1. Grace, mercy, and peace to
you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word on this 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany and
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is taken from Isaiah 49:1-7, we will look
specifically at Isaiah 49:1, which says, “The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he
named my name” (v 1). The message is
entitled, “The Servant Called from the Womb,” dear brothers and sisters
in Christ.
2. Why does Isaiah say that the
Servant would be called from the womb? If you were God and wanted to restore
your people, if you were God and wanted to bring salvation “to the end of
the earth” (v 6), if you were God and wanted to defeat sin, death, and
Satan, why enter the world through a womb? Why not arrive on a white horse
wielding a flashing sword accompanied by legions of angels and blazing
chariots? Why a womb? The Word of God
before us today provides answers to this question. God will teach us that the
Messiah had to be called from the Womb to identify with and bring Salvation for
ALL humanity.
3. Why was the Servant of God
called from the womb? First, it took a womb to equip the Messiah for the task
of bringing salvation to the end of the earth. In the prophecy that’s our text,
Jesus speaks to us. He tells us that God the Father “formed me from the womb
to be his servant” (v 5). God formed his mouth “like a sharp sword”
and made him like “a polished arrow” (v 2). The servant’s task
required a human body. If Jesus, God’s
servant, was to be “wounded for our transgressions” (Is 53:5), then he
needed a back to feel the scourge, hands and feet to receive the nails, and a
side to be pierced by the spear. If he was to pour out “his soul to death”
(53:12), he needed lungs to stop breathing, a heart to stop beating, and a
brain to stop functioning. If he was to be “an offering for sin”
(53:10), he needed blood to shed.
4. Being formed in a womb made
these things possible. After his miraculous conception by the power of the Holy
Spirit, Jesus developed in Mary’s womb just like every human being. His heart
began beating at around 24 days. Blood flowed in his veins at 30 days. He
produced brain waves at 43 days. By 7 weeks he had little feet and little hands
complete with fingerprints. By 8 weeks he, like all of us, was a minuscule baby
one and an eighth inches long and weighing one-thirtieth of an ounce (Life before Birth [Wheaton, IL: Good
News Publishers, 1995]).
5. In order to be “a light
for the nations” and bring salvation “to the end of the earth” (v
6), the servant Jesus must suffer and die. In order to suffer and die, Jesus
had to become a human being. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way, “Since
therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of
the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power
of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death
were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb 2:14–15). It took a womb to do that.
6. It also took a womb to be
the beginning point for the task of bringing salvation to a fallen world. Jesus
says, “The Lord called me from
the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name” (v 1). The path of
salvation that would lead to the end of the earth had to begin in a womb. He
who would be the light for the nations had to begin his life in the darkness of
his mother’s body. The womb was an
absolutely necessary place to begin. Here’s why: “Surely I was sinful at
birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:5 NIV). Because
our sinfulness begins at the moment of conception, our Savior from sin had to
begin his sinless life from the moment of conception. To be our Savior, Jesus
took our place, not only on a cross and in a tomb, but also in a womb. It was
necessary for our salvation that the servant Jesus be called “from the womb”
(v 1).
7. Jesus didn’t come on clouds
in blazing glory. He hid in a womb. Jesus didn’t come as a king; he hid as a
servant. Jesus didn’t come to live in a palace; he hid as someone who had no
place to lay his head. Jesus didn’t come as a judge to condemn; he hid as a
teacher of truth in whom there is no condemnation. Jesus didn’t come to defeat
earthly enemies by leading an army. He came to defeat Satan, sin, and death by
hiding on a cross. It was in all of this that God was glorified. Still, it does seem strange that God would
choose to accomplish his will by hiding. It seems like such a difficult way,
filled with humiliation, pain, and suffering. The Servant himself questioned
the way of hiding. We hear him in our text. “I have labored in vain; I have
spent my strength for nothing and vanity” (v 4a). We hear him in Gethsemane:
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. . . . My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me” (Mt 26:38–39). But we also hear him in
our text, “Surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God” (v 4b), and in Gethsemane: “Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you will” (Mt 26:39). The way of hiding isn’t easy.
But when it’s God’s way, then it’s the right way.
8. Why was the Servant of God
called from a womb? It took a womb to equip the Messiah with the human body he
would need to suffer, die, and rise again for the salvation of the world. It
took a womb as a necessary starting point to bring salvation to the world. That
leads us to our final point. It took a womb for the Messiah to identify with
and bring salvation for all humanity. This is the message of Epiphany. Jesus
didn’t come just for a certain ethnic group or for people with a certain skin
color or for people with a certain mental capacity. He came to be light for all the nations. He came to bring
salvation “to the end of the earth.” In today’s Gospel (Jn 1:29–42a),
John points to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29, emphasis added).
9. As an embryo developing in
his mother’s womb, Jesus identifies with humanity at the point that is the very
essence of “sameness.” Although individual characteristics are there
genetically from the moment of conception, outwardly we’re all exactly the same.
You can’t look at an early embryo and discern whether it’s male or female,
black, white, red, or brown. You can’t look at an early embryo and know his or
her intelligence or athletic ability. You can’t look at an early embryo and
tell whether he or she will be a person with a particular disease or
disability. As embryos, we all looked exactly the same! And, guess what? Jesus looked exactly the
same! Jesus looked just like all of you. As embryos in a womb, all humanity
looks the same. Jesus came as an embryo in a womb to identify with all humanity and to bring salvation for all humanity. That’s the message of
Epiphany. That’s the message of Christ’s Church all year long.
10. How careless we would be as
Christ’s Church if we were to exclude certain people from the message of
salvation! Thank God we belong to a church body that never says, “We’re not
sending missionaries to that country. You know how those people are.” We
never say, “We’re not going to start a church in that part of town. Those people will never listen anyway.” No, we belong to a church body
that understands that those people
are people for whom Jesus died and rose again. We belong to a church body that
boldly proclaims the message of salvation cross-culturally, to all nations,
wherever and whenever God gives opportunity.
11. But, we do live in a country
that still openly discriminates against a certain people group. This
discrimination is so widespread that it can even deceptively draw God’s people
into its bigotry. We live in a country that says people not yet born are really
not people and have no rights—including the right to life. After 47 years of
this prejudice, since the Roe v Wade decision, many in the Church have
forgotten the humanity of the unborn and, without even thinking about it,
exclude them from the message of salvation.
12. But Jesus didn’t exclude
them! He became one of them. Every embryo in a womb is an embryo for whom Jesus
entered a womb as an embryo. Every embryo in a womb is part of humanity for
which Jesus suffered, died, and rose again. Every embryo in a womb not only has
the right to life but is someone for whom Jesus paid to have eternal life. God
formed Jesus in the womb and God called Jesus from the womb so he could bring
salvation to all humanity. All humanity—red or brown, black or white, young
or old, fit or feeble, born or unborn—is precious in his sight.
13. That is the message of
Epiphany! This is the message that can change the course of this country when
it comes to the value of human life. This message gives value to those not yet
born and about to enter this life. This message gives value to those who are
frail and about to leave this life. It gives value to the young woman in a
crisis pregnancy, for it speaks of God’s forgiveness, love, and strength. It
assures her she isn’t alone and enables her to make a choice that is best for
her and her baby. This message speaks compassionately to those who have made an
abortion choice and now are dealing with its guilt and regret. This message
speaks to them as it does to us all, for we all have sinned. It says, “You are precious in his sight! Jesus entered
a womb, lived, suffered, died, and rose again for you. He made things right
with God for you. God, in Jesus, forgives you all your sins. In Jesus, you have
hope and peace.”
14. Why was the Servant of God
called from a womb? The answer is the message of Epiphany. God formed Jesus in
the womb and called him from the womb so he could identify with and bring
salvation for all humanity. Amen. The peace of God that passes all
understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life
everlasting. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment