The Character of the Messiah

The Character of the Messiah

By Pastor Matt Black

07 January 2006
Lord's Day evening
Isaiah 11:1-2

Open your Bibles to Isaiah 11. The title of this evening’s message is “The Character of the Messiah”.

Isaiah 11:1-2, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 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 of the fear of the LORD…”

Introduction: With the massive devastation predicted in chapter 10 of Isaiah, you have God comforting His people in chapter 11 with the assurance that Messiah will rule despite the devastation, and in chapter 12 you have a psalm of praise.

Themes of Chapter 11: Comfort and Consummation

Comfort

God is a God of comfort. Chapter ten records the prophecy of the utter and total destruction of Judah. By this time, Israel is being destroyed and deported. Judah at the time of the prophecy was temporarily safe, but what Isaiah prophecies would be devastating and fearful. Of course, God’s message is: “Don’t be fearful, trust in me.” In all of life’s devastating trials—we ought to find comfort in a God who has total control, loves us with an everlasting love, and is working for our good and His glory.

Consummation

A major principle that is inferred in comparing the earthly devastation of chapter ten and the heavenly peace of chapter 11 is that this world is coming to an end! Sin and temptation will one day cease. The devil that deceives the nations will be cast into the Lake of Fire and never deceive another soul again (Revelation 20:10)! The principle for us is that we should not be taken in by the sin traps of this life (they are MANY). All the pleasures of this life come to an end. We ought to find our peace and our pleasure in God!

So who is going to bring this comfort and bring this consummation of all things? Who is going to bring us to the end of the world and the beginning of the next—a new heaven and a new earth? The Messiah! We look at verses 1-5 and we see His character.

The Messiah’s Character. We find out in verse 1 of this One who will bring such a deliverance to us, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”

I. The Contrast of His Character

A. We first see His Humble Beginnings. Notice first, that the Messiah comes out of the stump of Jesse. Israel is completely cut down—especially the royal family. It is no more much of a rich royal family, but more like the poor peasant family of Jesse that David came from.

1. Christ’s country was cut down at the time when Christ came.

This destruction of the country of Israel had been prophesied early on in Isaiah’s ministry. Remember Isaiah 6, after Isaiah’s conversion—Isaiah said, “Here am I Lord, send me!” (6:8). But God tells Isaiah that His ministry will for the most part be fruitless: (6:9-10) “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”

Isaiah says, “How long am I supposed to have a ministry if there is no fruit?” (verse 11). And God answers Isaiah, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast [ARE CUT DOWN WITH NO LEAVES] their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” So God cuts down Israel except for His elect people—the holy ones—the saints. Christ will come out of those who actually know the LORD. So Christ comes from this cut down stump of a tree. The stump is holy. That’s the illustration we have in verse 1 of chapter 11. A Branch comes from the stump

2. Christ’s community was contrite and humble.

The Scripture says he will come forth as a “rod”—a little sapling out of the stump of “Jesse”. He would be obscure! He was just a poor carpenter’s son (Mark 6:3) from Nazareth—the armpit of Galilee. Nathaniel was surprised when he found Messiah was of such humble origin. He asked curiously, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” And then I love what Philip says, “Philip saith unto him, Come and see” (John 1:46). Yet Isaiah had long prophesied that Christ would begin in total obscurity. Think of Isaiah 53:2, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”

3. Christ’s clan was totally ordinary and obscure! When Christ comes into the world, He does not look like anything important! His mother and father during the census are not even given the courtesy of lodging in an inn. They must stay out back with animals. These are the poorest of poor peasants—How could the greatest King that ever lived come from such ordinary and obscure people!!??

Ø We not only do we see Christ’s humble beginnings,

B. We also see Christ’s heart-stirring greatness. It only when we see the backdrop of Christ’s humble beginnings—His total obscurity that His glory rises above all human comprehension.

Isaiah’s Illustration of the Fruitful Branch

1. Christ is more Glorious than any of Israel’s Kings.

The Lord says in the previous chapter (verses 33-34) that the forests will be cut down, but Christ when Christ comes, He is more glorious than the entire forest put together. All of the greatest princes and Kings of Israel do not even compare to this one that will be born—springing up from the cut down stump of Israel.

2. Christ is the Greatest Ruler that mankind has ever seen.

This sapling is given another name here in verse 1, “the Branch”. Verse 1 says, “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots…” The Branch shall “grow out” of Jesse’s roots. The words “grow out” here have the idea of bearing fruit. This will be a fruitful Branch. The idea is that the Branch will be more fruitful and successful and great than any before Him. He will be the greatest Ruler that man has ever seen.

Ø God promised Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed…”

Ø We listen to Jesus’ very words in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

3. Christ is Growing His church from a local insignificant band of defeated followers to a representative group from the entire known world at the time. Christ’s church was born in obscurity! After Calvary, it looked like there would be no church. It looked like the Messiah had been defeated! Then came Pentecost, and eyewitnesses of the resurrection began to preach! Poor fisherman who had little formal education we “turning the world upside down”! From eleven obscure and talentless men came the greatest force in the history of the world! Within one generation those eleven men with Paul and others literally changed the course of world history! But who could have guessed it seeing these eleven nameless, ordinary men? How could this happen? Verse 1, There came “forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots”. The Branch is going to “grow out” or “bear fruit” from Jesse’s roots. This is a repeated theme of Isaiah. He said in 4:2, “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.”

Transition: So we see the contrast of Christ’s character—humble beginnings and heart-stirring greatness.

II. Then see the Content of Christ’s Character.

A. First we see the Anointing of the Spirit.

Verse 2a, “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

B. The Attributes of the Spirit.

Verse 2b, “…the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD…”

Christ will have the wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge of God and He will exude the dreaded majesty and holiness of God.

This verse shows the sustenance of humanity. The Spirit of God is the one that gives both physical and spiritual life. Jesus Christ was not only filled with the Spirit, He was one with the Spirit as God!

1. Fulfilled in the life of Jesus. John 1:33b-34, “Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”

John 3:34, “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”

2. Fulfilled in the life of the Church. Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. We are also filled with this Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh! (Galatians 5:16).

So we see in the NT that the same Spirit that rested on Christ rests on us. Look at our text again in Isaiah 11:2b, “…the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD…”

Now look at the parallel in Ephesians 1:16-19, Paul says… I “cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us–ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…”

Christ was united to the Spirit of God because He was God, and He pours that same Spirit onto us. We are baptized into the Spirit of God—regenerated! We are given life. The Spirit of God not only gives physically life to all creation, but the ultimate purpose of the Spirit is not just to give us physical life, but to give us spiritual life. And when we have that spiritual life, all the sudden you have a hunger and thirst for righteousness. This hunger comes not from the carnal man-the man dead in trespasses and sins. No a dead man doesn’t taste or see. A dead man is dead.

Conclusion: Friend, is this Spirit of God active in your life? Can you cry out to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Abba, Father”? If not, you’re not saved. If you do not experience the illumination, revelation, and wisdom from the Spirit, you have no fruit to bear witness of your conversion. Have you read the Bible and it seems that every verse is written for you? Has the Word of God brought such conviction that in private you have had to get down on your knees and confess your sins? Has this Spirit of God that was in Christ been shed abroad in your heart? Have you prayed like Paul in Ephesians, “Give me the knowledge, the might, the understanding, the counsel…”? If you are a Christian, then you are “in Christ”. You are one with Him! You have “…the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD…”!

Closing Hymn: 26 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty