Sermon Notes - Isaiah 11:1-10 (Advent 2025)
Advent Sunday number 2. Isaiah 11:1-10.
Let’s stand and read the text together.
Before we dive into this passage, we need to do some work on understanding the proper context Isaiah was writing in.
Isaiah lived in Jerusalem during the latter half of Israel’s kingdom period and spoke to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah on God's behalf. Isaiah brought with him a warning about God’s judgement, telling Israel’s corrupt leaders that their rebellion against the covenant with God would come at a cost.
Isaiah declared that God would use the great empires of Assyria and later Babylon to judge Jerusalem if they persisted in idolatry and oppression of the poor.
And that is in fact what happened as Israel was taken into exile because of idolatry. I know we are almost finished with Exodus, but remember that tension we have talked about over the last few weeks on whether or not Israel would obey the Lord or disobey the Lord. That tension remained long after the Exodus, and unfortunately Israel's history was marked by many years of exile and captivity due to their disobedience, rebellion, and idolatry.
You can read more about it in 2 Kings 15-20, particularly chapter 17, as it describes Israel being taken captive by the Assyrians due to their idolatry.
Israel sinned against the Lord who brought them up out of the land of Egypt by walking in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out.
The people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right.
2 Kings 17:10-18, “They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree. And there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger, and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them. “You shall not do this.” Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statues, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They despised his statues and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only.”
The authors describe the disobedience as sin against God’s love and faithfulness, thus clarifying its seriousness.
Isaiah announces God’s surprising plan of grace and glory for his rebellious people, and indeed, for the world. As Jon pointed out last week, mixed in and throughout Isaiah’s warning messages of God’s pending righteous judgement is the hope of a King that will come and set it all straight.
God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 that through his descendants the whole world would be blessed. Later, God promised David that his throne would lead the world into salvation. However, by the time of Isaish, the descendants of Abraham and many members of the dynasty of David no longer trusted in the promises of
God.
How would God respond to his people’s blatant rebellion against him? Would he leave them in their sin and rebellion? No, Isaiah tells us that although God must purify his people through judgement, he has an overruling purpose of grace, beginning with Isaiah himself (chapter 6), spreading to Judah (7:1-9:7) and Israel (9:8-11:16), and resulting in endless joy (12:1-6). Even the nations of the world are taken into account (13:1-27:13). The purpose of Isaish, then, is to declare the good news that God will glorify himself through the renewed and increased glory of his people, which will attract the nations.
Before we unpack Isaiah 11:1-10, let's set the stage by quickly taking note of what has taken place in the previous chapters.
Isaiah 9:1-7 declares to us that a child would be born and the government would be placed upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
But then Isaiah shifts in 9:8-11:16 and declares grace— through judgement— for Israel. Now that may sound strange for us, but consider what scripture teaches us about the Lord disciplining his children when they walk in disobedience.
Hebrews 12:5-6, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not despise the LORD’S discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
Discipline is not meant to seek revenge, and the Lord is not disciplining his people in such a way that they would be driven away from him. The goal in disciplining his people for breaking covenant fellowship is restoration, thus inviting them back into restored fellowship and walking in obedience to his word.
Remember God’s word was given to the people for human flourishing. God’s word is not burdensome. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Following Jesus is not oppressive, but rather is liberating from the strain of sin, and in Christ there are pleasures forevermore.
What we see in these chapters leading up to chapter 11 is God’s gracious intentions for his covenant people, Israel. Although his wrath works against them in the Assyrian invasion, God promises to punish Assyria for its arrogance and give his people a home in the messianic kingdom.
Chapter 10, Isaiah envisions the terrifying approach of the Assyrian army from one village to another toward Jerusalem, but the invader is stopped at the last moment and can only shake his fist at the holy city, the daughter of Zion.
As chapter 10 comes to a close, we see the nation which was an axe in the LORD’S hand (10:15) will finally be axed down by him (10:34).
While God may use evil people to accomplish his purposes, this does not in any way diminish their accountability. “We are in touch here with something we will not fully understand this side of heaven; it is part of the mysterious interplay between the divine sovereignty and human freedom. We should, however, grasp it firmly and be profoundly grateful for it, for it will preserve us from either denying the reality of evil or fearing that it will ultimately triumph. Wicked men served God’s purpose by nailing Jesus to the cross, but the resurrection lays on them, and on all of us, the urgent need for repentance.”
The scene at the end of Isaiah 10 is a picture of a desolate forest that has been cut down with no life remaining in it. All that remains are stumps with no life and no roots in them.
What do we see in 11:1-10?
1 Verses 1-5 prophecies of a Messiah that will emerge from the stump of Jesse, and the characteristics that he will possess.
Isiah presents the Messiah as a shoot or twig growing from a stump remaining after God’s judgement. From the destruction that the Lord has brought upon the Assyrian monarch, new life begins to sprout as a new and better leader of the people of Israel is being brought to life.
The stump is a metaphor for the remnant of the royal family of David. It is preserved through the Assyrian invasion.
The shoot is a metaphor for restoration of the line in the Messiah.
Verse 1: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”
First off it is important to note that the Lord made a covenant with Jesse, the father of David, that through his sons an everlasting kingdom would be established.
Remember Jesse was a faithful Israelite, anticipating the coming Messiah, when the prophet Samuel comes to him and tells him that one of his boys was going to be king. Jesse brings his boys in front of Samuel and after none of the boys were chosen to be the next king, Jesse has to go call David from the pasture tending the sheep, and he is the one anointed as king! It’s a crazy story.
So what Isaiah is declaring in his prophecy, is that the promise the Lord made with Jesse will come to fruition. God has not abandoned his covenant promise to raise up for his people a King who will establish an eternal kingdom!
It would have been natural that, as the Davidic dynasty proved to be more and more of a disappointment, the peoples expectations should have moved away from the current kings in Jerusalem towards a future ideal ruler. Previous kings, including David, proved more and more to be a disappointment of fulfilling and establishing an eternal kingdom. However, this branch from the stump of Jesse will bear fruit. He will only bear good fruit and results for his people. That's what Jesus does. He only provides goodness, joy, and freedom, and apart from him there is no goodness you can receive.
What will he be like? Verses 2-5 tells us of the characteristics that he will embrace as he leads his people.
The first thing we see in verse 2 is, “the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him…”
This is very similar to Isaiah 61 which Jesus applied to himself in Luke 4:18,”The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” And after reading the prophet Isaiah, “Jesus rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down… and said to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus saw himself as the fulfillment of this prophecy. He was the shoot from the stump of Jesse. Wow! What a bold proclamation of himself. And because of this, the people were ready to kill him, but he went away from their midst.
Verse 2, “The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”
John Piper notes, “Wisdom and understanding are the foundation for being able to give good counsel and for ruling well with might. And the aim of all counsel and power is to know the Lord and to fear the Lord, and to fill the earth with the knowledge and the fear of the Lord. So the shoot of Jesse has everything he needs to bring God’s world back from its rebellion to the knowledge of God and the fear of the Lord.” He is totally equipped, lacking in nothing!
Verse 3, “And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.”
How contrary to the delight of other kings prior to his reign! No other king in the history of Israel delighted themselves in the fear of the Lord like this. In fact at one point or another all the kings of Israel sought to gratify the desires of the flesh rather than find their full delight in the Lord. His joy is to tremble at the terrible thought or idea of displeasing God. This makes him completely trustworthy in his judgments among men.
Verses 3-5, “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide disputes by what his hears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”
His judgements are not based on the appearance or opinions of others. He is not persuaded by your opinion of him. He is Lord and king, and you either bow in humble submission to his Lordship over all creation, or you reject him with a stubborn heart, but regardless he is who he says he is. This is the type of ruler, king, and leader the people so desperately needed. One who judges with true justice and righteousness because he alone is able to look beyond the outward appearance of man and judge and examine the intentions of the hearts. His rule will be just. The righteous oppressed will be vindicated, and the wicked will be killed.
We can trust Jesus completely because he alone is righteous and is completely faithful to God.
2 The earth will be renewed to its Edenic state where the peace of Christ will reign supreme.
Verses 6-9, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
This is radically new. We do not live in a world like this.
**Tell story of Cedar wanting a pet cheetah**
Verse 9 sums up the point by first giving us a negative, then a positive.
“They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.”
All destructive forces that touch animals and children will be gone! How does that work?
Isaiah gives this reason, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
So it is a global kingdom, and in it is an earthly kingdom with animals. And the animals will act and behave according to the knowledge of God. When the earth is filled with the knowledge of God, and no longer suppressed as Romans 1:18 tells us, changes even in nature are so profound and pervasive.
The spirit of the king— the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord— is so present and powerful that it fills the earth with the knowledge of God, and changes everything. Isn’t that exciting? How we should long for that type of peace and restoration, and no one else offers this other than King Jesus. This is what we long for in his second advent. Total peace. Children wandering far away from home with no worry for their safety. Playing with wild animals and handling snakes. No predators. No crime. No death. No sickness and disease. No more broken families. No more abuse. A kingdom full of life and perfect knowledge of its Creator.
3 God desires the nations to come and join his kingdom and find eternal rest.
Verse 10, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples— of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”
The great commission was not first given at the end of Matthew. God’s plan for saving the nations began all the way back in Genesis.
Paul quotes this verse in Romans 15:12 as something that is coming true in his own mission to the Gentiles. God means for the nations of the world to be part of his eternal kingdom.
The word “signal” means banner or flag, drawing us in. This is what Jesus said he would do in John 12:32, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” The cross of Christ is looked on as foolishness and weakness by those who are perishing, but for those who cling to the cross, it is our very source of life and hope for entering in the rest and glory of the Messiah.
The writer of Hebrews exhorted his readers in Hebrews 4:9-11 when he said, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”
The writer of Hebrews is reminding his readers that their fathers were not able to enter the physical land of rest that God had promised them because of unbelief. But he goes on to tell them that there is a better rest for the people of God who put their hope, faith, and confidence in Jesus the Messiah.
Isaiah is telling us the root of Jesse is a signal to all the nations of the world, and he invites you to come seek him. His rest is glorious. He will welcome you and will not turn you away.
Application:
1 Receive Jesus Christ, the shoot from the stump of Jesse, and experience new life in him.
This is what we celebrate in the first advent of Jesus.
Jesus, the God man, humbled himself and took on flesh to dwell among us, so that he could provide for us new life.
Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Our greatness need is to be transformed by the power of the gospel and made alive.
The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in Matthew and declares to him, “Mary shall bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Saving sinners from their sins is what Jesus’ mission was 2,000 years ago, and it is still his mission today.
Hear the word the angel of the Lord spoke to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-11, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”
For those who have believed, the call is to daily renew your minds by the transforming power of the gospel, and daily walk in the newness of life you have in Christ.
You need the gospel daily.
2 The shoot of Jesse fully delights himself in the Lord, judges with truth, and clothes himself with righteousness and faithfulness and calls his people to do the same.
Delight yourself today, tomorrow, and everyday in the Lord. There are 10,000 things that are fighting for your heart’s affection and attention, but nothing is more important than being totally satisfied in the Lord Jesus.
Fear the Lord far more than you fear man. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Stand for truth and righteousness.
As God’s people we do not judge by appearances. We treat all people with the dignity and respect that they have because they are image bearers of God.
White collar jobs, blue collar jobs, racial differences should not persuade our opinions or judgments of anyone.
We are people of truth and righteousness and are called to live that out daily in our lives.
Speak the truth. Do what you say you’re going to do. Honor your commitments.
In a world that is constantly seeking to push progressive agendas, promote speculations, and myths, we need to be people of truth.
Regardless of what the world says, God’s word is truth and is our ultimate authority by which we live our lives.
We are called to be people who are fully devoted to the Lord Jesus, and nobody else.
3 Our final resting place will be with Christ and it will be glorious.
This is our ultimate hope and destiny in Christ.
United with Christ. The full establishment of his kingdom, rule, and reign.
This is what we look forward to in Christ's second advent.
How did Jesus in the book of Revelation draw out the truth of Isaiah 11? He took his identity from verse 1 (“a shoot from the stump of Jesse”) and his identity from verse 10 (“the root of Jesse”) and put it like this in Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus… am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” Not just descendant— the shoot and branch of Isaish 11:1, but also root of David (Isaiah 11:10). I am his source and his offspring. I am his father and his son. I am the beginning and the end.
When all of Christ’s work of judgment and salvation has been completed, he will enter his rest, his final home, and only one word will describe him and it: glorious!
Nations will be gathered, Israel restored, the curse of sin removed, new heaven, new earth, no sin, no more destruction. Christ will reign supreme and the knowledge of the Lord will cover the whole earth!
Until then we are commissioned by God to proclaim this good news to all who will listen and take part in the process of Eden restored and people are filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
Let’s worship him because he is worthy of all our praise!