A Shoot
Notes
Transcript
The Messiah will transform the world.
We’re going to spend one more week here in Isaiah, thinking about Christmas—Christmas being the coming of the Messiah, the Promised One, the Christ. There’s never a bad time to think about the incarnation of Jesus, when He took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood. “Pleased as man with men to dwell,” we sing.
There’s never a bad time to think about Jesus. And I figured it’s still the Christmas season, so we’re going to have one more Christmas-y sermon.
The passage we’re going to read today makes reference to Jesse’s family.
Jesse was the father of King David. The reference to Jesse continues the themes of “Christmas” we read in Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 9. It’s all about the coming heir of David, the child who would be born, the son who is given.
In Isaiah 11, we will see that This child—the Messiah—will transform the world.
If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Isaiah 11. As you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word:
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will dry up
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied that Assyria—the big, bad nation to the north and west of Israel—Assyria would pose a great threat to God’s people. The Assyrian army advanced closer and closer to Jerusalem, but they’re stopped at the city of Nob, just outside of the city.
This is a map of their advance:
[MAP]
The Assyrians, led by Sennacherib, were choking Judah within an inch of its life. Sennacherib conquered 46 walled-towns and took over 200,000 Judahites captive.
David’s kingdom—currently ruled over by Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz—had been chopped down like a tree. All that’s left is a stump. Just the faintest evidence of a kingdom.
And Isaiah proclaims, once again, the coming of the Messiah.
The testimony of our text (Isaiah 11) seems to be this: The messianic King is your only hope and you should long—with everything in you—for His rule.
HE IS OUR ONLY HOPE
HE IS OUR ONLY HOPE
When we speak about our “only hope”, that’s exactly what we mean. He’s it. There’s no other hope outside of the Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus.
I was thinking a lot about movies and sporting events and how we use the phrase “only hope.” It seems to me, almost always, when that phrase “only hope” is used or when that idea is communicated, something else happens or someone else pops up and saves the day.
It’s not always the star of the basketball team who makes the game-winning shot. In fact, more times than not, it’s the kid who has had a terrible night but makes the ridiculous play to save the game.
Or, where superheroes are concerned, think about Thor fighting Thanos. Thor should be the best option against Thanos. But Thor gets walloped pretty good. So the next great hope, Captain America steps up to the plate. And then it’s someone after him.
Often, when we use the phrase, “only hope”, it’s not real accurate at all. We bounce between this “hope” and that “hope”.
Where the Messiah, the One spoken of by Isaiah here, is concerned, HE truly is our ONLY HOPE. There is no other. There’s no need for another plan. Jesus is all there is. Our only hope. In Him we will not be disappointed.
We will not be disappointed in Him, even while we consider the hopelessness of the situation.
It looks like nothing. A stump. The stump of Jesse.
David was the one who initially arose from Jesse. David is Jesse’s son. So the shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse will be a new “David”.
Isaiah wants us to picture a stump, so that we’ll realize the Messiah will arrive at a time when the nation and kingdom look pretty pathetic and powerless.
Pathetic and powerless, but not hopeless. It’s not hopeless, because the shoot of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) is also the root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10).
Isaiah 11:10 “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.”
I agree with the people who believe Isaiah is deliberately playing on the “shoot and root” paradox. Is he a shoot from the stump of Jesse or is he the root of Jesse?
The “root” of Jesse implies that this One is the source and origin of Jesse. The “shoot” of Jesse means that this One comes after Jesse, too.
He’s before Jesse and He’s after Jesse, somehow. He made Jesse, but also descends from Jesse.
Seems to me that this points to the human and divine nature of the Messiah.
He’s the seed of Jesus and the source of Jesse.
He is Jesse’s offspring and also Jesse’s origin.
This is no mere human descendant of Jesse. Not a human Messiah. He is God and Man.
Of course, we know this. He is also Immanuel (Isaiah 7). God with us. He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God (Isaiah 9).
He is God and Man. THIS is why He is our only Hope.
Still, it is for the people in Isaiah’s day a bleak picture. The people of Judah and her kings will be chopped down to a stump. It will look as if this whole Israel experiment is over.
How unlikely God’s kingdom looks. Jesus said it would be unimpressive, very mustard-seedy, like a little grain of yeast.
What it looks like is not all it’s going to be. God’s Kingdom will look like a beaten-down, abandoned kingdom. But in that bleak situation, a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.
This is what the LORD does. He begins His work in hopelessness and ruin, in helplessness and weakness. This is where He works, where He starts. This is what He does.
And not just in the ANE. But in your life and mine. Are you hopeless, helpless, weak, ruined? God works there. He’s always working, no matter how desperate your situation seems. No matter where you find yourself, remember: He is your only hope.
He is our only hope, and
HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
HE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
Verses 2-5 speak about the Spirit of the LORD equipping the Messiah. In three word-pairs, we learn that the Messiah will have wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and fear of the Lord.
In short, the Spirit of the LORD will give to this One—this shoot from Jesse—everything He needs to fulfill God’s call.
Jesus will rule in truth. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears.
His discernment and judgment gets beneath the surface, beyond the superficial, below the spin, and decides matters with accuracy.
Jesus will rule in truth and justice (verse 4). He is a king who puts things right. He’ll put all things right, but especially for the needy and the poor.
His concern is for them. His heart is for them. “If they get their rights, everyone else surely will. [He] will not overlook the “unimportant” people. He has a heart for them and will champion their cause.”
This isn’t nice talk, a politician’s empty promise. Jesus will do this, and He has the power to do this. He will enforce His just rule because He reigns with power. His power will be anchored with righteousness and faithfulness (v. 5).
When the LORD’s people suffer, there’s comfort in knowing Jesus rules with the Spirit’s wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and reverence.
If we stand back and take it all in—the whole description of His equipping and work in verses 2-5—we should be struck with how satisfying He is in every way.
Our response to this passage of Scripture, to this shoot from the stump of Jesse should be: “How fully this king meets our needs!”
There’s no deficiency in Him. There’s no disappointment in Him. There’s nothing He can’t handle. He is all we need. “Jesus plus nothing equals everything.”
He is more than enough, and
HIS PEACE IS REMARKABLE
HIS PEACE IS REMARKABLE
Isaiah 11:6-9 gives a vivid picture of God’s peace. It’s an illustration of the kind of conditions there will be under this Messiah’s rule.
There will be the removal of the curse that’s been in place since the Fall. Under Jesus’ rule, it will look like we’re back in the Garden.
The picture here is unusual. Animals who are unlikely to hang out together will be out there just chilling with one another. Usually a lamb doesn’t stand a chance near a wolf. A calf and a yearling would ordinarily be a nice snack for a lion. An infant is typically unable to defend itself or run away from the cobra; an infant doesn’t know any better, but it doesn’t have to in God’s Kingdom where God’s peace reigns.
Things are different here. Nothing is usual, ordinary, or typical.
Verse 9 is the teaching, the doctrine: Isaiah 11:9 “They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
In Isaiah’s time, Judah was to the nations, such as Assyria, much like prey was to fierce predators. The Messiah’s just and righteous rule would change all that.
There’s a lot of discussion about what this means and when this will happen. Some speak of a future messianic age when other nations will no longer hurt or destroy God’s people.
Other interpreters understand this as a reference to a future time when God will bring about a transformation of the earth, extending to even the animal kingdom, when the curse of Genesis 3 will be removed and Sigfried and Roy’s tiger wouldn’t attack them.
Some believe this time of exceptional peace will take place in a future millennial period, while others think it will occur in the new heavens and the new earth.
We’re not going to get into all that here this morning, mostly because it’s not the point (and I love you too much to put you through that discussion while you’re waiting for lunch).
For us this morning, we have to keep this in context. Verses 6-9 are all connected to what comes before and after. Here’s the teaching:
The Messianic King (Jesus) brings a just rule and what follows is a peaceful kingdom.
The Messiah will impose righteousness, and peace follows that. This is not peace as concocted by man; it’s peace only the LORD’s Messiah can bring.
Someday, when the LORD wills, whenever it is, whatever view of the end times it fits within—this peace will take place. Fully, finally, forever.
But those of us who belong to Jesus know that the peace depicted here by Isaiah is not entirely just a “last thing.”
Christ’s people experience this peace—at least a foretaste of it—already. In the first-century A.D. the Jews and Gentiles didn’t get along, didn’t like each other. They didn’t belong together.
It would be like putting a cow and a bear in the same enclosure; wolves and lambs in the same pen; lion and oxen on the same pasture. Those things don’t go together; no one can make that work.
But Jesus does.
Paul says Jesus is our peace. Jesus took the two groups—Jew and Gentile—always at odds with one another and made them ONE. Jesus destroyed what divided them, creating one new people out of the two, making peace (Eph 2:11-20).
The peace of Christ is remarkable. Jew and Gentile together become the people of God and make up the early church. Paul, the persecutor of Christians, and the leaders of the church that Paul persecuted come together to minister and spread the Good News about Jesus.
Stories of this remarkable peace abound. There are too many to recount. Banner of Truth magazine shared a story entitled, “An Early Communion in New Zealand.” The time these events took place was somewhere in the mid-1800s.
Two Maori chiefs approached the LORD’s table. One of them, Tamati Wiremu Puna, was trembling. After the service, someone asked him about his deep emotion.
He explained that the other chief, Panapa, head of another tribe, had killed and eaten Tamati’s father.
Tamati added that only the gospel, which had given him a new nature, could make him eat the same bread and drink the same cup with the murderer of his own father.
Jesus is our peace, even now.
He is the peace between enemies, peace for estranged relationships, peace between you and the person who has slandered you, peace between you and the person who has done you wrong over and over again.
Jesus is the peace that tears down whatever divides us.
His peace is remarkable, and
HIS PEOPLE ARE UNFORGOTTEN
HIS PEOPLE ARE UNFORGOTTEN
There are two verses here (vv. 10 and 11) that give us some additional information. Both verses begin with the same words: In that day. This refers to the “day” of the Messiah’s kingdom in its fulfillment.
The Messiah will draw the nations—that’s verse 10. The Messiah (Jesus) will attract the nations. They will come seeking Him. They will rally to Him. Jesus will have a gentile people who are eager to have Him.
The Messiah will gather Israel—verses 11-16.
The Messiah will gather the scattered remnant of His people, wherever they might have been taken off to (vv. 11-12).
Then He will heal the divisions among them, taking care of jealousy and hostility, and dealing with their enemies (vv. 13-14).
Finally, the Messiah will remove the obstacles that are before them, making a way for them (vv. 15-16).
A remnant will be gathered and brought home against all odds. But this will be only a remnant of His people. After all: Romans 9:6 “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”
These verses are meant to assure the LORD’s people. No matter where they are, the LORD knows where His elect people are. He knows His remnant, and will bring them back.
“No place can hide them, no obstacle can prevent them, no circumstance can blot them from His view…they are not lost to Him; He doesn’t ‘lose track’ of His people. Shepherds who tell stories of having ninety-nine sheep and missing one and going after that one can be depended upon to know where you are.” -DRD
His people are unforgotten.
>When it looks the bleakest it has ever looked, when it’s as dreary as one can imagine, when the outlook is dismal, this is where the LORD works.
Don’t despair over the ‘dead’ look of things; don’t be put off by the stump. There are times when God’s Kingdom looks like it’s been chopped down to nothing. But the shoot of Jesse will thrive!
The Messiah has come from the line of Jesse, to sit on David’s throne forever and ever. He—Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God—is our only hope.
You and I need Him. Desperately. He is it. There is no hope to be found anywhere else.
If you place any of your hope or trust in another person, it’s woefully misplaced. There’s no hope apart from Christ. He is our only hope.
And, to match the hope, He is more than enough.
He is sufficient for all our needs. There’s nothing we need that He won’t supply. He is adequate, and then some. He fills our cup to the point we have to say, “My cup runneth over.” He is more than enough.
He brings peace—a remarkable peace to His people.
In fact, Jesus Himself is our peace. Lions and lambs lie down together. People who were once enemies are made friendly again.
Bigger still, in Jesus, we can have peace with God. Jesus, who reconciles us to our Father, gives us peace. His peace is remarkable.
Perhaps the biggest assurance is that His people are unforgotten.
No matter how it might seem, regardless of how it looks to us or to those on the outside, He remembers His people and He will never abandon His people. He will never forget us, nor will He forsake us.
The message of Isaiah 11 is simple: The Messiah will transform the world.
He will transform the lives of His people. He calls people to Himself, and then, by His Holy Spirit, transforms them and makes them new—the old is gone, the new has come.
He transforms us. And will transform everything about our world. He will undo what seems natural to us.
There will be, in His Kingdom, no more sickness or death or dying. There will be no more war, no cancer, no broken relationships.
Why?
Because the Messiah will transform the world.
He’s already started His work. It will continue until He returns and sets the whole world at rights.
Until then, and as we approach the new year, we—His People—are to take the Good News of Jesus to a lost and dying world.
To tell them: Jesus was born, Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, He rose on the third day, He ascended into heaven where He sits at God’s Mighty right hand, and He’s coming again.
To tell them: of the Savior who has come to transform the world!
