A Christmas Hope Worth Waiting For Series

Merry Christmas to you and a big “hello” to our 11 a.m. service. I’m worshipping with Cross Church today, and hopefully, the technology you’re seeing causes all of us to focus on the message rather than the messenger. If you have a Bible, turn with me to Isaiah 11. We have asked you to share your Christmas holidays with us over the month of December. When we think of Christmas, we love the combination of Christmas and little children. Here are Ella Grace and Jack Prim, or should I say, “Superman!” Here are Eric and Cheryl McCarson and their two boys. Lastly, here is Obadiah Williams – the one-year-old son of Joey and Stacey Williams.

Isaiah 11 is a story infused with hope. Hope is a rare commodity in our day; cynicism is much more prevalent. You need to know that Isaiah’s prophecy was written 700 years before the time of Christ. Isaiah was some 2,700 years ago. The story of Christmas is splashed across the pages of the Bible long before the Magi, the shepherds, or even Joseph and Mary make their first appearance. Listen carefully to this passage, for you’ll read about wolves, lambs, leopards, goats, calves, lions, cows, bears, cobras, and vipers. It’s like the Jungle Book meets the Bible ?.

But before this, look with me at …

1. The Identity of the King

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.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Jesus is called a shoot in verse one and a root in verse ten. Both of these have to do with bloodlines and genealogy. And Isaiah’s prediction is not just average bloodlines but a king’s family tree. Israel represents God’s people, and they were a nation on the earth when Isaiah was written. Jesse was King David’s father, the epitome of all of Israel’s kings, and David represents the Bible’s highest ideals of governmental rule and reign. And the Coming One is “a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” someone who will wear the crown. Isaiah is picking up on God’s promise to David made around 300 years before (from last week). God said to King David: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

Jesus is referred to in verse 1 as the “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.” So Isaiah shows you more about the coming King to increase your hope.

1.1 The Wisdom of the King

Now, the King is wise, incredibly wise. This King will be a great decision-maker. This king is so wise that He will not rule based on appearances. In fact, the wisdom of the King is just 1 of 6 paired features concerning His greatness.

“And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

1 the Spirit of wisdom and 2 understanding,

3 the Spirit of counsel and 4 might,

5 the Spirit of knowledge and 6 the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2)

The very Spirit of God rests on the Son of David, the shoot of Jesse. All six of the qualities in verse two come from the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus. And the shoot of Jesus has everything He needs to restore the world from its rebellion against its Maker. Jesus was full of the Spirit of the Lord, unlike anyone before or after Him. Just think of your future when Jesus reigns in place of earthly kings, prime ministers, and presidents. The prophets of the Old Testament looked across the mountains peaks of Scripture. They often could see only the peaks of the future Coming Messiah. Even the Disciples in Jesus’ day were confused because they were looking for the King to reign over His kingdom. But the prophets could not see the gap between Jesus’ first advent and His second advent. In His first advent, Jesus came as Savior, while in His second advent, He comes as King. They couldn’t see that gap. This is a reminder that we don’t have all this yet. The confidence we possess because of Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in what is to come.