TEXT: Isaiah 11-12

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #25: The Prince of Peace

Today, with God’s help, we’ll continue our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Last time, we looked at His Royal Birth. Though born in a dirty stable to poverty-stricken parents, Jesus Christ was born a King. The Prophets predicted it; the Wise Men believed it; King Herod feared it; the angels celebrated it; and the Church has always confessed it—even on the pain of death.

Jesus Christ is King.

Isaiah has said this before and will say it again. Now, why does he keep bringing it up? So we won’t miss it, for one thing. But that’s not the main reason. Every time the prophet describes the Lordship of Christ, he does it from a different angle.

Earlier, he looked at its holiness. Later, he’ll show the humility, power, and justice of His rule. But here—in Chapters 11 and 12—Isaiah foresees the peacefulness of His kingdom.

Before we come to the kingdom, though, let’s remember who the King is. He’s identified in the first verse,

Jesse was the father of David and the grandfather of God’s Kingdom. From this man’s line, the Lord would raise up Another Great King.

Who is it? At the moment, Ahaz was the king of Judah. But he was a very bad man. Later, some better men would rule, especially Hezekiah and Josiah. Though they had some success, their monarchies don’t come close to the one described here.

Thus, the old rabbis saw this as a promise of Messiah’s kingdom. And they were right.

The family of Jesse was like an old, dry stump. But one day, new life would spring from it. The King is coming! And that King is Christ.

You needn’t take my word for it. The New Testament says so. Romans 15:12 quotes the chapter and applies it to the Lord Jesus.

All the kings of Israel rule in God’s Name. But some did it in name only. But not King Jesus,

At His baptism, our Lord was anointed by God’s Spirit in a unique way. His Forerunner said "the Spirit is given to Him without measure". Other men received some of God’s Spirit, but He got the Whole Spirit of God. The Lord’s Spirit gave Him a wisdom and reverence no other man has had.

God’s Spirit qualified Him to perfectly rule God’s People.

Did He quench God’s Spirit? No He didn’t. His character is impeccable, His rule is perfect.

His judgment is not influenced by things like money, a good appearance or a clever argument,

He will defend the innocent,

He will punish the guilty,

In short,

What does this mean? The Dutch commentator, J. Ridderbos says,

If Jesus Christ is The Prince of Peace, it seems to follow that His Kingdom would be peaceful. And it is. Isaiah looks at it and finds harmony where you don’t expect it.

First, in the animal kingdom. Jesus Christ is so good, wise, and powerful that, under His rule, the wolf won’t eat the lamb, the leopard will nap with the young goat, the cow and bear will graze together, the lion and the ox will be friends, and the cobra won’t bite the little boy who steps on him.

If you think that’s amazing—that animal predators and prey will live together in peace, you ain’t seen nothing yet! For, not only will strong and weak animals live in harmony, but so will…

…Men! "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy Mountain". Under the reign of Christ, both the Gentiles (vv.10, 12), and the Jews (vv.11,13,16) will live in harmony.

The Prince will live up to His Name! His Kingdom will be a harmonious one.

But now—at the risk of disrupting harmony—I have to ask, When will these things be?

Are the promises fulfilled? Or are they yet future?

Some say they’re future because, after all, we don’t see lions lying down with cattle or nations living in peace.

Others say—of course we don’t—but so what? The words are symbolic. Most Israelites were shepherds or cattlemen, and what better way to depict a harmonious world than to say even the predators and their prey live in peace?

Who’s right? It’s easier to fall back on your theology. But it’s better to look at the context. According to the verses before and after, when does the Kingdom of Peace arrive?

According to v.1, it occurs when the stump of Jesse comes back to life. Is that past or future? It’s in the past. For five hundred years, the Royal House of David was dead. But when the Lord came, He was hailed as both "The Son of David" and "The King of Israel".

V.2 says the Kingdom comes when God’s Spirit comes upon the King. Is that past or future? At the Lord’s baptism, the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove and stayed there.

The tenth verse links it to the calling of the Gentiles. Is that past or future? It’s in the past. Shortly after Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out upon the Samaritans (cf. Acts 8) and on the Romans (cf. Acts 10).

What about the re-gathering of the Jews? Surely that is future, isn’t it? Not necessarily. On the Day of Pentecost Jews from all over the world were brought to Christ. It’s still going on today.

It seems, therefore, that the Kingdom of Peace has already come.

But if that’s true, how do you understand vv.6-9? You understand them figuratively. They describe a peaceful kingdom. Which we have under the Lordship of Christ. Right now.

Let me illustrate from the Bible and Church History.

The Lord had twelve disciples. One of them was Matthew the Publican. He worked for the Romans and became rich by cheating the people of God. Another disciple was named Simon the Zealot. He was a revolutionary bent on freeing Israel from the Romans and taking vengeance on the collaborators!

Politics made these men bitter enemies. Jesus Christ made them friends.

Another example is Saul of Tarsus. No one ever hated the Church more than he did. He destroyed the Church. Till he met Jesus Christ. Then he became its Master Builder.

In the New Testament era, Jews and Gentiles worshiped the same God in the same place on an equal footing. How did they come to do that? Paul said Jesus Christ "Broke down the middle wall of partition".

Now let’s go to Church history.

John G. Paton was missionary to the New Hebrides. After many years of hard labor, he saw some natives come to Christ. A few weeks later, the missionary and the cannibals sat together at the Lord’s Table.

Paton died almost a hundred years ago. Let’s get more recent. In the past few weeks, Arabs in Israel threw rocks at the Jews and the Jews shot back at the Arabs. What a history of hate they have between them! But in the church there, both Jews and Palestinians greeted one another with a holy kiss.

To move closer to home, I have a Christian friend who’s a black man. He was won to the Lord by a white man. So? Many white and black people like each other. Of course, they do. But the white man was a former Klansman! Can you imagine? Someone who believed in lynching black people at one time now wins them to Christ?

How do you explain this? Jesus Christ.

The Prince of Peace has come, and…

How do we respond to the Peace He brings? The way people have always responded to the coming of peace—by celebrating!

That’s what Chapter 12 tells us to do. It tells us to praise the Lord, to rejoice in Him, to sing to Him, to tell others what He has done for us, and even to "Cry out and shout".

The prophet gives three reasons to glorify the Lord.

• Because His "anger is turned away". Jesus Christ took the wrath of God for us, and that means the Lord is not mad at us, but fully accepts us.

• Because He "Comforts us". This is the special work of God’s Spirit. When we feel guilty, the Holy Spirit reminds us of what Christ has done and that sins are washed away by His blood.
• Because JEHOVAH is our "Strength and salvation". We don’t save ourselves, the Lord does! It’s not what we do for Him, but what He does for us!

That makes Him "Our Song". The Lord is the source, subject, and object of our sons. He makes us want to sing! We want to sing about Him. We want to sing to Him.

But, of course we do! Jesus Christ has brought God’s peace into the world and into our souls. And, as wonderful as it is now, it only gets better.

The peace we have now is only a deposit on what we’ll soon have. One day, every tear is wiped away, and we’ll have a perfect and lasting peace. In the Presence of the Lord.