Bible Passage: Isaiah 1:18
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: December 31, 2024

Bulletin New Year’s Eve

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

This past Saturday, December 28, was “Good Riddance Day.”  Did you know that?  Good Riddance Day is observed each December 28 in Times Square in New York City.  Each year people are invited to write down mistakes and regrets from the year and then these mistakes and regrets are eliminated in some creative way.  One year they were written down on paper and the paper was shredded in a huge shredder.  One year the paper was burned.  This year they were written on a white board and erased.

Wouldn’t it be nice if that really worked? What do you most want to say “good riddance” to from 2024?  As those who have come to know the love of God in Christ, would not our answer be sin?  Don’t you want to know that the sin and guilt of 2024 are gone, that the board has been wiped clean, that you start 2025 with a clean slate?

For those who want to say “good riddance” to sin, the words of our text will come as great comfort.  For those who want to end this year with a clean conscience and a clean slate, our text tells us that the Lord has Closed the Case on Sin.

The first chapter of Isaiah reads a little bit like a legal file.  It begins with the Lord calling on the heavens and the earth to serve as witnesses in the case he is bringing against Israel.  He said:  Hear, O heavens!  Listen, O earth!  For the Lord has spoken:  I reared children and brought them up but they have rebelled against me.  The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. (Is. 1:2-3)

            He then proceeds to lay out his case against Israel.  He tells them they are a bunch of hypocrites.  Oh, they were going through the motions of worship – they were bringing sacrifices and burning incense.  They looked like nice, religious people.  But just listen to the Lord’s indictment:  Stop bringing meaningless offerings!  Your incense is detestable to me.  New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your evil assemblies.  Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates…even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.  Your hands are full of blood. (Is. 1:12-14, 15)   They oppressed the weak, they abused orphans, and they took advantage of widows.  This lack of love for their neighbors was but the evidence of hearts that were far from him.

That first chapter of Isaiah is kind of jolting.  The Lord has seen everything!  And he sees it as it really is.  He saw the people for who they truly were.  He was not fooled by the activity at the Temple.  He knew it was sham!

The Lord sees everything.  He saw everything you did in 2024.  How’s that make you feel?  He didn’t miss a thing.  I am reminded of the words of the hymn:  “You know me as I really am; how much is truth, how much is sham.” (CWS 738)  What humbling words!  The Lord knows how we dress up nice on Sundays and come to church and smile.  We clean up our talk and don’t use “those words” when we talk to our “church friends.”  But get us a block from church and the words change and then we say what we really think about so-and-so.  “You know me as I really am; how much is truth, how much is sham.”

The Lord had an airtight, open-and-shut case against Israel.  He has the same case against me, against you.  But listen to what the Lord says next.  Our text:  Come now… He invites the people to sit down and talk!  Let us reason together.  The words used are legal words, court words, lawyer words.  They mean, “Let us settle this matter.” Or “Let’s reach a settlement.”

And then the Lord does the completely unexpected!  Here is how he is going to settle the matter of our sin:  Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool.  Here is what he is going to do – He is not going to offer us a plea bargain – “Plead guilty to the charges of lust and greed and I will throw out the charges of murder and adultery” – No!  He simply says, “I will cleanse you from all of it!”

It’s interesting that the Lord speaks of sin as scarlet and red.  Red things can cause some of the most difficult to cleanse stains, can’t they?  Ketchup, blood, spaghetti sauce, red wine, cherry pie.  Good luck getting those out!  Sin is a tough stain to remove.  Impossible for us.

The Lord must have a very powerful cleanser to make the scarlet white as snow, to make the crimson white as wool.  And he does.  It is the blood of Jesus Christ.  Are you scarlet with coveting and greed?  Are you scarlet with the sin of half-hearted worship and neglect of God’s Word?  Are you scarlet with the sin of hypocritically going through the motions of worship?  Are you crimson with the sin of over-indulging?  Are you crimson with selfishness and pride?  Scarlet and crimson sinners that we are – the blood of Jesus has washed all our sins away – it is the only thing that can!  That is why in God’s court our hymn must always and only be:  “Just as I am, without one plea; but that THY blood was shed for me.”

Isn’t that good news with which to end one year and begin the new?  You don’t need to go to Times Square and write down stuff to erase or shred.  God has washed away your sin and guilt.  For Jesus’ sake we say “good riddance” to sin.  In his sight you are white as snow and pure as wool!   Case closed!  For Jesus’ sake.

Amen.