Sermon Text: Isaiah 2:1-5
Date: November 30, 2025
Event: The First Sunday in Advent, Year A

Isaiah 2:1-5 (EHV)

This is the message that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2This will take place in the latter days:
The mountain of the LORD’s house will be established
as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it like a river.
3Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
Then he will instruct us about his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For from Zion the law will go out,
and the LORD’s word will go out from Jerusalem.
4He will judge between the nations,
and he will mediate for many peoples.
Then they will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
nor will they learn war anymore.
5O house of Jacob, come,
and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Live for Later, Not for Now

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” I’m not really sure how much truth there is in that in corporate America, though I can see an argument for self-respect in it. I know even less of what that means in Silicon Valley when often people that are worth more than the GDP of some nations typically wear jeans, tshirts and hooded sweatshirts, but there is a kernel of something that I think is worth focusing on: you want to plan for the future; you want to think ahead; you don’t want to just be stuck spinning your tires here hoping things change instead of making those changes happen.

At the start of this new church year, through the prophet Isaiah, God has us thinking about the choices we’re making now, how we’re living today, and encourages us to make choices that focus not on the immediate here and now and but on what is coming later, what is coming for eternity.

At times, when the propets’ words to God’s people involve promises about the future, it can be hard to nail down exactly what God is referring to. For example, throughout the book of Isaiah, if God promises rescue from something, we have to ask what rescue he’s promising. Is he referring to his rescuing his people from Assyria who would take the northern kingdom of Israel into exile but from whom God would protect the southern nation of Judah? Is he speaking about the eventual rescue of his people from captivity in Babylon that would come 150 or so years after Isaiah’s ministry? Is he referring to the arrival and work of the Messiah? Is he referring to the ultimate rescue of the final judgment? And, at times, is it a combination of the things above? Context has to be our guide.

In our First Reading this morning, we have a section of the propet’s words that are future-looking. But Isaiah is looking beyond his time to sometime later as he describes what will happen in the “latter days,” that is at a time near the end of time. And for this future setting, God directs our eyes toward the temple mount: This will take place in the latter days: The mountain of the LORD’s house will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it like a river.The temple was very important. In Isaiah’s day, it would have served as the center of worship of the true God and the place where his promises were restated and reinforced. While the hill the temple was built on was not an imposing “mountain” relative to the other heights around the world, it was very important.

In those days after Isaiah’s, the temple mount would be established as the chief of the mountains. More prominent than Everest or K2, more majestic than the Rockies or the Alps, more powerful than any explosive volcano. What would make this little hill in the Middle East so important as to be chief among all mountains? The events that would take place there.

Temple worship in Isaiah’s day and in the Second Temple period after the Israelites’ return from exile in Babylon would center on sacrifices. Those sacrifices all pointed ahead to a greater, ultimate sacrifice that would be offered just outside the walls of Jerusalem, because there the perfect Son of God, having taken on our human nature, would offer his life in exchange for ours. This hill would not be the chief of the mountains because it was so tall, beautiful, or dangerous. No, it would be chief because there the payment for sins was made; there all mankind was saved from hell. There forgiveness was won and from there it is freely given.

This little hill in Jerusalem will be—is—chief among the mountains because there our eternal life was accomplished. There, Isaiah’s sins would be forgiven as he trusted in the coming Savior. There our sins were forgiven as we trust in the Savior who has come.

This all perfectly introduces the first season of our new church year, Advent. The days of Advent are not just “pre-Christmas.” In fact, Advent in the church can be a bit of a respite from the overwhelming commercialization frenzy that accompanies this time of year. During these Sundays in Advent, we get to contemplate our Savior’s arrival as the baby in Bethlehem, yes, but also his return not as a helpless newborn, but as he truly is—the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus’ first advent and the work that he accomplished brought about a global change. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. Then he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For from Zion the law will go out, and the LORD’s word will go out from Jerusalem. The gospel—the good news that sins are forgiven in Jesus—makes people want to seek out their God even more than the natural knowledge of God all people are born with would compel them. Knowing that he’s not only a just and powerful God, but a God who loves and forgives, fills people with joy and a desire to be close to him. And so God obliges. He welcomes people to this mountain, not just those who are descended from Abraham, but all people, because his word goes out globally from Jerusalem. Our minds probably jump to Jesus’ direction to his disciples that they would be his witnesses first in Jerusalem and Judea, then to Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Jesus is a Savior for the whole world, not just one group of people; therefore, they all need to hear what he’s done, because it’s going to have eternal ramifications.

Isaiah’s words then jump us to the end, when those ramifications will come to fruition: He will judge between the nations, and he will mediate for many peoples. These are the events of Judgment Day. Jesus is simultaneously our judge and defense attorney. The punishment of our sins was real and justified, but because Jesus took the punishment we owed on himself, he can mediate for the world. As Paul would later write, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The forgiven people of God are renewed, defended, and saved by the Messiah who came to save us from our sins.

What a change this gospel message makes in the hearts of his people! What a change this gospel message makes in our surroundings! Then they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore. Heaven will mean the end of conflict, if you can even imagine it. Conflict between sinners and the holy God will be over because there will be no more sin. Likewise, conflict between individuals and groups of people will also be over. We won’t need weapons or military training because there will be no battles to fight, no land to defend, because our Savior King has rescued us from all of our enemies! So we will be able to take all those implements of war, so focused on death and destruction, and turn them into tools for good, to cultivate beauty and bounty. Thus will be life with our God in heaven.

Our brief reading ends where we began: dress for the job you have or the one you want? Behave as the person you are, or you will be? To live for now is to embrace our sinful natures, to indulge in the constant stream of temptations to rebel against God, thinking that it will somehow be fun or beneficial. But living for later, living as the citizens of heaven that we will be—that, truly, we are even now—looks different, sounds different. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Walking in the Lord’s light means living as he wants us to live, not hiding in the darkness of sin and rebellion. No, we walk in the light of our King. We have no fear of what he will do to us because he’s already done everything good for us. We get to rejoice in him—give thanks to him—for his unending mercy.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, let’s live like the perfect King’s righteous subjects, because we are. Let us live our lives in gratitude to the God who loved us and saved us and will bring us to himself! Let us cut out the sin that brings nothing but dreadful darkness and instead bask in the light of our Savior’s love, knowing that we will live with him in the mountain of heaven forever.

The one who came as a child placed in the manager, who entered Jerusalem amid shouts of praise while riding on a donkey, will come to take us home to be with him. His first advent makes his second advent certain. Stir up your power and come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria