AN ADVENT PROCLAMATION TO STIR UP EXPECTATION.
Isaiah 11: 10
An Advent Sermon by:
Rev. H.A. Bergsma
PUBLISHED BY THE
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA
(November 2006)
LITURGY:
Votum
Psalter 111
Law of God
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11: 1 – 12
Text: Isaiah 11: 10
Psalter 162
Congregational Prayer/
Offerings
Psalter 262
Sermon
Psalter 363
Thanksgiving Prayer
Psalter 237
Doxology: Psalter 196
Congregation of the Lord,
The season of Advent reminds us that the Church of Jesus Christ is to be an expectant Church.
Advent tells us, “Jesus Christ is coming! Prepare and be ready to receive Him!”
Throughout history, God’s Word has promised that Jesus Christ would come, and that people should be ready for His coming.
And by the way, this also pertains to His second coming … we must be ready for that still-to-come event!
Even today, God’s Word makes this sort of promise.
Now, prophetic proclamations of the coming of Jesus Christ could already be heard in the Old Testament.
And God meant, by such proclamations, among other things, to stir people to great expectations.
We have such a proclamation by the words of our text, spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, who, himself, was expecting the coming of Jesus Christ and said, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10)
Let us listen then to …
AN ADVENT PROCLAMATION TO STIR UP EXPECTATION
1.From Low Beginnings
- Towards A Central Point
- For A Glorious End
Congregation,
Allow me first to give you some background to our text.
The people of Isaiah’s time were in for some rough times.
Especially Galilee, the northern province of Israel was already in a state of distress.
The Assyrian armies were at the borders, threatening to invade.
Beyond that … the mighty Babylonian empire promised to be a worse threat yet.
In the meantime the voice of the Prophet Isaiah was heard in the streets of the nation, declaring that those foreign invaders would bring on unimaginable pain and destruction.
The prophet also declared the reason for this, because, as he said, the Lord God would actually use those foreign powers to punish Israel for its sin and its unfaithfulness.
The results of such punishment would be – so Isaiah prophesied – that very little would remain in Israel; the nation would be brought to its knees, and even Israel’s once illustrious royal house would be left to nothing more than a cut down tree stump.
Dear people! The consequences of sin and unfaithfulness can be very severe.
Israel in Isaiah’s time is a case in point.
However, Israel has not remained an isolated case.
Without fail, God punishes sin and unfaithfulness … whether this is the sin and unfaithfulness of a nation, of a church, or of an individual … God does come with His punishments sooner or later.
The Bible constantly admonishes us we must repent of our sin and come back from our unfaithfulness, if we have not done so already.
But now back to our text.
There is something wonderful about our text; something altogether out of character with the rest of the passage.
It is like a light in darkness, and like a word of cheer amidst great gloom.
The Prophet Isaiah had to proclaim that, although God does punish sin and unfaithfulness … he could also offer some hope to the people – in fact, he could proclaim salvation to them.
You see, congregation, more often than not, we discover God in His Word, stirring up His people to expect it all from Him alone.
This is what He does in our text as well by the Prophet Isaiah.
Those words of our text are words of Advent.
This means that they are words meant to stir up great expectations of the coming of Someone very wonderful and very glorious.
But this Someone of whom we may have great expectations has some low beginnings.
And so our text says, “In that day” … speaking therefore of a specific day, … “In that day, there shall be a root of Jesse.”
Now, this is prophetic language spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, language that wants to bring a specific picture to our minds … “In that day there shall be a root of Jesse.”
What does he mean with “that day”?
Well, this can mean nothing else but Christmas Day … the birth of Baby Jesus.
And speaking of “a root of Jesse” … who is this “Jesse”?
Well, Jesse is the father of King David.
Jesse is therefore known as the father of the royal house of Israel.
But this royal house of Israel would suffer a great downfall.
Because of Israel’s sin and unfaithfulness, the royal house of Israel would be cut down as a tree is cut down.
All that would be left would be like a stump … like a tree-stump.
And you know that after a while, a tree stump can look like a real mess … some dead wood on the surface; ants crawling all over it; worms digging into it, and people walking all over it.
Now, the Prophet Isaiah speaks here of such a tree stump, which he calls in our text “a root of Jesse.”
He speaks of it in this way to point out that this would be all that would remain of the once illustrious royal house of King David after God would pass through with His judgments … a stump of a tree.
You will not even be able to identify it anymore as being once a tree of David’s royal house, because it would be nothing more than a stump … a root of a tree … a root of Jesse.
Imagine congregation, what this must have been for the royal house of David.
Once upon a time this royal house was like a beautiful oak tree, straight and tall; but it would be cut down and become nothing more than a stump … a root of Jesse.
I suppose if David could have risen from his grave for a few moments to stand next to that stump, he may have lamented as he once did upon the death of King Saul and his friend Jonathan … “The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19)
But now, what would happen to this root, this stump, called the root of Jesse?
Isaiah saw it happening in prophetic vision … a shoot would begin to grow from that stump.
You can read of this already in verse 1 of our text chapter … “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”
What is this all about?
Well, you see, this is nothing less than the announcement of a great event coming up … something to stir the people’s expectations.
It is nothing less than the announcement of the birth and coming of a descendant of the royal line of David … it is the announcement of the birth of the Lord Jesus!
On Christmas day we hope to hear more about this … but you see … Joseph and Mary were the only people left of the royal house of David.
They were like the stump of a cut-down tree … the root of Jesse.
But from that root came forth the Lord Jesus as a fresh shoot, as it says in Isaiah 53:2 “He shall grow up … as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.”
There you have it!
This is the word that the Lord God used to stir His people to great expectations.
Now, when the Prophet Isaiah spoke those words, the royal house of David had already fallen.
It had already turned into a stump of Jesse.
But from such low beginnings the people were to have their expectations.
Out of the virtually dead, God would bring forth life.
From the fallen, God would raise up a great Person.
On that day, that first Christmas day, the Messianic Age would be ushered in; then Jesus, the Messiah, the Promised One, would be born.
But He would have low beginnings … just a root of Jesse.
Congregation! You and I must also have our expectation from this low beginning … not from the powers of man; not from the wealth of this world; not from the wisdom of the scientists and philosophers, but from those low beginnings, even from the root out of the stump of Jesse … that is, from Jesus, born of Mary.
Well now, in the second place, this advent proclamation should stir our expectations Towards A Central Point.
Our text goes on to describe Jesus, this root of Jesse, “which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek.”
What may the people of Israel expect of this Jesus, this root of Jesse?
They may expect that He will not remain obscure.
He may have low and humble beginnings, but as a branch, He will grow up and out, and He will stand up and stand out!
He will become an “ensign of the people” or a “banner to the people” which means that He will become a rallying point, around which all His people will gather themselves.
We know that Jesus did not remain obscure for long after He was born.
Shortly after His birth, His fame spread abroad.
First, His fame spread amongst the faithful who had longingly expected His coming … some poor shepherds of Bethlehem, and a feeble Simeon, and an aged Anna.
Then His fame spread amongst the enquiring and adoring wise men from the East, who came to worship Him with gifts.
And when Jesus began His public ministry, His fame spread rapidly amongst the common people of the land, as he went out to seek and to save the lost.
Jesus became an “ensign” – a “banner” to all of them.
In fact, Jesus began to lift Himself among the people, much like a banner would be lifted up.
He stood amongst them; He dwelt amongst them; he preached and worked amongst them.
He made Himself accessible to the fearful and the trembling.
He was sympathetic to the anxious and the despairing and the sorrowing.
He reached out to the children amongst them with arms of tenderness and compassion.
He always had time for the questions of a rich young ruler, or for a Nicodemus, or even for an earnest scribe or Pharisee.
He took time to teach the multitudes with the Words of Life; and He was always ready to instruct His disciples in the deeper things of spiritual life.
Jesus stood for a banner to the people.
He became their rallying point so that they could gather around Him.
For many of them, Jesus became the central point of life.
Simon Peter once aptly articulated what Jesus meant to Him and his fellows, “To whom shall we go Lord, for thou hast the Words of life.”
Dear people! Has Jesus already become your Banner … your rallying point … your central point of life?
Are you focused on the central point of Advent expectation … Jesus, the root of Jesse?
Is your expectation alone of Him?
Or do you still have other expectations that are perhaps more important to you?
What is it that you expect of life? Riches? Pleasures? Fame?
Or, for you who are older … what is it that you still expect of life?
A comfortable retirement, perhaps? Some travelling? A return to health?
Should your highest expectation not be of Jesus Christ first and foremost?
Should He not fill you with expectation, especially now in this Advent season?
Can you anticipate that the best is yet to come for you from Jesus?
Our text declares him as the Banner to the people, the rallying point, the central figure of the people’s expectation.
There is something else yet that our text says about this “root of Jesse” … being the Banner to the people … “to it shall the gentiles seek.”
It is interesting that the Apostle Paul quotes our text in Romans 15:12, and gives a good explanation of it … “There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.”
Let us put this all together now, and I hope that you follow the reasoning of our text …
Jesus, the root of Jesse is the banner to the people … the rallying point around whom all the people gather.
But He is more than that … He has the drawing power in Him, able to attract the gentiles, so that those gentiles will begin to seek Him and begin to trust in Him.
Jesus Himself spoke of this drawing power once, when He said, “And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men to me.”
Well this is what our text conveys to us … Jesus, from such low beginnings, a root from the stump of Jesse will become the rallying point and the drawing-power for people … Jews and gentiles alike.
No one, past, present, or future figure will ever occupy such a central position in the history of mankind as Jesus the Messiah, born on Christmas Day.
It is no wonder, congregation, that He must be central in our preaching.
He is the One who must be lifted by the Gospel.
John Calvin said it this way once … “By the preaching of the Gospel, His banner is stretched aloft!”
Congregation! Whether you want to classify yourself as His people or as gentiles, I may proclaim this same Jesus to you.
This root of Jesse, with such low beginnings has risen to be the banner around whom you may rally, to whom you may come and gather, whom you may seek and trust, upon whom you may fasten all your hopes and expectations.
Again, now with Christmas coming up shortly, what are your expectations of Jesus?
Do you have any expectations of Him for yourself … for your own spiritual life?
Is He your banner and the central point of your life?
Many people will be gathering together in the next number of weeks … society gatherings; special meals; special concerts; family gatherings; Christmas; Old and New Years … but will He, the Lord Jesus be central in all of them?
Or will other things become more central in your gatherings?
Think about this Advent text as you plan your get-togethers for the weeks or days to come, and see if the banner of Jesus the Saviour can be stretched aloft in all of them.
My fellow believers! The Lord, through His Word and Spirit wants to raise your expectations, stirring you up to expect great things yet from this root of Jesse.
Do you not feel drawn and attracted by Him?
He draws with cords of love … “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
You may expect this from Him.
But remember this as well … He is the banner for which the gentiles will seek … therefore, are you holding Him up as banner for the gentiles?
That too is part of advent expectation …
Do you have great expectations of Jesus Christ, not only for your self, but also for others, even for the gentiles?
We can sometimes become so absorbed with ourselves, and then we celebrate Christmas only for our personal edification, but forget that there are gentiles out there, who also must be gathered to Him, and who also must seek Him and learn to trust in Him.
How great are your expectations in that regard?
Our text is an uncovering text, because it speaks of Jesus, “ a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek.”
I trust this is also your expectation.
Well, lastly, there is also a Glorious End to our text, when we read about Jesus …“ and his rest shall be glorious.”
You could also interpret this … “and his rest shall be glory.”
For the people in Isaiah’s time this prophecy must have been hard to accept and believe.
There was nothing but unrest and turmoil and distress around them.
With enemies around them and coming towards them, the people didn’t even know what rest was like anymore.
It was for this reason therefore that the Prophet Isaiah spent some time on describing rest in some very picturesque language.
You can read this in the verses 6 through 9 … read it again at home.
That’s a description of the rest in glory that all believers in Christ may expect and anticipate.
Then all of creation shall be at peace; everyone shall be in harmony one towards the other.
Then there will be no harsh words spoken to one another, no backbiting, no hating, no fear, no anger, no distrust or suspicions anymore.
Then shall natures and characters be tamed.
Then shall love abound one for another.
Then shall there be no more pain or sorrow or sadness.
Then shall everyone gather around Jesus … everyone who has been drawn and attracted to Him here in this life.
Then shall all expectations zero in on Him, and everyone who has expected it all from Him alone shall never be disappointed hereafter in glory.
Because his rest shall be glorious.
It is Advent, dear people!
It will soon be Christmas again.