Well, let us turn again to the
Word of God and turn into the portion that we read in Isaiah. And I want, with the Lord's help,
this morning to direct you to the opening verses of chapter
11. In Isaiah chapter 11. And I'll read verses 1 and 2
for our text. And there shall come forth a
rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of
his roots, 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. Turning then to these words in
Isaiah chapter 11 and verses 1 and 2, where we have mention
of Christ by this name, a rod out of the stem of Jessech, and
the branch growing out of his roots, Christ, the rod and the
branch. In his famous Concordance, Alexander
Cruden lists some 200 names that are given to the Lord Jesus here
in Holy Scripture. And we have two of those names
here in the opening verse of the chapter. and there's no doubt
that the person spoken of is the Lord Jesus because we have
the authority of the New Testament. Where in Romans chapter 15 we
find the Apostle Paul referring to several scriptures that speak
to us of the Lord Jesus. There in Romans 15 Romans 15 at verse 8 following
Paul writes, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises
made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God
for his mercy. And then he refers to various
Old Testament passages as it is written. for this cause I
will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name
and again he says rejoice ye Gentiles with his people and
again praise the Lord all ye Gentiles and Lord him all ye
people all of these are Old Testament scriptures and then verse 12
he says and again Isaiah says there shall be a root of Jesse
and it shall rise to reign over the Gentiles. In him shall the
Gentiles trust." And so Paul quite clearly and explicitly
takes these words that we've announced this morning for our
text and says they apply primarily to the Lord Jesus. We are surely
to recognize that this whole chapter and also chapter 12 where
we read is referring to the day of grace those words that we
have at the beginning of verse 10 and in that day there shall
be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people
and then also at the beginning of chapter 12 and in that day
thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee And it goes on, Behold
God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord
Jehovah is my strength and my song. In these two chapters then,
on the authority of what Paul says there in Romans 15, we can
be quite clear that we have in this portion a description of
the very day in which we're living, the day of grace. I have heard thee in a time accepted,
in the day of salvation have I succored thee. Behold, now
is the accepted time, and behold, now is the day of salvation. And so as we come to consider
these opening verses in chapter 11 this morning, I want first
of all to say something with regards to what we have in the
opening first verse where we very clearly have a description
of the person of the Lord Jesus. He is that one who is a rod and
branch out of Jesse. Branch is certainly a name that's
given to him not only here but in other parts of the Old Testament,
Zechariah for example. The prophecy of Zechariah there
in chapter 6 and verse 12, Behold a man whose name is the branch. Oh here is the man and his name
is the branch again. Previously there in Zechariah
3, Behold says God, I will bring forth my servant, the branch. That one who is the servant of
the Lord goes then by the name of the branch. But, He is also
a root. Or as we have it here at the
end of verse 1, it's that that grows out of Jesse's roots. But more specifically in verse
10 of the chapter, in that day there shall be a root of Jesse. Now, So we're aware of who Jesse
was. Jesse, of course, the father
of David. Jesse begat David, we're told. And as this one is a branch out
of the root of Jesse. So when we come to the New Testament,
there at the end of the book of the Revelation, remember what
the Lord Jesus says. I, Jesus, am the root, he says,
and offspring of David. He's the root of David's father,
Jesse, he's also the root of David. He's a branch out of Jesse. He's also the offspring of David. What are we learning here? We're
learning something concerning the person of the Lord Jesus.
Whose son is the Lord Jesus Christ? Many a time we've referred to
those words that we have at the end of Matthew 22 where previously
in the chapter the Lord is reasoning with and rebuking the
Sadducees and the Pharisees as they're trying to catch him out
all the time. And at the end of that 22nd chapter we're told how while the Pharisees
were gathered there, Jesus asked them a question. What think ye
of Christ, whose son is he? And they say he's the son of
David. Christ is to be the son of David.
And then the Lord says to them, O then, doth David in spirit
call him Lord? And he quotes the 110th Psalm,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him Lord,
how is he his son? You see, he is both the Lord
of David, he's also the son of David. And we're told that no
man was able to answer him at work, Neither does any man from
that day forth ask him any more questions. So a root is one thing. An offspring is quite another
thing. The root is first, the root is before. And of course
the branch is after. And so what we have here you
see is those two natures. in the one person of the Lord
Jesus Christ he is the eternal son of God but in the fullness
of time he appears as the son of man the son of David he is
that person then who is God's man he is God and man and that
human nature that human nature that he takes hold of it, the
incarnation never subsisted but in union with the person of the
Son of God remember what the angel says to Mary at the conception
that holy thing, the human nature, that holy thing that shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God human nature as
no subsistence but in the person of the eternal Son of God. Or the wonder of it, and it's
a gospel, it's what Paul speaks of in the opening part of the
epistle to the Romans. As we've said many a time, there
he clearly begins to define the gospel that he's preaching. And
he says it's concerning God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. who was made of the seed of David,
according to the flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power,
according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the
dead." Oh, this is the wonder of that person who is God's man
in everything that he does. He is God's man. The person of
Christ In his human nature he is one who clearly is able to
sympathize with his people. As Paul says, we have not an
High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. But was he tempted in all points
like us, we are yet without seeing how he becomes us, how he suits
us. Because the Christ in his human nature, how he suffered
cruel temptation His whole life in a sense was a scene of trials
and troubles. When he says to his disciples,
you are they that have continued with me in my temptations. He is that one who is made of
a woman. But not only made of a woman,
he is made under the Lord. He comes and he stands in that
very law place of all his people and answers for them. as many as are of the works of
the Lord are under the curse for it is written cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them and he takes to himself that curse Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law Paul says be made a curse for
us for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree
for the wonder then of this person who identifies himself with the
sinner, comes as a sinner's substitute, the sinner's saviour, sympathises,
touched with the feeling of all their infirmities, in all their
afflictions he is afflicted. This is the one that we have
set before us here in the opening verse, end of this chapter. The
person of Christ in his human nature always sympathizes. But
then, in his divine nature, the person of Christ, of course,
is strong. He's the Almighty God and he's
never anything less than the Almighty God. He's able to save
for the Ottomans, them that come unto God by him. He's accomplished salvation.
He's not just made salvation a mere possibility. He's accomplished
salvation. For as many as the Father gave
to Him in that eternal covenant, I am the Good Shepherd, He says.
The Good Shepherd give us His life for the sheep. No man was able to take His life
from Him. He had power to lay that life
down. And He had power, He had authority
to take that life again. This was the commandment He had
received of the Father. O Christ then when we consider
him in the divine nature God says I have laid help upon one
that is mighty I have exalted one chosen of the people I found
David my servant with my holy oil have I anointed him and so
what do we read of here we read of that unction that unction
that is upon him in the second verse 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. We heard something on Thursday
evening when our brother Andrew Robinson was ministering from
verses in in John 14 concerning the necessity of the ministry
of the Spirit if we're going to know anything of real religion.
Allow the Lord Jesus Christ as God-man as that One who is the
rods and the branch. Oh, He needed the Spirit. He
is the Anointed One. He is the Anointed One. And surely
here in this second verse we see at least four aspects of
that blessed ministry of the Spirit. And I want us to consider
each of those different aspects. First of all, He's anointed clearly
with the Spirit of the Lord. That is God the Holy Ghost. The
Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit. shall rest upon him. And we are told, aren't we, that
God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. That which
is baptizing the Spirit comes and descends upon him in the
form of a dove. But you know, throughout all
his earthly life, as a man, as the God-man, the Lord Jesus was
ever always dependent upon the Holy Spirit. And I know I've
said it before, but when you read through the Gospels, try
to remember those portions where
it's clearly indicated that this person is living a life of faith. And the life of faith is that
life that is a life in complete dependence upon God, upon God
the Holy Spirit. we've already referred to as
conception the language that we have there in Luke 1.35 the
angel comes to this young woman, this virgin she knows not a man
all we know is she's a she's a sinner like all of us conceived
in sin shape and in iniquity you know in the paper you speak
about the immaculate conception they're not speaking about the
conception of Christ they're speaking about Mary they say
she was conceived without any sin that's not the truth that's
a lie in the Magnificat she rejoices in God her Saviour but she was a virgin and yet
she's to be with child and the angel tells her how this converges
The Holy Ghost shall come upon them. The power of the highest
shall overshadow them. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. She is with child by the Holy
Ghost. Even in his conception the Lord
Jesus is dependent upon the Spirit. and then as we've also said at
his baptism when the heavens open the father speaks this is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased as the spirit descends
in the form of a dove the father gives not the spirit my measure
there's a glorious outpouring and effusion of the spirit upon
him and immediately after the baptism He's in the wilderness,
but how so? He's led of the Spirit. He's
led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan. And he
resists. He resists all of those cruel
temptations. And the adversary leaves him
for a little season. And the Lord, we're told in Luke,
4.14 he returns in the power of the Spirit he returns in the
Spirit to Nazareth he goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath
day and he reads there in the language of this book the minister
there in the synagogue gives him the book of Isaiah the prophet
and you remember the portion that the Lord reads here in chapter
61 the Spirit of the Lord is upon them Because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim
the acceptable yearning for the Lord. Those things spoken of
in this portion that we're looking at. And all the eyes are upon
him in the synagogue, and he says this day, this scripture,
The words of Isaiah the prophet are being fulfilled. It's fulfilled
in the Lord Jesus. And He's that One who is anointed.
And then, as He exercises His ministry, what does He do? He
performs many miracles. But He acknowledges the Spirit
in this. Matthew chapter 12 and verse
28, If I by the Spirit cast out demons, then is the Kingdom of
God come amongst you. He cast out demons, it says in
Luke's account, by the finger of God. But it says in Matthew,
there in Matthew 12, 28, if I by the Spirit. Oh, the finger of
God, you see. What might, what majesty in God's
finger as it were. The great miracles that the Lord's
able to perform, to give sight to the blind, feet to the lame,
hearing to the death, to raise to life again. But in all this
is dependence upon the Spirit. In all His human existence here
in this world, He lives by the Spirit of God. And when He comes
to die, the Spirit's there. We read of Him who through the
eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God. Hebrews 9 and verse 14 all the
Spirit is there and the Spirit of course is there in the resurrection
from the dead being put to death in the flesh but quickened by
the Spirit quickened by the Spirit the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him and then secondly here in the second verse we read
it is the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of wisdom
and we see that wisdom don't we? how we can dispute even as
a child 12 years of age remember when he goes up to Jerusalem
with his parents and as they're returning they suddenly realize
he's not with them and they hurry back to Jerusalem and there he
is disputing with the Jewish doctors of the law in Luke 2 at verse 45 following
he can dispute he has that spirit of wisdom and understanding that
as I As I said at the beginning we have that 22nd chapter of
Matthew and we see the Lord there not only disputing with the Pharisees
remember that portion that we read at the end of Matthew 22
but previous to that at verse 23 following we see the Lord
there disputing with the Sadducees the rationalists of his day who
denied that there was any resurrection And then after he silences the
Sadducees, he's disputing with their bitter enemies, the Pharisees,
who were the great legalists of the day. And he silences the
Pharisees. He has that spirit of wisdom
and understanding. But more than that, he's one also who, by that same
spirit, is able to discern all manner of things all manner of
things the spirit of wisdom and understanding and then in verse
3 it says that he shall make him of quick understanding of
quick understanding in the fear of the Lord it's interesting
you may have a margin in your Bible there and we're told in
the margin the Hebrew is literally scent or smell shall make him
of sense in terms of understanding or
smell. How are we to understand what's
being said here? What is this quick understanding
that's being spoken of? When I looked at Dr. Gill in
his commentary and he renders it that this spirit of understanding
is that that causes him to to smell, to sift, as it were. And Gill goes on to say that
it means he has such a spirit of discernment. A remarkable
gift of spiritual discernment. And we know that that was the
case. When he performs his first miracle, remember, there in in
John chapter 2 we also read how he needed not that any should
testify of man because he knew what was in the hearts of men
he knew men's hearts understood the hearts of men and do we not
see it in what we're told concerning his first meeting with Nathanael
the language that we have there in the opening chapter of John's
Gospel when Nathanael comes to the Lord Jesus verse 47 Jesus saw Nathanael
coming to him and saith of him behold an Israelite indeed in
whom is no guile he can see into the heart of this man Nathanael
says to him, whence thou wast thou made? Jesus answered and
said unto him, before that Philip called them, when thou wast under
the fig tree I saw them. Oh, what a spirit of understanding!
He knew the hearts of all men. Remember how it was said of Martin
Luther that he could preach as if he had been inside a man.
But if that was true of the great Protestant reformer, how much
more was that true of the Lord Jesus Christ himself? The woman there at Sykes Well
in John chapter 4, when she goes back to her own place and speaks
of him, what does she say to the people? Come see a man which
told me all things that ever I did Is not this the Christ? This is the mark of the Christ.
He has the spirit of wisdom and understanding. He's quick. Quick in understanding in the
fear of the Lord. What discernment we see in this
man. So many times we're told there
in Matthew 22 18 concerning those Pharisees Jesus perceived their
wickedness and said why tempt ye me ye hypocrites? Oh he knows
men and he knows how to deal with men and we have that remarkable
account in Mark 10 where first of all we read of the rich young
ruler who comes to him and inquires of him, good master, what must
I do to inherit the kingdom of God? he speaks so respectfully
to the Lord, what must I do? and so the Lord deals with him
in terms of law and knows the commandments all these have I
observed from my youth up, he says how does the Lord deal with
this man? he directs him to the Lord, he
doesn't really understand the Lord and the ministry of the
Lord It's really a ministry of condemnation. In the sense, Christ
has no gospel word to speak to that young man, although he was
respectful. He addresses Christ as good master.
Why call this man being good? Says the Lord, there's none good
but one, that is God. He doesn't recognize that this
person he's speaking to is God. The Christ, the Son of the Living
God, he doesn't recognize that. but later in that same 10th chapter
we read of blind Bartimaeus and how different he doesn't come
and say to the Lord what good thing must I do to inherit the
kingdom he says Jesus our son of David have mercy upon them
and he cannot be stopped he cries out and they try to silence him
but he won't be silenced Jesus our son of David he recognizes
him as the Messiah and Christ ministers the gospel to him.
He is so discerning, so discriminating in the way in which he deals
with people. He has that spirit, that spirit of wisdom, that spirit
of understanding. But then, in the third place
here we read of the spirit of counsel and might. The spirit of counsel and might. He understands God's eternal
counsels. Or remember how He is spoken
of here in chapter 9. The language that we have at
verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall
be called Wonderful. Counsel. The government is upon his shoulders,
he has authority. He can reveal something of God's
eternal counsel. When Peter makes his confession
at Caesarea Philippi, Matthew 16, now at the Christ, the Son
of the Living God, it's after that confession that the Lord
goes on to speak to his disciples concerning the crucifixion. now that they must go to Jerusalem
and he's going to be rejected of the people, he's going to
be crucified and Peter who had so wonderfully confessed him
now rebukes him, that be far from thee Lord and the Lord speaks
sternly to Peter, get thee behind me Satan now save us not the
things that be of God but the things that be of men oh we know
the purpose of his coming he had upon him that spirit of counsel,
the counsel of the Lord that spirit of might, he had authority,
he knew what he was about throughout all the days of his humiliation
here upon the earth he knew the purpose of his coming
and what authority he was vested with when he preaches there in
the opening part of Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount and we
come to the end of that remarkable sermon of the Lord's the language
there in chapter 7 the people astonish because he taught them
as one having authority and not as the scribes Lord the spirit
of counsel, the spirit of might is upon the Lord Jesus and then
also at the end of that second verse we read of the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord the spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the Lord and then it goes on doesn't it beginning
of verse 3 shall make him of quick understanding in the fear
of the Lord not just the spirit of knowledge but the spirit of
the fear of the Lord when we consider his knowledge
his knowledge and all that he reveals he is that one of course
who is the great prophet he is the last of the prophets in these
last days God has spoken unto us by his son whom we have to
point it out of all things by whom also He made the worlds,
the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person,
upholding all things by the word of His power. That's how the
Apostle speaks of Him there at the beginning of Hebrews. He
is that one who comes in like all the prophets to declare the
mind of God, to reveal the will of God. He speaks the words of
God no man hath seen God at any time we are told the only begotten
son which is in the bosom of the father he hath declared him
he hath declared him nor the the truth of it he is that one who makes known
the Lord God himself no man no man knoweth the son but the
father neither knoweth any man the father save the son and he
to whomsoever the son will reveal it he reveals God he tells Philip if you've seen
me you've seen the father he's the image of the invisible God
he speaks the words of God He whom God hath sent speaketh the
words of God. That's what he says to the people.
My doctrine is not mine. My teaching is not mine but is
that sent me. I have not spoken of myself,
he says, but the Father which sent me. He gave me commandment
what I should say and what I should speak. He comes to make God known. and we can have no knowledge
of God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ that's what we're shut
up to there's no knowledge of God at all but in the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ but what a knowledge it is oh
what a knowledge it is, it's life eternal it's life eternal
to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
seen you see there's no other real religion except Christianity. The poor Jews, they're in total
darkness, aren't they? They've rejected the Messiah.
They're lost. And the Muslims, they follow
a false prophet. There's no knowledge of God but
in this one we've spoken of here in our text. What a remarkable
person this is he is God and yet as God-man as that one who is the the root of Jesse the root of
David but also a branch growing out of Jesse's root and also
the offspring of David he is the root and he is the branch
he's God and he's man but he's one person and that person knows
the fear of the Lord he lived his life in the fear of the Lord
he had such a reverence for God and for the will of God and strict
regard for that will to be accomplished, it must be accomplished by Him. When the time comes that He is
to be received up, He knows He must go to Jerusalem. When the
time comes, as we're told in Luke 9, He sets His face like
a flint to go to Jerusalem. Oh, the fear of the Lord! Remember
how we read of Him in Hebrews 5, who in the days of His flesh
When he had offered up prayer and supplication, we strung crying
and tears unto him that was able to save him from death. And it says he was heard in that
he feared. He was heard in that he feared,
though he were a son, yet learned the obedience by the things that
he suffered. He had the fear of God in his
heart. Real piety. He lived the life of faith. He
lived that life of complete and utter dependence upon the Spirit
of God. And that's the life that his
people have to live. How we are so dependent upon
that Blessed Spirit. His God is the Spirit. He's the
third person in the Triniton. And yet, as we're told there
in John's Gospel, when he comes he doesn't speak of himself. When he has come, says Christ,
he shall not speak of himself, he shall take of mine and shall
show it unto you. Or that the Spirit might do that
for us, to show us the things of the Lord Jesus, to have that
blessed unction. As John says there in The second
chapter of that first general epistle you have an unction from
the Holy One. And you know all things. All
things concerning salvation. That's what it means. It doesn't
mean that we're going to know all the disciplines of learning
in this life. No, there's something more important
than that. To know that all salvation is only found in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That blessed unction. It's interesting,
isn't it? It's a remarkable chapter, chapter
11. Chapter 12 also, they really
are a unit. But look at what we're told at
the end of verse 4, "...he shall smite the earth with the rod
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked." The rod of his mouth, the breath of his lips. or that's the word of God coming
in the preaching but not just God's word but the spirit in
that word or that that's the way in which we should decide
that God's word might ever come to us the rod of his mouth another
figure we have in Revelation that two edged sword that comes
out of the mouth of him that sits upon the white horse the
Lord Jesus, with the breath of His lips, the ministry of the
Spirit, the Spirit taking the things that are here in the Word
of God and applying them and making them real in our soul's
experience. Oh, this one then of whom we
read in our text, God grant that we might have that saving knowledge
of all that He is and all that He has done and shall come forth
at right out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of
his roots. 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. And he
shall make him a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and
he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall
he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. I deliberately read there the
four verses because that's one sentence as we have it here before
us in our authorised version. May the Lord bless it to our
souls for his name's sake. Let us now sing our concluding
praise. We're going to sing the hymn
194, the tune is Spur 240. Hail mighty Jesus, how divine
is thy victorious sword. The stoutest rebel must resign
at thy commanding word. Depart the wounds thy arrows
give, they pierce the hardest heart. Thy smiles of grace, the
slain revive, and joy succeeds to smart. In 194, June 240. StSq3 3.30 (-0.99")