All I Want Is Some Good News
These days it seems as if the only news is bad news. The media is flooded with news about tragedy and suffering; news about people doing horrible, evil things. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with bad news. Cows out. Cougars & bears. Machinery and equipment break. Deer into the car. Harvest bad. Terminally ill, someone else sick, medical bills.
All I want is some good news. There is good news. The best good news ever. The Lord has come. The Lord is coming. God’s Kingdom has come. This is the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. We as God’s people are called to share this good news, to tell the world, “The Lord is coming back because he has come!”
1. Good News of Comfort
Is 40:1-2 — Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
There is good news for God’s people in this dark world. This is the good news of God’s comfort. Our warfare, our struggle, our years of service, slavery to sin, has ended. Our sins are forgiven. Our punishment is completed, fulfilled. We are at peace with God.
“Wait a minute,” you say. Where is the comfort in today’s world? Yes, in today’s world we still experience adversity, suffering, sorrow, and pain. We are still fighting against sin and the forces of evil in this life. But as we will see from today’s message, Jesus the Lord has come, and because of him, our sins are forgiven. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is with us all the time through his Holy Spirit. He comforts and strengthens us in times of adversity and suffering. We know He is coming back, and with our eyes, our faith and hope, fixed firmly on him, we can persevere and stand firm through whatever the world throws at us. Because we know that He has come, and is with us. And in the end, we will be and live with him forever.
2. The Lord is coming!
That is why this message of comfort is good news. The Lord has come. The Lord is coming. The glory of the Lord has been revealed and will be revealed. This is good news!
Is 40:3-8 — 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 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.” A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. This promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. When he came the kingdom of heavens entered into this world. Jesus’ glory as the Son of God was revealed at his baptism and his transfiguration on the mountain. Jesus fulfilled God’s mission to save the world. He did the Father’s will, and completed the Father’s work. He was resurrected. He ascended to heaven, was exalted and glorified. God the Father gave him the name that is above every name, and He rules over all creation as Lord of the universe.
All flesh, all peoples, shall see his glory. When Jesus came the first time not all people in the world saw him, but in his life and ministry, there were many symbolic representations of all the peoples of the world to show that Jesus came for the whole world, to save all people so that all will know the glory of the Lord. In his life and ministry, and through the life and ministry of his followers, Jesus crossed paths with the world powers. He had a universal impact on world history. At his birth were the shepherds and the wise men from the east. They represented the poor and rich, Jews and Gentiles. They saw the glory of the Lord. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection happened at a time when there were many visitors from across the world in Jerusalem. He appeared to many after his resurrection. On Pentecost there were “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem (Acts 2:5). Many people saw the glory of the Lord in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and heard the good news that the Lord has come.
The first believers saw Jesus, heard Jesus, touched Jesus with their hands (1 Jn 1:1-3). They have seen, testified to, and proclaimed the eternal life, Jesus, who appeared, whose glory was revealed. And since that day, God’s people have made disciples of all nations. They preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name across the world. Today billions of believers across the globe have seen the Lord Jesus with the eyes of their hearts and believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Jesus the Lord will come back, and this time He is coming back as King. He will come back in powerful and visible ways. His glory will be seen by all people. He will restore God’s kingdom of perfect shalom, that is, peace, love, justice, and righteousness. Then, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11). In the new creation Jesus will rule forever, and his reward, God’s people, the kingdom citizens, we, will be with him forever.
This is the good news. The Lord has come, and the Lord is coming.
3. True, Real, Good News
People may ask, “Really? Has the Lord really come? Is He really coming? How do we know that?” This is good news that is true. This is real, actual, historical news, not fake news. Because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The Word of our God will stand forever.
All flesh, all living beings, all peoples, are like grass and flowers that wither and fade away. They cannot withstand, endure or outlive the all-powerful eternal God. Compared with him they are nothing, like dust. Nations, countries, governments, and empires come and go. The plans and schemes of humans are frail and fail. They do not last. All flesh die. That’s the one certainty we can be certain of.
Only the Word of God stands forever. The Word of God is true and trustworthy. Just look at how the promise that the Lord is coming has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. All four gospels quote or refer to Isaiah 40 when they talk about the ministry of John that prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. Everything God promised in his Word has been fulfilled, is being fulfilled, and therefore, will be fulfilled. The good news is being proclaimed around the world. In spite of many efforts throughout history to silence God’s Word and his messengers, God’s Word prevails, the good news is proclaimed, and more and more people are seeing the glory of the Lord.
God’s Word, the spoken Word, the written Word, the Living Word, Jesus Christ stands forever, from eternity to eternity. That’s why this good news is true, real, and trustworthy.
4. We are the bringers of good news
Is 40:9-10 — Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
We are the heralds, the messengers, the bringers of this good news to the world. We have seen the Lord. If you are a follower of Jesus then you have seen the Lord and his glory. The Lord showed up in your life. You have experienced his extraordinary love and amazing grace. He saved you from darkness and death. He forgave your sins. He changed your life. He filled you with his Holy Spirit. He gave you a new life that is eternal. He lives in us. He is with us all the time. The Lord has come into our lives. He gave us peace.
This is good news that must be shared, not quietly, softly, or half-heartedly. It must be cried out, shouted from the mountain tops. Lift up your voice with strength. We cannot and should not keep this good news for ourselves. It is not ours to keep. Our Lord commands us to share this good news because he wants to come, to show up in the lives of others, and give them new, eternal life.
It is not easy to share this good news. We have to step out of our comfort zones. People will persecute us, laugh at us, call us all kinds of names. It will hurt. They may hurt us physically. We may be killed for Jesus’ sake.
Do not be ashamed of this good news, “because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Ro 1:16). It’s powerful. It’s true.
Do not be afraid. Fear not. “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Mt 10:19-20)
When you are suffering persecution, take refuge in the Lord. Fix your eyes and heart on Jesus. He is with you. He will comfort you. He will strengthen you. He will protect you. And if we die for Him, we know we will be with Him, forever in his glorious presence. For Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
5. Jesus the Lord is the Good Shepherd
Yes, there is more good news. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He laid down his life for us so that we can have life. He knows us and we know him (Jn 10:11-18). We are his flock, and he takes care of us.
Is 40:11 — He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
What a beautiful image! This is how much our Lord loves and cares for us. I cannot help but think of Psalm 23 here. Jesus Christ, the sovereign Lord God, “is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Are you overwhelmed with bad news? Are you depressed, anxious, afraid? Are you suffering, in pain? It’s all dark, and you don’t see light. Turn back to Jesus who is the Light. Bring it all to him in prayer with thanksgiving and rejoicing, and you will experience his peace.
Fix your eyes on the Light. Even though it may seem as if he has left you, as if he is far away, know for sure, He has come. He is with you. Even in the darkest night his love, his care, never leaves us alone. His love never fails. Nothing can separate us from his love.
Are you living without Jesus? Perhaps you don’t believe, don’t know him, or think you can live without him? Are you hopeless, desperate? Your life seems to have no meaning and purpose. Are you caught up, ensnared and enslaved to bad and sinful habits? There is good news. Come to Jesus Christ. Believe, repent. He forgives all you have done. He sets you free and gives you a new life that lasts forever. Death is no longer the end. Death is only a passing over into the glorious, eternal presence of our Lord.
Now, here, in this life, in this broken, dark world Jesus is the Lord. He stands alone in splendor. He reigns in majesty. Jesus is the sovereign King. He holds everything in his hands — every mountain, every valley, every breath, every heartbeat, every teardrop, every mother, every father, every son, every daughter, every saint, every sinner. He holds us all. And he holds us close to his heart. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is our friend and Savior. In weakness Jesus is our victory. In sickness He surrounds us. He is holding us.
Jesus Christ is the Lord! He has come. He is with us. He is coming. That is good news! The best news ever.