Advent
Isaiah 11:1–10
1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2And 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. 3And 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, 4but 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. 5Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6The 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. 7The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9They 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. 10In 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.
God took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. It sprouted and became a spreading tree and its branches turned toward him. It produced branches and put out boughs. That was the house of King David, son of Jesse. That was Israel. It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble tree. (Ezekiel 17).
But the house of Israel sinned and rebelled against God. "Thus says the Lord God: will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit so that it withers? Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?" So God sent his servant Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon to cut it down and carry its fruit into exile. All that was left of the dynasty of the son of Jesse was a dead stump.
We are dead stumps. By nature dead in our sin. By nature separated from God, enemies of God, dead to God. We are cut off, dead stumps. The rich, the wise, the rulers of this world, even they all die. We cannot ransom our lives from death. We cannot purchase our lives from the pit. We cannot stay the hand of death. Though we have all the power and riches of the earth, the wise and the foolish alike all perish. The grave claims all. Even the kingly line of David came to an end, it was cut off, and cut down with only a stump remaining. Humankind is helpless in the face of death. From the time of Adam all humans are born dead. Eternal judgment and death is your destiny. Like the stump of Jesse, you are dead stumps. But just as God preserved for himself a remnant of the people, so he preserves for himself a remnant of people today who he has redeemed and keeps for himself. He made for himself a shoot of life out of that dead stump.
Jesus is the descendent of David, son of Jesse. Jesus is that stump of Jesse, the tree that was cut down. Cut down on account of your sins. He was cut down and put to death and placed in a tomb. That dead stump of Jesse carved into the shape of a cross, became the instrument of death for Jesus and for all mankind. Jesus was the dead stump of Jesse who lay dead in the ground for three days. Dead on account of your rebellion against God. Dead because you are by nature dead to God. Dead because he took your death and died in your place. Dead because he suffered the harsh judgment of God that belonged to you. Dead because God pronounced the death penalty on you and Jesus came to bear that penalty in your place. Dead because of the wrath of God against you which breathes like a consuming fire to destroy you, but he stood in the way and shielded you from the fire. So behold the cross! It is your punishment, your suffering, your death you see there. That man you see hanging there represents you, he is taking your place. He bore your griefs and carried your sorrows and was crucified for your iniquities. You belong there, as the thief said, "This man is innocent, but we are merely receiving the just rewards for our deeds." We belong there on that cross. By rights it is our cross. But instead it was this man, this Son of Jesse, who was cut down in place of us. For the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. With his stripes we were healed. So there in the tomb lay the dead stump of Jesse.
But God is strong and there is nothing he cannot do. He is a God of life, not a God of death. He is a God who creates life out of death; a God who brings forth a living shoot from a dead stump. He ransomed his soul from the power of Sheol (Ps 49:15). From the dead stump of Jesse that died on a cross and was buried came a living branch. On the third day there appeared a branch of new life. A branch that grew into a great tree and spread its arms into all the world and bears fruit to this day. The Holy Seed that God promised to Adam is that stump that shoots forth with life, he is a righteous branch. Where there was death, he brings forth life. Where there was despair and mourning, he brings shouts of joy. Where there was nothing, there is now the Son of God. Out of death springs forth life. From the stump of Jesse came forth the shoot, the new David, Jesus Christ the Lord. We are just a dead stump, but from that dead stump God raised up life. A shoot from the stump of Jesse shot forth and came to life.
And the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him. The Spirit of the Lord come down upon him at his baptism in the River Jordan and remained on him until he gave it back to his Father from the cross. It was the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Sprit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. The Spirit that is promised to us in Baptism by God's word which says, "Be ye baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive as a gift the Holy Spirit of God." (Acts 2:38). That same Spirit of God who in baptism drowns you. With the law of God he slays you. For, "do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death." (Rom 6:3-4). In baptism the you that was born of the flesh was cut down and put to death. The you that is by nature sinful and corrupt, that was separated from God and dead in sin was put to death. The you that was an enemy of God is killed. In baptism you became the dead stump baptized into the death of Jesus and buried with him into death. The old sinful man that was you, was put to death with him, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you too might walk in newness of life. For if you have been united with him in a death like his, you shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Your old sinful self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that you would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who is dead has been set free from sin. Now if you have died with Christ, you will also live with him. (Rom 6:5-8). For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (I Cor 15:21-22). In baptism you were joined to the shoot that sprang from the stump of Jesse. New life was created in you as you were united to Christ, the son of Jesse. Out of death he creates life. Out of a dead stump comes a living shoot.
And the Spirit that rested upon him, now rests upon you as well. The Spirit of knowledge and fear of God rested upon him and his delight was in the fear of the Lord, so too your delight is now in the fear of the Lord. The Lord who shall judge the world and decide disputes. The Lord who with righteousness shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He is the Lord, and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist. He shall bring an end to all oppression. He shall right all wrongs. He shall set to rights all injustice. He will do away with evil, sinners will be cast out. Hurts will be gone, all injury recompensed, all parties reconciled. Though man cannot stop the advance of the grave, the Son of Man bursts forth from the grave. He is victorious. He shall reconcile enemies and shall restore friendships. He shall reconcile us with God and bring to an end the enmity between man and God. He is victorious. Fear not, O man, for the Son of Man has come, the righteous branch has sprung forth and he who has power over death gives life to his people.
And there shall be peace. Peace between man and God. Peace. Peace that the world cannot understand. He restores righteousness to the world and peace by redeeming us with his blood. He forgives sins and offenses, he brings enemies together in friendship. This he has accomplished on the cross, but it will be brought to completion at the last day when he judges all the world.
In that day the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf with the lion and the little child shall lead them. Yes, peace like the world cannot give. For man is not at peace. Man cannot bring peace or live in peace. Man hates peace and is only capable of stirring up strife and discord and death. But the Son of Man conquers death and brings a different peace, a peace which the world cannot understand.
And on that day 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 shall stand as a signal for the people. Yes, he shall stand, straight as a tree, straight as a cross, stretching his arms out to gather all the world unto himself under the sign of the cross. His cross is the signal for the peoples to come and inquire of him. To his cross shall all nations gather and there we find our resting place in glory. Amen.