Foretold: The Promise of Advent

“The Prince of Peace”

Text: Isaiah 11:1–10

Theme: Peace under the true King

I. INTRODUCTION — WHAT WE LONG FOR MOST

Advent is a season of longing: hope, justice, restoration, peace.

Our world is saturated with conflict—personal, political, spiritual.

Isaiah 11 speaks into a time of turmoil in Israel—corrupt kings, injustice, and fear—and offers a surprising promise: a King who brings peace.

Today we look at the Messiah promised in Isaiah 11, fulfilled in Jesus, the One who restores God’s original design for leadership and brings true, lasting peace.

II. THE STUMP AND THE SHOOT — GOD’S HOPE RISES FROM RUINS (Isa. 11:1)

A. Judah as a tree cut down

Because of idolatry and unfaithful kings, Israel and Judah are reduced to a “stump.”

The Davidic monarchy looks dead—no king capable of bringing peace.

By the time Isaiah speaks these words, the once-glorious royal line of David has withered. What began with promise—a king “after God’s own heart”—has descended into a long chain of rulers marked by compromise, idolatry, corruption, and fear. The Davidic monarchy, meant to embody God’s justice and shepherd God’s people in righteousness, has become almost unrecognizable.

Instead of leading the people toward the peace of God’s covenant, many kings have led them into deeper conflict—internal division, social injustice, and spiritual wandering. Assyria looms on the horizon, violence is erupting on Israel’s borders, and the people are living in constant dread. The monarchy that was supposed to protect them brings no safety. The throne that once symbolized God’s presence now feels empty, powerless, and hollow.

From Isaiah’s vantage point, the royal line doesn’t just look weak—it looks dead. Like a tree cut down to a stump, nothing seems left but failure and judgment. No king on the throne shows the character, courage, or spiritual authority to bring the peace Israel longs for. The golden age under David and Solomon is long gone; all that remains is disappointment and disillusionment.

And Isaiah’s point is this: Human kingship has run its course. Human power cannot produce divine peace. If peace is going to come, it won’t come from another political savior or another attempt at human monarchy. It will have to come from God Himself. Only God can bring new life out of a dead stump. Only God can raise up a King who truly embodies justice, righteousness, and peace.

B. A shoot from Jesse—not from David

Isaiah intentionally says “Jesse” instead of “David” to signal:

The Messiah will not simply be another flawed king in David’s line.

God will restart the line, going back to the root—back to God’s original intention for leadership.

In invoking Jesse’s name rather than Davids, there is intentionality. The Davidic line will be restored to the point before it had the power that came with a political kingship.

Jesse- David’s father- was just a man, from Bethlehem, with no power as the world defined it in that day. This restoration of the Davidic line is not meant to be a return to power, but a return to something more humble and pure. This restoration of the Davidic line is to be marked by divine empowerment, not political influence and gain.

God’s peace comes not from human political strength but from His Spirit.

To understand the significance of this verse it is helpful for us to not just return to the beginning of the Davidic line, but perhaps to go even further back to the book of 1 Samuel…

III. GOD’S KING VS. HUMAN KINGS — THE FAILED REQUEST (1 Samuel 8)

A. Israel’s misguided request for a king

Israel said, “Give us a king like the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5).

They wanted security, stability, and peace—but through human power, not divine rule.

God warns them: human kings will exploit, take, conscript, and disappoint.

B. The long history of disappointment

Saul’s fear, David’s moral failure, Solomon’s idolatry, and countless unjust kings follow.

The monarchy—meant to bring peace—brings division, war, exile, and instability.

C. Isaiah 11 is God’s answer

Not “a king like the nations,”

But a King like God Himself desires—Spirit-filled, righteous, humble.

Our text is Isaiah actually redefines what a King is for Isreal. Israel’s definition of what a King should be has only failed them, has only drawn them further away from God. They have put their faith in humans, and humans fail. And so, to a people facing oppression from enemies, exile, and all kinds of difficult circumstances, Isaiah give hope through the promise of a restart, not just of the Davidic line, but how Israel is ruled. The remainder of our text today helps us understand this.

IV. THE SPIRIT-FILLED KING WHO BRINGS PEACE (Isa. 11:2–5)

Ruled by the Spirit, not by force

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord.

This is a king who leads by God’s nature, not human ambition.

Unlike human kings who preserve power, this King defends the vulnerable.

True peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice.

Connecting the Text to Jesus Ministry:

The Spirit Rests on Him (Isa. 11:2 → Jesus’ Baptism and Ministry)

Isaiah’s prophecy begins with a king upon whom the Spirit rests in fullness. This is precisely how the New Testament introduces Jesus’ ministry:

At His baptism the Spirit descends and remains on Him (Matt. 3:16; John 1:32–33).

Jesus inaugurates His public ministry with the declaration: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…” (Luke 4:18).

Every act of His ministry flows out of this Spirit-empowered identity—teaching, healing, liberating, forgiving.

Isaiah’s Spirit-filled King becomes Jesus, the Spirit-anointed Messiah.

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, and Might in His Teaching and Actions

Jesus teaches with the wisdom that astonishes His listeners (Mark 1:22). He displays supernatural understanding of the human heart (John 2:24–25). He offers divine counsel that realigns people with God’s will. He exhibits “might,” not through violence, but through healing, deliverance, and resurrection power.

His authority is moral and spiritual, not political or military—mirroring Isaiah’s vision of a king who rules by God’s Spirit rather than force.

Fear of the Lord → Jesus’ perfect obedience

The “fear of the Lord” in Isaiah is about reverent trust. Jesus embodies this completely:

“Not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

“I always do what pleases Him.” (John 8:29)

His life is oriented toward the Father with perfect fidelity. The king Isaiah describes finds fulfillment in Jesus’ obedient life.

V. THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM — SHALOM UNLIKE ANY OTHER (Isa. 11:6–9)

A. The imagery of wolves and lambs

Isaiah paints startling images:

Wolf with lamb

Leopard with goat

Calf and lion together

Child playing safely near a snake’s den

This is not a sentimental Hallmark illustration. It is a radical reversal of the natural order shaped by sin, fear, and violence.

What the imagery means

1. Hostility replaced by harmony Predator and prey—symbols of fear, danger, and competition—now coexist without harm. This evokes a world where violence, suspicion, and relational brokenness have been healed.

2. Predators transformed Isaiah does not merely say God will protect the weak; he says the strong are changed. Their instincts are reordered. Their nature becomes peaceful.

3. The vulnerable no longer afraid The lamb, the calf, and even the child are safe in a world without threat. This is shalom: total well-being, security, and flourishing.

Isaiah is giving a picture of creation restored to its original purpose—life governed by God’s peace.

B. This peace starts now

In Christ’s first Advent, the Kingdom breaks in.

Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom at His first coming:

He reconciles enemies.

He heals internal and relational brokenness.

He forms a new community (the Church) that embodies the peace of the Kingdom.

He breaks down dividing walls of hostility—between Jew and Gentile, sinner and saint, oppressed and oppressor (Eph. 2:14–16).

In Jesus, the peaceable kingdom has begun.

Wherever Christ reigns, wolves become lamb-like, and lambs are made safe.

Examples in Jesus’ ministry:

Spiritual enemies are reconciled (Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery).

Outsiders and insiders sit together at His table.

Demonic oppression yields to healing and peace.

In His second Advent, the Kingdom is completed.

While peace begins now, it will be finished at Christ’s return:

All creation will be reconciled.

Hostility, fear, and death will be fully destroyed.

The earth will be “full of the knowledge of the Lord” (Isa. 11:9).

And so in Jesus birth and ministry, we see a spirit-filled King take the throne in a Kingdom of Peace. But what I think is interesting, is when we take a look at the moments of his coronation. Forgive me, I know its Christmas and not Good Friday, but I think the events of the cross help bring this prophecy and the importance of the birth of this baby into full understanding.

VI. THE KING WITH A CROWN OF THORNS — GOD’S TRUE KINGSHIP REVEALED

A. Jesus is crowned in mockery, but the crown reveals the truth

While human kings wear gold to announce power,

Jesus wears thorns to announce sacrificial love and reconciling peace.

B. The cross restores God’s original design for rule

God’s rule was always meant to be:

Servant-hearted, Spirit-filled, righteous, and peace-giving.

The cross exposes the failure of human kingship and fulfills Isaiah 11’s promise.

C. Peace comes not by domination, but by self-giving love

“He himself is our peace” (Eph. 2:14).

Peace is not just what Jesus brings—peace is who Jesus is.

And with a crown of Thorns, a cross, a tomb and a stone rolled away, we see God’s design for Kingdom rule restored. We see a return to the humble beginnings where Israel was ruled by God directly, not by a human king. We see a perfect king who rules in peace not influence, or corruption or oppression.

And what I think is beautiful about how God returns to his original design for rule, is that he didn’t storm through the door, he didn’t coerce, he didn’t unleash his full power and might. Well he did, but not in the way we would expect. He crowned his king with humility in the crown of thorns, his King took the nails and the punishment he didn’t deserve choosing to begin his reign from a place of sacificial love and peace. And in all that, he didn’t defeat armies or nations, but rather chose to take on death itself. None of Israel’s Kings had really done any of this. God chose to display his rule through the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus. All of Israel’s Kings had failed to produce a lasting peace, but in the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus, God ushers in a reign of peace that cannot be matched.

VII. THE NATIONS STREAM TO THE PEACEFUL KING (Isa. 11:10)

Isaiah 11:10 NIV

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

A. A signal for the peoples

Jesus draws not just Israel, but all nations to Himself.

Isaiah declares that the “root of Jesse” will stand as a signal (Hebrew: nēs, a banner or standard) for all peoples. In the ancient world, a banner was raised to gather, rally, and unify people under one leader. It was a visible point of identity and hope.

Jesus as the Signal—Lifted Up for the World

Jesus fulfills this when He says

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

His crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation become the banner under which the nations gather. Not through coercion, political force, or conquest—but through sacrificial love.

A Messiah for All Nations

Isaiah’s vision extends the scope of salvation beyond Israel:

The Gentiles will seek Him.

The nations find rest and hope in Him.

The global family of God begins at His feet.

This is echoed repeatedly in Jesus’ ministry:

Wise men from the nations come to worship Him at His birth.

He heals Gentiles (Centurion’s servant, Syrophoenician woman’s daughter).

He declares His temple a “house of prayer for all nations.”

He commissions His disciples: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Jesus is the king who gathers humanity into one redeemed community.

The Church as the Sign of His Gathering Work

Jesus continues to draw the nations through His Spirit-filled people:

At Pentecost, the nations hear the gospel in their own languages.

The early church becomes a multicultural, multiethnic fellowship.

Paul cites Isaiah 11:10 directly in Romans 15:12 to show the gospel’s universal scope.

Where Jesus is lifted up—in worship, witness, holiness, and sacrificial love—people are drawn.

VIII. APPLICATION — LIVING UNDER THE PRINCE OF PEACE

1. Receive His peace

Peace with God through salvation.

Peace within through the Spirit’s sanctifying work.

2. Practice His peace

Forgiveness, reconciliation, justice, mercy.

Embodying the peaceable kingdom in everyday relationships.

3. Proclaim His peace

Advent is evangelistic: the world is hungry for peace.

We point to Jesus, not human solutions or earthly kings.

IX. CONCLUSION — FORETOLD, FULFILLED, AND COMING AGAIN

Isaiah foretold a King who brings true peace.

Jesus fulfilled that prophecy—first in humility with a crown of thorns.

He will return in glory as the Prince of Peace.

Until then, we live as people shaped by His peace, participating in His Kingdom, anticipating His coming.

“May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely.” (1 Thess. 5:23) A fitting blessing for Advent—and a fitting response to The Prince of Peace.