Today I would like to talk about God’s message of comfort from the first half of Isaiah 40. From here we enter the last half of the book of Isaiah. The content changes completely from the content up until now. In the first half Isaiah talks about God’s judgment on Israel, but from here on he talks about comfort and hope. Also up until now the age that Isaiah lived in, in other words the age when Hezekiah was king of Judah was the background for what he was saying. However, from now on the background for what he is saying are events that will occur 100 years after Isaiah’s age, in other words, being set free from Babylon. In 586 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the citizens were captured. In the course of time the Persian king Cyrus appeared, and set the people of Judah free. This age is the background for what is being said. This is written so concretely that some liberal scholars or higher critics say that Isaiah did not write this, but someone different wrote it much later. However, the omniscient and omnipotent God not only knows everything including about what will happen a 100 years from now, and everything that will happen until the end of world, but he can have it recorded too. If you believe that then there is no problem with Isaiah being the author. Scripture“never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (II Peter 1:21) It is the word of God. Whether it is about something 100 years from now, or how many years in the future, certainly it can be proclaimed. This is the biggest difference between the Bible and other literature. The reason for this is the Bible is the Word of God.
I. Comfort, comfort (Vs. 1, 2)
First look at verses 1 and 2.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
That her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for,
That she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”
From chapter 1 to chapter 39 it was “Punish, punish”, but for here on it becomes “comfort, comfort”. (1) After punishment comes comfort. The Lord is not always angry. Just like a parent hugs a child after punishing him, God hugs you. He made atonement for all your sins. In the first half of Isaiah, Isaiah spoke a message of judgment, but now that all sin has been atoned for Isaiah speaks a message of comfort.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her.” The Lord speaks tenderly. God won’t condemn you for your sin. That is because God died on the cross for you. He received the punishment in exchange for you. He paid the penalty of sin. It is not necessary to agonize over sin. You don’t have to be saddened forever over it. Our Lord Jesus received the punishment for all our sin. Therefore, it is not necessary to agonize over sin. What you need to do is only repent and believe in the work of God’s salvation. God’s wrath on your sin was taken away by Christ. God is no longer angry because of your sin. He is speaking tenderly.
“That her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for.” (2) This is what God is speaking to you. Your “hard service has been completed” (2) and your “sin has been paid for.” (2) This word that is translated “hard service” (2) is also translated as “war”. Are you facing war every day? There will come a day when that war will be over. A day will come when “hard service” (2) will be over, when war will be over. At that time sin will be completely paid for. “That she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” (2) This “double” means “fold back”. A trader when one payment was over, he folded a detailed statement in half and pinned it on the customer’s door. This was called “double”. In other words it was folded back. This expresses that half and half are exactly equivalent, sin and sin’s payment fee balance out. It means that the compensation for sin was fully paid. Colossians 2:14 says, “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” He has really “canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness.” (Col. 2:14) That debt was completely paid. It was nailed “to the cross.” (Col. 2:14) When Jesus died on the cross, he cried out “It’s finished”. The debt of your sin was fully paid. It is not necessary for you to be agonized by your sin anymore. Christ took upon himself the punishment in your place so the price of your sin was paid. Your sin is forgiven. This is the good news. This is the message of comfort.
Just a little before this I said that the liberation from the captivity of Babylon is the background of this passage. This is a proclamation that the people of Judah will be liberated, become free from their 70 years of being captive under Babylon. It is just like a person that is chained in a prison whose time of sentence is finished and he is told by the jailer, “You can go home. Your time is up. Your ‘sin has been paid for.’ (2)” For the person who is serving the sentence his life seems hopeless, inconvenient, lonely, and solitary. However, when the prison doors are opened for him, how joyous he will be! For Judah their sin will not only be paid for, but they will receive “from the LORD’s hand double” (2) in exchange for all their sins.
Right now on NHK they are showing a drama, “Someday a place where the sun shines”. This is a story that describes the deep friendship of two women who are set free from prison. One person served a prison sentence of 7 years for a crime she committed for the man she loved. The other person served a 5 year sentence for killing her husband to protect her son’s life from her husband’s violent abuse. The two people finish their sentence and are set free. The two of them met in the prison and made deep bonds. They were deserted by their families and while hiding their past and encouraging each other, they are earnestly living in the downtown section. No matter how much their sin has been paid for, living carrying the past on your back is not easy. After this a dark phantom is dropped on them.
However, God has promised that we have “received from the LORD’s hand double” (2) in exchange for all our sins. He didn’t just forgive us. We have “received from the LORD’s hand double” (2) in exchange for all our sins. Your sin has been completely paid for. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and received all your punishment. Your sin has been paid for. It is not necessary to agonize over your sin any more. Your “hard service has been completed.” (2) Your “sin has been paid for.” (2) How full of comfort these words are!

II. A voice of one calling in the wilderness
The second point is that God has set you free from the chains of sin so “prepare the way.” (3) Please look at verses 3 to 5.
“A voice of one calling:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all the people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’”
This road is the road that the Lord will take. The Lord who set you free from Babylon, the Lord who set you free from the chains of sin is now going to take a road and return to the city of Jerusalem. They are to prepare that road. In reality when the king of a country took a trip, he would send a troop in advance to prepare the road to the places he was going to visit. They widened the road, made it bigger, made it “straight”, (3) and “level”. (4) Valleys were “raised up” (4) and mountains and hills were “made low”. (4)
Before when I lived in Fukushima the national sports festival was held there. Throughout the city the roads were prepared for it. The streets were widened, and they were paved level. That was because the emperor was going to take the road. Even though he was only going to take the road one time they worked on the road for

many years in advance and splendid roads were made. In this passage greater than the emperor, The King of Kings that can’t even begin to be compared with the emperor, The Lord Jesus Christ is coming so they are told to “prepare the way of the LORD.” (3)
Is the road to you prepared? Like the bottom of a valley is your heart not depressed? Are there valleys like inferiority complexes, self-pity, guilty conscience, or feelings of defeat that need to be filled up? Also are there mountains or hills that are sticking up high? The mountains or hills of pride or arrogance must be shaved down. We must get rid of all obstruction and make the road “straight”. (3)
By the way, the words of verse 3 are quoted in the New Testament. In the New Testament “a voice of one calling in the wilderness” refers to John the Baptist. He appeared a half a year before Christ came. He prepared the way so that the Lord could come at any time by proclaiming a message of repentance. He lived a life like the Old Testament prophets wearing clothes made of camel hair, wearing a belt of leather around his waist, and eating locust and honey. It was thought that possibly the great prophet Elijah had come again or because of his powerful message they wondered if he was the Christ. When the crowds asked John who he was, “John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’’” (John 1:23)
He said that his in Elijah and not Christ, but just “the voice of one calling in the wilderness.” (John 1:23) This was John’s ministry. Also this is our ministry. Our ministry is to become a voice. You can’t see a voice. Truly we are to penetrate as a voice that can’t be seen. Like John we must proclaim Jesus Christ. Like John led the people to Jesus who came to him, we must lead the people who come to us to Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” (Matt. 11:11) John the Baptist is greater than anyone else “among those born of women.” (Matt. 11:11) He is greater than Abraham or Moses or Elijah. He was that great because he was a “voice”. (John 1:23) He didn’t do anything that stood out, he didn’t show off himself. He only became a “voice” that shared Jesus so he was great.
You too can become a great person. Become like John a “voice…in the wilderness.” (John 1:23) If you become a “voice…in the wilderness” (John 1:23) and prepare people’s hearts, you too will be called a great person by Jesus. 2000 years ago when the Lord Jesus came he said that he would come again. Before the Lord comes again we must become a “voice…in the wilderness” (John 1:23) to “prepare the way for the LORD.” (3) Before the Lord comes again we must call out, “prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” (3,4) If we welcome Jesus in this way, we will receive comfort. Real comfort is welcoming Jesus in our heart. Then we “will be caught up…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (I Thess. 4:17,18) These are the real words of comfort. We must be “a voice…calling in the wilderness” (2) to prepare hearts for the second coming of Christ.

III. The word of God endures forever (Vs. 6-8)
The third point about the message of comfort is that the word of God endures forever. Please look at verses 6 to 8. The first part of verse 6 says, “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?”
“A voice says, ‘Cry out.’” (6) Isaiah answers the voice saying, “What shall I cry?” (6)　Then the voice answers, “All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
Because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
But the word of our God endures forever. (6-8)
“All people are like grass.” (6) They are also “like the flowers.” (6) They wither “like grass“. (6) Also they fall “like the flowers.” (6) In the morning they sprout and flower, but in the evening they wither and fall. “All people are like grass, and…flowers.” (6) Even if a person becomes a professor, a doctor, a prime minister or a president, in 70 or 80 years his life is over. No matter the heights of glory, if we could stop there for 10 or 20 years, it would be one’s utmost. In Buddhism this is called “impermanence”, the vanity of all things. It is quoted in the opening paragraph of the “Tale of the Heike”.
The sound of the Gion Shoja bells,
Echoes the impermanence of all things;
The color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline.
The proud do not endure,
They are like a dream on a spring night;
The mighty fall at last,
They are a dust before the wind.
Gion Shoja is what the Japanese call Jetavana. Jetavana was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries in India and the place where Buddha gave the majority of his teachings. The sound of the bell there is impermanent. The ring sounds like the appearance of everything in the world is constantly changing and thus vanity.　 The color of the sala flowers shows the truth that no matter with how much impetus they bloom, they will for sure wither. Those who proudly prosper in the world too, their prosperity will not continue forever. “They are like a dream on a spring night.” The prosperous will perish in the end. It is like “dust before the wind.” It is recited like that. In reality man is a vain being.
There are some people who think that to say this isn’t comforting at all, but in reality this is comfort. To firmly look at this reality, and to accept it at face value just as it is, will bring comfort. If you are stabbed with this reality then you may become shocked. You definitely won’t want to accept it. However, it is a fact. If you accept a fact as a fact it becomes comfort. You are a being that withers. You won’t bloom forever. You will gradually wither and in the course of time die. It could be tomorrow. It may not necessarily be after you get old. You may die tonight. Life is not so long. “Like grass, and …like flowers” (6) you wither. Accept this truth, and if you live in the hope of what’s after that, you will have comfort. When a person realizes that all the things in this word are impermanent, then he can receive comfort.
Many people even though they are grass or a flower, are desperate to bloom gorgeous flowers forever. They are doing this and that trying to keep their health, and beauty. However, if you can accept this, you won’t have to be desperate in this temporary time on earth. You won’t have you use so much time, money, and effort. Of course taking care of your health is important. I am not saying to have no interest in being beautiful and to go around all day filthy. It is important to be concerned about such things. However, if only things that you can see weigh on your mind, then you will imagine that those things are everything and you will not have comfort.
Have you heard of the law of entropy? The idea of irreversibility is central to the understanding of entropy. In thermodynamics, one says that the “forward” processes-pouring water from a pitcher, smoke going up a chimney, etc. are “irreversible” –they cannot happen in reverse. All real physical processes involving systems in everyday life, with many atoms or molecules are irreversible. The statement of the fact that entropy never decreases is found in the second law of thermodynamics. Put easily, this means that everything degenerates. You don’t need science to tell us that. Everyone knows that. All things degenerate. A new car is not a new car forever. A newly built house too eventually becomes old. That is a fact that we can’t get around. This is the law of entropy. This is also a law that is used to deny the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution goes against the law of entropy. That’s because you wonder why it is not degenerating, but evolving. However, everything does not evolve, but degenerates.

Please open your Bible to Psalms 102:25 to 28.
“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
They will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
But you will remain the same,
and your years will never end.
The children of your servants will live in your presence;
Their descendants will be established before you.”
These things “will perish”. (Psalm 102:26) They will not continue forever. There will come a time when health and beauty too will be gone. The things that you can see with your eyes will not continue forever. If your heart is captive to such thing, if you are putting your whole life into such things, there is no greater vanity. You won’t be comforted by that. “But you remain.” (Psalm 102:26) God eternally remains “the same.” (Psalms 102:27) His “years will never end.” (Psalms 102:27) If you depend upon Him, you will be comforted.
This is what the book of Isaiah is saying. Let’s read verse 8. “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” “The word of our God endures forever.” (8) This is what we need to put our dependence in. If we look intently at it, and live in it, then we will definitely not be disappointed.
Our Lord Jesus said, “Behold, I am always with you, even to the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20) This is a promise of the word of God which “endures forever.” (8) The Lord Jesus is “always with you, even to the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20) He will definitely not abandon you. He will not forsake you. No matter how the world becomes, even if a tsunami wipes everything out, even if you get sick and you have only a few remaining days, God’s promises will not be broken. Just as the Word of God says, God will watch over you. There is no greater comfort than this, is there?
Paul said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Even if our body perishes, that is not the end. Our spirit will continue living forever in heaven. Not only that when Jesus Christ comes again we will be resurrected in an imperishable, glorious body. Also we will be forever with the Lord. This is the Word of comfort. Christians are given the Holy Spirit “as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Cor. 5:5) By the Holy Spirit, we have the assurance that we will have eternal life and that we will have real

peace. “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (II Cor. 4:16-17
If there is anyone here this morning that needs comfort, please know this. Also from a life of altering between joy and sorrow by the things that are before your eyes, please live a full life standing on the unchanging Word of God’s promise. This is the real message of comfort.