First Sunday in Advent November 30, 2025
Isaiah 2:1-5
Scripture Readings
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 21:1-11
Hymns
68, 66, 72, WS 701:4
Hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) (TLH) unless otherwise noted
WS - Hymns from the Worship Supplement 2000
Prayer of the Day: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come among us to bring the joy of Your salvation. Bid all shadows and darkness in our lives be gone that we may walk in the light of the Lord. Keep us faithful to the work that You have given us while it is day as we share the hope and the joy that we have within us as people of Your kingdom. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our bright and Morning Star. Amen.
Dear fellow redeemed,
Isaiah is an important part of Christmas. Isaiah writes more about the promised Savior than any other Old Testament prophet. It is for this reason that Isaiah is sometimes called “The Fifth Evangelist,” right along with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
As we enter the season of Advent, we do so with Isaiah. Today, Isaiah tells us of the coming kingdom that Jesus would bring. It is a kingdom greater than all others, which is for all people, and which brings peace. Listen now to the words of the prophet of God, Isaiah, chapter two, verses 1 through 5: (Isa. 2:1-5 ESV)
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
Peter tells us that no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but holy men of God, like Isaiah, spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19). Even so may God the Holy Spirit work mightily among us through His Word, that we may rejoice to be members of God’s Kingdom by faith.
Historians like to argue about the greatest kingdoms that have ever existed. At its peak, the British Empire held 23% of the world’s population, covering 24% of the Earth’s total land area! Then there are the lesser known empires, but just as large and powerful, such as the Mongol Empire which covered China all the way to Poland and Hungary. Then there is the Russian Empire and the dynasties of China. And the list goes on and on.
But what is one thing that all those empires and kingdoms have in common? None of those great empires exist anymore. Great Britain is a shadow of its former glory. The power of Genghis Kahn and the Mongolian Empire can only be read about on the pages of history books.
As Isaiah “sees the word of the LORD” in chapter two, he sees another kingdom rising. He speaks of it coming in “the latter days” or “the last days.” With Jesus’ ascension into heaven, world history entered its last days. At that moment the hourglass was turned upside-down and for two thousand years the sand has been draining, counting down until THE Last Day when Jesus returns again in glory.
The great kingdom Isaiah sees is greater than all others. “The highest of the mountains,” Isaiah calls it. This is the Kingdom of God—the mountain of the house of the LORD. In the Old Testament, the Temple in Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion. Mount Zion is only about 2500 feet in elevation. That’s not that great of a mountain. Our brethren in Nepal who can see the Himalayan Mountains out of their back window, would call Mount Zion “a hill.”
Yet, Isaiah sees the mountain of the house of the LORD being higher than all others. This is picturing the greatness of the Kingdom of God. It is greater than the Roman Empire, the Mongolian Empire, or the British Empire. While those empires have come and gone, the mountain of the house of the LORD has remained for over 2,000 years and spans the globe. In a world of ever changing governments and leaders, the Kingdom of God has continued to spread—despite the opposition of kings and dictators. It is indeed the greatest of kingdoms.
The kingdom of God is so great that it attracts people from all over the world. We continue at the end of verse 2 and the beginning of verse 3, “All the nations shall flow to it, and many people shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.’”
Why are the nations flowing to the kingdom of God? Returning again to verse three: “…that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” People from all over the world are flowing to the Kingdom of God to hear the Word of the LORD and to be taught by God.
Isaiah saw the things that would take place following the days of Pentecost. Philip shared the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch. Paul took the Gospel to Greece and the heart of the Roman Empire, Rome itself. Tradition has it that Thomas took the Gospel to India. The Kingdom of God came to the Americas as European Christians came preaching the Gospel. One of our church bodies in India reports having 1,000 pastors serving 1100 congregations. Our church body regularly receives requests from around the world to come and have us teach them the Word of God. These are the things that Isaiah saw in the latter days: all nations flowing to the kingdom of God to hear the Word of the LORD and be taught by God.
Finally, this is a kingdom that brings peace. I suppose every kingdom has offered a promise of peace. During my lifetime, it seems that every president I’ve lived under has tried to broker a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelis. And yet there continue to be suicide bombers and rocket attacks between the two nations.
We all long for peace. We want peace in our home, at our workplace, at school, in our government, and in the world. We want peace of mind and peace of heart. But what do we find? Anger, strife, and fighting. It’s been that way ever since the Fall into sin. Adam blamed his wife for his sin and blamed God for giving him that wife. Eve blamed the serpent who deceived her. Their firstborn son killed his younger brother because he was jealous of him. Esau wanted to kill Jacob for tricking Isaac out of his birthright. And so it has gone for the last 6,000 years. Jesus tells us the root cause of the problem—“out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19)
But the hostility between sinful men could not begin to compare to the hostility between God and man. Paul writes in Romans 8, “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” (Romans 8:7) Natural man is like a stubborn child that refuses to do what Mom or Dad tells them. Man, by nature, is hostile to God and the sinful heart causes hostility with other people.
We hear of peace in the Kingdom of God as well. Later on in Isaiah, we’ll hear of a Son that is born who is the “Prince of Peace.” On Christmas Eve, we will once again hear the Christmas angels announce, “Peace on earth” as Jesus is born. Before Jesus goes to the cross, He tells His troubled disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)
But God doesn’t just talk about peace, He Himself does something about it. For there to be peace between God and man, God Himself had to become Man. Jesus, the God-Man, then had to endure the hostility of the world, the devil, and God Himself as the holy hands and feet of the Son of God were nailed to a cross.
On Good Friday it looked like the war over sin was lost as Jesus breathed His last, died, and was buried in a tomb. But on the third day the earth shook as God announced PEACE and Jesus rose from the dead. His innocent death was sufficient to secure peace between us and God. God and sinners have been reconciled through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Prince of Peace that was born on Christmas has indeed secured our peace. He has forgiven your sins.
As the kingdom of God comes, God changes hearts and minds. Rather than being hostile to God, God converts sinners and they become His instrument. Verse 4, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Rather than weapons of war in the kingdom of God, we have tools for work. It is like the Apostle Paul who fought against Christ and His people until he met Jesus on the Road to Damascus. There Jesus changed him from a Christ-hater to an instrument in the Kingdom of God that spread the message of peace between God and man through Christ Jesus. God continues to do that today. He takes you from a sinner hostile to His will to repentant sinners rejoicing in the peace of sins forgiven, and eager to be an instrument in His kingdom.
This is the Kingdom that Isaiah sees coming. It is greater than all other mountainous kingdoms of the world. It is a kingdom for all people, and it is a kingdom that brings peace. It is a kingdom that has come to you, dear Christian, when God brought you to faith. Isaiah speaks to you in the last verse of our text, “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” Rejoice that you have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Continue to flow to the house of God so that He can teach you His Word and use you as His instrument to spread the peace of Christ. Amen.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.