The closing months of this year have marked a couple of major centenaries. November was, of course, the centenary of the ending of World War One. December has its own special centenary. It’s one hundred years since the very first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in Kings College, Cambridge. And over the past hundred years, that service has been adopted and adapted all around the world - and we’ll use it this evening at our Carols by Candlelight service.
The idea is simple. In nine Bible readings, we are taken through the story of God’s rescue plan - from Genesis 3, through some of the prophecies, to the events of the first Christmas, ending with the reading of the Christmas Gospel from John chapter 1: ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory...’
In the run-up to Christmas, we’ve been looking at some of the nine lessons. And, while we won’t use this one tonight (we’re using the alternative reading from Micah 5), it’s part of the traditional Nine Lessons set. It’s a prophecy all about the baby in the manger, who is the king of the universe. And in vivid images, we get a glimpse of who Jesus is, and what his kingdom will be like.
So let’s dive in to verses 1-3, where we find the King’s qualifications. The first qualification of being king is coming from the right family line. So, while I wouldn’t mind being king of the United Kingdom, I’m not qualified, because I don’t come from the Windsor family line. The people who are qualified are Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George.
And here in the reading, the qualifying family line is that of King David. A couple of weeks ago we heard the promise to David that one of his sons would reign forever. So to be the Messiah, you need to come from David’s line. But do you see how it’s described in verse 1?
‘A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.’
If you’ve been out for a walk in Gosford or Clare Glen or Loughgall Country Park, you might have seen something like this. A tree has been cut down. There’s just a stump. It looks done for. Dead wood. But if you look closely, over time, there’s one little shoot coming up. It’s nowhere near as big as the stump, but it’s coming up, there’s life, there’s hope, there’s a new start.
And that’s the picture here, that Isaiah gives. When Isaiah was prophesying, the kingdom of Judah (David’s sons) still reigned, but they were effectively dead wood. A long way short of what David had been; a long way short of what God had promised. And shortly after Isaiah, the kingdom would go into exile. The tree would be felled. Only the stump remaining.
It would look tiny, ineffectual compared to the other nations round about. But if you look back to the end of chapter 10, God says through Isaiah that the lofty trees (the nations) will be felled - and instead this shoot will come from the stump of Jesse - Jesse the father of David, the root of the whole family line. And more, the shoot will grow, will become ‘a Branch’ that ‘will bear fruit.’
The King comes from the right family line. That’s important (which is why Matthew starts his gospel with the family tree of Jesus). But it’s not the only qualification. The other is to be Spirit-empowered:
‘The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.’ (2-3)
The ideal king will be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And in those verses, we see what the Spirit is like, and what the Spirit will give to the king. He is the Spirit of the LORD, the promise-making, promise-keeping God. He is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. The Spirit will enable the king to rule wisely, powerfully, as he walks in the fear of the LORD.
That fear of the LORD isn’t a phobia type of fear - you know, like arachnophobia is being afraid of spiders, or pognophobia is being afraid of beards. No, the fear of the LORD is an awe-filled, respect and honour for the LORD. And it’s this qualification that marks out the true king. Before King David, there was King Saul, but God rejected him for disobedience. Instead, God told Samuel the prophet that he was going to appoint ‘a man after my own heart.’ David was that man, but here we see the perfect king, Spirit-empowered, and truly delighting in the fear of the LORD.
Now those qualifications combined mean that, as much as we may think it, we are not the Messiah. We are not the world’s Saviour! That position is already filled, by the one who was descended from Jesse, the shoot and Branch, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit at his Baptism, as the dove descended on him. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the king. He is uniquely qualified.
Next, we see the characteristics of his reign - justice and righteousness. First up, he judges justly:
‘He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.’
So if he doesn’t judge by what he sees and hears, then how will he judge? Isaiah is pointing to the fact that this king doesn’t only see and hear the outside - our words and deeds. This king knows and judges based on our internal motives - our intentions and ambitions and motives for doing or saying something.
Sometimes we do good things for the wrong reasons - because we want to be thought well of by others; or to look good; or to shame others. While others only see our actions or hear our words, and might indeed think well of us, Jesus the King sees our heart and knows our motives. It’s that he is judging. And so his judgement is effective, and fair, and truly impartial. He will ensure justice for all, especially for the needy, and the poor of the earth.
But more than that, righteousness will be characteristic of his reign. So everything that is right, and in right relationship with God will flourish and prosper, but whatever stands opposed to God will be destroyed. No longer will sin spoil God’s creation:
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist.’ (3-5)
It’s not that he has halitosis, a case of bad breath so deadly that he will slay the wicked with it. Rather, it’s the breath of his lips, the rod of his mouth, his word that will slay the wicked (as picked up by 2 Thess).
We’ve seen the qualifications of the King (the shoot of Jesse, Spirit-empowered), and the characteristics of his reign (justice and righteousness). In the last verses (6-9) we see the effects of his reign.
If you’ve been to Belfast Zoo recently, or Dublin Zoo - it’s all on the flat - then you’ll know that all the animals are in their own enclosures. They’re all kept separate. Lions in one. Leopards in another. The zoo farm in another area. Here and now, you wouldn’t find these verses in a zookeeper’s instruction manual:
‘The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.’ (6-7)
As Woody Allen once said, the lion will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep. To try this now would be a disaster - wolves and lambs; calves and lions, and a little child in with them? Cows and bears together? Not a chance! Not now anyway, but this is a picture of Messiah’s kingdom of peace. Enemies reconciled. No more danger or threat of violence. And that’s seen in how children will play:
‘The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.’
The cobra and the viper are both poisonous snakes, deadly especially to infants. These days you stay away from them, but then, the danger will be gone. Christ’s reign of peace will have come to fruition:
‘They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.’
No harm, no destroying, no death. Instead, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD. Everyone will know him, be in relationship with him, live out that righteousness, and flourish in this reign of peace. And the knowledge of the LORD will be so full it’ll be like the waters cover the sea. Whenever you see the sea, there’s water. Waters and sea are the same - the sea is full of water! And the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD. We’ll all know him fully, as we are fully known. The effect of Messiah’s reign will be peace.
And, just beyond the poem part, we see verse 10. ‘In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.’
The Lord Jesus is a banner for the peoples - a standard, a flag, calling people to himself - good news of great joy for all the people, because the Saviour has been born. It’s what Jesus himself says in John 12: ‘But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ The cross stands as a banner, calling you to Jesus, the qualified king, who rules justly and will destroy the wicked, who offers you his peace through his salvation. It’s all possible because Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Son of David, the Son of God. Will you come to him today?
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 23rd December 2018.
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