December 26, 2025 - Isaiah 11

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” (11:1-2).  Isaiah knows his Scripture!  He remembers the promise made to David:  “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:12).  And Matthew remembers it all.  In the opening genealogy of the Gospel, Jesus is the descendant of David.  The blind man, and others, cried out “Son of David” when Jesus would heal, thus demonstrating a knowledge of the Old Testament promises and faith in the promised Messiah (Matthew 9).  Even the crowds, who would soon turn against Jesus, shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” as he entered Jerusalem, thus pointing to the promised king of prophecy.  I noted, a couple days ago, that Isaiah simply cannot get away from this idea of Messiah.  Messiah is the central figure of all the Bible.  He is the central figure for Isaiah.  In fact, he is the central figure in all of history.  Hear the editors of National Review:  “In its great hymns and its most ancient liturgies, the birth of the Christ child is not a Hallmark card of sentimentality.  The child born in some outcropped cave is being chased by the enemy.  His birth is the turning point of the battle, and the battlefield is wet with the Herodian slaughter.  There is chilly, cheering, militant cry to our hymns:  Hark! The herald angels sing.  After centuries of waiting and pining for this day, after the great long darkness, the true king is here.  In the hymn of Charles Wesley:

Lo! he comes with clouds descending,

Once for favored sinners slain!

Thousand, thousand saints attending,

Swell the triumph of his train.

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

God appears on Earth to reign.   –Charles Wesley (1758)