Son of Man -- Dec 4th Sermon
Greetings! Isaiah and Matthew are the books that this sermon comes from.
the Bible’s sole interest is in Isaiah’s message, which is summed up in the meaning of his name: “Yahweh is salvation.”
Isaiah’s book is a vision in that it reveals, through symbols and reasoned thought, a God-centered way of seeing and living. It offers everyone the true alternative to the false appearances of this world. https://www.esv.org/Isaiah+11/
Isaiah 11:1-10
English Standard Version
The Righteous Reign of the Branch
11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 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.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
A shoot is coming out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. The Holy Spirit will rest upon this stump, this branch from Jesse’s roots. He will be filled with the Spirit of God, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord. He will judge with righteousness and fairness. The rod of his mouth, the Word of God, he’ll use to strike the earth and kill the wicked. He will wear a belt of righteousness and faithfulness.
So Jesse is the father of David. However, there will be a prophet coming to the earth, who is both the root and offspring of David. How is that possible? There is only one person who fits that description. It is the God Man, Christ Jesus. Look at what he says in the book of Revelation:
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.”
We see from Jesus’ baptism that the Holy Spirit came to rest on Him in the form of a dove. Matthew 3:16-17 English Standard Version 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
This is where we see this Spirit of might, wisdom, counsel, understanding and the fear of the Lord rest fully and permanently on Christ. John tells us that the Spirit of God’s presence in Jesus is unlimited, infinite: John 3:34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
Christ indeed is full of the Spirit without measure. Even though we can constantly grow in the fruits of the Spirit according to Galatians 5:23, we will not be fully pure on this side of heaven. Yet we can look to the Son of David, who is the Root of David. We can look to Christ, and trust that when God sees us, he sees us not clothed in our own purity, but in the purity of Jesus. We are clothed in the purity of the one who came from Heaven, and became a Son of Man. Now why do I keep mentioning this title “Son of Man?” It’s what Jesus called Himself more than anything else. But where did Jesus get this from? It’s not in the reading, but I’d like to quote from Daniel 7: Daniel 7:13-14 English Standard Version 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Only an eternal king can have an eternal kingdom. This is where Jesus got this title. This was totally him, in heaven. Daniel saw a vision of Christ before His earthly ministry! So here’s the thing about prophecy in the Bible. Every prophecy has elements of both future and history. During Daniel’s vision, did he also see what’s going to happen at the end of all things? It’s highly possible. But why does all this matter? What does this have to do with what you’re going through? Let's at one phrase again....
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Well, when we read verse 5, we see the wrath of Christ. And had we not been given the gift of salvation by faith through grace, we would be the ones Christ would strike with the rod of his mouth. We were the ones who would’ve been killed by the breath of his lips.
Gospel – Since Jesus is both a Lion and a Lamb, we experience his tenderness, gentleness and love displayed on the cross for us.
But speaking of prophecy, we can speak about Isaiah’s prophecy again. It seems like the last half of Isaiah chapter 11 mentions something very interesting. I believe it’s talking about the end times:
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
We see wolves with lambs, leopards with goats, calves and lions, all eating together, grass, in fact. A child will play with a cobra; a weaned child or a toddler will put his hand on an adder’s den. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And the root of Jesse, who is also the stump of Jesse, would be a signal for the nations, and all would inquire of the root of Jesse. His resting place will be glorious.
So this is obviously talking about the end times here. There’s no way my kid is getting close to a cobra or an adder! Forget it! All eating grass, too. That doesn’t sound like something happening today. But we can rest in the fact that one day, even the natural order will be at peace. Will lions eat grass in the future? This powerful creature eating grass. Well, Job has something interesting to say about that! Job 40:15-24 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Look at our planet. People are killing each other. The earth is vomiting out its inhabitants through earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes, landslides, etc. The atmosphere is polluted with diseases, many of which are man made. Asteroids hit our planet, creating devastation. Romans 8:22 talks about the creation itself crying out for the Sons of God to be revealed. All of this is because of our sin. Adam and Eve caused us to inherit sin, but we also sin on our own, every day. However, the Son of Man came just for that. For the revealing of His people. The Son of God became a Son of Man, so mankind could be restored as God’s children. And what an incredible first Advent Jesus had!
Okay we are fast forwarding from the book of Isaiah, written 700 or 800 years before Christ, we’re fast forwarding that 400 year period after Malachi where the Greeks and Romans invaded Israel, and we’re fast forwarding past the nativity. By the time we reach Matthew 21 in our text, our Son of Man, Christ Jesus, is entering Jerusalem for the first time.
In light of Irenaeus’s assertion (c. A.D. 175) that Matthew composed his Gospel while Peter and Paul were still living (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1), it is traditionally dated to the late 50s or early 60s.
Purpose, Occasion, and Background
Matthew crafted his account to demonstrate Jesus’ messianic identity, his inheritance of the Davidic kingship over Israel, and his fulfillment of the promise made to his ancestor Abraham (Matt. 1:1) to be a blessing to all the nations (Gen. 12:1–3).
Matthew 21:1-11
English Standard Version
The Triumphal Entry
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
We see Christ entering Jerusalem. His disciples placed Jesus on a donkey. Prophecy about this from the book of Zechariah was fulfilled. People cut branches from trees and spread them on the road in front of Jesus. All around him, people were saying, Hosanna, or Glory to God.
Now what’s happening in Matthew? Christ is entering the city in the complete opposite way that Alexander the Great did and Pompeii did centuries before Jesus was born. The former came with chariots, war horses, war elephants, slaves, and great fanfare. But Jesus does the complete opposite. He comes in humility. And what could be more humble than the Son of God becoming a Son of Man. Could you imagine Ceasar or Alexander or Napoleon coming in such a humble manner? They say power corrupts, but if the one in power has an incorruptible nature….That is our Savior. Within a week, the entire city would turn against Jesus, as we have turned away from him countless times. But, within a week, Christ secured our salvation, forgiveness and eternal life (Forgive them father, for they know not what they do). If he prayed for the Roman soldiers who were crucifying Him, how much more does Jesus love and forgive you and I?.
He loves us more than words can ever express, but the Apostle Paul comes close I believe, when he says his desire is for us to know the love of Christ that goes beyond our human ability to understand.
Romans 8:38 (NET)
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers,Romans 8:39 (NET)
nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So in closing, look to the Son of Man, who is also the Son of God. Nothing in this entire universe, not even death or demons separate us from the Love God has for us. Go in peace. And now may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord Jesus. Amen.