O Root of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1–2 ESV

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 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.

Revelation 22:16 ESV

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage, Come quickly to deliver us.

Introduction

In the Name of Jesus, our coming Advent King. Amen.

We continue with our study of the great O Antiphons of Advent today.

The imagery is striking here. Jesse, the father of David, represents Israel in this text. And Isaiah refers to him as a stump. A stump is what is left when you cut down a tree. Most people don’t like stumps left on their lawn, so tree cutters have a machine called a “stump grinder” that pulverizes the stump into sawdust, removing it altogether.

The stump of which Isaiah speaks is Israel. She was a glorious tree in her day. The 12 Tribes of Jacob. The Temple. The priesthood. The Judges. The Kings. She was a strong tree, budding with the hope of Messiah.

But enter sin. Idolatry and adultery, ego, false invincibility, pride, and that unmovable, unshakable tree was cut down by God Himself. Her city, Jerusalem, was ultimately attacked, the Temple tumbled, those left went into exile, then came the diaspora, and then Israel was no more. All her glory vanished. The tree was cut down, never to regrow. Even modern day Israel is not the Israel that once held the glory of God’s presence. All was lost.

But then, out of the stump, grows the shoot. The promised shoot. It took the death of Israel to bring about the promise that God made to Adam and Eve in the Garden that He would send a Savior to rescue them from what they had done to themselves and all mankind. But there it was. Prophesied by Isaiah and, as we are told in the Revelation, fulfilled by Jesus Himself. Jesus. Israel reduced to one, who now recreates Israel as the Church, comprised of believing Jews and Gentiles. God kept His promise. Messiah comes from Israel. But Israel became a stump before that happened. But happen, it did.

The O Antiphon calls Jesus an “ensign”— don’t confuse that with the military rank of “ensign”- spelled the same, but different words. Originally the ensign carried the ensign, which was a standard, a banner, that would lead the troops into war. Now, God’s soldiers, Jesus’ followers, follow the banner of His Cross, “forward into battle, see His banners go!”

It is this shoot who leads us through this world of sin to the joys of heaven. Our texts show us three ways that He does this. Each of these sections begin with an “R”: First, this Ensign brings hope through RESCUE that we see in our Old Testament Lesson. Second, our Epistle calls us to REPENTANCE, showing us that the reason the world is still here is that it is God’s desire that ALL reach Repentance. And finally, in our Gospel, through our repentance and faith we are called to make READY the way of the Lord in this World.

Comfort, Comfort My People.

Isaiah, the same one who gives us the hope of the Shoot of Jesse, is commanded by the Lord to comfort God’s people. It’s interesting to note that some call the book of Isaiah a “mini Bible.” There are 66 chapters in Isaiah, just like there are 66 chapters in the Bible. The first 39 chapters lead us up to the time of the Exile in Babylon. The first 39 books of the Bible are known to us as the “Old Testament.” Beginning with Isaiah 40, the theme switches to hope and deliverance of God’s people. There are 27 chapters in this second section just as there are 27 books in the New Testament. And this second section begins with God commanding Isaiah to “Comfort his people” and to announce to them that their warfare is over. In this context the Lord is speaking about the exile in Babylon.

But God brings us even better comfort, as He commands His pastors to bring His own people the comfort and joy of Jesus. And what better comfort is there? Your sins are forgiven. Your faith is guarded. Your hope is real and living. For this shoot of Jesse has become the vine and we the branches who bear the fruits of faith and the Holy Spirit. Even though the Grass of our lives wither with age, and the flowers fall, the Word of the Lord stands forever for you. His promise of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life are your very hope.

The shoot of Jesse brings us hope and comfort.

Not Slow

The message of Advent is repentance. The Advent of which I speak now is not the first coming of Jesus, though much of the Church today looks at Advent in the rear view mirror and sees it as solely connected with Christmas. But our Epistle shows us that Advent is yet to take place. The consummation of Advent will take place when King Jesus returns in the clouds of glory and brings this world to a fiery, explosive end, having judged all of the Nations. Yes, it is really bad out there right now. Evil is having its day. Deplorable, deviant behavior is called good and wholesome; believing in God, having strong morals, letting God’s Word be the last word on absolutely everything in our lives is the new evil that must be eradicated. Abortion is a celebrated right, meanwhile it has claimed the lives of more human beings than all of the war deaths and the holocausts of the world combined. And that is just in our country. Something is terribly wrong about this. Why in the world doesn’t King Jesus come today— and answer that prayer of Maranatha, cried out by His followers ever since He ascended?

Peter is clear.

2 Peter 3:8–9 ESV

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The fact that the world goes on ever since creation is a sign of God’s mercy, not of His forgetfulness or inability to deliver on His promise. He desires all to repent so that none perishes. That is love. God’s still waiting for those who hate Him and live contrary to His Word to repent so that they would experience the joy of the Gospel. Because of hardened hearts, unfortunately, the Bible tells us that there are “thoughtless thousands” who “choose the road that leads the soul away from God...” That breaks God’s heart: He’s given them an out that they refuse to receive.

But God is also waiting on us to repent— to repent daily of our sins and to believe His absolution that because of Jesus’ death our sins are nailed to the Cross and left dead in His tomb. This is how we prepare to meet Him.

2 Peter 3:14 ESV

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Make Ready

It is through this repentance to which the Holy Spirit calls us through John the Baptist, that God makes ready the way of the Shoot of Jesse to come and to deliver His people.

Mark 1:1–3 ESV

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”

We prepare the way of the Lord in our lives through repentance. Through faith. Through growing strong in His Word and heeding both John’s voice and Jesus’ voice. The crookedness of our life of sin is straightened by the Lord Himself. Indeed, he turns our lives inside out and upside down: The crooked made straight, the hills made low, the rough places smooth, the dead alive.

The world may be really messed up right now. Our country may be really messed up right now. But the King of Kings will silence those who celebrate sin and debauchery. They stand mute before His judgment. And the nations of the earth will one day all stand before Judge Jesus to give answer for their sin. Their knees will bow, their tongues will confess Jesus as they hear His dreaded command, “Depart from me.”

For us, our plea remains for Jesus to lead us through life with the banner of His cross despite the battle: O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage, come quickly to deliver us.

Maranatha.

Amen.