2nd
Sunday in ADVENT
Rev. Norman F. Seeger
Isaiah 11:1-10
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 power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the 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 hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of 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 place of rest will be glorious.
Isaiah 11:1-10
"GOD PROMISES PEACE”
1. Sprouting from Jesse’s Stump
2. Flowing from Jesus’
Righteousness
3. Inviting Everyone to
Faithfully Follow Christ
Dear souls, saved by Jesus,
Powerful Assyrian soldiers
threatening Israel up north are described by God as a large forest of lofty
trees, but Judah need not worry down south, for Isaiah sees God toppling these
trees -- a powerful wind blows down branches; a bolt of lightning leaves treetrunks
smoldering. Assyria will destroy &
disperse Israel, but be turned back before invading Judah. Jerusalem is not to celebrate too freely,
however, for God will bring Babylon to carry them into captivity as they close
their ears to God’s commands & replace the Lord’s promises with personal
dreams or desires. Seventy years later,
the Lord will graciously return souls to Jerusalem, but will never restore
their power. King David ruled the
world. David’s successors rule Jerusalem
several hundred years, but political power evaporates. As the Greeks & Romans rule our earth,
Judah – just like Assyria – looks like a clear-cut forest, a hopeless,
apparently lifeless lot of nothing where loggers have levelled everything,
leaving nothing but stumps.
Human hopelessness, however, is not
God’s gift. A lack of life is not our
Lord’s promise. In the future, inspired
Isaiah sees a sprout unexpectedly rise from an apparently dead stump – sees a
volunteer seedling growing into a tree.
Like the tallest tower or highest mountain previewing our Savior last
Sunday, prophet Isaiah again sees a promised Savior God will send to produce
unparalleled peace -- peace sprouting from Jesse’s stump -- peace flowing from
Jesus’ righteousness -- peace inviting everyone to faithfully follow Christ.
Our promised Prince of Peace is first
identified: “A shoot will come up from the
stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” As angel Gabriel appears to Mary, “a
descendant of David,” seven hundred years later, the Lord’s messenger
promises Mary, “You will give birth to a son…Jesus… the Son of the Most High...God
will give him the throne of his father David & he will reign over the house
of Jacob forever.”[LK 1] For five hundred years before Jesus’
birth, no descendant of David rules in Judah.
David’s dynasty is an apparently dead stump…until the virgin Mary’s Son
rises to rule forever.
Thirty years after his birth in
Bethlehem, when Jesus reappears in the public eye -- a relatively unknown
individual from unimportant Nazareth – angelic birth announcements that
identified Jesus as our Prince of Peace are reaffirmed when
God the Father equips his Son for ministry by pouring the Holy Spirit &
power upon him after he is baptized by John in the Jordan. With “the Spirit of the Lord resting on him, a
Spirit of wisdom & understanding,” Jesus completely comprehends
God’s plan to produce peace between God & man by punishing a sinless
Substitute instead of putting to death every sinner who constantly disobeys
God’s commands. With “a
Spirit of counsel & power resting on him,” Jesus is able to resist
Satan’s temptations – is strong enough to flee from every hint of hatred,
sidestep pride, elude lies, escape envy.
Jesus possesses the power to absolutely honor every authority, to fully
love even his enemies, to perfectly apply all of God’s commandments as he lives
an obedient life God can count as our holiness.
With “a Spirit of knowledge & the fear of the Lord resting on him,”
Jesus’ faithful respect for God his Father moves him to obediently sacrifice
himself for our sins.
Clearly identified & equipped to
serve as the promised Savior sprouting from Jesse’s stump, Jesus’ attitude
& activities as our Prince of Peace focus not on
producing a desirable but improbable peace between people on earth but will
focus on producing a most precious peace with God that flows from Jesus’
righteousness. Assuring us, “He
will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with
his ears,” Isaiah quiets accusing consciences which warn me I must
suffer because I sin. Evidence is
undeniable. Too many times money pushes
God aside to move into the most important place in my life. Instead of praying, praising the Lord or
witnessing our Savior in front of friends & acquaiantances, I might
absentmindedly ask God to send someone to hell.
If Jesus were to judge me by actions others can see or by words everyone
is able to hear, Jesus would definitely condemn me every time I excuse myself
from coming to worship or fail to read our Lord’s Word in my home.
Fortunately, Jesus does not judge me
by my words or actions as he sees & hears me break God’s first, second,
third command. If Jesus would judge us
the way we judge each other, God would always be angry; I would constantly,
fearfully be fleeing from & fighting against God. Fortunately, you & I can be at peace with
God because “Jesus will judge the needy with righteousness.” Judging us who so desperately need a Savior
-- judging us by his righteousness -- Jesus appears, Jeremiah promises, as “a
righteous branch who will sprout from David’s line to do what is just &
right in the land. In his days Judah
will be saved & Jerusalem will live in safety. The name by which he will be called is ‘The
Lord Our Righteousness.’[JER 33]
Read it again! The Lord Jesus is our righteousness. My conscience can be quiet when I see Jesus
handing me his holiness as he accepts responsibility for my sin. Could anything be better than being judged by
Jesus’ righteousness rather than being judged by my own words or works? Do we understand how the Prince of Peace blesses
us with righteousness produced by that perfect life he lives before his
innocent death absorbs God’s anger against our sins? What a wonderful truth! When Jesus perfectly obeys all of God’s commands,
God’s gracious justice declares us sinless, holy & righteous in his sight!
Wrapping us in his righteousness
while erasing our sins’ guilt, Jesus sprouts from Jesse’s stump to produce
peace between a loving, forgiving Lord God & us forgiven followers of
Christ -- a peace pictured by relationships not seen in our world since sin
entered Eden: “The wolf will live with the
lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat…
The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down
together…” Peace in place of war
– friends rather than foes – associates instead of enemies is what we see when
the Prince
of Peace appears. When Jesus’
righteous life replaces our guilt, leading us to heaven instead of sending us
to hell, our salvation & eternal safety are seen in “an infant playing near the hole
of the cobra; a young child putting his hand into the viper’s nest.” When the Prince of Peace appears,
sprouting from Jesse’s stump, with Jesus’ righteousness flowing over us, “no
harm, no destruction” will appear anywhere “on our Lord’s holy mountain for
the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
While prophesying in Judah, Isaiah
nevertheless promises Jesus’ peace & salvation for every sinner in every
nation in every age. Just as water
covers every inch of the ocean, so Jesus’ righteousness covers every soul – so
Jesus’ redeeming blood immeasurably covers over every sin, drowning our guilt
in the unfathomable depths of God’s grace as Jesus’ innocent sacrifice enables
his Father to declare each & every one of us forgiven…forgiven in the
crucified Christ. Previewing peace
between God & men -- the peace of forgiveness – peace God promises to
provide through the coming Christ, Isaiah again leads us to the “Good
news of great joy for all the people” angels will announce as Jesus is
born in Bethlehem.
Born of the virgin Mary – life
appearing where it is humanly impossible – a fruitful Branch sprouting from
Jesse’s stump – Jesus, “the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for
the peoples; the nations will rally to him; his place of rest will be
glorious.” Like a big tree a
family designates as their gathering spot if fire forces them to flee from
their house, a spot they know will be a safe distance from the flames, Jesus is
lifted onto a cross where all faithful children can see our Savior & come
to be assured we forgiven souls will be untouched by hell’s flames as we gather
around Jesus. Like a ‘Red Cross’ or a
‘United Nations’ symbol signalling a safe haven for any individual, even in a
war, Jesus will be raised from death to life after redeeming our sins, Jesus
will be lifted up as a risen, ascending Savior every soul is invited to rally
around.
As we see Jesus, the Prince
of Peace rising from Jesse’s stump, I pray we are repenting of our
sins, rejoicing in Jesus’ forgiveness & faithfully living at peace with God
as we prepare to again celebrate our Savior’s birth. As we see Jesus’ righteousness flow over us,
leading God to judge us ‘holy’ – ‘ready for heaven’ -- I pray we will lift
Jesus up with our words. I pray we not
only praise him personally, privately, but also praise him publicly. I pray we invite our friends to rally around
the crucified but risen Christ. I pray
we welcome ‘earthly enemies’ to worship Jesus with us as we would all
faithfully follow Jesus, the Savior of every sinner who produces peace with God
for every individual.
Amen.