Kelly’s Blog

I’m grateful for the lessening pain in my mouth. But thanks to Tylenol with codeine, I still can’t seem to think straight to blog properly.

Nevertheless, I did want to point out some interesting similarities in the text of Luke 9, which includes the Gospel for this Sunday, and Isaiah 50, which I happened upon while reading the other day. Here’s Isaiah 50…

Although it seems impossible now to not read Isaiah 50 Christologically, I’m not sure that I used to. The first thing that used to always jump out at me about the passage was the opening verse. I remember a pastor of mine using that first verse to justify the practice of divorce by claiming that God divorced Israel. The odd thing is that the passage seems to actually be saying the opposite: God is stating things in the negative, challenging Israel to produce something that doesn’t exist (the certificate). The reason for this reading is that the parallel example given is “Which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you?” God obviously has no creditors; Israel was not enslaved because God needed some extra cash. He clarifies in the second have of the verse that Israel was not sent away because God decided he wanted to send her packing with a cert of divorce (which Jesus points out was only ever allowed because of the sinful, hard hearts of the people). Israel’s sinful unfaithfulness is what sent her away, and her wickedness is what enslaved her. It’s kind of an interesting passage when considering Jesus’ statement about divorce, that “what God has joined together, let man not separate.” It’s almost like… God’s mercy in Christ is entirely responsible for saving people, and man’s sinfulness is entirely responsible for condemning him. Where have I heard that before?

This tension and mystery of our gracious and all-powerful God coming to his people, and calling them, yet people refusing him, is carried through in verses 2-3.  “Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?” We see some of this happening in Luke 9, as Jesus patiently teaches his constantly erring apostles, turns away an eager bunch of would-be disciples, and in general, mercifully puts up with the faithless and twisted generation. He has the power; he’s working miracles and commissioning his apostles to do the same. He’s been transfigured in glory before his disciples. So what’s with all these problems? It’s the sinfulness of man.

Jesus isn’t too weak to deliver; his solution just looks that way to men who prefer to define God primarily according to “all-powerful awesomeness” rather than his mercy. His solution to our problem is for the Son of Man to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and be raised, for the preaching of this Gospel to reach the ears of his people so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins. For the sake of his kingdom, he set his face like flint toward Jerusalem, put his hand to the plow and did not turn back.

“The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame” (Is. 50:4-7).

It’s also interesting in verse 10 that fearing the Lord is set in parallel with obeying the voice of his servant, which reminds us of the God-given authority of the servants he sends with his Word, in particular the Chosen Son of whom God says, “Listen to him!” (All this from Luke 9.) And we often associate things like the fear of the Lord and obeying with Law, but the call here is: “Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” By contrast, those who kindle their own torches to walk by the light of their own fire will be judged by God and condemned. Salvation through faith, vs. dependence on our own deeds. Happy Augsburg Confession anniversary!

All of that was sort of convoluted. Best to just read Isaiah 50 and Luke 9 for yourself.