Dear Friends in Christ,
They have cut down many ash trees in our neighborhood. The ash borer has destroyed them. In some places, a new shoot already is growing from the remaining stump
. The Messiah’s spiritual kingdom would have such a lowly start. The great forest of the Assyrian army would cut down David’s line until only a stump remained. However, from that stump God would bring forth a shoot that would bear abundant fruit.
We sang of this miracle in our sermon hymn. We will use the title of that hymn for our theme. Behold, A Branch is Growing. It stems from Jesse’s race. He comes to save his people.
The prophet Isaiah continued to look ahead to the glorious days that would follow God’s judgment on Israel for their apostasy. First, he humbled his physical nation. Then, he would exalt his spiritual nation, the church. At the head of the church would be that “shoot,” that “Branch.” He would be a true man, a physical descendant of Jesse, David’s father. Both Mary, biologically, and Joseph, legally are the parents of that shoot. He is of course our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the greater David. He is the eternal King. Unlike David and Solomon, Jesus would be a King first and then draw his kingdom to himself. In Israel, the people chose David. In the kingdom of God, Jesus chooses his people. We and other believers are the fruit the Branch bears.
It was only after the Lord put his people at their lowest that they would appreciate their spiritual deliverance. He does humble the proud and lay the mighty low. He used the instruments of the Assyrians and later the Babylonians to this. Then, when the Lord was through with them, he cut them down by other nations. These nations included the Persians who set the remnant free from Captivity to return to the holy land.
The scepter had departed from Judah at the time of Jesus’ birth and
the Roman occupation. Herod sat on puppet throne. In the darkest day when it looked like all was lost for David’s family, this shoot sprouted forth in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Why did the Lord not grind out this stump of David’s line completely? Why did this shoot, this Branch sprout? He would bear the fruit of souls. He comes to save his people.
Jesus is able to save us because he possesses the qualities Isaiah attributes to the coming King. These are both attributes of nature and attributes of action. He saves us because of who he is and because of what he does.
The Messiah not only was a true man, a descendant from “the stump of Jesse.” “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him.” This is an indication that the Messiah would be true God as well. We confess in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son.
The Holy Spirit came to rest on Jesus at his baptism. The Spirit also goes out from Jesus as he spoke his Word. Jesus sent his Spirit to the church on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is the person who wields great power through the Word of Christ to grow and to preserve the kingdom of God apart from any use of human weapons.
The Holy Spirit would endow the Savior with gifts that would qualify him to be our Redeemer. Notice how intimately the Holy Spirit is connected to these gifts: “The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD, and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.”
Isaiah lists separately these means by which the Savior would extend his kingdom. However, they are not inseparable. They fit together. They endow our Savior, the God-Man, with everything necessary to rule his kingdom of grace. While Isaiah refers them to the Savior, to Christ, as his brothers and sisters, they are the qualities we seek also as subjects in the kingdom of God.
They are in parallel. Wisdom and understanding are having right knowledge and knowing how properly to properly that knowledge. Counsel and might are God’s Word he gives to comfort and strengthen and our paying attention to it for power to overcome discomfort and weakness. Knowledge and the fear of the LORD are God’s Word about getting along with others, for example not abusing our Christian freedom, and godliness, or fear of doing anything that would offend the Lord.
With these qualities, our Savior carries out his saving work. With his Word, the Word of God, Isaiah says that he will judge fairly and without any prejudice. He will not look at outward appearances but at hearts. Things that impress regular people will not impress him. Luther used the example of the Lord not looking more favorably on a girl reading a book over a girl who sweeps the house.
The LORD will judge with righteousness the repentant sinner. He describes them as needy and poor in spirit. With the same righteousness, his Word will strike the unbelievers of the earth and slay the wicked.
There can be no argument with his judgment for the LORD judges in righteousness and faithfulness, which he wears as a belt and a sash around his waist. Could that faithfulness be the golden sash we saw around the living One’s chest in the revelation of heaven we looked at recently?
Because of the Savior’s work of making the decision to forgive us all of our sins by his holy sacrifice on the cross, the Root of Jesse stands as a banner, a battle flag, over all the peoples and nations who rally to him. This is the King first, kingdom comes I talked about earlier. He rules over a peaceful kingdom. Isaiah sees this kingdom in an allegory of animals previously enemies, now friends; a little child who is greater than any harm.
The gospel works that miracle. We see the apostle Paul, once an enemy of the church, but the Lord brought into peace with his former enemies. We see people who once opposed Christ now cling to him in hope and joy. We are at peace with God and greater than any enemy. We find his rest and that rest is glorious. Amen. <SDG>