In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

With devout reverence, George Friedrich Handel set these words to music. Our adult choir has been singing these words while practicing Handel's Christmas Messiah for our Christmas Day Service. Isaiah chapter 40 would be a treasure to us anyway, but when set to music, it is simply magnificent. The splendid music and text of Handel's Messiah challenges us to imagine what the glorious music of heaven must be like. Handel's moving crescendo makes these words unforgettable: "Behold your God!"

John the Baptizer never sang Handel's Messiah, but he certainly proclaimed this message. He was the forerunner of the Savior. It was his divinely called ministry to point people to Jesus and say,

1. LISTEN TO "THE VOICE"

Verse 3 says, "A voice of one calling: 'In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'" These words foretell the coming of John the Baptizer. John was specially chosen by God to serve as the forerunner for the Savior. His job was to prepare the way for the LORD. And it was no easy task. When John arrived on the scene, people were not ready for the Savior's arrival. Too many people thought they were good enough on their own. Too many were looking for a political leader, instead of a Savior from sin. Too many were trapped in sin. John had a very large task, but he went after it with a passion for souls.

Fearlessly, he proclaimed the law. He didn't care whose sin it was. Whether king or slave, religious leader or prostitute, John called a sin a sin. His ministry was all about showing people their desperate need for a Savior. Just think about that for a moment! After all those years of sin and its consequences, after all of those promises of a coming Savior, God still had to send someone to say, "You do need a Savior! You are sinners! You can't save yourselves!" Yet that was John's ministry. He was sent to prepare the way for the Lord.

Listen how verse 4 describes his work, "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain." John met people in the valley of despair, who were down in the dumps because of sin and guilt, and raised them up with the encouraging message of forgiveness through the coming Savior. He met people on mountains of self-righteousness, and hills of pride and cut them down to size with sharp messages from God. The Pharisees, for example, didn't think that they needed a Savior. They thought that they were good enough to get to heaven on their own. So John's task was to show them their sins and their need for a Savior. Others, like Herod, thought that they were above the law. John didn't care that Herod was a king, he called a sin a sin, and Herod didn't like it one little bit. John met people on the rough and crook ground of deception and dishonesty. He called them sinners for cheating in business. He called them sinners for lying. He told people that it was not enough to merely say that you are sorry. He told them to produce fruit in keeping with repentance!

For John, right and wrong was a smooth plane. He preached an absolute standard of right and wrong, God's standard, and nobody got away without having something to repent of. He was fearless and uncompromising. He never put any stock in surveys. He didn't care if he wasn't popular. He didn't copy what others were doing. He preached the truth of God with boldness and vigor. And, do you know what happened? People did come to hear him. Mark 1:5 says, "The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." Crowds followed him, wanting to hear him preach. They recognized that John was different. He was no push over. He was the real deal, the genuine article, a prophet from God! And the people could tell the difference! And when they listened, they were listening to God's Word! And God's Word worked, so that people did confess their sins, and they were baptized and assured of God's forgiveness.

John was an amazingly effective missionary without ever consulting one expert opinion. Today's experts say, "You have to soften this, and you have to get rid of that." John would hear none of that. John preached God's Word straight. People realized that he wasn't fooling around or going through the motions. Nobody slept through John's sermons. Everybody found something to repent of. The repentant heard comforting Gospel. And many hearers loved him for this. They loved him so much that when Jesus came, for a time they wanted to stay with John. There was never a greater preacher than John the Baptizer.

And we still can hear "the voice" today. Though John cannot personally be with us today, he message is printed on the pages of God's Word. And so, "the voice" still cries out, "Repent of your sins!" But, when we confess our sins, "the voice" still says, "Behold your God!"

2. LOOK AHEAD TO THE COMING SAVIOR!

Isaiah chapter 40 foretells the coming of the Savior. Listen again to verse 5: And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." The real reason why Old Testament believers could be so sure that a Savior really was coming was that God had spoken the promise in His Word. And that made it certain. And when the Savior came, John had the great privilege of pointing him out! Listen again to verse 9: You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

Good news was on the way! When it was the right time, someone was going to be able to say, "Here is your God!" That was the blessed honor of John the Baptizer. The time did come when John was able to say, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John had a tough job in showing the people that they needed this Savior, but when he finally came, John had the fun task of saying, "Here he is! This is your Savior! Behold your God!" And after all the hard work, that really must have been fun. It must have made chills run down his spine, and those of his hearers, as well. John had showed them all of their sins, and all of their problems with God, and then he was able to say, "Now, here's the solution! Here's the Savior from sin."

And Jesus really is the solution. He lived for us, and came for the primary purpose of dying for us to pay for all of our sins! That's why John pointed to Jesus and say, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus took away the sin of the world, so that whoever believes in him will enjoy eternal life in heaven.

And that good news, or good tidings, is so good and so important that you should not mumble your way through the message. No, we should go up on a high mountain and proclaim it so that all can hear! It says, "lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid." We must not be timid with the gospel! We must proclaim it with the greatest of boldness, just as John did, and say, "Behold your Savior! Behold your God!"

God doesn't want his messengers to be timid. Never once did the angels announce something like this: "Excuse me, so sorry to bother you, are you busy? Is it okay if I tell you something? I, I, I'm supposed to tell you about a Savior." That isn't how it was that first Christmas, was it?! No way! The angels came with loud voices and trumpets blaring. They didn't ask the shepherds if they were busy. They appeared in brilliant bright glory. The angel boldly said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." There was no hesitation and no doubt about it.

That's how we should be! Don't be timid about the Gospel. Don't be all sorry about it. Be glad and bold. Your Savior is here! He came for you! He's your ticket to heaven!

And then pause to picture the words of verse 11: "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Picture that! Jesus is the good Shepherd. He tends his flock of believers like a shepherd. He does what a good shepherd would do, feeding, caring, and protecting from harm. He gathers the little lambs, his believers, and carries them close to his heart. What love he shows! He is gentle and loving. This, dear friends, is your Savior! This is the one who came to lay down his life, only to take it up again. This is your Lord! This is the one the prophets were writing about. This is the one John was preparing for, and preaching about. This is the one John had in mind when he said, "I'm not worthy to untie his shoe laces!" Pause to picture Jesus as the good Shepherd, holding his little lambs close to his heart... Ladies and gentleman, "Behold your God!" Amen.