The Worst Day in History - Isaiah 51:7-13
Septemeber 11, 2011

Ten years ago on this very day, the United States suffered what many call the worst day in American history. Reminiscent of Pearl Harbor, many claim that this day will forever live in infamy as the American homeland was suddenly and brutally attacked. I, personally, remember walking through the hallways of my high school, peering through classroom windows and gazing in awe at the footage of the attack on the TV—footage of people falling to their doom, windows sills crowded with people begging for help, and of course, the collapse of the second tower. It is perhaps the most horrifying thing I've ever seen and it is, to many, the worst day in all history.

Would you agree? What would you say is the worst day in all history? Some say a certain day during the Holocaust or a certain point in the Second World War. Others might consider the Trail of Tears the worst time in history wherein thousands of Native Americans were violently and brutally forced to leave their land. Some may consider the Great Depression as the worst moment in history or the dropping of the atom bombs. In any case, however, there is a day still far worse than any of these days—more life was taken on this day than all of these days combined; more destruction was poured out than all of the destruction combined in all of the wars in all of history; and more blood was shed on this day than any other day or series of days in all of history.

The worst day in all of history is the day the Son of God was crucified on the cross. The worst day in history is the day when the life of Jesus was taken, when the blood of Christ was spilled, and when the destruction of God was poured out. That was and will forever be the worst day in history—if there is a day deserved of living in infamy it is that day and that day alone.

Isaiah prophecies of this day in Isaiah 53:1-10…

But why did this day occur? What was the purpose of this day? Isaiah did a great job describing what happened on this day and now, in today's text, Isaiah does as great of a job describing why this happened. In doing so, he provides 0 reasons as to why the worst day in history took place:

First, to free us. Second, to redeem us. Third, to glorify us. And fourth, to sustain us.

First, the worst day in history occurred in order that God may free us: Verse 9

Now here Rahab doesn't mean the prostitute to hid the Israelite spies but for Isaiah and only for Isaiah, Rahab refers to Egypt and it's polygamous nature. And here, Isaiah suggests that the Arm of the Lord cut Egypt to pieces and pierced the monster through.

Now this is very allegorical language referring back to even the Philistines wherein David cuts the head of Goliath off and monster is an uncontrollable beast that is typically bent on one thing: killing and death. So what do Egypt, Goliath, and monsters have in common? They are all epitomes of death: each one is designed to bring death and each of these lorded over the lives of the Israelites—like monsters, Egypt and Goliath and the Philistines all pursued the death of the Israelites…

That is until what Isaiah says here came about and the arm of the Lord delivered the Israelites from death and destroyed both the Egyptians who pursued them and Goliath and the Philistine army. And what David did to Goliath and what Moses did to the Egyptians were just glimpses of what Christ would do for the church by defeating death upon the cross.

Paul explains this idea in Romans 5:14, 17 as so, " Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come… For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!"

In other words, Paul is saying what Isaiah is saying here: Christ was crucified and buried in order to free God's people from the reign of death.

Secondly, the worst day in history also occurred in order that God may redeem us: Verse 10

The most visual way to understand redemption is to understand baptism and baptism is best seen in the story of Noah's flood and the Red Sea and Israel's miraculous crossing of it: Baptism is a physical way of investing your entire self in the Lordship and salvation of Jesus Christ—just as Noah's family invested their entire selves in the Ark and just as Israel invested their entire faith in God's leading through Moses, their leader.
And the product of this investment is what is understood as redemption: someone has gone from old to new, lost to found, condemned to saved. And this salvation and deliverance has changed that individual in some way; so much so, that he or she has no choice but to naturally confess that he or she is saved and naturally pursue the ways of their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Paul says it like so in Romans 5:9-11, "9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

The worst day in history not only allowed God to save His people but to furthermore redeem and reconcile them.

Thirdly, the worst day in history also allowed God to glorify us: Verse 11

Now, anytime you have the mentioning of Zion, you have heavenly language: Zion is the personification of a kingdom that is beyond our dimension and our understanding. The Bible calls this kingdom Heaven and it is often personified with pearly gates and clouds; however, more important and more vivid than those stupid images should be the essence of this kingdom.

Notice that Isaiah doesn't describe what it will look like but he simply describes what it will be like: we will enter with singing and everlasting joy with crowns upon our heads, not shame or guilt or sin. We won't feel sadness or sorrow but immense gladness and joy.

Can you imagine a world like that? Can you imagine life like that? When I was a child, I would often feel happy and find almost anything and everything funny but as I got older, I lost that feeling -- many of you know what I mean by this feeling because you've felt it too. Now imagine you can feel that now, even with all the knowledge and experience you possess? What kind of living is that? Well it's definitely a living that is out of this world, literally!

This is the glory that awaits those God has freed and redeemed by and through and in Jesus Christ. And this is the third result of the worst day in all of history.

But there's one more thing that happened on this horrible day -- the worst day in all of history, when the Son of God was nailed to a cross: God not only freed us, redeemed us, and glorified us through this day but He also sustains us through this day: Verses 12-13

Listen to how small he makes out the powers of the world to be -- in comparison to the Lord, the powers and efforts of this world are nothing. The trials and temptations of this world are nothing. The hurt and pain of this world are nothing. Because the immensity and size of God is everything!

God is your Maker, not this world. Therefore, what do we have to fear? Listen, if we were in a horror film and we were going through a haunted house alone, we would be pretty scared. But what if we had the director of the film with us in the house and he told us everything that was going to happen and he promised us that he wrote the story so that we end up being millionaires? Would anything that pops out in that house scare us? Would any experience in that house affect us? This is the very mentality that God is trying to instill in each of us today -- in each of us who have been freed, redeemed, and glorified.

The last thing God accomplished through the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus Christ, was sustain you with hope and peace and comfort all the days of your life -- this is what gives Jesus the audacity and authority to say things like "Come to me all who are weary and burden and I will give you rest" or "Do not worry about tomorrow but let tomorrow worry about itself."

Now this is the part where I usually say, "Since Christ freed you and redeemed you and glorified you and is now sustaining you with hope and peace, here is what you have to do: You have to do more of this and less of that."

But today is different. Today, I don't want you to do more of this or less than that but I just want you to be simply who you are: You are freed, redeemed, glorified, and sustained by a loving God who sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross for you.

On that most horrible day, God freed you. On that most terrible day, you were redeemed. And because of that wretched day, you are glorified. And through the worst day in all of history, you are sustained with hope and peace from God your Creator.


In other words, no matter how horrible of a day you've had or you will have or you're having, there has been a day much worse wherein the son of God was crucified.

But the beauty of this day is that the worst day in all of history is also the best day in all of history : the day Christ was crucified was the day you were freed, redeemed, and glorified -- through which you are being sustained! Whatever you are going through and whatever you've been through -- it doesn't matter because as bad as all that is and was, there has been infinitely worse things that have happened… and if God's gracious love for you can save you and has saved you from the worst day in all of history and has beckoned you into the best day in all of history, then what about any other day ahead of you? Will there ever be a bad day for a Christian? No, not anymore -- because of what Christ has done.

If there's one application point for today's Word it's this: In verse 11, when it talks about the glorification of the church, it doesn't say "I" or he or she -- it says they. Do you know who "they" are? They are literally you and I. We, not just me and not just you, have been freed. We have been redeemed. We have been glorified. And we are being sustained by God.

Therefore, we need to remind each other of this every single day -- in the way you talk to each other and think of one another and deal with each other. You must help me and I must help you to reminded of the fact, not the duty, that you are freed from your sins, so stop sinning; you are redeemed, so stop feeling guilty and shameful; you are and will be glorified, so don't worry about what's happening today, tomorrow will be much better; and God your creator is sustaining you and will sustain you, so press on in the faith, not in the ways of the world.