Sunday 14th December – Redeemed

14-12-2025, advent 3a, Isaiah 35:1-10, pastor adrian kitson, Redeemed

God himself will come to save us

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ²it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.

³Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
⁴say to those with fearful hearts,
‘Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.’

⁵Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
⁷The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰ and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

When is the last time you saw something glorious? A sunset? A Valley view? Scenes from the plane looking over the city below? An ocean view? A new-born baby?

When would you say you have witnessed splendour? For Leanne and I this is easy this year. Viewing those famous places we have heard about all our lives and only ever seen on a screen; being in London, actually see them – Parliament House from across the Thames, St Paul’s cathedral, Westminster Abbey, a London cab, a London double decker red bus….? But for you maybe it was just a single beautiful spring flower shining in the sun?

What does the experiencing something?

For me, it is encouraging. It gives me hope that life can be good again; like when in a hospital room in recovery after serious illness, looking out at a sunrise. That splendour tells me that all is not lost; that there is a way through whatever comes at you.

That is what God is doing through his voice, Isaiah, in this glorious text of pure good news.

In his picture-painting words Isaiah tries to tell his forlorn people that a better time is coming.

Up ahead there is the splendour of a desert in full bloom; the assurance that God knows what has happened and what wrong has been done and will take care of all that for his people; new zest for living, new words to hear, new splendour to see, new words in your mouth to speak, gushing spring water bubbling up within you; gushing up from dry sandy you, new water-lands with new plants – teaming life in places that used to only take like, and then a way, and easy way, a safe way to God’s presence; his holy presence.

Sounds glorious! Looks like splendour!

Boy, did God’s people need to hear this. Things were tough for them at this time. Not only because they had faced total devastation of home, community, city, temple and nation as they were made refugees again under the thumb of the neighbouring super-power, but because God has exposed why this terrible tragedy for the nation had occurred. It was them!

Before this beautiful good news chapter, comes the one just before it. They go together.

Chapter 34 is a description of God’s final judgement for all human beings – including his own people – for their idol making and chasing. It is brutally honest. God’s patience with a wayward world will eventually run out.

For the Lord has rage against all the nations. (v. 2)

The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood. (v. 6)

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah. (v. 6) (Someone will be sacrificed for many sins)

For the Lord has a day of vengeance. (v. 8)

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 198.

The life humans have built will be undone. God is like a miner underground with a hard-hat on deconstructing everything that human beings have built for themselves

He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,

and the plumb line of emptiness. (v. 11b)

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 199.

The world will again be like it was before God got to work ordering it at the start.

Before he did his work back at the beginning, the earth was ‘formless and void’ (Genesis 1:2). Now it will be again ‘confused and empty’.

God won’t lose his nerve or miss anything, we can be sure, says Isaiah:

Seek and read from the book of the Lord:

Not one of these shall be missing;

For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,

and his Spirit has gathered them. (v. 16)

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 199–200.

People have built their life on their own book, not God’s books. It will be undone and they know it. Their unwillingness to see, hear and speak anything of God has led to them to the truth that they have always been incapable of hearing, seeing and speaking anything of God – and they are feeling it.

They are in Exile. They are powerless and far from home. A holiday at the beach won’t fix it. They have been beaten. They lost the test. The media is all over them. They are fighting among themselves. They want vengeance and deliverance, but they have no strength or ability to get these things.

When is the last time this was you? When was the last time you felt powerless or could see the powerlessness of another person whom you could not help? They needed more than you could ever provide or you just knew that there you need more than you can provide yourself!

But then, suddenly this chapter 35 …

Bonhoeffer has this great image of what now comes.

You know what a mine disaster is. In recent weeks we have had to read about one in the newspapers.

The moment even the most courageous miner has dreaded his whole life long is here. It is no use running into the walls. The silence around him remains. The way out for him is blocked. He knows the people up there are working feverishly to reach the miners who are buried alive. Perhaps someone will be rescued, but here in this last shaft?

An agonising period of waiting and dying is all that remains.

But suddenly a noise that sounds like tapping and breaking in the rock can be heard. Unexpectedly, voices cry out, “Where are you, help is on the way!” Then the disheartened miner picks himself up, his heart leaps, he shouts, “Here I am, come on through and help me! I’ll hold out until you come! Just come soon! A final desperate hammer blow, now his rescue is near, just one more step and he is free.

We have spoken of Advent itself. That is how it is with the coming of Christ: “Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

Advent: God’s help on the way and close.

I don’t know how you have been beaten; treated badly, blind to Jesus, deaf to his word, unable to speak his name for fear or pride.

I don’t know if you really think you are that lost or bad or in need of anyone’s help? We tend to think we don’t need any help most of the time because we are not hopeless and helpless or a long way from home or under the thumb of another power. We are not down that deathly mineshaft.

And yet, Isaiah is saying that is exactly what we are – under the thumb of another power and unable to see it. Every time we put our trust in things or people’s approval or our own fine efforts to tell ourselves we are OK, rather than trusting this God in the manger – with us and for us, telling us we will be OK, we show just how lost, blind, deaf and wordless we are.

But hear the tap-tap of God the worker coming to help you. He will soon arrive in that moment of splendour, when angels will sing and shepherd will gather and stargazers will bend the knee at the glory of God-human – God in the manger.

That is where this shaft of light will break through the gloomy tomb.

Dryness will be transformed into wetlands. Growth, flourishing growth.

The places we have all turned to in order to know life will keep on going will all return in spades – a glorious sun rise, Lake Eyre full forever; The Torrens enlarged. The North Para always running. New species, new possibilities….

Fear finally removed from inside us. No need for it. Full assurance that we will be OK; that we shall live and fully because of the One who comes to give us his life and life to the full (John 10:10)!

We will be able to turn our hands to anything. God will take care of the wrongs for us. We don’t need to do that. All will be righted.

For all your challenges, all your grief, all your fears and worries and all your deafness and blindness to Jesus, God has not left you for dead in the prison cell or underground. Advent tells you just the opposite:

Advent creates people, new people. We too are supposed to become new people in Advent. Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to those words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. Something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you. God will come. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger, Day Four, Redemption.

MORE REFLECTION

Opening Question

When was the last time you saw something truly glorious or splendid? How did it make you feel?
(This connects with the sermon’s opening reflection on sunsets, ocean views, or even a newborn baby. It helps participants think about beauty and hope in hard times.)

Read the Passage Aloud

Isaiah 35:1–10 paints a vivid picture of transformation: deserts blooming, the blind seeing, the lame leaping, and a safe highway for the redeemed.

Observation Questions

What images of renewal and restoration stand out to you in this passage?
How does Isaiah describe the future for God’s people?
What does the “Way of Holiness” mean in this context?

Interpretation

Why do you think Isaiah uses such strong contrasts—desert vs. blossom, blindness vs. sight?
How does this chapter relate to the judgment in Isaiah 34? (Hint: Chapter 34 speaks of God’s justice and judgment; Chapter 35 speaks of hope and redemption.)
What does this tell us about God’s character—justice and mercy together?

Application

Where do you feel “dry” or “parched” in life right now?
How does the promise of God’s coming (Advent) give you hope in those areas?
What does it mean for you to walk on the “Way of Holiness” today?

Advent Connection

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words remind us: “Look up, your redemption is drawing near… Something quite new will break over you. God will come.” How does this shape your waiting during Advent?