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Scripture Reading: Isa. 11:1-9
In this message we want to see the all-inclusive Christ in Isaiah 11. This chapter covers the Lord's coming in the last days to bring in the restoration of all things, the revival of Israel, and the submission of the seeking Gentiles. For this purpose Christ has to be four items. These four items in Isaiah 11 form two pairs in the poetic writing of Isaiah. The first pair is Christ as a twig from the stem of Jesse and a branch from the roots of Jesse bringing in the restoration of life (vv. 1-9). The second pair is Christ as a banner to the peoples and a standard to the nations bringing in the return of God's people and the submission to the Gentiles (vv. 10-16). The banner and the standard are the enlargement of the twig and the branch. Christ has to be these two pairs of four items for the fulfilling of God's economy.
Christ is a twig from the stem of Jesse and a branch from the roots of Jesse (Isa. 11:1-9). Christ is typified by a twig from the stem of a great tree which has been hewn down to the roots (cf. Isa. 10:32-34). Nearly everything concerning Israel and the house of David had been cut down. Only Jesse, David's father is mentioned in Isaiah 11. All that remained was Jesse, the source of David. The issue of Jesse, the house of David, had been hewn down, but the source from which David came still remained. The royal family of David, the house of David, was cut down when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to conquer Judah and subdue Israel. He destroyed the holy city, Jerusalem, and the holy temple. He captured the royal family of David, including the king and his family, and carried them away to Babylon. This was meant to be the termination of the royal family of David. The big tree of the house of David was hewn down, but the stem with the roots was still there. Christ came out of this source as a twig from the stem and as a branch from the roots.
The royal family was cut down, leaving the stem with the roots there for approximately six centuries, from about 606 B.C. to the time Christ was born. When Christ was born as prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, He was the twig from the stem of Jesse. Not many people would pay attention to a twig. Jesus was a twig from the stem of Jesse. Although He became so "small," no amount of persecution or suffering could put Him down. As the twig from the stem of Jesse, He remains forever.
Christ's coming in incarnation as the twig was the revival of David's deprived royal family. David's royal family was deprived to such an extent that there was hardly anything left of it. But one day in God's incarnation, a child was born to David's family. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. Out of Mary a twig was born. David's "hewn down" royal family was revived at the birth of that twig.
We must realize that the revival of David's family is still going on. According to our thought, Christ has two comings, but according to God's realization, He has sent His Son once for all. This sending started from Bethlehem. When Jesus was born, that was the beginning of God's sending His Son to the earth. This sending has not yet been fully accomplished. It is still going on. This sending began at the time Jesus was born and will be completed when the Son of Man comes to the earth in an open way. Matthew 24:27 says, "For as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." That will be the completion of God's sending His Son.
Christ as the twig from the stem of Jesse came into existence about two thousand years ago, but His being sent has not been fully accomplished. The completion of His being sent by God is accomplished in three ways: by His building up of the church, by His preparing of Israel, and by His adjustment, His judging, of the nations. The present situation in the entire Middle East is altogether for the benefit of Israel. Israel has enjoyed the benefit of the recent war between the United States and Iraq. This can be considered as a part of Christ's coming in His preparation of Israel. The recent war involving Iraq was also God's adjustment of the nations. Since 1987 we have seen a great adjustment on earth among the nations — firstly involving Russia and its satellite countries and secondly among the countries in the Middle East. What an adjustment this has been! Christ has taken a big step in these recent years in the world situation. He is much nearer to appearing on earth in an open way, and He is still on His way.
The Lord came at His birth. Then He went to the cross to die. The disciples thought He was going to leave them. However, the Lord revealed that this was not His going but His coming (John 14:3, 17-20; 20:19-22). The Lord's going through death and resurrection was actually His coming to the disciples as the Spirit to get into them and dwell in them. He also came on the day of Pentecost as the Spirit, baptizing His Body in one Spirit (Acts 2:4a, 17). Today He is still on the way. He is coming. The entire world situation is an indication of the steps of Christ's coming. He was a little twig in the manger at Bethlehem, but as the lightning in Matthew 24:27, He will be a great standard to the nations.
We need to consider what is revealed in Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11 reveals Christ as the twig and the branch. He is full of the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah (v. 2). What a Spirit! This Spirit is the sevenfold intensified Spirit (Rev. 1:4). Along with this Spirit is God's administration, God's government (Isa. 11:3-5). Then there is the restoration of life (vv. 6-9). Eventually the twig becomes a banner to the peoples (v. 10), and the branch becomes a standard to the nations (v. 12). Even the Gentiles will come to Christ. Where is the center of the earth? Where is the center of the human race? Where is the center of world history? Look at the banner. Christ as the banner is the center, to whom the nations must go. This is the revelation in Isaiah 11.
Christ as the twig and the branch has already come. On the one hand, Christ as the twig and the branch is in the heavens, and on the other hand, He is within the believers and the church. What is He doing? He is still going on. He is still on His way. He is still "stepping" toward us. He is in us, but He is still stepping toward us. This is the marvelous truth of His coming.
In His incarnation He was a twig. In His resurrection He is a branch in full. At the beginning this branch was the Shoot of Jehovah as revealed in Isaiah 4:2. His being the Shoot of Jehovah indicates His divinity. His being a twig from the stem of Jesse and a branch from the roots of Jesse indicates His humanity. Actually, He is one branch, a branch that is both divine and human.
As we have seen, Christ is a twig from the stem of Jesse (Isa. 11:1a). The stem of Jesse indicates the deprived human royal source (Ruth 4:17b). A twig from the stem of Jesse indicates the restoring power of life in freshness. A twig is so green, so tender, and so fresh.
Christ is also a branch from the roots of Jesse (Isa. 11:1b). The roots of Jesse indicate the hidden deepening power of life. A branch from the roots indicates the growing power of fruitfulness. A twig is the beginning of a branch, and a branch is for fruitfulness.
When Christ as the twig and the branch is here, the Spirit is here. The four Gospels show us that wherever Jesus is, the Spirit is. In the four Gospels, the twig is there, the branch is there, and the Spirit is there. This Spirit is the Spirit of Jehovah, who is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, and the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah (Isa. 11:2). The Spirit of wisdom and understanding is for the mind and is mainly related to humanity. The Spirit of counsel and might points to Jesus Himself as the Wonderful Counselor who gives us counsel all the time by the Spirit (Isa. 9:6). The Spirit has both counsel and might.
The Spirit is also the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. The fear of Jehovah goes together with the proper knowledge. Before we were saved, we were afraid of nothing because we were ignorant. From the time we were saved by the Lord, we have been receiving a spiritual education and acquiring spiritual knowledge. Today many of us can testify that we would not dare go to a movie or to other worldly and sinful places. There are many places to which we dare not go, because we have the fear of Jehovah. Someone may ask us to do something, but we dare not do it, because we have the fear of Jehovah. We dare not buy certain clothes which have the modern appearance of this age, because we fear Jehovah. We fear Jehovah because of the spiritual knowledge. Because this Spirit is of seven items — Jehovah, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah — we may say that He is the sevenfold intensified Spirit. These seven items depict the situation in the church. Therefore, this indicates that Christ as the twig and the branch is here with us. The Spirit is His presence.
As the twig from the stem of Jesse and the branch from the roots of Jesse, Christ carries out the administration of Jehovah (Isa. 11:3-5). The administration of Jehovah is of two items — righteousness and justice. Christ delights in the fear of Jehovah (v. 3a). He always delighted in the fear of Jehovah, even as a boy of twelve. He does not judge by what His eyes see nor decide by what His ears hear, but He judges the poor in righteousness and decides with equity for the afflicted (vv. 3b-4a). Equity is justice. Christ decides with equity, justice, fairness, for the afflicted. The unrighteous things in human society are mainly done to the poor. Injustice is mainly exercised over the afflicted, the suffering ones. The dark and backward countries on earth are full of unrighteousness and injustice toward the afflicted. Every good government, however, must be righteous and just. Otherwise, that government is dark. God's administration is righteous and just.
When Christ returns, He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips, He will slay the wicked (v. 4b). The breath of His lips is His word out of His mouth. Righteousness girds His loins, making Him strong, and faithfulness girds His hips, making Him steady (v. 5). For a government to be strong, it must be righteous. For it to be steady, it must be faithful. A government that is not righteous cannot stand for long, and a government that is not faithful is not steady. God's administration is strong and steady.
The administration of Jehovah brings in the restoration of life (vv. 6-9). In the restoration of life, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid (v. 6a). The wolves prey on the lambs, but in the restoration of life, they will dwell with the lambs. In the restoration of life, the calf, the young lamb, and the fatling will be together, and a young boy will lead them about (v. 6b). The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox (v. 7). The nursing child will play by the cobra's hole, and upon the viper's den the weaned child will stretch his hand (v. 8). Isaiah 11:9 says, "They will not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea." This God-fearing knowledge comes from the Spirit through the administration of Jehovah in the restoration of life.
This restoration of life will be in the next age, but we should not forget Hebrews 6:5, which tells us that we have a foretaste in this age of the works of power of the coming age. What will happen in the next age as recorded in Isaiah 11 should be among us today as a foretaste. Among us there should be no "wolves," "leopards," "bears," "lions," or "vipers." Paul told the brothers in Acts 20 to beware of fierce wolves coming in among them (v. 29). Because the church life is a foretaste of the coming age, all the "wolves," "leopards," "bears," "lions," and Svipers" should have their nature changed. This is the restoration of life. In the past we may have been such persons in a negative sense, but now our nature has changed. Sometimes we may consider that a certain brother is a "leopard" until we find out that his nature has changed. The church life may be considered as a "zoo" of the restoration of life where all have their nature changed through the Spirit and by Christ as the twig and the branch.
