I invite you to turn with me tonight to Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11, as we read the chapter, the text tonight being verse 10. Isaiah 11, beginning at verse 1. Hear now the Word of God. 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 power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 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. 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 around his waist. 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. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra. And the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 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. 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. In that day, the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, From Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylon, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel. He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim's jealousy will vanish and Judah's enemies will be cut off. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west. Together they will plunder the people to the east. They will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea with a scorching wind. He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals. There will be a highway for the remnant of His people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt. 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. Beloved in the Lord, it's interesting to me that at Christmas time, many send out cards and letters encouraging family and friends to take time to stop and reflect, remember and reflect on the true reason for the season. Yet the season, the year we know has become so busy, packed full of shopping and parties and family gatherings and travel and programs, so we barely have time to think, as we might say, let alone remember. Sometimes we don't even know whether we're coming or going. Indeed, as Christians, every Lord's Day, every Sunday is a celebration of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. And every day of our lives ought to be filled as well with that same celebration. But it is good. It is good to stop and take time to remember and reflect on why we celebrate our risen Savior. And that's because of His coming and the work that He came to do. At Christmas time, we celebrate that which God's people could only look forward to before Christ came. We celebrate that about which many Old Testament prophets prophesied, including Isaiah. And today, we live in the midst of the joy of the fulfillment of these prophecies. But Israel lived with the promise. And they often needed to be reminded of that promise. Isaiah was one of those prophets who reminded Israel of the promise of the Messiah over and over again. In chapter 7, he speaks of the virgin birth. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. And in the familiar words of Isaiah chapter 9, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulders, and his name will be called Mighty God, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace. And then there's chapter 53. Chapter 53, one of the four instances of the songs of the suffering servant. And there we have that prophecy about the death of the Messiah. Very descriptive there in chapter 53. And then this text and the chapter surrounding it is another reminder, as Isaiah preaches, of the fruit of Jesse's rut. And this fruit belongs to the shoot that would grow into a branch, as verse 1 says. And this branch is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Throughout Scripture, we read about this branch. For example, Jeremiah prophesied about David's righteous branch. And through Zechariah, the Lord spoke of His servant, the branch. In Isaiah 4, verse 2, we read, in that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious. And again, the first verse of chapter 11, a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. From his roots, a branch will bear fruit. The branch of the branch is the Messiah. And that branch would bear fruit. And then our text, verse 10, describes that fruit. And notice, first of all, the unexpected origin of this fruit. The root of Jesse. Now, when we think of Jesse, we can't help but to think of David. In fact, he's the one that we would normally think of in connection with the Messiah, and that's because of God's promise made to David. Through Nathan the prophet, the Lord said to David in 2 Samuel 7, Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me. Your throne will be established forever. And the psalmist in Psalm 132, verse 11, recounts God's promise to David when he says the Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that He will not revoke one of your own descendants I will place on your throne. And a bit later he says that the duration would be forever and ever. And the same thing is recounted in Psalm 89 very clearly, detail by detail. You see, when we think of David, then this origin isn't so unexpected, is it? Because David had the promise from God Himself. And David's reign, we know, was glorious and it was powerful. And certainly Isaiah must be talking about royal stock here, right? But this prophecy bypasses David. And it goes back to David's father, Jesse. You see, this points back to David's humble beginning. David's house, his kingdom was indeed glorious. He had power. He had riches. He had success. He had fame. But the Lord took David from a peasant family. He wasn't from a royal line. Jesse was from Bethlehem, which was least among the thousands of Judah. And in that sense, we might say that even David's reign was very much unexpected. Yet here, Isaiah is pointing back to Jesse and back to the stump and to the root of Jesse. You see, beloved, Isaiah prophesied in a time of apostasy. We sang that, huh? O come, O come, Emmanuel. If you notice the words there, ransom captive Israel. time of apostasy, a time of falling away from God, breaking the covenant with God, and therefore it's a time of captivity as well. And in Psalm 132 verse 12, just following the verse we just quoted, we read, if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne forever and ever. But we know the history. David's sons did not remain faithful to God. So God stripped David's house of all of its glory. The tree of David was cut down to just a stump. Now sometimes we trim our trees and our bushes so that they might grow better. They might fill out more. They might become more fruitful. But that's not what we're talking about here. The tree of David's glory wasn't just trimmed a little bit. It was cut off. Now boys and girls, maybe you've noticed that many of the eucalyptus trees over here around the dirt lot have been cut down. But for some, there is still a stump four or five feet tall standing out of the ground. And I'm told that shoots will come out of those and they will bush out again. They will continue to grow. But see, that kind of stump, four or five feet tall, isn't even the kind of stump Isaiah is talking about in verse 1. David's house was cut off at the ground so low that the grass would grow and hide the stump so you can't see it. You might even trip over it if you're walking through the grass. God sent His people into captivity. They couldn't be seen. They were hidden, as it were, by the grass of the nations. David's house was reduced once again to the peasant status of Jesse. Yet by God's grace, there was still life in Jesse's root. Life is in the root, which is unseen underground. In other words, there was still life in God's covenant promises. Now the Lord's tool to cut down David's kingdom was the Assyrians. They were mighty like a forest. They were powerful. They were huge. But in chapter 10, the Lord says He will cut them down. Even though they were His tool to cut down the kingdom of Israel, yet the Lord would cut them down because their intention was wicked. Assyria, this great forest would come to a complete end, completely cut down with no life left in this forest. Yet, there was still life in this one stump, the one root of Jesse. You see, David's house and God's people might have began to wonder had God forgotten His promise to David. What happened? But through Isaiah, they are called to trust the Lord. This shoot would bring life to light. It would become visible. It would become a great branch, perfectly equipped to rule. Notice verses 2 and the beginning of verse 3. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The Spirit of wisdom and of 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. The branch would be perfectly equipped to rule. And his rule would be perfect. Notice reading on. He will not judge by what he sees with the eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears like man does. But with righteousness He will judge the needy. With justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 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 around His waist. And because of this, this branch known in the text as the root of Jesse would indeed bear fruit. Its origin would be unexpected in the eyes of man, but it would become a great tree once again. As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we indeed celebrate that unexpected origin. He was born into a dirt, poor family. There was no room in the inn, no deluxe hotel accommodations for his family. There was no fancy palace nursery to lay this baby in. The announcement of his birth went to lowly shepherds of all people. He had to flee for his young life and add to all of that his earthly suffering and shame. Beyond that, His arrest, His beatings being spit on, His crucifixion and death. See, there was nothing kingly or royal about any of that. Such an unexpected origin for the Messiah whom Isaiah prophesied 700 years before He came. Yet the fruit of Jesse's root included an unbelievable attraction. In that day, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples, The nations will rally to Him. Now, we know that a shoot or a twig, when it begins to grow out of the root or stump, is small and frail. Even some of our trees that these suckers, as we call them, grow out of. They're frail. You can just hit them and they fall off. There's not much strength in a twig like that as it begins to grow and it's in danger of being stepped on or broken off or even easily cracked or damaged. In comparison to a full, healthy tree, the new, tiny growth looks insignificant. And that's how Jesse's root started out. But Isaiah prophesied that it would become great and mighty. It would one day stand as a banner. A banner is a sign used to draw attention to a message. Now boys and girls, sometimes when you're at the beach, you see small airplanes flying out just over the water's edge with a banner trailing on behind, with some sort of an advertisement or a message. The advertiser wants the people to see Jesse's root. which was unseen would become great and stand as a banner great and tall for all to see with a message of hope for God's people. That's the idea here. This banner is a sign of hope. In fact, even the nations, the Gentiles would be attracted to this banner and gather around it. See, beloved, people need hope. People need a little good news. That was true especially for the people in Isaiah's day as we know and it's still true today. We need a little good news. And this banner was wonderful news of hope. God had not forgotten His promise. The root of Jesse would be the banner of hope which the people would rally to and rally around and show Him reverence and cast their hopes on Him. And the good news here as we read in these previous verses was that this root was equipped with and by the Spirit of the Lord with wisdom and understanding, with counsel and power and knowledge of the fear of the Lord. And because this root would be equipped with the Holy Spirit of God, His rule would be perfect and fair and just as we read, according to the truth. Not according to the way man rules, as we're all too familiar with. But according to the truth. And peace. Peace would characterize His kingdom. Notice those beautiful words, verses 6-9. 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 the 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. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 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. Unbelievable, huh? Unimaginable. Beloved, that banner of hope is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man was lifted up. And what is the good news message of this banner? Our Lord said that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. And the banner of Jesus Christ with His promise of eternal life to those who believe in Him. It continues to be seen and heard today through the preaching of His Word. And it is to go to every nation that people of every tribe and every tongue and every nation might rally around the banner of Jesus Christ even as we have been privileged to see in our lifetimes. True? We've seen that. We receive reports even as we look forward to hearing a report tonight by John. Reports of the Word of God going forth and people rallying around the banner of Jesus Christ. His promise was, as He said in John 12, verse 32, but I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. Beloved, do you live under the banner of Jesus Christ? Do you live under the banner of His love? Under the banner of His law? Under the banner of His direction? Can others see, can the world see, that you rally around Him, that you seek your salvation only in Him. Can they see that you desire to live in obedience to Him? See, beloved, the message of the cross of Jesus is an urgent message because Christ the banner has been exalted to the highest place, as Paul says, and He has been given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This message is urgent for us. It's urgent for our children. It's urgent for our neighbors. It's urgent for all people because one day every eye will see Him come again as a banner of glory to judge the living and the dead. And for those who rejected Him and failed to rally around Him in the truth of His salvation, this banner of glory will be also a banner of terror. and for them it will be too late. But for those who are brought to the light of His truth by the grace of God, for them the fruit of Jesse's root then gives unimaginable satisfaction. His place of rest will be glorious, Isaiah says. See, beloved, it's so hard for many to even imagine rest in this restless world. But rest is exactly what the root of Jesse, Jesus Christ, has accomplished for His people. He is the Prince of Peace. And through His perfect righteousness and perfect sacrifice, our Lord Jesus Christ has brought us peace with God. He has conquered Satan and delivered His people from the tyranny and from the peacelessness of the devil. And He has removed the enmity that existed between believers and God so that we now enjoy the peace and the comfort of being adopted children of God who are able to cry out, Abba, Father, and whose souls find rest in God alone, as the psalmist says in Psalm 62. One day Jesus will put all His enemies under His feet. The earth, as we know, will be destroyed, and He will take all of those who are covered by His blood to His kingdom, which is not of this world. That's where our citizenship is at, in heaven. Our citizenship papers, beloved, are signed by the blood of Jesus Christ and held safe in the possession of God the Father in the vault of heaven. We enjoy that kingdom already today by faith, but one day when we are delivered from this life, when all things are made new, we will enjoy that which we could never have imagined, the unimaginable satisfaction of the glory of God. Our Lord's place of rest is the new heavens and the new earth, and it is glorious. And there the bridegroom, this root of Jesse, will present his bride, the church, as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. The church will be glorified and all of God's people will enjoy forever the glory of heaven. The Apostle John gives us a wonderful glimpse of that glory as it was given to him in the Revelation. What is true glorious rest? Well, listen to Revelation 21, verses 3 and 4. Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. we don't really need to go on. That says it all. But they will be His people. And God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. And then John goes on a bit later to describe the glory of this rest when he says the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp. You see, heavenly glory is described in Scripture in terms that we can understand. Streets of gold, gates of pearl, the sea of crystal. Beloved, only the Lord Jesus Christ who came to live among men and to die in our place gives true, unimaginable satisfaction. And whoever drinks of Him the living water and eats of Him the bread of life will never hunger and thirst again. And only those who find shelter in the cleft of the rock of Jesus will find everlasting safety and rest. Our Lord Jesus Christ earned His rest. Earned this rest for Himself and for His people. After doing battle on the cross and paying the debt for our sins, He said, it is finished. And Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit. He rested from the work that He came to do. He rested in the glory of His Father's presence and those who are drawn by the power of the Holy Spirit, drawn to this banner and rally around Him, enjoy rest even in this life. Rest that this world cannot even begin to imagine. God's people rest in the forgiveness of all of our sins. We rest in reconciliation with God, knowing that He hears our prayers and He hears our cries for mercy. We rest from having to handle the cares and burdens of this world on our own as our Lord says, cast your burdens upon me. We rest with hearts that are new and that are filled with the Holy Spirit that love the Lord and desire to turn away from evil and do good. We rest in the joy of the Lord, which is our strength. And we rest in the knowledge and the comfort that when we come to the end of our days here, that precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints. What rest in knowing that the believer's death is no longer the wages of sin, congregation? No longer, but is a sweet released from, and it is a rest from all evil. And the table of our Lord, which we gathered around this morning, also reminds us of this glorious rest. The table is where the family gathers. And the table of the Lord is where His family gathers. And therefore, this table reminds us of our rest as children of God and reminds us that this glorious rest includes God's eternal provision. Beloved, all of this from the baby that was born and laid in a manger because there was no room for him in the end. All of this from one who was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. All of this from our God whose glory shines forth in the salvation of His people. And all of this belongs as a precious gift to only those, yet to all of those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. Are you attracted to this root? Are you satisfied by the fruit of Jesse's root? Nothing else satisfies. There may be some temporary earthly satisfaction here and there, but nothing else truly satisfies. There are things that may look like fruit, but they're not real. It's like that plastic fruit that you can't even take a bite out of. It certainly has no nourishing value. Those who rally around and under the banner of Jesus Christ will find everlasting peace. And in the season of the year, beloved, may we not become trapped by the trappings of the season, but may we truly remember our Lord's coming and why He came. And then also, may we give greater praise to God for His gift of eternal salvation, so rich and so free. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, indeed, we too love to hear the story. And we love to hear the story of even before our Lord Jesus Christ came, the wonder of the prophecies of old, the wonder of what You have given Your people so many years before Christ came, the promise that Your people lived with and even died with. And Father, we praise You indeed that we do live in the fulfillment of that promise. And may we not forget about that fulfilled promise. May we not go on in life as if our Lord Jesus Christ is out of sight and out of mind. But may we indeed look forward to His coming again in all of His glory as a banner which every eye will see. And our prayer, Lord, is that we continue to prepare Your people and Your church for that day. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray all of these things. Amen.