WHO IS THIS PRINCE OF PEACE?
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
Epistle Lesson;
Romans 15:4-13
Gospel Lesson;
Matthew 3:1-12
Sermon Text;
Isaiah 11:1-10
Two chapters before our text for today, Isaiah said, "He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". Who is this Prince of Peace that Isaiah is referring to, this morning? This Prince of Peace is the very one God was talking about, as God was having a conversation with the devil in the Garden of Eden, when He said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head and you will strike His heal" (Genesis 3:15). The Prince of Peace would come to crush the head of Satan.
This Prince of Peace is also the one that Jacob talked about. You may recall that Jacob had 12 sons. From those sons are named the twelve tribes of Israel. One day, Jacob was blessing his sons. When he came to Judah, his second born, he said, "The scepter will not depart from Judah" (Genesis 49:10). From Jacob, we know that the Prince of Peace would come from Judah.
Again, just two chapters before our text for today, it was Isaiah who said, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will give him the name Emmanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
The Prince of Peace would come to crush Satan’s head. He would come from Judah. And, He would be born of a virgin.
I. He Appears to Come from an Unlikely Source
This morning, as we look at our text, I want to say it appears that the Prince of Peace comes from an unlikely source. The reason I say that the Prince of Peace appears to come from an unlikely source is based on the timing in which Isaiah wrote the words of our text. You see, Isaiah wrote these words seven hundred years before Jesus was born. By writing this, he was foretelling what was going to take place in the future. By writing these words, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wanted to bring great comfort to the people of his day, and the few generations following him. You see, within one hundred years of Isaiah writing these words, it was ten of those tribes of Israel that were carried off into captivity by the Assyrian Nation, never to return again, those ten tribes of the north. In just a few years after that, it was the nations of Judah and Benjamin, the southern tribes, who were carried off into captivity by the Babylonians.
The people, in those generations after Isaiah, may have begun to wonder if the God of the Old Testament was going to keep His promise. How could the Prince of Peace possibly come through Judah, if they have been carried off into captivity? The very first phrase from our text for today brought great comfort to the nation of Judah. Isaiah said, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse".
This morning, I want you to picture the nations of Israel and Judah as that of a very dense forest. Just picture the land of Canaan, with thousands of trees, representing Israel and Judah. Now, imagine all of those trees being cut down and carried away so that all that is remaining is stumps.
When I was growing up, my neighbors, in the backyard of my parents’ house, had a very large tree that was cut down. In the spring of the year, that tree was carried away and all that was remaining was the stump. Well, during the course of the summer, hundreds of shoots began to grow forth from that stump. And, by the end of the summer it looked like a very large bush.
People in Isaiah’s day may have begun to wonder, "How can the Prince of Peace come through Judah?" And yet, Isaiah says, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse." The Prince of Peace still will come through the tribe of Judah.
Even though the nation of Judah was cut down, they did return from captivity, and the Messiah came from Judah just as God had promised.
This morning, we may look at that name, Jesse, and ask ourselves, "Who is this Jesse?" He may not be the most familiar person to us in scripture and yet his son is very familiar to us. Jesse’s son is King David. Yes, the Prince of Peace would be that shoot who would come up through the line of David, through the line of Jesse. We know that, through our famous Christmas text, that talks about Jesus being of the line and lineage of David.
Now, today as you go home from church, or sometime this week, I would ask you to open up your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Matthew, Chapter One. The book of Matthew, Chapter One, lays out the genealogy from Abraham to Jesus. Now on one hand, as you look at that genealogy, it may seem like a very boring list of names. Some of those names are very hard to pronounce. Some of those names have very little meaning for us, because we don’t know much about them. And yet, one third of the way through that list, between Abraham and Jesus you will come to the name of Jesse, who is the father of King David.
This leads us right to the picture that I put on the front of our bulletin cover. Oftentimes, as I am looking for a picture to put on the front of the bulletin, (and Pastor Bartels, I think I speak for you, as well), it is hard to find a picture that helps to capture what the theme for the day is going to be. And yet, I think this picture does that. There, as you see Jesse lying on the ground, it is from him that we see this tree growing forth, a shoot coming forth from that stump of Jesse. And at the very center of that tree is none other than the Prince of Peace, Christ, Himself.
As we are going through this Advent Season, how often don’t we trip over stumps that we have in our lives? Maybe the phrase that we have in English that best helps us to capture what that meaning is, "You can’t see the forest for the trees".
As we are going through this Christmas Season, do we become so worried about the food that we are going to serve to our Christmas guests, do we become so worried about finding the perfect present for the perfect person that we forget what the real meaning of Advent is? Advent, again, is that time of coming, when we prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming of the Prince of Peace as a baby, where we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Prince of Peace in God’s Word, and also when we prepare our hearts and minds for the day when the Prince of Peace will return in Judgment. Be prepared at any moment, because we do not know when that day comes.
As we are continuing to go through this Season of Advent, we are reminded of how often we live in disharmony with God, and how often we live in disharmony with other people around us - the feuds, the quarrels, and the fighting that we get in with one another. And yet, that is the very reason why we come together today, and later on when we pray the Lord’s Prayer. We come together; asking God to forgive us of our sins, as we say, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us".
And so this morning, this Prince of Peace may have appeared to have come from an unlikely source, and yet when God makes a promise, He keeps that promise. The Prince of Peace came through Judah. That Prince of Peace is a shoot, who rises from the stump of Jesse.
II. The Prince of Peace is Equipped
It is this Prince of Peace, who comes to us, well equipped. In our text for today, we see the different things that the Prince of Peace brings with Him. He brings the spirit of wisdom and understanding. He is wise and omniscient. He is all knowing. He comes with the spirit of counsel and power. The Prince of Peace works in harmony with God the Father and with God the Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent and all-powerful. He comes with the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He brings righteousness and faithfulness with Him. That righteousness and faithfulness is like a belt that is around His waist. Just as a man does not leave the house without wearing a belt around his waist that which is nearest and dearest to him, it is the Prince of Peace who brings righteousness and faithfulness with Him, declaring us to be righteous and at peace with God, declaring us to be faithful.
III. The Prince of Peace will Fulfill His Purpose
It is this Prince of Peace who has fulfilled His purpose for us. Yes, Jesus came to make us live in harmony with God, and to bring peace to us. Jesus, in scripture, once said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives, do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid." (John 14:1, 27)
It is in scripture that the Bible says, "The Prince of Peace made peace through the shedding of His blood on the cross." (Colossians 1:20)
It is this Prince of Peace that the angels were talking about, as they were speaking to the shepherds, on the night on which Jesus was born. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men, on whom His favor rests." (Luke 2:14)
That peace, this morning, that Jesus came to win for us, is mentioned by all of the unusual things that will take place when He comes in final judgment. The wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, the calf and the lion, the cow and the bear, the child and the cobra will live in harmony together.
For me, as I was working on this sermon for today, it is the very last verse of this text that brought great comfort. I hope that this last verse also brings great comfort for you, as well. Here, Isaiah says, "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."
On one hand, we sometimes may look at the Old Testament and say, "Those words are only for people who live in the Old Testament". And yet, it says, "The nations will rally to Him." Not just the nations of Israel and Judah, but all nations. So that means that the Prince of Peace came for you. That means that the Prince of Peace came for me. It is the Root of Jesse who will stand as a banner for the peoples.
So, this morning, whether we are talking about the Prince of Peace, whether we are talking about the shoot that comes forth from the stump of Jesse, or whether we are talking about the Lamb of God, all of these things refer to Jesus, who will be holding that banner for the nations.
I don’t know if you can see it from where you are sitting this morning, but on our altar, we see a wood carving of the Lamb of God, who is carrying a banner for the nations. It is that banner that stands for the victory that the Prince of Peace has won for us. That Lamb of God also is shedding His blood for us.
This morning we have the great privilege of coming forward to the Lord’s Table, to receive His true body and blood, for the peace that He came to win for us, through the shedding of His blood, on the cross.
Who is the Prince of Peace? The Prince of Peace is the One that the Gospel writer, Luke was talking about. "Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the LORD." (Luke 2:11)
He came from the nation of Judah. He came from the stump of Jesse, to be raised up, to bring peace to us, through the shedding of His blood, on the cross.
Amen.
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