Advent Trail December 2nd - Isaiah 11:1-3
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him –
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-3)
Jesse was the father of King David, the greatest of the Old Testament kings. The Old Testament anticipates the coming of God’s promised Messiah – the Christ – and often describes him as the king who will reign on David’s throne for ever. So this verse is a prophecy about the Messiah’s coming. From David’s family tree (“the stump of Jesse”) would one day come the true king and God’s true kingdom.
The birth of Jesus brought about the fulfilment of the prophecy. In announcing that birth to Mary, the angel Gabriel told her that “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David... his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32-33). Jesus is “great David’s greater son”, as David himself acknowledged (Mark 12:36-37). David recognised too that the Messiah would rise from the dead, thus establishing his everlasting kingdom (Acts 2:25-31).
So, as Jesus himself said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). But that makes it no less real. It’s a kingdom characterised by righteousness and justice, reflecting the spiritual qualities of Jesus himself whose life perfectly expressed the Spirit of God within him. That’s what makes him the ideal king. And those who live under his royal rule, receive from him the same Holy Spirit who brings about his good fruit in their lives.
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