Advent Day 18 - Jesus, Son of David

Isaiah 11

1There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

   and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2And 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 the fear of the LORD.

John Piper says this about it:

"Jesse was King David’s father. And David was the greatest king of Israel, so that the Messiah that Israel hoped for was often called “the son of David”—he would be one like David, only greater than David."

. . . .

"Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, the root of Jesse, but oh, so much more than the mere Son of David! Do you recall how the book of Romans begins? 'Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son [that is, the Son of God], who was descended from David according to the flesh.'" 

It continues, "and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations."

Jeremiah 23

 5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

Revelation 22

16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

Romans 15

8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name."

 10 And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."

 11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him."

 12 And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

in him will the Gentiles hope."

 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Piper, again:

"'Hope in what?' - hope in Jesus Christ. The emphasis falls on Christ as the ground of all our hope. Bank your hope on him. Not yourself, not your intelligence, not your health, not your money, not your job, not your reputation. None of these can sustain your hope. They can collapse in a moment. God means for our hope to be firm and unshakable and so he put underneath it his own Son. In him will the Gentiles hope. At every turn in your life say, 'Jesus, you are my hope.' You are my hope for my salvation, you are my hope for my marriage, you are my hope for my children, you are my hope for my ministry, you are my hope that I will live and die well. 'In him will the Gentiles hope.'"

Jesus is our perfect king. He is extraordinarily wise, he is able and mighty, and he is absolutely loyal to the LORD God. He is our righteousness, and that should give us hope.

(John Piper quotations came from his sermon from Dec. 11, 2005 posted on his website, desiringgod.org)