“The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” I’m going to
ask for your forgiveness in advance for the pun, but this verse is absolutely pregnant with meaning.
As is often the case, we can’t fully appreciate the words of today’s Old Testament reading without
providing the bigger picture of its context. If you’ve been here, and been listening the past several
weeks, you know that God has some pretty special things to tell us through his prophet, Isaiah.
Isaiah is one of the larger books of the Bible, and it’s filled with words of warning of hope. My Old
Testament professor at Trinity, Paul House, wrote a book called Old Testament Theology. His
simple title for his chapter on the book of Isaiah is “The God Who Saves.”
Really, this is the bottom line in Isaiah: that the God who’s witnessed the rebellion of His people
against Himself, in His mercy offers hope for salvation to all, Jew or Gentile. And that salvation is
tied in with this figure that we talked about a little last week, the Suffering Servant, who the Gospel
writers identify as Jesus.
The first six verses of Isaiah 49 are thought to apply to the Suffering Servant. The significance of
this person is that he will succeed where the nation of Israel had failed. Dr. House writes, “[In Isaiah]
almost uniformly Israel is depicted as a frail, failing servant, while [this] individual Servant performs
God’s will without fail.” So God’s intent for His people will not be thwarted, and Jesus, the Suffering
Servant, is the One through whom God’s plan for humankind is brought to flower.
In fact, Jesus himself is the new Israel. Really, when he cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers
it wasn’t just Jesus being torked off about the soiling of a holy place, but He was proclaiming His
authority as the new Israel right then and there. And he punctuated this with an exclamation point in
bold font when he proclaimed to the scribes and Pharisees that the new temple, once destroyed,
would rise up again in three days. John makes it very clear that Jesus is referring to himself as the
new temple. Jesus is the new Israel. If you’d like to read a thorough and convincing treatment of this
and don’t mind having your brain cells exercised a bit, I recommend to you the book Jesus and the
Victory of God, by Bishop N. T. Wright.
So it’s the suffering but righteous Servant who says through Isaiah’s prophetic words that He was
called to His ministry before He was born, known by God while still in His mother’s womb, that Israel
would be gathered to him, that he’d be given strength by the God of Israel, and that he’d be the one
through whom God gives light to the nations, that His salvation might reach the ends of the earth.
The Gospel writers connected the dots and saw that this magnificent prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus of
Nazareth.
But there’s also a more general pattern here, and that’s what I’d like to focus on this morning. I don’t
know if you noticed it, but here there are some parallels with others who were called to God’s
service. These parallels have to do with how God knows us before we’re born, He has a pre-
ordained purpose for us, and He strengthens us to accomplish this purpose.
First, God in His omniscience knows us—He knows who we are and what we will be, before we’re
even born. He of course knew His pre-existent Son, the Suffering Servant from the beginning of
time, but he also foreknew Jeremiah, for example. In the first chapter of Jeremiah God tells
Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated
you.” And Paul writes to the believers in Galatia that God had set him apart before his birth. Both
these instances are illustrations of God’s plans being activated in people before they were ever
even aware of His existence.
I’m wondering this morning if you’ve ever felt insignificant. Kind of like that church bulletin that
announced that the Low Self-esteem Support Group would meet at 7:00 pm on Wednesday and to
please enter through the back door. In our darker moments we probably all entertain the idea that
our life is just random and accidental. We may at some point have trouble seeing any particular
purpose to our lives. But today’s scriptures emphatically refute this idea. God knows us before we’
re ever born, and he has a purpose for each and every one of us in this life. Please hear this
clearly: You personally are a part of God’s unfolding story that spans the time of the prophets, the
calling of Israel to be His people, the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the mission of the
apostles, & the work of the church right down through the centuries. You’re written into the book!
Your life is precious and important, & will be used in a powerful way by our Lord if you allow Him to
take the lead in writing the story. Because this niche, this unfolding role, is given to us by the Author
of this book.
An author names his characters, often in ways that reflect their role in the story. We see this in
today’s Isaiah reading, in which the Suffering Servant literally is called “Israel.” God says to the
servant, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Jesus is the personification of all the
good that Israel was always meant to be—the blessing that she brings to the whole world.
And in today’s Gospel reading, John reports that Jesus renames his newest disciple. “Andrew
brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You are to be
called Cephas (which is translated as Peter—Rock).” And of course, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus
tells Peter, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”
One of the intriguing things about Navajo culture is that a medicine man, who is thought to be able
to discern a young person’s purpose, gives that young person a secret name. Some refer to it as a
“war name.” It’s a name that invokes the special gifts of the individual, and in a sense, is thought to
give them power.
Here in Matthew we have the Son of God giving the name that befits Peter’s role—the rock. What an
incredible thing, to be given your “war name” by Jesus himself. But what’s even more amazing is
that the Lord, in a sense, does this for each and every one of us. What is the name that the Lord
has given to you? What special purpose does He have for your life? This is the question—and not
necessarily an easy one—that each of us as believers given a new life and a new name should ask
ourselves. If we open ourselves to His leading, He’ll make known to us our name and our mission in
this life.
And the neat thing is, God not only foreknows each of us and has a name or a plan for each of us,
but He also provides the power for accomplishing that plan. When Michele and I were going around
with Bob Sutton looking at houses back in July, I noticed that one homeowner actually offered
coupons for free gasoline at a particular place for a year if we’d buy his house. It’s kind of like that
with the Lord. He not only provides with a car, but as we learn to know which gas station to
patronize, he provides the fuel for us as well. This fuel is called the Holy Spirit. It burns more
efficiently than gasoline and cleaner than ethanol! Al Gore would love it! And any associated global
warming comes from tongues of fire. If you don’t recognize this reference, I commend to you the
2nd chapter of Acts.
In his words on the suffering servant, Isaiah identifies this divine help in verse five of today’s
reading. The servant says, “…my God has become my strength.” You may reply that this is in
reference to Christ himself, and has no real bearing on us. If so, you’d be half right. This does
indeed apply to Christ himself. But it also has a bearing on us because Jesus offers and delivers
the Holy Spirit to His people. It’s awfully easy to forget this, or even to let disbelief shut the door in
the Lord’s face when he wants to come to us and work through us.
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit is there for you? Jesus once said, “You fathers, if your son asks
for a fish, will you give him a snake? If he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? It’s the
same with your Father in heaven! He’ll give you he Holy Spirit for the asking!” If we want to serve
the Lord with success, it’s crucial that we all remember this. If our service to God is faltering or
stumbling in any way, perhaps the first thing to do is to ask ourselves if we’ve given the Holy Spirit
access to this ministry to guide and empower it. When we do this, as we find a quiet place and listen
closely to his voice, He’ll give us the words, actions, and timing to discharge His will, His kingdom will
be glorified, and many in a hurting world will be drawn to Him through us. For God’s words through
Isaiah apply not only to the Perfect Servant, but also to all of us through whom He works: “I will give
you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Amen.
ask for your forgiveness in advance for the pun, but this verse is absolutely pregnant with meaning.
As is often the case, we can’t fully appreciate the words of today’s Old Testament reading without
providing the bigger picture of its context. If you’ve been here, and been listening the past several
weeks, you know that God has some pretty special things to tell us through his prophet, Isaiah.
Isaiah is one of the larger books of the Bible, and it’s filled with words of warning of hope. My Old
Testament professor at Trinity, Paul House, wrote a book called Old Testament Theology. His
simple title for his chapter on the book of Isaiah is “The God Who Saves.”
Really, this is the bottom line in Isaiah: that the God who’s witnessed the rebellion of His people
against Himself, in His mercy offers hope for salvation to all, Jew or Gentile. And that salvation is
tied in with this figure that we talked about a little last week, the Suffering Servant, who the Gospel
writers identify as Jesus.
The first six verses of Isaiah 49 are thought to apply to the Suffering Servant. The significance of
this person is that he will succeed where the nation of Israel had failed. Dr. House writes, “[In Isaiah]
almost uniformly Israel is depicted as a frail, failing servant, while [this] individual Servant performs
God’s will without fail.” So God’s intent for His people will not be thwarted, and Jesus, the Suffering
Servant, is the One through whom God’s plan for humankind is brought to flower.
In fact, Jesus himself is the new Israel. Really, when he cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers
it wasn’t just Jesus being torked off about the soiling of a holy place, but He was proclaiming His
authority as the new Israel right then and there. And he punctuated this with an exclamation point in
bold font when he proclaimed to the scribes and Pharisees that the new temple, once destroyed,
would rise up again in three days. John makes it very clear that Jesus is referring to himself as the
new temple. Jesus is the new Israel. If you’d like to read a thorough and convincing treatment of this
and don’t mind having your brain cells exercised a bit, I recommend to you the book Jesus and the
Victory of God, by Bishop N. T. Wright.
So it’s the suffering but righteous Servant who says through Isaiah’s prophetic words that He was
called to His ministry before He was born, known by God while still in His mother’s womb, that Israel
would be gathered to him, that he’d be given strength by the God of Israel, and that he’d be the one
through whom God gives light to the nations, that His salvation might reach the ends of the earth.
The Gospel writers connected the dots and saw that this magnificent prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus of
Nazareth.
But there’s also a more general pattern here, and that’s what I’d like to focus on this morning. I don’t
know if you noticed it, but here there are some parallels with others who were called to God’s
service. These parallels have to do with how God knows us before we’re born, He has a pre-
ordained purpose for us, and He strengthens us to accomplish this purpose.
First, God in His omniscience knows us—He knows who we are and what we will be, before we’re
even born. He of course knew His pre-existent Son, the Suffering Servant from the beginning of
time, but he also foreknew Jeremiah, for example. In the first chapter of Jeremiah God tells
Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated
you.” And Paul writes to the believers in Galatia that God had set him apart before his birth. Both
these instances are illustrations of God’s plans being activated in people before they were ever
even aware of His existence.
I’m wondering this morning if you’ve ever felt insignificant. Kind of like that church bulletin that
announced that the Low Self-esteem Support Group would meet at 7:00 pm on Wednesday and to
please enter through the back door. In our darker moments we probably all entertain the idea that
our life is just random and accidental. We may at some point have trouble seeing any particular
purpose to our lives. But today’s scriptures emphatically refute this idea. God knows us before we’
re ever born, and he has a purpose for each and every one of us in this life. Please hear this
clearly: You personally are a part of God’s unfolding story that spans the time of the prophets, the
calling of Israel to be His people, the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the mission of the
apostles, & the work of the church right down through the centuries. You’re written into the book!
Your life is precious and important, & will be used in a powerful way by our Lord if you allow Him to
take the lead in writing the story. Because this niche, this unfolding role, is given to us by the Author
of this book.
An author names his characters, often in ways that reflect their role in the story. We see this in
today’s Isaiah reading, in which the Suffering Servant literally is called “Israel.” God says to the
servant, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Jesus is the personification of all the
good that Israel was always meant to be—the blessing that she brings to the whole world.
And in today’s Gospel reading, John reports that Jesus renames his newest disciple. “Andrew
brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon, son of John. You are to be
called Cephas (which is translated as Peter—Rock).” And of course, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus
tells Peter, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”
One of the intriguing things about Navajo culture is that a medicine man, who is thought to be able
to discern a young person’s purpose, gives that young person a secret name. Some refer to it as a
“war name.” It’s a name that invokes the special gifts of the individual, and in a sense, is thought to
give them power.
Here in Matthew we have the Son of God giving the name that befits Peter’s role—the rock. What an
incredible thing, to be given your “war name” by Jesus himself. But what’s even more amazing is
that the Lord, in a sense, does this for each and every one of us. What is the name that the Lord
has given to you? What special purpose does He have for your life? This is the question—and not
necessarily an easy one—that each of us as believers given a new life and a new name should ask
ourselves. If we open ourselves to His leading, He’ll make known to us our name and our mission in
this life.
And the neat thing is, God not only foreknows each of us and has a name or a plan for each of us,
but He also provides the power for accomplishing that plan. When Michele and I were going around
with Bob Sutton looking at houses back in July, I noticed that one homeowner actually offered
coupons for free gasoline at a particular place for a year if we’d buy his house. It’s kind of like that
with the Lord. He not only provides with a car, but as we learn to know which gas station to
patronize, he provides the fuel for us as well. This fuel is called the Holy Spirit. It burns more
efficiently than gasoline and cleaner than ethanol! Al Gore would love it! And any associated global
warming comes from tongues of fire. If you don’t recognize this reference, I commend to you the
2nd chapter of Acts.
In his words on the suffering servant, Isaiah identifies this divine help in verse five of today’s
reading. The servant says, “…my God has become my strength.” You may reply that this is in
reference to Christ himself, and has no real bearing on us. If so, you’d be half right. This does
indeed apply to Christ himself. But it also has a bearing on us because Jesus offers and delivers
the Holy Spirit to His people. It’s awfully easy to forget this, or even to let disbelief shut the door in
the Lord’s face when he wants to come to us and work through us.
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit is there for you? Jesus once said, “You fathers, if your son asks
for a fish, will you give him a snake? If he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? It’s the
same with your Father in heaven! He’ll give you he Holy Spirit for the asking!” If we want to serve
the Lord with success, it’s crucial that we all remember this. If our service to God is faltering or
stumbling in any way, perhaps the first thing to do is to ask ourselves if we’ve given the Holy Spirit
access to this ministry to guide and empower it. When we do this, as we find a quiet place and listen
closely to his voice, He’ll give us the words, actions, and timing to discharge His will, His kingdom will
be glorified, and many in a hurting world will be drawn to Him through us. For God’s words through
Isaiah apply not only to the Perfect Servant, but also to all of us through whom He works: “I will give
you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Amen.
Before We Were Born
(Isaiah 49:17)
(Isaiah 49:17)
January 20, 2008
Fr. Dan Tuton
Fr. Dan Tuton