It seems many of us are searching for joy this time of year. Let me show you… The top five Christmas songs according to Billboard Charts for this past week were:
5) Mary Did You Know by Pentatonix
4) Rockin Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
3) Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
2) Hallelujah by Pentatonix
1) All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
Only one of the five songs listed is the birth of Jesus. In fact, the next song focusing on Jesus is listed all the way down at 68th in the list. Think of this for a moment … only two of the top 67 most popular Christmas songs celebrate the birth of Jesus. When I realized this, a light bulb came on for me: most of the people around me were not able to locate the source of Christmas joy.
Where do you find joy this time of year? Buddy the Elf said: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Is Christmas simply a cheerful mood gone with the eggnog turns sour? Or is Christmas something more?
Each Sunday in the month of December, we are looking at a passage from Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet that makes numerous predictions concerning the coming Messiah. Throughout this series, I want you to listen for these words: Promise made, promise kept. 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).
You need to know that Isaiah’s prophecy was written 700 years before the time of Christ. Isaiah was some 2,700 years ago. It is just one in a long line of predictions about the coming Messiah. You may say, “Pastor, are we not simply reading Jesus into the Old Testament? How do you know this is really Jesus?” Jesus is called a shoot in verse 1 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 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.
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). The very first words of the New Testament begin with this fact of Jesus’ family tree: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Jesus is referred to in verse one as the “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Jesse refers to the father of the great King David, the greatest king in Israel’s history.
You can draw an arch from the Old Testament to the New Testament. For the Old Testament is the promise made, and the New Testament is the promise kept. Promise made, promise kept. And He is referred to as “the root of Jesse” in verse ten. 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 came as King. Again, they couldn’t see that gap, but they did see the Savior. This is a reminder that we don’t have all this yet. But the confidence we possess because of the first Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in the parts not yet fulfilled.
Isaiah shows you two features to increase your Christmas joy.
1.1 The Wisdom of the King
If you ever wondered what “Washington, DC” should look like at Christmas, the prophet Isaiah tells us. It’s little like if you were to marry Christmas and politics, what would you get? This king is so wise that He will not rule based on appearances.
“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” (Isaiah 11:2-3a).
Like his counterparts in Washington DC, the King is wise, incredibly wise. This King will be a great decision-maker. And the reason He makes such great decisions is because of this: “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.” God’s very breath will rest on the shoot from Jesse. Jesus was full of the Spirit of the Lord unlike anyone before or after Him” “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country” (Luke 4:14).
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,” ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel;” (John 1:47-49)! Promise made, promise kept. Just think of your future when Jesus reigns in place of earthly kings, prime ministers, and presidents. Remember, the confidence we possess because of the first Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in the parts not yet fulfilled.
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. Democrats tend to tax the more wealthy among us in an attempt to alleviate the needs of the poor, while Republicans tend to cut taxes on everyone, believing non-profits will benefit. The truth is the poor lack political power in both political parties. And if a ruler’s political power rests on his favor with the rich and powerful, then his primary attention would be toward the wealthy. This coming Ruler will not use His power for his privilege but will instead leverage 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: “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22-24). Back in those days, the sacrifice you gave depended on your income. The poorest people gave two birds, as Jesus’ mother and step-father did here. Our Savior was born into the poorest of families. Jesus came not just to save your soul; He came to rule and reign over you.
2. The Promise of the King
For many people, this will be their first Christmas without their husband or their wife, or a son or a daughter, or a father or a mother. For many, this will be their first Christmas without a job. Some have been told by their doctor that this will be the last Christmas they will spend on this earth. I have good news for each of you: this child will bring Eden.
“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).
Here is one of the first times we can see a promise made that hasn’t been kept. Wolves are not laying down with lambs, so how does any of this make sense? Is the earth full of the knowledge of the Lord? Just as we’ve seen this Christmas season, all of His promises made have become His promises kept. The confidence we possess because of the first Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in the parts not yet fulfilled. 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. He’s going to make everything right. Again, this child will bring Eden. He removes the curse. One more time: the confidence we possess because of the first Christmas gives us tremendous confidence in the parts not yet fulfilled.
“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).
A few years ago, a couple of months before Christmas, the wife of a mail carrier had been killed in a car accident. This mail carrier had been overcome with grief and was trying to work through his sorrow, and he had stayed late at his post office sorting through the mountain of mail that always comes through at Christmastime. His job that day was to go through the mail that had been lost and to find out where it should be re-routed. He opened the letter that was addressed to “Santa Claus,” and he noticed that the address at the top of the letter was his own address. Looking down at the bottom of the letter, he saw that it was his only daughter’s signature, and the letter read:
Dear Santa:
My Mommy died two months ago, and since then, my Daddy has been crying himself to sleep every night. He says only eternity will heal him. Would you please send a little bit of eternity to my Dad this Christmas?
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 life is shouting that there’s nothing to be happy about. Maybe your joy is based on your grades, maybe your joy is based on your salary, or maybe your joy is based on your relationship status. If that’s true, then I’ve got good news for you. There is glorious granite underneath all of this. Just as we’ve seen this Christmas season, all of His promises made have become His promises kept. He will one day keep this promise as well. I’d like for you this Christmas to be able to say, “I know who I am, and I know whose I am.”
