Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Matthew 3:1-12
Loving Lord, help us to hear and receive the good news of Jesus through your Spirit this day. Amen.
In the early hours of September 28, 2023, the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was chopped down in an act of vandalism that shocked people round the world. People were grieved and angry that such a beloved tree should be felled for no apparent reason. It is difficult to comprehend why it was done, but I think there was a great sense of sadness and grief felt by the local community and indeed tourists and travellers who had walked past it and taken photos to remind them of their journey to it and from it. This 150-year-old tree was reduced to a stump in a matter of minutes.
It seemed all was lost. But fast forward a year to August 2024 when new shoots were reported to be springing up from the base of the stump. All was not lost. There is hope of new life – a new tree growing from the stump of the old... Hope.
I wonder what you’re hoping for this Christmas season? Perhaps it’s a nice peaceful time; perhaps you’re hoping for conflict free family time; or some personal circumstance to improve; you might be hoping for a promotion at work or perhaps some new venture to take off and be successful; you might even be hoping the turkey will be delivered in time!
Sometimes being hopeful can seem like a real challenge, especially as we read and hear about all the turmoil in the world – wars, natural disasters, terrible effects of climate change, political unrest and just so much mistrust and distrust.
This is where God’s word helps to steady our hearts and lift our eyes up to the hills where our help comes from (Psalm 121). God’s word and his good promises act as an anchor in the storms of life and helps us make sense of the times we live in.
Our reading from Isaiah speaks hope into a world that is marred by darkness, injustice and ungodliness. It speaks of a reordering of all creation – human and natural; a time of harmony and right living; a time of God’s just kingdom being restored to how it was meant to be all along, under the Kingship of Jesus.
And so, I want to spend some time in our Old Testament reading where Isaiah the prophet gives us a prophesy of a coming Messianic king from the line of Jesse who will reign with righteousness, justice and peace. The prophesy speaks of harmony among people and the natural world. The prophesy was given to inject hope into God’s people living then and the same is true of us today.
Before we take a closer look at the passage, it’s good to have some context.
Isaiah lived some 700 years before Jesus. During that time Israel was divided into two kingdoms—the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms drifted away from God, deserting the faith of their ancestors and persistently engaged in idolatry.
Most of the kings who followed on from King David were not ruling justly. They lived corrupt, lavish lives without any regard for the poor, the orphan or widows. God had pronounced judgment on his people for abandoning his word and ways. During Isaiah’s lifetime, the northern kingdom of Israel declined and was ultimately destroyed by the rising Assyrian empire as God had ordained.
The southern kingdom of Judah under king Ahaz was facing a similar fate. King Ahaz was a descendant of the great King David. But sadly, he did not heed God’s warning to repent and turn back either.
The situation for Israel as a whole in these first 10 chapters is pretty dire. God has pronounced judgment on his wayward people. But that is not the end of the story. There are also prophesies of hope and restoration.
In verses 1-5 of chapter 11, Isaiah speaks a message of hope into a hopeless situation faced by God’s people in Israel – God will send a Messianic King with the authority of the Holy Spirit. This King will come from the line of David – or as verse one puts it ‘a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse’. Jesse of course was the father of King David.
This coming King will be full of the Spirit of wisdom, of understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and faithfulness. He will govern the peoples with righteousness and justice and wipe away the wicked.
This King is none other than Immanuel – God with us. Though his face is human, his true nature is as a Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. His mission is to heal the scars of the broken hearted, to release captives and to restore what has been lost in the wasting years. All of this is fulfilled in and through Jesus, our Emmanuel. He entered into the brokenness of our world to bring healing and wholeness, to bring reconciliation and restoration.
This Jesus, born in a manger in Bethlehem, is the one Isaiah prophesied about it. He is the hope-bringer, the joy-giver, the one who lifts up the lowly and oppressed and brings down the proud and arrogant. He is the Sprit-filled one who rules with justice and righteousness and who calls us to partner in this work until he comes again. Of course, his just rule hasn’t been fully realised now. It awaits a future fulfilment when Jesus will return again as the Scriptures remind us.
Verses 6-10 paints a picture of this renewed kingdom when there is perfect harmony in all of creation – between humanity and nature. It takes us back to the very beginning of Genesis and the garden of Eden. It reminds us of how God had always intended us to live and paints a picture of the reversal of the fall.
Isaiah is saying God will once again accomplish this. The golden age is yet to come, a time of peace when children will play side by side with formerly dangerous animals. A time when prey and predator will sit side by side and eat grass. People will live in peace with one another. The King will establish his just and peaceful kingdom.
Yes, that’s not the full reality now. We still live in a broken world, marred by war and violence, injustice and suffering. But into the mess of our world, Isaiah’s prophecy is a message of hope fulfilled when God came down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. With his birth in Bethlehem that first Christmas, God’s new kingdom became a reality. And one day Christ will return again to reign over a renewed creation.
Conclusion
Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation. An opportunity to renew our hope in the God who rescues, redeems and renews all of creation. It is a time to reflect and look back on the first coming of Jesus. And it is also a time to look forward in anticipation of his second coming.
Whatever your hopes or fears this time of the year, hear afresh God’s good promises in Isaiah’s prophecy and ask the Holy Spirit to reawaken godly hope in you. The God of the bible specialises in raising new shoots from seemingly dead stumps. He has not abandoned or forsaken us or his creation. Even though it might not feel or look like it, God is working out his good purposes in our lives and his creation now, and will one day bring to fulfilment the vision of Isaiah.
So let me close with the words of St. Paul:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit – Romans 15:13
Amen.