Isaiah 11:1-10 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Theme: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ISAIAH
II) God’s Kingdom is Worth Waiting For
- It’s humble beginnings
- Ruled in righteousness
- Brings peace and safety
Dear fellow redeemed who are eagerly awaiting the second Advent of our Savior Jesus,
It’s worth the wait. There are few things in life that we really feel like they are worth the wait. In this age of instant gratification, 24-7 shopping, and the interenet, it seems like we are so impatient with things that if we have to wait 5 minutes in line for a meal that we’ve waiting far too long. Though they said those chairs ordered on Cyber-Monday would take 5 to 10 days to get from Oakland to your house, still it seems like it should be able to get here faster than that.
Jesus knew we would have trouble waiting - especially waiting for His second Advent on Judgment Day. For this reason He reminds us constantly to stay spiritually awake and alert, “lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” (Lk 21:34) Likewise, His Apostles, Paul and Peter, exhort us to stay spiritually awake and alert, watching for His second coming because the return of Jesus on the Last Day will be worth the wait! As we continue our series on the Gospel according to Isaiah, let us consider how waiting for the Kingdom of God is worth the wait. We begin by examining its humble beginnings.
IT’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Most of you are probably familiar with Christmas Tree that is known as “the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.” It comes from the classic animated Christmas special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Charlie Brown, who is depressed that everyone seems to have forgotten about the true meaning of Christmas, has to buy a Christmas tree. The one he purchases is the last one in the tree lot - a scrawny evergreen tree only a couple of feet high, with about 4 branches. It is so pathetic that it can only hold one ornament on it. Thus, scrawny, sickly looking Christmas trees are now referred to as “Charlie Brown Christmas Trees.” When we are searching for Christmas trees we usually try to avoid Charlie Brown Christmas Trees for our house. We want a healthy looking tree with broad, healthy branches. Not a humble, scrawny tree.
As Isaiah begins to describe the Kingdom of the promised Messiah, Jesus, in our text the picture he paints is something similar to a Charlie Brown tree. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Isaiah is here speaking of the royal family tree of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. It was through Jesse’s son, David, that the promised Messiah, the King of kings, would eventually come. But in the 700 years from Isaiah to Jesus, that royal line would be chopped down. And by the days of the beginning of the New Testament era there was nothing but a stump left of Jesse’s royal family tree. No descendant of Jesse’s son David was sitting on the throne in Jerusalem.
Yet Isaiah prophecies that from that stump a little shoot would come forward. While it wouldn’t seem like much to the casual passer by, there was life coming from this stump. From the roots of Jesse, from his family tree, a royal branch would grow. That shoot, that branch is King David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ.
Like a shoot or a branch, Jesus’ beginnings were quite humble. He was born in relative obscurity. His first bed was a feeding trough for animals. His mother and step-father were insignificant no-bodies from Nazareth. His life was quite humble as well. His followers largely consisted of uneducated fishermen and outcasts of society. He had no place to lay His head and call His own. When He was placed on trial for crimes He never committed, there was no one to defend Him and speak up for His innocence. And His death was the death of a criminal, nailed to a cross.
Yet this shoot and branch from the stump of Jesse, with such humble beginnings, would be exalted to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Angels would worship Him and bow before Him. Almighty God the Father would seat Him at His right hand - a place of authority and prestige. And this Shoot and Branch from the stump of Jesse will one day return, raise the dead to life, and judge all people.
God’s Kingdom is worth the wait. His Kingdom will come in power on the last day, but right now His Kingdom is ruling the hearts of His believers. And right now it seems pretty humble. God uses humble means like His Word to set up His throne and rule in the hearts of men. He uses humble means like water and His word to convert sinners. He uses humble means like bread and wine to come and give the body and blood of His Son. Even the members of the Kingdom seems pretty humble. Paul writes that, “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” (1 Cor 1:26) The symbol of our salvation is a humble wooden cross on which our Savior died.
While the Church is not much to look at right now, oh how the glory of God’s coming Kingdom is worth the wait! Soon the Day is coming when “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor 15:53) The Day is coming when we will all be like Jesus, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 Jn 3:2) The Day is coming when Jesus shall take us to the glorious kingdom in heaven where we shall join the angels in praising the Lamb that was slain to save us! Though the Kingdom has humble beginnings like our Savior King, it’s ultimate arrival will be well worth the wait!
RULED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Wouldn’t it be nice to have leaders that made the right decision every single time? Wouldn’t it be nice to know without a doubt that our representatives, senators, judges, and presidents were all above corruption? Not gunna happen. As long as we are ruled by sinful men there will be mistakes and corruption by our leaders. We see that was the case even when we examine the royal line that came from Jesse. Jesse’s great-grandson Rehoboam is but one example. When he took over the throne of his father, Solomon, the elders of Israel told Rehoboam to be lenient with the people and they would be loyal to him. But Rehoboam’s young friends told him to be rougher on the people than his father was so that they respect him. The result? Under Rehoboam’s rule the united kingdom of Israel split into two separate kingdoms.
Because of sin, we will never have a perfect ruler in the kingdoms of this world. However, things are much, much different in the Kingdom of God! King Jesus is the perfect king because He rules the Kingdom of God in perfect righteousness. The Holy Spirit rests on Him and gives Him the Spirit of wisdom and understanding - intellectually Jesus is superior to all others. Jesus has the Spirit of counsel and might - He forms the right conclusions and has the ability to carry them out. He has the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD - everything Jesus does stems from His knowledge, love, and respect of the LORD and His will. Jesus is the perfect King.
Jesus’ doesn’t play favorites and doesn’t go by externals. He delights in those who love the LORD. His judgments are always right and fair. He is on the side of the poor in spirit and meek of the earth. We see this especially when King Jesus laid down His life to save those who could not save themselves. But on the other hand, He is against the wicked, unbelieving world. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk 16:16)
While in this world we must live with the consequences of sinful decisions that were made, we know that right now Jesus is ruling His Church in righteousness and faithfulness. He is doing the perfect thing for His Church and will be faithful in keeping every promise God has made in His Word. He is doing the perfect thing for you - to humble you and to keep you faithful to Him. And when Jesus returns on the Last Day, it will be the end of all sinful decisions and consequences. King Jesus will rule us in righteousness forever in heaven. The Kingdom of God is worth the wait!
BRINGS PEACE AND SAFETY
In the closing verses of our text, Isaiah uses some striking picture language. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb...the cow and the bear shall graze...” These are things we would never see in this world. The wolf would normally find the lamb easy prey. The bear would love to feast on the cow, rather than grazing together with it. Yet Isaiah speaks of animals that would otherwise be enemies, dwelling together in peace and safety. What Isaiah is expressing here is the peace and safety that the Shoot of Jesse would restore. This is what it was like in Paradise, before the fall into sin. All of God’s creatures dwelt in peace and safety. There was nothing to fear because there was no sin and no death. A little child could safely do a cattle drive with wolves, leopards, and lions - without his parents fearing for his life.
While Paradise was lost because of sin, Jesus came to restore Paradise. He came to remove the curse of sin and the sting of death. Jesus came to bring peace and safety. But this could only come by defeating those enemies which threaten. He had to defeat sin by taking our load and debt of sin on Himself and putting it to death in His body. He had to defeat death by Himself dying and rising from it on the third day. He had to defeat the devil by being tempted as we are, but never falling into sin like we do.
Our King engaged in battle and emerged victorious on Easter Sunday. He brought peace and safety. Through Jesus we are now at peace with God, we have been reconciled to Him. In Jesus we are now safe - the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” In Jesus, Paradise has been restored. Through the knowledge of the LORD, through faith in the LORD, we have peace and safety. Our sin has been removed, Jesus has overcome death and promised us the victory in Him, and in Jesus the Devil cannot harm us.
But there still are threats, aren’t there. The chief threat is within each of us. Our sinful flesh which doesn’t not want to be full of the knowledge of the LORD. Our sinful nature despises preaching and the word. Our sinful nature that wants to obey the devil rather than our Savior God. Being rid of our sinful nature when Jesus returns will be one of the greatest joys of heaven. Then nothing will be able to hurt or destroy us. We will live in perfect peace and safety forever. But until that day we must daily put off our old man and all his sinful desires, and put on our new man of faith. Make use of the tools God has given you. Listen to, read, learn His Word. Make regular use of Lord’s Supper by which our King Jesus gives us His body and blood to strengthen our faith and reassure us that our sins have all been paid for. Stay spiritually alert and awake, for the Kingdom is coming soon and it is well worth the wait! May God ever help us to this end. Amen!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Isaiah 11:1-10 "The Gospel According to Isaiah: II) God's Kingdom is Worth Waining For"
Isaiah 11:1-10 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Theme: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ISAIAH
II) God’s Kingdom is Worth Waiting For
- It’s humble beginnings
- Ruled in righteousness
- Brings peace and safety
Dear fellow redeemed who are eagerly awaiting the second Advent of our Savior Jesus,
It’s worth the wait. There are few things in life that we really feel like they are worth the wait. In this age of instant gratification, 24-7 shopping, and the interenet, it seems like we are so impatient with things that if we have to wait 5 minutes in line for a meal that we’ve waiting far too long. Though they said those chairs ordered on Cyber-Monday would take 5 to 10 days to get from Oakland to your house, still it seems like it should be able to get here faster than that.
Jesus knew we would have trouble waiting - especially waiting for His second Advent on Judgment Day. For this reason He reminds us constantly to stay spiritually awake and alert, “lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” (Lk 21:34) Likewise, His Apostles, Paul and Peter, exhort us to stay spiritually awake and alert, watching for His second coming because the return of Jesus on the Last Day will be worth the wait! As we continue our series on the Gospel according to Isaiah, let us consider how waiting for the Kingdom of God is worth the wait. We begin by examining its humble beginnings.
IT’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Most of you are probably familiar with Christmas Tree that is known as “the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.” It comes from the classic animated Christmas special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Charlie Brown, who is depressed that everyone seems to have forgotten about the true meaning of Christmas, has to buy a Christmas tree. The one he purchases is the last one in the tree lot - a scrawny evergreen tree only a couple of feet high, with about 4 branches. It is so pathetic that it can only hold one ornament on it. Thus, scrawny, sickly looking Christmas trees are now referred to as “Charlie Brown Christmas Trees.” When we are searching for Christmas trees we usually try to avoid Charlie Brown Christmas Trees for our house. We want a healthy looking tree with broad, healthy branches. Not a humble, scrawny tree.
As Isaiah begins to describe the Kingdom of the promised Messiah, Jesus, in our text the picture he paints is something similar to a Charlie Brown tree. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Isaiah is here speaking of the royal family tree of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. It was through Jesse’s son, David, that the promised Messiah, the King of kings, would eventually come. But in the 700 years from Isaiah to Jesus, that royal line would be chopped down. And by the days of the beginning of the New Testament era there was nothing but a stump left of Jesse’s royal family tree. No descendant of Jesse’s son David was sitting on the throne in Jerusalem.
Yet Isaiah prophecies that from that stump a little shoot would come forward. While it wouldn’t seem like much to the casual passer by, there was life coming from this stump. From the roots of Jesse, from his family tree, a royal branch would grow. That shoot, that branch is King David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ.
Like a shoot or a branch, Jesus’ beginnings were quite humble. He was born in relative obscurity. His first bed was a feeding trough for animals. His mother and step-father were insignificant no-bodies from Nazareth. His life was quite humble as well. His followers largely consisted of uneducated fishermen and outcasts of society. He had no place to lay His head and call His own. When He was placed on trial for crimes He never committed, there was no one to defend Him and speak up for His innocence. And His death was the death of a criminal, nailed to a cross.
Yet this shoot and branch from the stump of Jesse, with such humble beginnings, would be exalted to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Angels would worship Him and bow before Him. Almighty God the Father would seat Him at His right hand - a place of authority and prestige. And this Shoot and Branch from the stump of Jesse will one day return, raise the dead to life, and judge all people.
God’s Kingdom is worth the wait. His Kingdom will come in power on the last day, but right now His Kingdom is ruling the hearts of His believers. And right now it seems pretty humble. God uses humble means like His Word to set up His throne and rule in the hearts of men. He uses humble means like water and His word to convert sinners. He uses humble means like bread and wine to come and give the body and blood of His Son. Even the members of the Kingdom seems pretty humble. Paul writes that, “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” (1 Cor 1:26) The symbol of our salvation is a humble wooden cross on which our Savior died.
While the Church is not much to look at right now, oh how the glory of God’s coming Kingdom is worth the wait! Soon the Day is coming when “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor 15:53) The Day is coming when we will all be like Jesus, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 Jn 3:2) The Day is coming when Jesus shall take us to the glorious kingdom in heaven where we shall join the angels in praising the Lamb that was slain to save us! Though the Kingdom has humble beginnings like our Savior King, it’s ultimate arrival will be well worth the wait!
RULED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
Wouldn’t it be nice to have leaders that made the right decision every single time? Wouldn’t it be nice to know without a doubt that our representatives, senators, judges, and presidents were all above corruption? Not gunna happen. As long as we are ruled by sinful men there will be mistakes and corruption by our leaders. We see that was the case even when we examine the royal line that came from Jesse. Jesse’s great-grandson Rehoboam is but one example. When he took over the throne of his father, Solomon, the elders of Israel told Rehoboam to be lenient with the people and they would be loyal to him. But Rehoboam’s young friends told him to be rougher on the people than his father was so that they respect him. The result? Under Rehoboam’s rule the united kingdom of Israel split into two separate kingdoms.
Because of sin, we will never have a perfect ruler in the kingdoms of this world. However, things are much, much different in the Kingdom of God! King Jesus is the perfect king because He rules the Kingdom of God in perfect righteousness. The Holy Spirit rests on Him and gives Him the Spirit of wisdom and understanding - intellectually Jesus is superior to all others. Jesus has the Spirit of counsel and might - He forms the right conclusions and has the ability to carry them out. He has the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD - everything Jesus does stems from His knowledge, love, and respect of the LORD and His will. Jesus is the perfect King.
Jesus’ doesn’t play favorites and doesn’t go by externals. He delights in those who love the LORD. His judgments are always right and fair. He is on the side of the poor in spirit and meek of the earth. We see this especially when King Jesus laid down His life to save those who could not save themselves. But on the other hand, He is against the wicked, unbelieving world. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk 16:16)
While in this world we must live with the consequences of sinful decisions that were made, we know that right now Jesus is ruling His Church in righteousness and faithfulness. He is doing the perfect thing for His Church and will be faithful in keeping every promise God has made in His Word. He is doing the perfect thing for you - to humble you and to keep you faithful to Him. And when Jesus returns on the Last Day, it will be the end of all sinful decisions and consequences. King Jesus will rule us in righteousness forever in heaven. The Kingdom of God is worth the wait!
BRINGS PEACE AND SAFETY
In the closing verses of our text, Isaiah uses some striking picture language. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb...the cow and the bear shall graze...” These are things we would never see in this world. The wolf would normally find the lamb easy prey. The bear would love to feast on the cow, rather than grazing together with it. Yet Isaiah speaks of animals that would otherwise be enemies, dwelling together in peace and safety. What Isaiah is expressing here is the peace and safety that the Shoot of Jesse would restore. This is what it was like in Paradise, before the fall into sin. All of God’s creatures dwelt in peace and safety. There was nothing to fear because there was no sin and no death. A little child could safely do a cattle drive with wolves, leopards, and lions - without his parents fearing for his life.
While Paradise was lost because of sin, Jesus came to restore Paradise. He came to remove the curse of sin and the sting of death. Jesus came to bring peace and safety. But this could only come by defeating those enemies which threaten. He had to defeat sin by taking our load and debt of sin on Himself and putting it to death in His body. He had to defeat death by Himself dying and rising from it on the third day. He had to defeat the devil by being tempted as we are, but never falling into sin like we do.
Our King engaged in battle and emerged victorious on Easter Sunday. He brought peace and safety. Through Jesus we are now at peace with God, we have been reconciled to Him. In Jesus we are now safe - the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” In Jesus, Paradise has been restored. Through the knowledge of the LORD, through faith in the LORD, we have peace and safety. Our sin has been removed, Jesus has overcome death and promised us the victory in Him, and in Jesus the Devil cannot harm us.
But there still are threats, aren’t there. The chief threat is within each of us. Our sinful flesh which doesn’t not want to be full of the knowledge of the LORD. Our sinful nature despises preaching and the word. Our sinful nature that wants to obey the devil rather than our Savior God. Being rid of our sinful nature when Jesus returns will be one of the greatest joys of heaven. Then nothing will be able to hurt or destroy us. We will live in perfect peace and safety forever. But until that day we must daily put off our old man and all his sinful desires, and put on our new man of faith. Make use of the tools God has given you. Listen to, read, learn His Word. Make regular use of Lord’s Supper by which our King Jesus gives us His body and blood to strengthen our faith and reassure us that our sins have all been paid for. Stay spiritually alert and awake, for the Kingdom is coming soon and it is well worth the wait! May God ever help us to this end. Amen!
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