone gets the “goods” and the other gets the “undesirable gift.” It is similar with the Lord in our reading from Isaiah and no less true of Christ for us! We get the goods and Christ gets all we have to give, namely sin, death, and judgment. When the Son of God came for us, He knew what He was getting. He did not throw a fit or complain. He was obedient to the Father’s plan. “Out of Egypt,” out of sin, out of death He has called forth this Son, Jesus Christ, the risen one. What a marvelous gift He left under the tree for us!
Since we have a significant Analogy here, we can use that as our structure for the sermon.
“This structure introduces hearers to a theological topic by moving from the known to the unknown. The sermon is based upon an act of comparison as the preacher compares a topic that is familiar to the hearers but of secondary importance (in other words, the analogy or secondary topic) to the topic of primary importance that might be unfamiliar to the hearers (which is the main topic of the sermon). By doing this, the preacher moves from the familiar to the unfamiliar and allows the analogy to shed light upon the theological topic.
For example, a preacher may compare the way the anticipated birth of a child shapes the life of a couple (this is the topic of secondary importance that is familiar to the hearers) to the way God’s eschatological promises shape our daily living (the topic of primary importance that is unfamiliar to the hearers). Through a listing of the points of comparison, the hearers move from the known to the unknown. Analogical preaching sometimes includes objects and often is occasional, drawing the analogy from a recent and immediate experience in the lives of the hearers.
In this structure, the secondary topic needs to (1) be familiar to the hearers so the preacher is not forced to explain two topics at once and the secondary topic might serve as a mnemonic device, (2) be of a different nature than the main topic so it incites interest for the hearers in the comparison, and (3) have a positive effect so the hearers are not offended by the comparison. Also, the preacher needs to be aware that all analogies break down and, thereby, prevent his hearers from falling into that confusion, either by clarifying for them the limits of the analogy or avoiding development which would lead toward that error.”[2]
------
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Isaiah 63:7–14.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Isaiah 63:7–14.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
---------
[1] Wengert, Timothy J. “The Freedom of a Christian,” in The Roots of Reform, ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand, Kirsi I. Stjerna, and Timothy J. Wengert, vol. 1, The Annotated Luther. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2015. 501–502.
[2] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/thematic/analogy/
