Back to Sermon Page

4^th Sunday in ADVENT

December 23, 2007

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sioux Falls, SD

Rev. Norman F. Seeger

Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:10-14

"AN IMPOSSIBLE SIGN PROMISES US GOD’S PROTECTION”

1. Disbelief Does Not Dilute God’s Grace

2. Immanuel Saves Our Soul

Dear disciples of Christ,

Are you facing any ‘impossible’ problems today? Any situations where you see no solution? Does some physical sickness come to mind – a recurring illness I will apparently have to battle every so many months or years – maybe a particular illness my doctor declares incurable? Does “impossible problem” immediately call to mind some difficult, unreconciled relationship with one of my co-workers or some family ties that are apparently fractured beyond repair? Is an “impossible problem” finding a job to support myself & my future family or discovering in which profession God is preparing me to serve?

If every person in our world were surveyed, I suspect our life’s biggest troubles would center around our wealth, health & happiness – problems which actually cannot compare with every soul’s sin separating us from God, the root cause of every other trouble anyone encounters on earth. We saints might not at first appear to be much different from the world around us. If each one of us disciples of Christ were to list our “top two” impossible problems this morning, I suspect we would also seem to be focusing on earthly challenges. I pray this would only be because we know our Savior, Jesus, has already resolved trouble we could not cure – our Savior has already restored a sin-shattered relationship with God which was impossible for us to repair.

When we encounter impossible problems in life, our Lord could take us back to Isaiah’s interaction with king Ahaz – a conversation we appropriately remember every Christmas season – as our Lord’s prophet announces an impossible sign promising us God’s protection. King Ahaz’s reaction is not to be imitated. Nevertheless, noting his hypocritical response, we can be assured today’s disbelief does not dilute God’s grace. Seeing God’s impossible sign occur as Jesus is born of Mary in Bethlehem, we would be reassured again & again, Immanuel is sent to save our souls.

What impossible problem was Ahaz facing? Enemy armies were ready to overpower Jerusalem & to apparently destroy this kingdom of Judah where David’s descendants thought they would rule forever, for the Lord said David’s son would always be seated on his throne. Israel from the north & Aram from the northeast appeared impossible for Ahaz’s army to resist, but the Lord sent his prophet Isaiah to promise God’s protection. While people in Judah quiver in fear like wind-blown branches in a forest, the Lord tells Ahaz, “Be careful, keep calm; do not be afraid.” Describing Israel & Aram as “smoldering stubs of firewood,” the Lord promises -- while they “plotted your ruin, saying ‘Let us invade Judah, tear it apart & divide it among oursleves’ – the Sovereign Lord says, ‘It will not happen.’”

Warning Ahaz, “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all,” the Lord promises protection. To assure Ahaz he will not be defeated & David’s descendants will not be destroyed, the Lord tells Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whehther in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” Like the judge Gideon asking God to first make the fleece outside his door wet one morning & then dry the next day to assure him the Lord will give him victory over the Midianites, Ahaz is to ask any sign he so desires – nothing is impossible for our all-powerful God, not even protecting Ahaz from Israel & Aram.

Ahaz refuses to ask for any sign, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” At first his response might sound admirable, as if Ahaz trusts the Lord so thoroughly he could never question any promise the Lord might make. Actually, Ahaz’s refusal to ask for a sign reveals his hypocrisy, his real lack of faith, because he is defying God’s command. When the Lord orders us to ask for something, we faithful followers will ask. When the Lord orders us today, “Ask…seek…knock,” promising, “it will be given to you…you will find…the door will b eopened to you”[MT 7] – when the Lord orders, “Call upon me in the day of trouble,”[PS 50] – if we refuse to pray for God to help us resolve our problems, we are defying God. We may say we do not want to bother the Lord with our little troubles; we may say we have no need to ask God’s forgiveness for particular sins because we trust him to regularly erase all our guilt & make our life work out best for us in the end, but we are as hypocritical as Ahaz if we refuse to follow our Lord’s orders at any point in time.

Fortunately, disbelief does not dilute God’s grace. My failure to pray as I should today does not result in God turning a deaf ear & refusing to hear my prayers tomorrow. Our disbelieving world might ignore Jesus Christ as they celebrate Christmas today, but God will not mute our Savior’s message nor erase his promises of forgiveness, peace & eternal life in Christ. While Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, Ahaz’s defiance will not result in God withholding his protection from Judah. Nor will king Ahaz’s hyopocrisy stop the Lord from producing a sign promising us his protection. Expressing God’s displeasure, Isaiah announces our Lord’s impossible promise, “Ahaz, is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son & will call him Immanuel.”

A virgin will give birth? Impossible…humanly impossible! Ahaz would never have asked for such a sign. Gideon would ask for a dew-drenched or for a dry fleece. Hezekiah would ask the sun’s shadows to back up the steps, but no one will ask a virgin to impossibly give birth. Promising such a sign, God reminds us his power will never be limited by what is humanly impossible, nor will his grace be diluted by human hypocrisy. Promising a sign king Ahaz will never see with his earthly eyes, the Lord effectively promises to protect us -- not protect our body from Israel & Aram, but protect our soul from every evil. Seven hundred years after protecting Judah & Jerusalem from Israel & Aram’s attacks despite king Ahaz’s hypocrisy, the Lord will fulfil his sign of a virgin giving birth to a son, not only assuring but also producing for us perfect protection for our souls.

Is it possible for the Lord to protect us from sin’s poison, to reverse sin’s eternal death producing infection? Is it possible for the Lord to remove every trace of our guilt -- to restore a glorious unity with God we lost when Adam’s first sin separated every one of us evil-inheriting descendants of Adam from our holy Creator? Is it possible for the Lord to resolve our truly critical, truly impossible problem of sin?

As God produces his sign promising us his powerful protection, notice how every human’s response is, “Impossible!” Angel Gabriel tells Mary, “a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, ‘The Lord is with you… Do not be afraid… You will be with child; you will give birth to a son; you are to give him the name Jesus.’” Mary’s response? “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Mary knows it is impossible for a virgin to give birth, but the angel answers, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you; the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Telling Mary how her cousing Elizabeth in her old age is going to give birth to John the Baptist, angel Gabriel assures us, “Nothing is impossible with God.”[LK 1]

Joseph, however, knows it is impossible for a virgin to give birth. As it becomes obvious Mary is pregnant, Joseph knows Mary has been unfaithful to him. No other conclusion is humanly possible. An angel of the Lord is sent to explain, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son; you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This took place, we are told, “to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child, will give birth to a son & they will call him Immanuel’ -- which means, ‘God with us.’”[MT 1]

As the virgin Mary gives birth to Jesus – the proper focal point for any Christmas celebration -- we saints who see God’s sign can revel in our Lord’s protection, knowing Immanuel will save our souls. While human reason today will reject & try to explain away the impossibility of a virgin giving birth to a son, I pray we will never hypocritically defy or deny our Lord’s impossible but true explanation of the way he graciously sent us “Immanuel” – a baby Jesus who is both God & man – as the one & only individual who will ever be able to save us. Fortunately for you, for me; for every individual who faithfully listens to the Lord, God promises Immanuel – the baby Jesus, born of a virgin – saves us! Our sin-caused separation from God – our one truly impossible problem – has been resolved! Born of Mary, Jesus is as human as we are – born under the law, Jesus is subject to God’s commands. But, being conceived in a virgin by the Holy Spirit, Jesus has not inherited Adam’s original sin – Jesus is not imperfect from conception, the way we were. Jesus, as God & man is able to perfectly obey every one of God’s commands as our Righteous Replacement. Born of Mary, Jesus is human flesh & blood as we are – Jesus is able to die. Being God as well as man, Jesus is able to sacrifice his sinless life for us when he dies sin’s death in our place. Crucified on a cross outside Jerusalem before rising from his grave three days later, Jesus conquers death & the devil – Jesus produces God’s promised protection, winning forgiveness for our sins & giving us the eternal life we can know is coming as we see see a virgin, Mary, giving birth to a son -- giving birth to our Savior Jesus -- giving birth to Immanuel in Bethlehem.

Amen.