The Future King: Jesus over David

Isaiah 11:1 (ESV) … “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

From one stump a little shoot grows and becomes a branch and bears fruit. And the fruit it bears is a whole new world. Isaiah is thinking of a little boy, born in obscurity more than 2,000 years ago now, with no status but lineage in a failed ancient dynasty. And he is the only one who can save us from ourselves.

But Messiah has more than royal lineage. After all, Ahaz was a son of David, but he was spiritually bankrupt. Jesus also has the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

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 the fear of the Lord. (v. 2)

Jesus does not need our mechanisms for power. He has another way to build the world of our dreams. He has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding for leadership, the Spirit of counsel and might for war, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord for holiness. Unlike every other human leader in the sorry length of our history, Jesus is literally qualified to rule the world. We have nothing to fear from him. We are foolish to resist him. We can never be too loyal to him.[1]

[1] Ortlund, R. C., Jr., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Isaiah: God saves sinners (pp. 113–114). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.