When Christ took humanity into Himself in the incarnation, He became the key to unlocking scripture for us in whole, new, salvific ways.
In Isaiah 64, the prophet calls upon the Lord to help His people on the day of their future distress. His plea is that the Lord would “come down” with all the shaking and quaking He did on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:11). The Lord comes down to dwell with His people in Exodus 33:9, and we Christians see this in its fullest in Jesus (John 1:14).
In verse 4, the prophet states a prominent theme in the book, namely that no other god acts on behalf of its people like the Lord (1 Kings 18:25-40; Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 18-22; 46:9). A major emphasis for this text is dealing with sorrow for sin. It is the word choice “unclean” that calls to mind the rites and ceremonies which were meant to deal with being unclean in sin or disease (Leviticus 5:2-3; 13:45-46; 15:19-32). It is important to note that our section does not demand anything from the Lord. Instead, it petitions Him to not be angry. They are prayers produced by faith rather than the merit or worth of the nation. After repentance, the plea to the Lord turns into a petition for assistance. The plea for the Lord to end His anger comes in 54:7-8, 57:16, and 60:10 (see also Jeremiah 31:34, Lamentations 5:19-22, and Micah 7:18).
During the opening chapel at Concordia University in Irvine California in 2001, the now saint-sainted JAO Preus III, preached on our text in such a way that I would never be able to hear it the same way again. In fact, it was my very first introduction to the Homiletical concept known as the “Gospel Handle.” I later learned the skill of finding and crafting a Gospel Handle from Bob Rossow and, eventually, his father Francis Rossow at Concordia Seminary. Nonetheless, I still remember the thrill of hearing that Gospel Handle turn for the very first time.
He opened the Chapel developing the familiar desire that we have as Christians to have God “rend the heavens and come down.” From there, he reminded us how this would not be the best idea. Because like Isaiah’s original audience, we have a sin problem which would make this desired interaction with God problematic to say the least. Then Preus did it. He sprung the trap. He talked about a word, a critical word, which turns the whole meaning of this text from judgement for sin to grace in Christ. He said it was a Hebrew word that was pronounced “kee” (Hebrew word כִּי). He defined the word but then asked us to hear how the pronunciation of this Hebrew word sounds exactly like a familiar English word. It is the English Word “key,” which sounds similar but has a very different and beneficial meaning for us and this text. He then began to riff off the English word “key” by addressing how this serendipitous similarity in sound “unlocks” and “turns” the whole meaning of the text around. Because when the “kee/key” is about Christ and His work and not us and our sin, we see the whole text differently. We see the translation of the Hebrew word as the “for you” gospel turn in the text.
Now, I remember a lot of chapel sermons throughout my undergrad and Seminary days, but I will never forget the first one. Up to that point I had never experienced a Gospel Handle. Over the years it has become one of the most rewarding ways as a preacher to bring the Gospel to light in an otherwise Gospel-less text.
The question remains as to “how” you can craft a Gospel Handle for preaching. In short, you take a text that has no Gospel present, and a phrase or word that sticks out, irritates, or reminds you of something else dealing with the Gospel. In our text, Isaiah 64:7 has this short little phrase: “For You have hidden Your face from us.” This little phrase may call to your mind a well-known song or lyric. You start to hum it perhaps and it does not leave the foreground of your thoughts.
However, when Christ took humanity into Himself in the incarnation, He became the key to unlocking scripture for us in whole, new, salvific ways.
For example, many of us know the famous lyrics from Stuart Townend’s song How Deep the Father’s Love for Us. The lyric that says: “How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One, Bring many sons to glory.”[1] Now, some may protest and say that the Father did not turn away from the Son on the cross. This could be a moment for development in the sermon, to create deeper understanding. You could push back on the lyric but then develop the truth that Isaiah speaks of in 59:2, that God the Father has hidden His face on account of sin. This means that if Jesus truly did become “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), it might explain Christ’s own singing/speaking the words/lyrics of Psalm 22:1 on the cross to draw us into an awareness of His fulfilling all scripture on our behalf, even something as difficult as Isaiah 64:7.
From there you notice that the second half of 64:7 has a VERY gospel sounding phrase: “For you.” Develop the idea that this phrase has two potential meanings Homiletically. First, it is referring to God who is meeting out judgement for sin. Second, it is also what God does for us in Christ in the Gospel. He does something for you!
The Hebrew word that translates this “for you” phrase is the little key word (Hebrew word כִּי) which creates the Gospel Handle in a really big way for your sermon. It is both the Law and the Gospel turn in the sermon. This key word turns the whole text around. In the law of this passage, it is talking about humanity and sin. However, when Christ took humanity into Himself in the incarnation, He became the key to unlocking scripture for us in whole, new, salvific ways. Verses like this, when kept in the Law, keep the Bible a closed book of condemnation. Without Christ to unlock the scriptures and to open up the Gospel for us, we cannot be saved. Christ really is the kee/key to unlocking the text and the only way we can see God is “for you” in Christ. He has taken all sin and shame “for you” when, in fact, we would hide our face from Christ while He suffered for us on the cross (Isaiah 53:3).
However, God did not hide His face forever, did He? There is hope for the forsaken in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just listen to the rest of the words/lyrics of Psalm 22:24: “For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from Him, but has heard, when He cried to Him.” The answer God gave was to raise Jesus from the dead (Acts 3:15, 13:30; Romans 10:9; Galatians 1:1; 1 Peter 1:21; Colossians 2:21).
Perhaps, we can do a hat trick this Sunday and include both the appointed Epistle and Gospel lesson as well. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 states in verses 7 and 8 that, “As you wait for the revealing of your Lord Jesus Christ, He will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Likewise, in our appointed Gospel Lesson from Mark 13:24-27, we see there is a promise that we “will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” We are this little community of the hopeful, awaiting the coming of our God who is also our gracious and loving Savior.
The sermon structure that can work best here is the Proverbial Structure which will be riffing off of the phrase “the key to understanding this” part of scripture.
“This sermon structure works with the prevalence of proverbs in contemporary discourse (like advertising slogans and sound bites) and seeks to use that experience for the purpose of proclaiming the divine wisdom tradition. In this structure, the sermon develops a single proverb for the hearers by using it as a refrain throughout the sermon. Often, this proverb arises out of the text itself. For example, Jesus tells His disciples that “whoever saves his life with lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” The sermon consists of offering the hearers various life situations in which this proverb is reflected upon. In each case, the hearer needs wisdom to discern the application of the proverb, and the sermon offers that contemplative wisdom which discerns how the proverb applies. At one point in the sermon, the proverb is related to the proclamation of the Gospel. By moving from biblical stories to contemporary situations and punctuating each situation with a statement of and reflection upon the proverb, the preacher forms hearers who enter the world remembering the proverb and seeing situations wherein it guides their daily life with godly wisdom.”[2]
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Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Isaiah 64:1-9.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Isaiah 64:1-9.
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] https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/how-deep-the-fathers-love-for-us/
[2] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/dynamic/proverbial/
