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.
1.1 The Wisdom of the King
1.2 The Justice of the King
You know something of the wisdom of this future King, let me share with the incredible justice of this King…
“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.” (Isaiah 11:3b-4)
The prophet tells us that this King will not use his eyes and ears only to make decisions, but His decision-making ability will be based on supernatural abilities.
“Absolute justice requires absolute knowledge.” How political rulers treat the poor is still a major issue 2,700 years after these words were recorded. This coming Ruler will not use His power for his privilege but will instead see leverage in His privileged position for the people’s good. In His reign, the Ruler will become the servant. Here we’re told this king is going to care about the poor and identify with the poor, but it’s not until Christmas Day that we know the lengths to which this king will identify with the poor. Christmas means the Son of God was born into a poor family. His parents, when they went to get him circumcised at the temple, gave two birds as the sacrifice. Back in those days, the sacrifice you gave depended on your income. The poorest people gave two birds. He was born into the poorest of families.
1. The Identity of the King
2. The Promise of the King’s Return
We need hope just as much as they did 2,700 years ago. Families are hurting because of addictions, and houses are broken. This child will bring Eden. Let the hope wash over you as you hear these promises again: “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” (Isaiah 11:6-8).
He’s going to get rid of death. He’s going to get rid of disease. He’s going to get rid of violence. He’s going to get rid of suffering. This is an inspiring vision of hope. He’s going to make everything right. This child will bring Eden. He removes the curse.
Hope is a rare commodity in our day; cynicism is much more prevalent. If one ounce of gold is over $1,200 in our day, I wonder what hope would price out for? The playwright, Woody Allen, said of Isaiah 11: “The lion will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.” We are amused at such a cynical comment, but a closer look at Allen’s work and life shows us just how popular cynicism is in our day. In Allen’s play entitled, God, a slave received a telegram which reads: “God is dead, stop. You’re on your own.” In another of Allen’s works, he calls God “an underachiever,” and still another movie, he believes that if God exists, He’s done such a terrible job that the people of the earth should bring a class-action lawsuit against Him. It seems as if many of us today, our religion is cynicism and a healthy dose of skepticism.
Again, Hope is a rare commodity in our day; cynicism is much more prevalent. Marx thought religion was the opiate of the masses. Marx had the wrong drug in mind for belief in God is an amphetamine, stimulating gigantic hope for all of us. The confidence we possess because of Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in what is to come: “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 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” (Isaiah 11:9-10).
Christmas in Columbia
For more than half a century, Colombia was one of the most violent and isolated countries on Earth. The small country south of us is infamous for cartels, cocaine, and kidnapping. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia fought the government in the longest-running war in the Western hemisphere. The war has lasted more than a century in length, leaving more than 220,000 people dead and millions more displaced. Like the people of ancient Judah in today’s passage, they were distressed, depressed, and sitting in thick darkness. The Colombian government used a powerful weapon to finally put an end to the conflict: Christmas. For the last four years, the Ministry of Defense, in conjunction with an ad agency, rolled out Christmas holiday campaigns to encourage rebels to defect at a time when they’re homesick and vulnerable. In 2010, when the campaign was first launched, commandos put Christmas trees deep in the heart of the guerrilla territory, complete with lights and a message: “If Christmas can make it into the jungle, you can make it home.” And it worked … it really worked. Roughly five percent of the rebel force at the time — demobilized: they came out of the jungle and gave up. Not satisfied, they went back to work, and in 2013, the government found 27 mothers of guerrillas. During Christmas time, they placed flyers with photos of the guerillas when they were young children all over the jungle. The photos came from the mothers of sons and daughters who had been fighting for much of their adult lives. “Before you were a guerrilla you were my child — This Christmas I’ll wait for you at home. I will always be waiting for you at Christmastime.” They would place beautiful LED lighted candles in plastic balls with hopeful messages and small gifts and float these candles down the river. They even called their efforts, Operation Bethlehem.
All over the world, people recognize the power of Christmas. The reason why Christmas is “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” is because God keeps His promise. We sing Joy to the World this time of year. If your joy in this world is based on how your life is going, then you’re going to find out life can torpedo your joy. Your joy is based on your grades… Your joy is based on your salary… Your joy is based on your relationship status… I’ve got good news for you … There is glorious granite underneath all of this. Christmas is God raising His mouth to megaphone and telling us He keeps every one of His promises.
