A grand vision (Is. 11:1–10)
As we continue to prepare for Jesus’ birth at Christmas, we hear this vision of who Jesus is, what he will do, and what his kingdom is like. From this, we can draw a few conclusions:
God acts in ways we don’t expect
The same Spirit that rests on Jesus rests on us all
God’s vision for the Church is bigger than ours
God acts in ways we don’t expect
Throughout Scripture, God does surprising things. Sometimes it can even seem like God made a mistake somewhere along the way.
Just a few examples:
Throughout the Old Testament, God cares for one nation and promises to send them a Messiah. When the Messiah does come, he says he’s come for everyone.
God creates the whole world and people in it, but somehow sin is a part of it and it quickly ruins everything. He then sends a flood to start again.
The greatest King to have ever ruled Israel was also a liar and a cheat.
Pretty much everything that Jesus said and did was predicted and foretold somewhere in the Old Testament, yet he still managed to shock and surprise everyone with the things he said and did.
The list could go on. The point is this:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.Isaiah 55:8
From our perspective, much of what God does makes no sense. If you were God, I doubt you would create a world with flies in it or make it rain in inconsistent and unpredictable amounts.
God brought his Son, whose rightful place is alongside him in heaven, into the world by being born into a young family in a small town. That’s effectively what it means to be a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
In their gospel accounts, Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ lineage, but in different ways:
Matthew starts at Abraham and works his way up to Jesus to prove his Jewish and Davidic (and, therefore, royal) heritage.
Luke starts at Jesus and goes backwards, all the way to Adam. This emphasises Jesus’ humanity.
Both genealogies mention David, son of Jesse, Israel’s greatest king, as part of Jesus’ lineage. Jesus is to be the new and far better version of King David, but the family line has lost its royalty. He is a new shoot from an old, dead, tree stump. That’s how God chose to bring the Messiah into the world.
In about 700 BC, Isaiah sees forward to the coming of the Messiah. He sees even further to his second coming, when all things will be made right. That’s when all the animals will lie together and there’ll be no need to watch the kids in the backyard for fear of snakes.
Throughout the world’s history and throughout our own lives, God has consistently worked in ways we didn’t expect him to. He will continue to do so even into eternity.
God acts in ways we don’t expect.
The same Spirit that rests on Jesus rests on us all
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.Isaiah 11:2
Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One. He’s set apart by God because he is God. The Spirit of God rests on him, and we hear just some of the characteristics of God’s Spirit: wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.
John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance. It was a ritual washing. Without Jesus’ word to accompany it, that’s all it could be at that point.
Jesus changed baptism forever when he was baptised. When he came up from the water, the Spirit descended on him like a dove (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22). Later, Jesus taught about baptism and said: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:5)
Before Jesus, baptism was just plain water which symbolised being cleansed of sin. With the word of Jesus and by being baptised himself, it became a far more powerful thing.
Now, as it says in the Small Catechism, baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.”
It is new birth in the Holy Spirit (Ti 3:5). By it, we are saved. By it, the same Spirit that rests on Jesus rests on us.
Why? Because Jesus says so: “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk 16:16)
Confirmation, then, is simply meant to reaffirm the salvation you have already been given in your baptism. Since it is common for people to be baptised as infants in the Lutheran Church, it is good for young people to take ownership of their faith when they are old enough to do so.
At the same time, members of the congregation are encouraged by seeing our young people be confirmed in their faith.
God’s vision for the Church is bigger than ours
If God acts in ways that we don’t expect and the same Spirit that rests on Jesus rests on us all, then God’s vision for the Church is bigger than ours.
In general, our vision for the Church is limited by what we have seen, heard about, or experienced. Whether you’ve only ever been to this church or you’ve been to a hundred, your perception of the Christian Church and its purpose is limited.
Some of us might say that it’s not really church if it doesn’t take place inside a particular kind of building. Others might say it’s not church if it is missing certain things like an altar or pulpit. Still others might say it’s not church if there is no music or even a sermon.
Church is not a building, and it’s not an event. Church is the community of baptised believers. Church is God’s way of gathering his people to feed them and forgive their sins. Church is the communion of saints, as we confess in the Creeds.
What does church have to do with God’s kingdom?
[God’s kingdom] is obviously different from that of an earthly kingdom, where an assembly of people is provided with a king. In this case the King is born first, and then He gathers a people for Himself.
Martin Luther
The King is born first, and then He gathers a people for Himself, starting with just a few disciples. Now, that gathered people, the Christian Church, is known across the world.
We will not perceive God’s full vision for the Church until the Last Day. That’s when Jesus will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth” by speaking his Word, which both kills and brings life.
The Final Judgment is when the Church will become what it has always been envisioned to be. The Church is where all nations will one day be drawn, where there will be no need for fear or pain because of God’s righteous rule.
We long for the day when Jesus comes again, but in the meantime, we have the Spirit to remind us of when he first came to this world to die and rise again. Death has already been defeated and the victory won, but the kingdom is yet to fully come.
Your kingdom come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
