Tag Archives: Isaiah

Isaiah 43:16-17

As a History teacher, I often find myself taking groups of school children to scenes of great conflict.  There are two trips which to me emphasise the enormity of the conflicts of the twentieth century.

I used to take Year 7s to the D-Day Landing beaches in Normany to see for themselves the location of one of the most important and significant invasions of recent years.  I’m always amazed at the scale of the ‘Mulberry Harbours’ that were constructed by the Allies and floated across to France to enable them to launch an invasion in an area where there were no natural harbours.

Every year I take Year 9 students to the battlefields of the First World War.  I’m always gobsmacked by the extent of the trenches we see in northern France and Belgium, and the level of needless slaughter that took place in what are essentially little more than boggy ditches.

I am therefore struck by this passage in Isaiah in which we can see the extent of God’s power.  Whilst the First World War raged on for four tears, God can bring down an army at a stroke.  He can lie an army down so that they cannot get up again.  He can finish them off like the spent wick of a candle.

Similarly, whilst in order to invade Europe at the end of the Second World War, the British had to spend many months and an astonishingly large amount of money creating the facilities that would enable them to mount an invasion from the water, God can make a way in the sea, he can part the waters – just like he parted the Red Sea for Moses.  It makes sense that he can, though – after all, he created the water and the land!

In our current Mark Marathon passage, Jesus demonstrates that he, too, can make “a path in the mighty waters.”  Whilst the disciples were rowing flat out against the wind and the waves to try and make any progress across the sea, Jesus calmly steps out onto the water and walks across it.  Surely Jesus demonstrates right there that he is the Son of God.  How else would he be able to walk across the water?

Often we treat God as if he is a close friend.  In a way, that is entirely correct – he is, after all, our heavenly father.  Just in the same way that we should also respect our fathers, though, we must also respect God our Father.  After all, just remember the extraordinary power that he has!

Isaiah 40:11

I’m fortunate enough to have shares in a small bit of land in the countryside.  Most of the land is simply left as grass, although a few years ago we planted a new wood of around 900 trees which I’m watching slowly grow.  On one small corner of the land, however, we hire a plot out to someone we know affectionately as “the sheep lady.”  Would you believe it, she keeps a group of sheep on this bit of land.  It’s well fenced, but sometimes people who shouldn’t be in the field walk their dogs across it.  Earlier this year, one of the sheep was attacked and killed by a dog.  These days, in England at least, we don’t really have shepherds anymore.  If we did, perhaps the sheep in our field might have been safer, as the shepherd would surely have protected them from the dog.

In our current Mark Marathon passage, Jesus encounters a crowd “like sheep without a shepherd.”  Being the kind of guy he is, he stops to teach them, even though he is tired.  He even whips them up a bit of a feast.  He recognizes that the crowd did looking after, and he provides food for them – spiritual food in the form of teaching, but also bread and fish to sustain them.

There are lots of instances in the Bible of Jesus or God being described as shepherds.  Today’s verse is just one, and seems to perfectly describe Jesus.  We’re told that he tends his flock like a shepherd.  He wouldn’t let any dogs, literal or metaphorical, threaten the well being of those in his care.  He gathers those that need special help in his arms and holds them close.  He will gently lead others along the right path.

Sometimes we all have tough, difficult days.  It’s nice to know that God is watching over his flock, caring for us all like a good and kind shepherd.  Just thinking that I feel the stresses of a busy day lifted off my shoulders.  I pray that you too will draw comfort from the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and know that he cares for you.

I consider myself very fortunate, because I’ve managed to build up a great crowd of friends over the years – from school, universities, work, holidays, neighbours etc.  I do struggle sometimes to be in contact with them all as much as I’d like, however.  One recent technology that has made it easier to stay in touch, though, is Facebook.  It’s so easy to see what friends are up to, send them an occasional message, or even just to “like” their status to show that you’re thinking of them.

Facebook has got a bit cluttered of late with various applications and adverts, however.  One application that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment is called ‘Death’s Time,’ and it supposedly tells you how and when you’re going to die.  I assume it’s not meant to be taken seriously, however, as it recently told a friend that he was going to die on April 21st 2044 at 11:47pm, at the age of 68, when he would be decapitated by a helicopter blade!  It subsequently updated its predication to say that he would, in fact, survive until February 27th 2058, when, at the age of 82, he would die of heat stroke at an American football practice – at 5:13 in the morning!

What would it be like if you actually did know how and when you were going to die?  What if you knew that you were going to die at a young age, by being crucified, one of the most degrading and painful ways of killing the world has ever devised?  In our current Mark Marathon passage, fairly near to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus hints that he will be taken away from his friends when he says that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them.”  I wonder how Jesus felt about this.

Our verse today foretells Jesus’ death.  It states that he will be taken away by oppression and judgement – and we see exactly that happen when he is sentenced to death by a corrupt regime.  The people who killed Jesus had no idea what they were doing – they certainly weren’t thinking of his descendents.  Speaking through Isaiah, God also says that Jesus was stricken for the trangression of his people – that’s you and me.  Jesus was killed in order that you and I might live.  How many other people do you know who have done that for you?

A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

Isaiah 40:3-5

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived quite a long way from us, and we would not see them all that often.  Sometimes, however, they would pop down and see us.  Before they arrived, we used to have a huge cleaning session, ensuring that the entire house was spotless.  My room was often rather messy (and, to be fair, still is!), and my mum would stand over me whilst I put everything away, threw away any rubbish, hoovered and polished.  By the time my grandparents arrived, the house was absolutely pristine.

When we’re expecting guests, it’s quite usual to clean and tidy so that all is presentable and respectable; not only do we want to make the effort, but we don’t really want our friends and family to know the conditions we often find ourselves living in!

If we go to so much trouble for friends and family, how much more of an effort would we make if God himself was coming to visit us?  What about if our guest was an all-knowing God, who wasn’t just concerned at the state of our homes, but also the state of our lives?  What if he could see into our hearts and minds, and know what was really happening inside us?

Mark quotes these verses from Isaiah at the beginning of his gospel, and applies them to John the Baptist, who preceded Jesus’ ministry.  John clearly understands who Jesus is, and urges people to ask for forgiveness and be baptised to show that they have repented.  In Isaiah, the call goes out to those in the wilderness, and Mark tells us that John, too, appeared in the wilderness. Just as a wilderness develops when there is an absence of life-giving rain, this spiritual wilderness has developed because people have turned from God, and pursued their own paths.  John warns them to make preparations, though, because the Messiah will soon be upon them.

Have you been living in a dry wilderness?  Jesus is here to offer you refreshment and nourishment.  Turn to him now in prayer and ask for forgiveness, and soak yourself in his word with us.