Second Sunday in Advent

 Sermon Text: Isaiah 11:1-10

 Other Readings: Romans 15:4-13 and Matthew 3:1-12

 

  1. Jesse is the father of King David and, thus, an ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-6). But why does this prophecy liken Jesse to a “stump” and Jesus to “a shoot”?
     
  1. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are both God and united within the Trinity. So, in what sense did the Holy Spirit “rest on [Jesus]” (v. 2) and give Jesus his power and blessings? What scene from Jesus’ life depicts this?
  1. What are verses 6-9 describing?
     
  2. In verse one, Jesus is called “a shoot” but in verse 10 he is called “a banner”. What is the comfort in that progression from “shoot” to “banner”?

 

  1. God promised that King David’s royal line would live on forever after him, but David’s ancestors wandered from God’s heart, led God’s people into spiritual rebellion, and forced God to punish them with exile in Babylon. That Babylonian Captivity made it seem like Jesse and David’s royal line was dead and gone, like the stump of a tree cut down. But Jesus’ conception and birth came out of nowhere as a sign that God’s promise still lived on, just like a tender shoot pops out of a stump.
     
  2. Our Lutheran ancestors put it this way, “Upon Christ the Lord, according to his assumed human nature, rests the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge. The entire fulness of the Spirit has been communicated by the personal union to Christ according to the flesh, which is personally united with the Son of God” (Formula of Concord). It’s not like Jesus in his divine nature was lacking the Holy Spirit; they had been united since eternity. But his human nature was given the Holy Spirit.

We can think of the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus being depicted in Jesus’ baptism. The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form as a dove. Jesus’ human nature was equipped with the power to do the public ministry he was about to embark on.

  1. Commentators are divided. Some say that it is a picture of the New Testament church after Jesus’ ascension; those who believe in Jesus have this kind of peace within themselves. Others say it is a picture of the total restoration that will occur when Christ comes on “that day” (v. 10), namely, the Last Day. Then, things will be restored back to the way it was in Eden before the Fall into Sin. Either way, we draw assurance that in Jesus there are blessings found nowhere else in this fallen world.
     
  2. At Christmas, our Savior Jesus seems small, tender, and helpless. But on the Last Day Jesus will stand tall, large, and strong. Just as a battle banner marked a clear rallying point for troops, so Jesus will be visible to all his believers who have conquered sin, death, and hell through faith in Jesus.