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!” (Isaiah 40:9 ESV)
The church today needs a new PR director. Churches are portrayed in entertainment as, well… entertaining. Something to laugh at. Something outdated, irrelevant, toothless, unhelpful and absolutely unnecessary.
I think it’s our own fault. We have spent decades compromising, defining our truths according to the world’s definitions, and most of all forgetting the Majesty of the One we follow.
We fear the competition (God’s Word doesn’t seem as interesting as Netflix!) We fear being wrong (the humanist community seem so confident!) We fear offending (Sin almost has become a democratically defined event…) And we fear that the invisible, foundational, and deep God we love is not as attractive, practical, and graspable as anything and everything else.
But really this is nothing new. The people in Isaiah’s day feared the same thing.
Not only do we seem to have so many HUGE things to fear lately, but the very thing God has given us to find hope has become lost.
But don’t despair, says Isaiah.
He describes someone bringing good news. Good news in the context of fear. In fact, the good news IS: Don’t be afraid.
But notice something about that good news. It is news associated with a particular place. The news is supposed to be brought up to a high mountain, to Jerusalem, to the cities of Judah. Not only are Jerusalem and the Judean cities symbolic of God’s people, but so is the mountain. It’s not any old hill. It’s one of two places… whenever Isaiah talks about a high mountain he either means the Temple Mount, or Mount Sinai. To me, it doesn’t matter which one you choose.
These are all pictures of God being with His people.
Good news, opposing fear, is found where God is present with His people. He sends His good news directly to His people. In Isaiah’s time, to the temple. In our time, to the church. Not near the church. Not to church-imitating self-help studios.
But to the church. “Behold your God,” Isaiah says… The good news is being sent here.
And when we recall that the real bringer of good news is the Messiah, and the Mountain, Zion, and cities of Judah are His Bride… it’s even a better picture.
The church has the job right now of bringing God’s hope, fighting against fear. Come listen.