Sermon on Isaiah 10-12 (10:5-7, 12, 15-25, 33-34; 11:1-16; 12:1-6); Luke 4:14-21; Romans 15:7-13. Delivered 14 December 2014 at Pequea Evangelical Congregational Church. The eighth installment of a sermon series on the Book of Isaiah; see also sermons on Isaiah 1, Isaiah 2, Isaiah 3-4, Isaiah 5, Isaiah 6, Isaiah 7-8a, and Isaiah 8b-9.
As we continue our
journey through Advent, it's important to remember that the season
started, not just as a time of hopeful expectation, but as a time of
penitent preparation. In the East, they hold a Nativity Fast that
lasts as long as Lent, though not quite as severe. It's punctuated
with feast-days for many Old Testament prophets who foresaw the
incarnation, the Word of God coming in the fragility of human flesh,
a rose ever blooming yet able to be trampled to the ground for our
transgressions. The season paved the way for the upcoming Feast of
the Epiphany, when many people were baptized to connect with Christ's
baptism. In the West, Advent served two purposes: to remember the
centuries-long wait for Christ's first coming, and to underscore our
real and present centuries-long wait for Christ's second coming. The
long wait is all worthwhile, because “the best of all is, God is
with us”.
During the days of the
Syro-Ephraimite War, there was plenty of room both for penitence and
for hope. Time and time again, Isaiah warned Ahaz – and the whole
House of David, and the whole nation of Judah – to trust in God,
not in Assyria, and to fear neither Assyria nor Ephraim nor
Aram-Damascus, nor anyone or anything else. And time and time again,
Isaiah prophesied that God would assure them of their safety by
giving them a living Sign of his living presence – and this living
Sign, a Child to be born, would be the perfect love of God who casts
out all our fear (cf. 1 John 4:18).
The nations of Ephraim
and Aram-Damascus were doomed to fall – that much was already
clear. But, Isaiah warned, the same was true even of mighty Assyria,
who would conquer Ephraim and Aram. No doubt some wondered how God
could ever use a pagan nation for his purposes. Don't godly goals
need a godly tool? But God would use Assyria. Just the same, he
would destroy Assyria, because their attitude was the attitude of a
conqueror, not of a servant. God can use even the most arrogant
pagan power to accomplish his own ends, but being used by God doesn't
make one right. Being used by God isn't an endorsement, as it turns
out, and Assyria's fate would be Exhibit A. Assyria is only a tool
in God's hands, like an axe or a saw (Isaiah 10:15). She claimed to
be more, she boasted of being more – and she would be punished
(Isaiah 10:16-19).
That's a sobering
reminder to all great national powers on the world stage, from
America to Russia, from China to Europe, from modern Israel to Iran
and the Arab states: We play our roles, but we don't write the
script. Just because God has used us in the past, doesn't mean that
we're pivotal to his purposes. Just because God has used us in the
past, or even blessed us in the past, doesn't mean that we won't be
humbled if we exalt ourselves above him or if we confuse our national
agendas for his holy Christ-centered mission. That's true of nations
and governments, that's true of individuals and groups, that's true
of institutions and corporations and cultures. Even mighty Assyria
wasn't 'too big to fail'.
But Assyria had forgotten
her place. She'd claimed that even her generals were like kings, and
that one nation was just the same as another: all dwarfed by her
greatness. For Isaiah, Assyria is a prime example of arrogance –
but, Isaiah says, her towering trees will be lopped down, her forests
will be cleared by fire (Isaiah 10:18-19, 33-34). Yet while the
mighty trunks of Assyrian arrogance topple and crash to the earth,
Isaiah foresees a small shoot poking its way up out of a humble stump
(Isaiah 11:1). It's a perfect illustration of God working, not just
in grand displays and in shock-and-awe, but in the gentle growth of
new life. Assyria mocked humility, but God revels in it.
That small shoot, that
flowering stem, comes from the stump of Jesse – not of mighty royal
David, see, but Jesse. Jesse wasn't a king. Jesse was just a man
from a small and ordinary clan – but God chose to bring the whole
House of David out of this humble stock. And once again, when
David's descendants had returned to the simplicity of ordinary and
unrecognized life like Jesse's, a new rod would spring up from his
stem. He comes like a flower, blooming off of Jesse's lineage
through the Virgin Mary. One fourth-century bishop, Ambrose, wrote:
“When he blossoms in our land, makes fragrant the field of
the soul, and flourishes in his church, we can no longer fear the
cold or rain, but only anticipate the day of judgment” (Apology
on David 8.43).
And here we have a divine
mystery: How can the one who stems from the root himself be
the root? For this “Root of Jesse” is both the Root of David and
also David's Offspring, as Revelation 22:16 tells us. Jesus
embarrassed the Pharisees with a similar question about how David's
son could be David's Lord (Mark 12:37; Matthew 22:45; Luke 20:44).
And the only answer is that “the Word became flesh and dwelled
among us” (John 1:14) – that the living presence of the very God
who created David and sat David on a throne, then stooped down to be
a twig on the tree he himself had planted.
So,
Isaiah tells us, building upon the Immanuel sign (Isaiah 7:14-16) and
the Prince of Peace sign (Isaiah 9:6-7), that this Rod of Jesse would
be a humble king, a perfect king, the giver of peace and hope – and
in everything he does, this Messiah, he'll follow God's Spirit.
Humility trumps arrogance, because humility is from the Spirit, and
all that the Spirit gives, the Son puts into action. Trust trumps
fear, because the Spirit impels faith. So when the Messiah comes,
Isaiah promises, he'll do everything by means of God's Spirit, and
not by arrogant human wisdom.
Instead
of faulty decisions, the Spirit of the LORD
filling him will be the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge (Isaiah 11:2).
And the fearful dread of enemy powers, like Ahaz and sinful Judah
had, is replaced by a healthy 'fear of the LORD':
“Sanctify the LORD
of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your
dread” (Isaiah 8:13). This 'beginning of wisdom' delights the Son
(Isaiah 11:3): it isn't some cowering in fear, but a healthy awe and
reverence for God's all-powerful, fiery love, his hot and holy
passion for glorifying his name by breathing new life into us.
And
doesn't that sound like Jesus – anointed with God's Spirit to do
God's work, and indeed the giver of God's Spirit to us? He himself,
reading Isaiah's prophecy about God's Spirit being on God's special
Servant, said to the Nazareth synagogue, “Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The Spirit has anointed
Jesus “to proclaim good news to the poor”, to “bind up the
broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year
of the LORD's
favor” (Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2) – stopping just short of the
words, “And the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2). How
is he anointed? With “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of the knowledge and the
fear of the LORD”
(Isaiah 11:2). And this points forward to Epiphany, when we
celebrate the Spirit indeed being seen resting upon Jesus.
Everything that the Son does by the Spirit will be for the glory of
the Father – it's a picture of perfect trinitarian harmony working
itself out in the economy of redemption. Charles Wesley picks it up
(Poetical Works
3:141-142):
Glory
to God, and peace on earth!
A
Branch shall spring from Jesse's
line,
Of
human yet of heavenly birth,
And filled with all the Spirit
divine.
The
Spirit of wisdom from above
Shall dwell within his peaceful
breast;
On
him the Spirit of power and love
And counsel shall forever rest.
The
Spirit of godly, filial fear
On him for all mankind shall stay,
And
make his senses quick and clear
And guide him in the perfect way.
Shall
make him apt to teach and reign
His heavenly mission to fulfill,
Judgment
and justice to maintain,
And execute his Father's will....
Yet
will he plead the sinner's cause,
The poor and self-condemned release,
Freed
by the sufferings of his cross,
And saved by his own
righteousness.
Yes,
he once came to saved the wicked, freeing us by taking our sufferings
upon the cross. And as he came to save the wicked in his First
Advent, he will come to finally destroy wickedness in his Second
Advent (Isaiah 11:4). And we have the choice before us of life or death: life, if
we let him save us by destroying our wicked selves in his own death
on the cross; or death, if we cling so tightly to our wickedness that
we follow it down and lose our souls. John the Seer, foreseeing the
appearance of Christ at his Second Advent, said that “out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:15); and
Paul, speaking of the Lawless One who would vex God's people in the
time to come, said that Jesus would “overthrow him with the breath
of his mouth, and destroy him by the splendor of his coming” (2Thessalonians 2:8).
In
the meantime, we live between the First Advent and the Second. The
reign of Immanuel, the reign of our Prince of Peace, has partly
begun, but not fully, not as it will. For Isaiah, both are in the
future, and he can slide easily between them and the era in between.
What does the kingdom look like? What does it look like when Jesus,
the Messiah, “rules the world in truth and grace, / and makes the
nations prove / the glories of his righteousness / and wonders of his
love”?
For
starters, Jesus will reign and judge according to God's Spirit, not
according to human estimates. That should speak to us. In our day,
we're a divided nation – divided politically, racially, culturally,
in so many ways. And it all mainly comes down to the fact that we
naturally judge cases on the basis of our own personal experiences,
our own tribal sympathies, our own bundle of biases. We see it
Ferguson, Missouri; we see it in Staten Island, New York; we see it
in virtually every political firestorm, every debate about
immigration, about health insurance, about military actions, about
interrogation techniques, about oil pipelines, about tax breaks,
about just about anything.
Whatever
the right way to look at the issues of the day, we all “see through
a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), but Jesus Christ sees by the
Spirit of God. And so “he will not judge by what he sees with his
eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness
he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the
poor of the earth” (Isaiah 11:3-4). As the Word of the LORD
made flesh, he “seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the LORD
looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). That's how he rules now
from heaven above, and that's how he'll rule when he comes again to
earth to reign.
In
that coming time, the Second Coming of Christ, “Ephraim will not be
jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim” (Isaiah 11:13).
In those days, the division of the kingdom flamed into all-out war;
but Isaiah still spoke of a time for bygones to be bygones. Just as
our country thinks and acts as a divided nation, though indivisible
we proclaim it, so we live in days of a divided church, though Jesus
prayed for us to be one holy people just as he and the Father are one
holy God (John 17:20-23). We're so prone to factions about things
that just don't matter. Now, many issues in the church today sadly
revolve around non-negotiable issues of the gospel: basic doctrines
of the faith, basic attitudes toward the Bible, basic commitments of
holy living. And there, the only remedy for dissent from the
generation-to-generation consensus of the church's witness is
repentance from unfaithful stewardship of the faith.
But
then there are things that just don't rise to the level of 'gospel
issues'. And still we divide over them – if not outwardly, at
least in our hearts. We divide fellowship over secondary points of
theology: predestination and free will, for example, or views of the
creation, or approaches to biblical prophecy. We divide over
remarkably petty things like our musical tastes, or our preaching
styles, or even the color of the carpet in the sanctuary. We even
divide into factions around our leaders and figureheads (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). But were you baptized into Martin Luther,
anointed with the spirit of John Calvin, fed with the body and blood
of the Wesleys? Were Menno Simons or Jacob Albright crucified for
your sins? They all have much to teach us, and it's okay to differ
about these secondary things, so long as we keep first things first
and “love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19). But in that day
when the kingdom comes in full, Ephraim and Judah won't be hostile;
in that day, the unity that Jesus vouchsafed to his church will be
made perfect, when we'll be “brought to complete unity” (John 17:23). So “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
Under
the Messiah's reign, God will reclaim his lost people, the severed
branches of Israel. Isaiah speaks of a remnant of the physical
offspring of Jacob's line, a remnant who are spared to return to the
Mighty God (Isaiah 10:21) – and we know that the Prince of Peace is
truly the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6). This remnant won't place their
faith in Assyria. They won't place their faith in any idol, only in
God; any human government, only the Messiah. Their faith centers
only on “the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 10:20; cf. Isaiah 12:6). And so
they'll return to their promised inheritance.
Paul
teaches the same thing, as we read (Romans 15:7-13). For the sake of
God's mercy to the Nations, many branches have been allowed to wither
from the Israelite tree. They broke off when they stumbled in
unbelief over the Stone of Stumbling, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 8:14;
Romans 9:33-34). But these broken-off branches aren't lost. If even
the remnant of Israel, the apostles, was such a great channel for
God's mercy to the world, how much more the restoration of all the
broken branches (Romans 11:12)! Through holy jealousy for the
promises of God (Romans 10:19-20; 11:11-14), God is able to graft the
broken branches back into God's people, and so all Israel will be
saved (Romans 11:24-26). A remnant will return, and the people will
be restored.
The
rule of Jesus is good news for Jews. And it's good news for
Gentiles, too – good news for all the Nations. In the Bible, these
foreign nations so often are compared to animals, beasts, who prey on
Israel; but Israel, the real humanity, is supposed to rule over them
and domesticate them, just like Adam was made to do (Genesis 1:28).
In Daniel's visions, remember, it's one like a Son of Man – that
is, a human figure, faithful Israel in the person of the Messiah –
who gets the authority stripped away from the beastly empires (Daniel 7:1-14). Assyria had roared like a lion and preyed on surrounding
peoples (Isaiah 5:29-30), but the time is coming for beasts to be
tamed, and even the Assyrian lion will settle down with oxen (Isaiah 11:6-7). As beasts prowl the global landscape, we look forward to
the day when the LORD
will say, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and
Israel my inheritance” (Isaiah 19:25), when even oppressing nations
will be converted and tamed to live together in the worship of the
LORD
(Isaiah 19:19-25).
The
tamed beasts, the Nations, will join in life together with God's
people, “and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6) –
not just any child, but first and foremost the
Child who was born, the Son who was given (Isaiah 9:6), the Child
whom Christmas celebrates. And the age-old Serpent can do no more
harm (Isaiah 11:8-9; cf. Genesis 3:15), for as Ambrose remarked, “the
Word of God became flesh, put his hand into the serpent's den,
removed the venom, and took away sin” (Explanation
of the Twelve Psalms
37.4). Praise God for the day when “they will neither harm nor
destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:9)! And just as
before, Isaiah saw the LORD
raising up a banner to call the Nations to attack Israel in judgment
(Isaiah 5:26), now the LORD
raises up a banner to call the Nations to worship – and that Banner
is the Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10). When the Root of Jesse reigns,
all will know the LORD
intimately, and he opens himself up as the Well of Salvation who
satisfies every thirst (Isaiah 12:3; cf. John 4:13-14; 7:37-39).
That will be, when Christ comes again, but the Nations are being
called around the Banner now.
A
Branch shall in that gospel day
Out of the root of Jesse
rise,
Stand
as an ensign, and display
The cross in all the Gentiles' eyes.
Thither
the Gentile world shall flow,
And hide them in their Saviour's
breast,
Rejoice
his pardoning love to know,
And holiness his glorious rest.
Then
shall the Lord his power display,
His ancient people to retrieve,
Gather
the hopeless castaway,
And bid the house of Israel
live. (Charles Wesley, Poetical
Works
3:144)
All
these things are in the process of being done. The Nations are being
tamed and discipled; the Exiled Remnant is being readied for grafting
back in; Christ continues to heal spots of disunity; he gives the
water of life freely; and he already rules in perfect justice by the
Spirit of God. We live between the Advents, and so we're called to
praise God for what he has done at the First Advent and what he will
do at the Second. “At all times let us stand firm”, another
fourth-century bishop named Athanasius wrote, “but especially now,
although many afflictions overtake us and many heretics are furious
against us. Let us then, my beloved brothers, celebrate with
thanksgiving the holy feast that now draws near to us, 'girding up
the loins of our minds', like our Savior, Jesus Christ, of whom it is
written, 'Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and
faithfulness the girdle of his reins'” (Festal
Letter
3, quoting Isaiah 11:5).
Our
mission is pretty simple, really: we call the Nations and the Exiles
alike to rally around the Banner, the Branch of the LORD
(Isaiah 4:2), who works and rules by the Spirit. We sing to the LORD
with rejoicing, singing the story of the gospel from beginning to
end, so “let the mighty advent chorus / onward roll from tongue to
tongue”. So “give praise to the LORD”
Jesus Christ; “proclaim his name; make known among the nations what
he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted” (Isaiah 12:4),
for he bears the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).
“Sing to the LORD,
for he has done glorious things”, for Christ was born, Christ has
died, Christ is risen, and Christ is coming again, and “let this be
known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5). Flying to heaven away from
the world God created is not
our blessed hope; it's at best a waystation between now and the day
of resurrection upon the renewed earth. No, but “we wait for the
blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to redeem us from all
wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own,
eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:13-14), and so we “wait for
God's Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who
rescues us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
So
“shout aloud and sing for joy” to the world, “people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you” (Isaiah 12:6), who
became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Be baptized with his baptism; be immersed in the Well of Salvation,
that the Spirit that filled him may rest upon us also, and to taste
the Joy of the World and see that his rule is joyous indeed (cf.
Psalm 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3). As you prepare in your homes for
Christmas, and as you prepare in your hearts for Christ's return to
earth, don't lose sight of this mission of hope, to “make known
among the nations what he has done” so that the God who is our
salvation can be their salvation too, and so that we all may trust
and not be afraid (Isaiah 12:2; cf. Isaiah 10:24). Let us pray:
- O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things, come and teach us the way of prudence.
- O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush, and gave him the Law on Sinai, come to redeem us with outstretched arm.
- O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign among the peoples, before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
- O Key of David and sceptre of the house of Israel, you open and no one can shut, you shut and no one can open; come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
- O Morning Star, splendor of eternal light and sun of righteousness, come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
- O King of the Nations and their Desire, the cornerstone making both one, come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.
- O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their savior, come and save us, Lord our God.
