God Grew Hope from the Unexpected For You

I am sure you have all heard the phrase, “Prepare for the unexpected.” I am sure you have said these words before a long road trip with your kids making sure to take along extra snacks, diapers, drinks, books, toys, tablets, map out restroom stops, etc. I am sure you have said these words at work with a new or difficult client. I am sure you have used it at school when studying for a test or with a new teacher. The goal of the phrase, “Prepare for the unexpected,” is to be ready for things to go differently than you expect.

Most people did not know what to expect from Jesus. Another way you could say that is that most people had expectations for Jesus, but they were not correct. Many saw him as a political Savior who would restore the political nation of Israel and get them out from under the Roman government. However, while on trial before Pontius Pilate in John 18 we hear Jesus describe his kingdom, 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus’ kingdom was not political. In fact, it was not on the earth. The people needed their misguided expectations corrected, so God sent John the Baptist as we hear in our Gospel reading from Matthew 3, 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” John’s message was, “Repent.” He did not encourage the people to political activism or to prepare for battle with Rome. Nor did John dress like the religious leaders of the day in elaborate robes or join with them to teach at the temple or attend dinner parties with the elites. Instead, we hear this description of John’s attire and lifestyle in Matthew 3, 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. John was not what the people expected, but he was right about Jesus. Jesus had come to bring judgment, and the people needed to be ready.

The people of Jesus’ day hoped to escape judgment through man made means. They hopped from one politician to another, they added or changed laws, they created ceremonies, elevated traditions, they praised the socially acceptable things created by man as if it were from God or as if they were the gods judging what was right and wrong. They saw the earth as their home and put their hope into it, but it was all unfixable. They followed the same pattern from the past and the same one we see today, but all their hopes failed. They failed because every society and kingdom fell, and the customs and laws were broken and failed to produce peace among the people. Everything they expected to work to save them failed. Again, that is why God sent John the Baptist, who was prophesied to come by Isaiah as we heard in our Gospel reading from Matthew 3, 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” Isaiah prophesied John the Baptist’s voice calling out the announcement of the Lord Jesus’ coming. Isaiah like John directed the people to the unexpected.

Isaiah lived in times like ours. He served as a prophet to the Southern kingdom of Judah 700 years before Jesus, and therefore 400 years before Archimedes and 300 years before Alexander the Great. His service spanned decades watching the rise and fall of four Kings of Judah as we read in Isaiah 1, 1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. He saw a pattern of both political and religious corruption, restoration, corruption and restoration. He saw the Northern kingdom of Israel defeated by the Assyrians. Like Isaiah, you and I live in times of corruption, then restoration, corruption and then restoration, and times when political, religious and social kingdoms crumble and fall.

God sent Isaiah to prepare the people of his day for judgment by directing them to unexpected hope. In our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 11, we read, 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The imagery here is a tree that has been cut down only to leave a stump from which you would not expect life to come from again. This was a prophesy about King David, whose father was Jesse, whose royal line was taken captive into Babylon one hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecies and would never recover any of its earthly strength. Jesus was a descendant of King David through both Mary and Joseph who were poor, common people when Jesus was born. It was from this stump that Jesus grew into a Branch that bore fruit. Jesus brought life to Israel again. Not life for a worldly kingdom, but eternal life. Isaiah further described this shoot that grew into a Branch in Isaiah 11, 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. Jesus would rule like no one else; he is the Son of God, the Lord filled with all the gifts of the Spirit. Isaiah revealed the unexpected Savior. His call was for the people to turn away from trusting in corrupt creatures, in sinful man. His call was for the people to trust in the Creator, in God, who alone can save them from judgment.

After describing the Savior’s unexpected sprouting from a stump, he prophesied what he would do as the Lord filled with the gifts of the Spirit. Isaiah revealed Jesus as the judge. He would not be sinful like all of mankind as we hear in Psalm 14, 3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. All rulers, leaders, governments, nations, people, movements, fight, fracture and fall because of sin. Sin has condemned us to this pattern. And even when we see the corruption, we cannot turn from it, but the Creator is not corrupt, God is not evil, wicked, broken or sinful. He judges correctly, calling out what is evil and punishing it, while protecting, saving and preserving what is good. This is the good news Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 11, He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. When Jesus judges, he sees below the surface and filters out the lies. He is fair and objective. He always seeks to do what is right and help those who have been wronged. He also punishes the wicked as all judges should as Isaiah wrote, He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. When Jesus first came into the world, he was the one who was punished for our wickedness to save us. We live without fear of judgment because he gave us his righteousness. When Jesus returns for his second coming, those who do not believe in him will be punished for rejecting him. As with Isaiah pointing the people to the coming Savior when Judah was going to fall to Babylon and as John the Baptist pointed the people to Jesus as Rome ruled over them, you and I are called to look to Jesus for salvation while the world around us falls like trees in the forest leaving dead, rotting stumps.

You get caught up in the expected. You trust in some part of God’s creation, rather than in your Creator. You get lost in the unexpected. You lose hope when sin or suffering comes your way. Both have been solved in your Savior who is God and who will bring you to a new kingdom without sin or suffering. Isaiah’s prophesies were ‘will’ for the people of his day, while for us it is done. We wait with hope for the peace that comes from our Savior’s accomplishments. We hope in the peace of heaven. Heaven’s peace is described with a variety of images in Isaiah 11,

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

Isaiah 11:6-8

These images picture animal and human pairs that in this sinful world are bitter struggles for life that result in death. Yet the power of God will bring peace. Isaiah continued to write, 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This peace occurs only on the mountain of God, another image of heaven, and it is enjoyed by those to whom God has given the gift of faith. In our New Testament reading from Philippians 4, Paul encouraged the believers in Philippi as they waited for the peace of heaven to pray to God when that peace seemed far away and the worries of the world weighed them down, 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

“Prepare for the unexpected.” You are prepared for any situation. When sin or suffering rob you of hope, stop expecting peace to come from this world. God promised peace to grow up from the unexpected dead stump of the royal line of Jesse’s son David. Jesus proved himself as our Savior through his sacrifice for sin on the cross and his glorious resurrection. He is your hope, and he will bring you to everlasting peace in heaven. The words Paul wrote in Philippians 4 remain true for you, 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” God grew hope from the unexpected for you. Amen.