The One Who Comforts

When my children were young and they scraped a knee or faced some other injury, they would swiftly run to me or Kelly for immediate help to stop the bleeding or put ice on that bump on their head. After the immediate help, though, they would often look for something else: comfort. 

As we grow, we may become better at providing our own immediate help for injuries, whether bandaging our cut finger or driving ourselves to the hospital. But no matter how young or old we are, finding comfort requires other people. When we suffer loss, it is comforting to have others cry with us. When we go through difficulty, it is comforting to have conversation partners who listen to us and respond.  

When the entire people of Israel face a traumatic, forced exile from their homeland, they listen for a good word from the prophet Isaiah. It is within this context of exile that Isaiah speaks an apt message, beginning with these words: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). 

There are two invaluable parts of this message. The first part is that comfort is coming to the people after much suffering. The prophet expands on this by saying of Israel “that her hard service has been completed” (40:2). There is an end in sight, Isaiah says, and on the other side of the end is true comfort. The second part is that this message is not just from the prophet but actually comes directly from God. The exile had left Israel wondering if God had disowned them, but Isaiah says, “No, God Himself is drawing near to bring a personal word of comfort to us.” There is comfort coming and it is divine comfort. 

One of the most interesting parts of Isaiah 40 is the depiction of a “voice” calling out to prepare the way for the LORD (see 40:3). We may wonder who this voice is and when God will come. It is no mistake that three of the gospel writers pick up these very words to describe John the Baptist. John is the voice calling people to turn their lives over to God in preparation for One who would come after him. And that One, John the Baptist and all the gospel writers tell us, is Jesus Himself. He is the Messiah who will bring true, lasting, and divine comfort.