Advent Peace

Sermon on Isaiah 11:1-10 prepared by Jonathan Shradar

Isaiah 11:1-10

At the end of ourselves, Jesus brings peace.

Christmastime brings out the best in us, doesn’t it? Nostalgia. The charity. The gift-giving.

“We Are the World”  Bob Dylan’s time to sing.

[The clock inserted into the assembly indicates half past five in the morning. Everyone is ready to see the genius in action, but Dylan can’t sing; he just mumbles something. “You can do it,” says a voice-over coming from the audio control room. He starts again and again, uncertain words coming out of his mouth, a few notes, almost nothing. “I have to try it a few more times.”

He is in obvious difficulty; it is clear that he does not know how to take the two simple sentences that concern him, “there’s a choice we’re making; we’re saving our own lives.”]

Lionel Richie would call it a breakdown. But as for Dylan himself, he later said that he was not convinced of the song’s message. “I don’t think people can save themselves.”

And he was quite right…

Advent begins where human potential ends.

Advent. This season invites us to turn our face toward the future of God, not man.

“The biblical story is rigorously unsentimental. It doesn’t offer optimism. It doesn’t offer “positive thinking.” It looks deeply into human misery, human folly, human pain, and plain old human disappointment. I like what the writer Lance Morrow said about the 20th century era of world wars and genocide: “Instead of a growing Enlightenment, it seems more like an Endarkenment.”

The Advent season, properly understood, is designed to help us understand this “Endarkenment.” It strengthens us for life in the real world, where there are malignant forces actively working against human well-being and the divine purposes of God. This is a world in which no one seems to know what to do about catastrophic famine... a world in which the promise of freedom and democracy in Europe is shifting before the eyes of the world into oppression and autocracy. This is a world in which our very best intentions turn against us.

Advent always begins in the dark. But there is a “but,” and we find it revealed in the story that the scriptures tell.” Fleming Rutledge

We get that about Advent. The season of waiting starts in the dark so the light is all the more brilliant - as we talked of hope last week and the remnant of Israel who beheld distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. As they were thrust into thick darkness… Nevertheless!

Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” (ESV)

Jesus is the light! He is who brings hope!

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (ESV)

This morning our goal is to encounter this Prince of Peace. Asking Who is this Prince, and what is His peace?

At the end of ourselves, Jesus brings peace.

Prince of Peace

The vibe hasn’t changed in two chapters, the prophet is still forecasting the return of a faithful remnant and the arrival of the Messianic King (anointed, promised, permanent).

And just as His light arrives in the dark, He will arise from ashes of expectation.

Isaiah 10:33–34 “Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. [34] He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.” (ESV)

Nothing left but a stump.

In the world of metaphor, an everlasting kingdom should probably come from a tall oak, reaching toward the heavens. In our context, an ancient Redwood.

Why not the forest of Jesse?! Of Jesse, is because of King David (son of Jesse). God made a covenant with David that his kingdom would go on and there would eventually be a great King, a son of David to rule forever.

Wouldn’t that have been more appropriate? A people capable of building a tower to God? Or better yet an increasingly perfect society that eventually has no need of God? That surely is the human impulse, to trust in our capacity for greatness, our schemes of saving, our attempts to generate light.

But generations of rebellion, of injustice, of insatiable appetites for everything other than God and his way, judgment has come and all that is left is a stump. Anything but peace.

A people subdued, in and out of exile, eventually occupied. No real king, certainly not of David’s line.

But it is from this rubble the Prince rises, from this stump the branch grows and bears fruit.

Answering the question, who is the Prince of Peace, well, it’s Jesus. Did we expect a different answer?!

He is the him in question in Isaiah 11.

Jesus was not just a traveling teacher in the first century that made a name for himself by coining some phrases.

He is the creative voice himself, that since the garden was a promised heir who would crush the head of the accuser. Isaiah follows the biblical arc and gives the faithful hope in his arrival.

And into the grit and grime of humanity, Isaiah’s promise began to unfold one holy night.

In a humble town, Bethlehem, David’s town, to unassuming yet faithful parents, he is born.

He identifies with us, knows us, takes on our life, to bring peace.

Philippians 2:6–8 “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (ESV)

Isaiah 11:2 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.” (ESV)

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

This is the One to redeem Israel, God’s people, but he was to redeem them through forgiveness of sin, not empire building as they expected. Upside down but exactly what was needed. It is from what seems hopeless that the branch (Jesus) shall bear fruit.

Isaiah is communicating to Israel that they will get low, humbled, to the end of themselves, then the Messiah will come.

We don’t have the history of Israel, but we are familiar with ruins… if we are honest. But we hear of Jesus, of forgiveness of sin (of the bad in our lives), of a better way of living, of eternal life… and we think not of coming to the end of ourselves but rather building ourselves up to be worthy. To earn, to stand out in the crowd to be noticed and chosen… as if it was our capability that mattered. Then when life comes at us, when we can’t control our anger, when we fail, when relationships are hard, when we cuss a blue streak. Or the darkness just gets too heavy for us. When peace seems impossible, when we seem too weak.

We begin to believe Jesus is not for us. We don’t have what it takes. And we are not sure he does.

“Jesus does not need our mechanisms for power. He has another way to build the world of our dreams. He has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding for leadership, the Spirit of counsel and might for war, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord for holiness. Unlike every other human leader in the sorry length of our history, Jesus is literally qualified to rule the world. We have nothing to fear from him. We are foolish to resist him. We can never be too loyal to him.”

The fullness of the Spirit, still though he is gentle and lowly. Delighting in reverence, the better Adam come to restore what was lost, and call all of humanity to himself. To bring peace.

Not with force, or superiority, violence or oppression, but through justice.

And he only comes, through the stump… when all seems lost, when we come to the end of ourselves.

I love the Bible. Because it reveals Jesus. In Bible study we were reading Matthew thirteen, Jesus teaching through the parable of the sower. Seeds falling on different ground, some taken by birds, some scorched for having no roots, some strangled by thorns, and some in good soul producing grain in abundance. Let those who have ears, let them hear!

Then responding to the disciples' question of why he speaks to the crowds in parables, Jesus quotes from Isaiah.

Matthew 13:11–17 “And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. [12] For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [13] This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [14] Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

[15] For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. [17] For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (ESV)

But we wanted to see the original section of Isaiah so we went to Isaiah 6. It’s from the Prophet’s commissioning before the throne of God. Yahweh speaking…

Isaiah 6:8–13 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” [9] And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

[10] Make the heart of this people dull,

and their ears heavy,

and blind their eyes;

lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

[11] Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”

And he said:

“Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant,

and houses without people,

and the land is a desolate waste,

[12] and the LORD removes people far away,

and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

[13] And though a tenth remain in it,

it will be burned again,

like a terebinth or an oak,

whose stump remains

when it is felled.”

The holy seed is its stump.” (ESV)

Jesus, answering a question about parables, confirming he is the branch from the stump of Jesse. The Prince of Peace comes to bear fruit only when cities lie waste, when the forsaken places are many in the land, when it seems hopeless.

And he comes not for the accomplished or capable, not for the elite and extraordinary. For those who don’t have what it takes.

Promise of Peace

Peace can be a tricky word for us. It can be very broad… describing a whole spectrum from quiet to the absence of war. Or it can be narrow, emphasizing categories of inner peace (how I feel); interpersonal peace (how we feel); international peace (after all, we are the world).

When it comes to defining peace for us then, it may be if one aspect is missing there is no peace at all.

The peace brought by Jesus gets to all of these ultimately but begins with one more important than the rest, peace with God. He gets there through justice.

Look at what he does.

Isaiah 11:3b–4a “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;”(ESV)

Judges by something beyond appearances, not as expected. And then his justice is targeted. With righteousness he shall judge the poor… decide with equity for the meek of the earth.

We can get it twisted, but even here in the messianic promise of justice that brings peace we see God’s priority of the least, the poor and meek.

Those that according to what you might see with your eyes, or hear with your ears, don’t have what it takes. Those that are not wearing righteousness as a belt…

This is us. Now hear me, we are pretty amazing people, gifted, wonderful, talented. But on our own, none of us could bridge the gap that our sin created between us and God. In fact on our own we deserve the judgement reserved here for the wicked.

No better time than Advent to remind ourselves of this. Like Bob Dylan, not confident humans can save themselves, instead come to the end of themselves, in need, and receive from the Prince of Peace who judges differently, with righteousness, equity, by taking on the judgment himself.

Romans 5:6–8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (ESV)

In our place.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (ESV)

Hear how Isaiah describes it.

Isaiah 53:1-12 “Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

[2] For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

[3] He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

[4] Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

[5] But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

[6] All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

[8] By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

[9] And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

[10] Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

[11] Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

[12] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors. (ESV)

This is exactly the good news we need at Christmas, that pushes back against the dark. When we could not, he came to do it for us, to bring peace.

“All of these majestic prophecies about the end of human history come into being in a way that would have been humanly inconceivable: the ordinary birth of an infant in the lowliest of conditions. He was received by most of the world with utter indifference, by some of the world with murderous rage (Herod), but by an infinitesimal few with awe that heaven has come to earth. God came to earth, not the other way around. His movement, his purpose, his promise fulfilled. God’s work, not ours. We could not and we cannot accomplish this with all our learning and all our achievements. Only God can do it.” Fleming Rutledge

Exactly what Jesus claimed he came to do. As he read from the scroll of Isaiah in his hometown Synagogue, he read these words:

Luke 4:18–21 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

[20] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21] And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (ESV)

Essentially, anointed to proclaim good news to those who have come to the end of themselves, to give them the year of jubilee!

Peace with God that gives us life. That frees us to experience his peace, inner peace.

Philippians 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)

“It is Well With My Soul”

When peace like a river, attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well

With my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come

Let this blest assurance control

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate

And hath shed His own blood for my soul”

Formed into more loving, Christlike people, given grace to forgive wrongs done to us, and more aware of wrongs we may do. Interpersonal peace.

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (ESV)

And, anchored in peace with God, it is all headed to international, global peace we can’t even imagine.

Isaiah 11:6–9

[6] 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.

[9] 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. (ESV)

Humanity has tried to build towers and gardens of utopia, reichs, and great nations. But they all have failed, only to leave pain and insecurity.

“A day is coming when God will stop the whole Blitzkrieg of history dead in its tracks. And not just because God will police world politics. He will go down to the root of it all… human pride as the barrier to the world as it should be. That is why Christ came in humility, shaming our savagery. And at his second coming, the Majestic One will stand forth with his glory in full display, renewing the world as a kingdom of peace.”

“When the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, the scars of our ugly utopias will disappear forever under the overflowing healing of Christ.” RO

The future we long for. The return we wait for.

This is the future peace for those that find peace with God through the life, death, and resurrection of the Prince of Peace now.

Isaiah 11:10 “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.” (ESV)

John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (ESV)

The signal is his cross. He wins us not with human swagger and intimidation, not even with human flash and cool, but with his own dying love. The power of his love accomplishes what human schemes never could, peace.

At the end of ourselves, Jesus brings peace.

Come to the end of yourself - You have to be okay being “poor” and “meek,” in need.

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (ESV)

Jesus will still judge, those not found in him will experience the rod of his mouth and the exacting breath of his lips - but if you believe in Him, that He lived, died, and rose for you, then this peace is yours, forever. It is the way to real life.

“The triumph of Jesus will not be the rise of religion. His salvation is not confining that way, not even as private bliss. Nor will he set us in the clouds to play harps and sing massed choirs forever. The victory of Jesus will be the awakening and purifying and restoring and gladdening of all things human. His kingdom is the only final answer to poverty, hunger, injustice, illiteracy, and all the other sorrows we have created.” RO

Be Peacemakers - Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God. Living like Jesus.

Dying to rise. Coming to the end of ourselves is not a rejection of our potential to do beautiful things, or to be used by the Lord to bring peace where we are. Be bold, go for it.

This is how we wait, in his peace, bringing peace, longing for peace. Because we have come to the end of ourselves, and Jesus, the branch from the stump of Jesse, the Prince of Peace, calls us his own. And he will bring us home.

Isaiah 60:17–22 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. [18] Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

[19] The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. [20] Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. [21] Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. [22] The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it. (ESV)

Isaiah 61:1–3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2] to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; [3] to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” (ESV)

Come Lord Jesus.