Isaiah 11:1-9

Intro

If you know me, you’ll know that I’m not a very politically engaged person. I don’t watch the news, I stay off social media, and I generally think those kinds of things have harmful effects on people. That isn’t to say they’re all bad, and in fact I’m going to give a kind of compliment to them: they are ridiculously good at making us realize how desperately broken we are as a people. And each of them are trying to sell us something or someone, some candidate that will finally fix our problems.

In that,

A New King Rises From the Ashes

Context: The Kingdom of Jesse Cut Down

If you’re new to the book of Isaiah, there’s one thing I want to make sure you know about it so that you can follow along with our sermon this morning. Isaiah was a prophet of God who was sent with messages to the people of God. At his time, the kingdom was split between north and south, and Isaiah was sent with messages against both of them.

The reason for this is that the Kingdoms of Israel (north) and Judah (south) had both become diseased with sin and corruption. In his prophecy against these nations, Isaiah employs a helpful illustration.

He pictures these Kingdoms like a forest planted by God. These were, after all, God’s chosen people. This was the Kingdom that God had established through his covenant with David. These were the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand in the sea.

But the forest has become diseased. Instead of being a blessing, the nation has been a curse. They have oppressed the poor, they have been unfaithful to God, they have gone after false gods and have begun to worship idols.

Because of this, Isaiah has prophesied that they will be cut down and set ablaze. Though they will not be entirely uprooted, there is great destruction coming upon them. What was a great forest will become just a stump in a blackened, burnt wasteland of destruction.

This is why the stump is named after Jesse and not David: for David’s Kingdom was great, but Jesse’s name was as nothing. By naming the stump after Jesse, the prophet presses home just how desolate the kingdom will become.

And this prophecy will come true, as the nations of Assyria and Babylon will bring calamity and destruction upon them.

But rather than leave the people with nothing but despair for the destruction that is coming upon them, Isaiah includes this next piece of the illustration:

A New King Promised

Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

Here is where Isaiah prophesies this glimmer of hope. Though the Kingdom will be cut down and set ablaze, there will come forth a shoot out of the ashes, growing from the stump of Jesse, David’s father.

Isaiah foretells that there will be another King in the lineage of David, and this new King will bear fruit. In other words, the forest will grow once more out of this branch — the people of God will not be left for utter destruction.

But who is this shoot from the stump of Jesse? Who is this King in the line of David?

Well after the fall of Judah, there would never be another king to sit on the throne of David. Even after the people returned to Judah, they were set up under the rule of other nations like Persia and eventually Rome.

And so from the fall of Judah, the burning down of the kingdom, there were 600 years where God’s people were waiting for their king to come back. They were waiting for a shoot to come forth out of the stump of Jesse.

And then, according to the Scriptures, in the city of David, that shoot finally came forth in the person of Jesus. From the womb of the virgin Mary came forth a King for God’s people who had been so desperate for one. Here, amidst the ashes of the ruined kingdom, comes forth a king from the line of Jesse, the line of David.

Verse 2 helps us further identify Jesus as the fulfilment of this prophecy

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.”

This King that Isaiah prophesied about would be filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and his reign would be led by this Spirit.

This prophecy was not lost on the disciples, as all four gospels recount this scene from Jesus’ baptism:

Mark 1:9–11 “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

At his baptism, we see Jesus being anointed with the Spirit of the Lord, just as Isaiah prophesied would happen.

And then, as Jesus continued to minister by the Spirit, he taught us about the Kingdom that he came to bring. I think that one parable Jesus told is of special importance considering this Isaiah prophecy. Hear the words of Jesus in Mark

Mark 4:30–32 “And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.””

Do you see what Jesus compares his Kingdom to? Just as Isaiah prophesied that a shoot would come forth from the stump and then grow and bear fruit, Jesus shows how his Kingdom starts off incredible small and yet will grow to be incredibly large.

So Jesus is this shoot from the stump of Jesse, this new king that Isaiah talked about. But what kind of king was this supposed to be? And what would his kingdom be like? Isaiah prophesied about this as well.

King Jesus Protects the Powerless

Isaiah 11:3–5 “And 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, but 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. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

State:

Isaiah states that this new King will be everything that the old kings weren’t. The Kingdom was initially taken from them because of their rampant corruption. Though they were meant to be a blessing, they had become a curse to the land. They were not faithful to God, and they did not judge their people with justice. They showed partiality and oppressed the poor.

The Kingdom Jesus leads will protect the poor and judge the corrupt. He will not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears here. That is to say, he does not judge merely by outward appearances. He does not show partiality. He is not won over by riches or prestige. And consider further the method that this King uses to judge the world:

judge the corrupt by his word — they will be slain

Isaiah 11:4 and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.”

It is clear that he will destroy his enemies — but do you notice his weapon of choice? Do you see how he wages his warfare? It is the rod of his mouth, the breath of his lips. It is his word by which he will judge the world in justice. It is by his word that he will slay the wicked and corrupt

This is how our King Jesus came into this world. He did not come to take it with a show of force or an army of angels, but he came in humility and preached to the world. He is literally the Word of God made flesh, and it is in his word that we see him wield his power. The Apostle Paul also spoke of Jesus in this way

2 Thessalonians 2:8 “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

And when John has his vision of the glorified Jesus, this was one of his observations:

Revelation 1:16 from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”

Through his word, Jesus judges and destroys the corrupt of this world.

And through his word, Jesus also protects the poor and delivers justice to them.

“but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth”

as much as the word of Christ slays the wicked, think also of the great comfort and consolation that it gives to all the downtrodden who come to him.

I think especially of his words in the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew 5:3–12 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Or Jesus’ words to the messengers from John the Baptist:

Luke 7:22–23 “And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.””

King Jesus has brought with him a kingdom that does not judge by outward appearances. His Kingdom is one whose gates are open not to the self-righteous and well-to-do, but to the poor in spirit, to those who repent, to those who come to God in humility.

In the Kingdom of God, all those who were far off have been brought near. All the downtrodden have been given hope. All those who have been oppressed in this life

That’s the first thing we notice about Jesus’ Kingdom: he protects the poor.

Next, we see that his Kingdom brings peace

King Jesus Brings Peace

Isaiah 11:6–9 “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. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 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.”

State:

Remember that Isaiah is foreseeing imminent destruction for the people of Israel and Judah. They will know immense pain, suffering, and violence through war. In fact, for much of their history, this is a people who have experienced many wars.

But in this prophecy about the new King, Isaiah foresees an otherworldly, supernatural peace. The pictures that Isaiah puts into your head are strange and serene at the same time. To see violent predators casually lounging with those who were once their prey is powerful. To see a little baby playing with poisonous snakes seems so wrong, but in this prophesied Kingdom it becomes the norm.

And while I believe that there is a sense in which Isaiah is talking about the natural world ceasing its violence, I believe he uses this as an illustration to describe what is going to be happening more broadly under this new King. Those who were once dangerous, toxic, predators, and preying upon the weak in the world will cease to do so. They will become peaceful and even friendly with those that they used to destroy.

And when you fast forward to the Kingdom that Jesus brought with him, we see even more clearly how he is the fulfilment of this prophecy.

And I want to take a moment to speak to how there is a twofold fulfilment to this prophecy, together with many other prophecies in the Scriptures. In theological language, we will call this phenomenon the “already/not yet.” That is to say, there is one sense in which this prophecy has already been fulfilled, and there is another sense in which we are waiting for the consummation of it.

For the already, think about the kinds of people that made up Jesus’ followers: religious Jews, tax collectors, former prostitutes, and even members of the sanhedrin all in fellowship with one another.

Or take it a step further and think about the story of the Apostle Paul. In him, you had someone who was approving of the murder of Christians and was actively seeking to destroy their entire religion. This man, having an encounter with the risen Lord Jesus on his way to persecute more Christians, was dramatically changed in a moment. He went from persecuting Christians to being helped by Christians, to eventually becoming the man who would write 2/3 of the New Testament. Matthew Henry comments on this happening,

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Isaiah 11:1–9

When Paul, who had persecuted the saints, joined himself to them, then the wolf dwelt with the lamb.

So also now in our own day the church consists of so many brothers and sisters who dwell in harmony when otherwise, left to their own paths, they would have been great enemies. In the kingdom of Jesus Christ we have brothers and sisters in America and China, in Russia and in Ukraine, in Israel and in Palestine, in Germany and England, and all over the world.

We have brothers and sisters who differ on such a wide variety of experiences, interests, backgrounds, but who share an incredible bond as citizens of Christ’s Kingdom.

But while the church does have access to this supernatural peace, we do not quite see it yet in its fulness. For the surrounding world is still so increibly violent and continues to tear itself to pieces. We must also admit that even within the church we are at times susceptible to infighting.

This is where the “not yet” aspect of the fulfilment comes in. We continue to look for the day when our King will return and when he finally consumates his Kingdom. On that day, all of his enemies will be cast out to utter darkness forver. All his people will be gathered to himself and perfected in glory. There will be no more sin, no more anger, no more pain, no more suffering, no more war; only a complete and everlasting peace among the people of God as we dwell with him forever.

Apply: we should strive for the peace of Christ in the church in this age, and hope for the universal peace of his consummated kingdom when he comes again

English Standard Version Chapter 7

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

English Standard Version Chapter 21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Sin has led to great destruction and tragedy. The world itself begins to resemble a forest that has been cut down and burned — only stumps remaining. But in the midst of this scene of destruction, over a landscape of black and gray, there shoots out from one of the stumps a stalk of green.

That shoot coming out of the stump is realized when Jesus is born of Mary.

his Kingdom as a growing plant Mark 4:30–32 “And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.””