Last time we were together, we thought initially about the kind of congregation that the Lord sent the prophet to preach to. A congregation, you remember, that was, as far as the world was concerned, a sensible people, a reasonable people, a people who dealt with the great ones of the earth carefully, who thought that their own ingenuity, political maneuvering would save them. But a people, as we found over and over again, that ultimately were insensible to what was their greatest problem and their only solution. Their problem was their apostasy and their only solution was turning back to the living God by faith in his son. But friend, I want you to remember that the congregation was also a congregation that appeared holy. It's important to remember that you and I, we are not far removed from the days of Uzziah, wherein the church continued in Judah, continued, of course, with impurities, but in the main continued a people who claimed the name of Jehovah, who observed his ordinances to some extent with purity, who were frequent at the temple a people who would have sat regularly under the sound of God's word in the synagogues throughout the land, a people who were externally reformed. And yet a people, says the prophet, who were Christless, a people who had the covenant name set upon them, who enjoyed the privileges of the covenant, and yet who were a people who were without the Christ of that covenant, a Christless generation. And over and over again, as we read through this text, you and I, we noticed that the prophet, he sets that before them time and time again. Not only were they insensible of their greatest problem, not only were they insensible of the only solution, he shows them that they had forgotten he who was the covenant embodied. They were a Christless people. And so he turns them over and over again, back to the Lord Jesus Christ, back to the promised Messiah. Friend, this evening, you and I, we need to recognize that our greatest problem is that we too, in so many ways, friend, do not look to the Lord Jesus Christ as we ought. You and I, we ought to recognize this evening that our great need is to see him and to see more of him. And so this text speaks to us. It speaks to a generation like ours where you have a plethora of Christian publishing houses, where you have an abundance of Christian material, a multitude of people who name the name of Christ, but yet, who very evidently are a Christless people nonetheless. A message to a people, a people who are reformed externally, but who have seen so little of the Lord Jesus by faith. This is a text for us. Now, I want you to notice as we turn to this 11th chapter that the prophet sets the Lord Jesus before us again, as he is the rod out of the stem of Jesse. Now, in our second verse, which is our text, you notice that the prophet, he moves away from the imagery of the tree, of the saplings springing from that dead and that dried stump that was the house of Jesse. And now he deals with Christ literally as a man. So our text reads, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. No longer are we dealing with the imagery of a sprout, a man. The man, Christ Jesus, now stands before us without the imagery, without the symbolism, and he stands before us as king. This is the true King of Zion. This is the one who would come from the house of Jesse, who would be the everlasting King upon David's throne. This is the one of whom the prophet writes. And now he tells us that this one, the rod out of the stem of Jesse, who is Zion's rightful and everlasting King, this is one who is furnished for his work. So he says in three pairs of descriptions, The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him and that spirit is described as of being wisdom and understanding of counsel and might, of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. These are wonderful descriptions, aren't they? They set before us one who is imbued with the greatest of graces. But as you look at this text, you and I, we shouldn't think that this is a kind of random list. given to us. In fact, as you look at this text in the original, you recognize we've come across all of these terms before. Only previously, when we encountered these terms, they were in the lips of the nations that Judah wanted to confederate with. Just to give you two examples, take Israel. In the pride and in the stoutness of heart, The Israelite boasted, the bricks are fallen down, but we will build with human stones. It's interesting, the word stoutness there is the word gebor, which in our text is translated might. Verse two, chapter 11. Or take Assyria. Assyria says, by the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, hakom, for I am prudent, bane. Wisdom and prudence in our texts, the Hebrew that is, appears to us as wisdom and understanding. Now, what do we make of that? Why draw on descriptions that in the preceding chapters, were descriptions that were taken by the Israelite and by the Assyrian? Friend, the answer is really straightforward, isn't it? The prophet is setting before us the one whom the Judahite ought to have been looking If he wanted strength, if he wanted security, he ought to have turned to the King described for us in our text, not to the Israelite, not to the Assyrian. The Assyrian says, I have understanding, I am prudent. The prophet says, here is the one who alone possesses those in their fullness. And indeed, friend, this is not a random list. Because as we even go back to chapter nine, we find these self-same terms recurring, but they appear in that list of names that we find in 9.6, where Emmanuel is called Wonderful Counselor, Hakom. the mighty God, El Gabor, the everlasting Father, Olam Av, Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom. What the prophet is doing for us in this text is he is showing us the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is saying, here's the one that you ought to always have looked. You who went after the confederacies with the nations, you who thought stability was to be found with the great ones of the earth, well, here is the one who alone possesses these things in truth and in their fullness. These were a people captivated by the world. And now the prophet tells us that they ought to have looked to this one who possesses these things in their plenitude. Friend, what you have in this text is a clarion call to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, that there is no other way around it. This was a generation that claimed to rest in the promises of the Messiah, but very evidently on the pages of this prophecy, those claims were groundless. They had already rejected the promised Messiah because they had no real rest. They rested not at all in His provision. They sought out confederacies with the nations instead. So the prophet turns and says, you must see Him. It's a clarion call to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is so today. And it's not just for politics. This is not an address only to the house of David. In the original, this is not a text only to the elites of Judah. This is a text that belongs to everyone. In the sense that all of those in the church at that time, they ought to have seen him. Let's hear the prophet presents him. It's not only friend, it's not only a theme to to help us as we think through national alliances and the like, but friend, it's the only theme upon which the people of God corporately and individually can rest. And what is that theme as we have it in our text? It is that Christ is Zion's able and glorious King. Christ is Zion's able and glorious King. And I want us to see that this evening by first of all, seeing how the prophet sets before us his furnishing for the work of redemption, his furnishing. You have it in that very first line, where there the prophet talks to us about the spirit of the Lord resting upon him. Now the word rest there, it could be translated deposit or to place. So the idea is, is that the spirit of the Lord shall be deposited. shall be placed upon him." Now immediately, recognizing that you and I, we are encountering the self same one who in 9.6 is called the mighty God. We may have a question. How is it that we can talk about the one who is called El Gabor, the mighty God? How can we talk about the spirit of God resting upon him? Is he not fully possessed of the divine nature? So how can we talk about the Spirit of God resting upon him? And the answer, friend, lies certainly in the text before us. We are considering Christ, not as he is the eternal Lagos, but as he is the rod out of the stem of Jesse. And in that sense, friend, the answer comes to us readily. In John 3, we're told, God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. as He is Jesus Christ, that is the One who comes to save His people as God manifests in the flesh, the Spirit of God is imparted to Him, such that we can say, as Luke 2 tells us, Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. In other words, friend, it's important for us to recognize that the prophet in this text sets before us the Lord Jesus Christ, not as the mighty God appearing theophanically, not appearing in glory, but as God manifest in the flesh. God appearing not through theophany, but through incarnation. And in that sense, friend, we have to read this text. We encounter the mighty God who has also become the rod out of the stem of Jesse. And what are we told? Well, we're told that as he is so, he is perfectly equipped or perfectly furnished for his work. Of course, as he is the eternal logos, there is no question he possesses in fullness ability. He possesses all of these attributes in their infinitude. But what our text tells us is that in his humanity, he was furnished with these graces so as to perfectly and sufficiently accomplish redemption. Now it's important friend that we think through this because too often I'm afraid, too often we just don't meditate as we ought to. The scriptures hold forth a deep for us here and it's necessary that we take some time to contemplate what is said to us. When we say that Christ as the rod out of the stem of Jesse is perfectly and sufficiently furnished for his calling, what do we mean? Are we saying here that the Logos was given something as though he didn't possess it already from eternity? And the answer of course is no. Well, when the rod from the stem of Jesse came, was he given the spirit of God in a sense that we see in his humanity the glory of another? In fact, our text tells us no. But how it tells us no is really important. I wanna read to you just a verse from Proverbs 8. The text reads, counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. Now that's from Proverbs 8. And you remember in Proverbs 8, you have the wisdom of God personified. It is the wisdom of God, the eternal wisdom that speaks in that text. And note what he says, and I'll read it again. He says, counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. Why is that significant? Well, friend, because in Proverbs 8, you have the eternal logos, the personified wisdom of God speaking. And what are the four possessions that wisdom has in that text? In the original, they are the four descriptions that we find in the first two lines of ours. Again, counsel is mine, sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. In fact, it's the only other place in the Hebrew Bible where those four words recur in the same verse. What significance is that to us? Well, friend, what we learn from this is that when the Spirit of God came upon the one who is the rod from the stem of Jesse, that glory that shone through his humanity was not the glory of another, It was his own glory that shone. Again, I think we need to meditate on this just a bit further. What we're being told in this text is that as Christ comes, even in his humanity, as he comes to us, even in his state of humiliation, he comes and through the ministration of the Spirit of God, he is equipped and so equipped as to manifest these graces. Friend, that means that even in the humiliation of Christ, there was something of his eternal glory that shone through his humanity. You say to me, how can that be? Was that not the purpose of the estate of humiliation, that that glory would be concealed? Friend, the answer is really straightforward, isn't it? Because John tells us exactly that that is what occurred. Again, as we read from John 1 in verse 14, he says, when he saw the Lord Jesus, he saw the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. But how did he see it? What's so striking about that text is he's not talking about the Mount of Transfiguration. Though there, of course, the shards of glory broke through. He says he saw it as he saw Jesus full of grace and truth. which in short form, friend, is really the substance of our text. What we need to take from this text, friend, is this, that in Christ's state of humiliation, as he took upon him flesh, as Paul tells us in Philippians 2, he emptied himself. But what did that mean? Does that mean he ceased to be what he was? No, not at all. But what it means is that in His humanity, He made Himself dependent upon the Father and the ministration of the Spirit to communicate to His humanity those gifts and those graces that belong to Him as the Eternal Son. Such that when that grace and that truth shone through His humanity, it was His own glory that was seen. Though it was seen, of course, as it was communicated to Him through the ministration of that Spirit. I know, friend, that this is deep Christology, but it's so very necessary because all of this exalts the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this sets before us the reality that Christ is altogether sufficient. Friend, what does it mean for Christ to be perfectly furnished even in his humanity to accomplish redemption? In other words, what does it mean for this text to hold significance for us? Well friend, for Christ to redeem man. As a man, more was required of him than was required of Adam the first. Oh, Adam the first, he was a gifted man. He was created upright, Ecclesiastes 11. Made to walk straightly. A man imbued with great power. But friend, Christ required greater still. Greater power, greater strength. And you say, why can you say that? The answer is really simple, isn't it? Because it took more to redeem man than it took to preserve him. It requires more, friend, of Christ. Not only to keep the law as a man, but also to undergo all of its curse on behalf of his people, than it would have taken for Adam to preserve humanity through perfect and obedience. And our Christ was fully furnished, fully sufficient for the calling. Our second Adam was greater than our first. So our text tells us. A friend that also tells us something of the loveliness of Christ, doesn't it? Even in his humanity, the glory of the one who is the divine son shown through. As John says, we could see even there, the glory of the only begotten of the father shining. So he was furnished for his calling and so sufficient and so lovely. But our text also speaks to us of his fitness to the work. And I want us to look here at the next two lines wherein we have the idea that this spirit is described as being a spirit of wisdom and understanding, meaning that he will be able to hold and apply knowledge and he has understanding which means that he will perceive or that he will see accurately. And then the next line is he will possess a spirit of counsel and of might. The idea of counsel is that he will instruct And of course the idea behind might is that of power. And so he's fit. He is fit to be redeemer says the prophet. But for what? Why these particular graces? Well, friend, I think it's helpful to remember the antitheses that we find in the preceding chapters. Remember Israel. Israel is described as having leaders who cause them to err. Assyria boasts in itself and says, by the strength of my hand have I done it and by my wisdom, for I am prudent. What our text tells us here, friend, is that ours is a Christ who instructs. He does not lead his people to err. And unlike Assyria, our Christ is in fact wisdom incarnate. He is the one who is perception itself. And so he is apt to rule. So we have here that he is apt to redeem Zion, to save his people. He's altogether fit for the calling and no other could be a contender. Now, as we've already said, of course, when we think of what we're calling the communio idiomatum, where the graces of the divine son are communicated to the human nature by the ministration of the spirit, that communion, friend, was of course for the accomplishment of redemption. And we see that in Isaiah 42, where you have there the Lord Jesus Christ being told by the father that the father will uphold him by his spirit. That is as Christ makes himself dependent, empties himself in that way, we're told that the father will certainly uphold. And so our broad-shouldered Christ accomplishes salvation for his people. But it's important friend to note that not only did Christ receive these graces so as to accomplish redemption, he received these as the head of his people. In other words, he received them so that he might then impart those graces to his own. And you say, well, where do you get that, Joey? And the answer is really straightforward. Again, even from the text that we read from John 1, remember what John the Baptist says there, of his fullness have we all received and grace for grace. From what receptacle, Christian, do you receive sanctifying graces? but from he who is your head, he to whom you are vitally united. Again, you see this wonderfully presented to us in Ephesians four, where there you remember the apostle is talking to us about, not about what Christ has accomplished, but what he is doing now as the ascended Christ. And he says this, he's imparting gifts to the church that the church will grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. that she will grow into her head. Now, what does that mean? Well, Christian, using the analogy of the body as the apostle does in Ephesians 4, it's the idea that, friend, as she is united to Christ, those gifts that were imparted to Christ as our Redeemer, as our head, as our surety, well, friend, it's through that that we receive of his fullness, as John the Baptist says, have we all received. And the imagery, you could turn to any number of texts. One of the most wonderful, I suppose, is in Psalm 133. The oil poured upon Aaron's head, flowing down to the beard and to the hem of his skirts. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ flowing from the head down to the uttermost of his members. He was fit to accomplish redemption and fitted perfectly to apply that work as well. And finally, friend, I want you to notice that last line we have there again, that this spirit will be of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Now, it's important to recognize that the object of both is the same. It's the knowledge of God and the fear of God that is in view here. Now held together in that sense, friend, what you have communicated to us here is that Christ will be manifestly of the deepest piety. Love in this knowledge, in this case, is a knowledge that is without taint, without confusion or error. But of course, as you and I know this in the Hebrew text, The word knowledge there, so often also communicates with it a love for that which is known. And of course, friend, Christ cannot know God, even in his humanity, without the deepest love. And especially as you look at the very next description, that he will be possessed of this fear of the Lord, that is often a shorthand simply for piety and devotion to God. In other words, friend, what you have here is that you have one who as the God-man, as the God-man, he is of the deepest piety and devotion to God. And here the prophet stresses this point, and friend, we shouldn't miss this. We are supposed to see The holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only in terms of his deity, but in terms of him being the rod out of the stem of Jesse. We are to see that he is holy in both natures. And so, friend, throughout the New Testament, this is described for us, isn't it? Hebrews 7. described there, Christ, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. When Mary is said to be the one who is Theotokos, the God-bearer, the angel Gabriel tells her that holy thing born of thee. In fact, you could even translate it thus, just that one who is holy, as though it were his name. The apostles pray and ask for thy holy child, Jesus. Friend, his life would be marked with holiness, even as the rod of the stem of Jesse. Don't you see this? We only get the briefest of glimpses throughout the gospels, but don't you see this? When he is just a young man, not even yet out of adolescence, a boy really, He sets aside that what would be a very natural affection to hold to his parents, his mother and his adopted father, and is about his father's business in the temple. How often do we see the Lord Jesus forego food and sleep and rest just to be alone with his father? When he is at length persecuted and exhausted through ministry, yet how often do we find him take, as it were, to the pulpit and to preach again, to heal again. Even as the pains of the second death are poured upon him, how great is his concern for the church of God and overall for the glory of God. Friend, we are to see that he accomplished this work as he is the God-man, as the divine son incarnate. He is our redeemer according to both natures. And in our text, friend, you and I are to fixate our gaze upon a Christ whose holiness, of course in his divine, but even in his human nature is really unfathomable. It's an illustration that comes to me from Rutherford and it's one I've used often, but it's so necessary. Friend, you take yourself and me and you take that veneer that we have for the world to see and we don't look too bad on the outside, do we? You and I know as you and I begin to peel back the layer, you don't have to scratch too deep beneath the surface. to find corruption, to find sin. And in fact, the deeper and deeper you go, the more and more you see. But you take off that first layer in the life of Christ. You see holiness. And you go deeper and deeper and deeper, and all is just holiness to the Lord. Friend, that is the rod from the stem of Jesse. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what do we find? We find the King indicated for us in this text. The Christ whom this generation had quite quickly dismissed is the mighty God who is also the rod from the stem of Jesse. And as such, Isaiah tells us as the spirit's penman, he is one who is sufficiently furnished and fitted to redeem and to communicate good to his people. One with matchless unbroken fellowship with God. A king to be acknowledged. and adored. Friend, as we leave this text this evening, the question for us is of course, do we meditate on this Christ? I mean, do we really think and think deeply about him? Do you meditate on his sufficiency? Do you have thoughts about his worth? Friend, how much of your life is given to contemplate His ability, His sufficiency as Redeemer? You see, friend, if we answer all of those questions and saying, well, I don't do it much, it's no wonder we go to broken cisterns, isn't it? The reason why we have this Christ presented to us is because we're supposed to see that He and He only is sufficient. He and He only is the one upon whom we can build our lives and our hope. All others are counterfeits. Friend, if you and I, we don't meditate on Christology, even as we have been so briefly this evening, it's no wonder we so quickly run to false saviors. But can I go back, friend, just for a moment to that theme that I took up before namely that Christ received these things, not only as he and his humanity was equipped to accomplish all that was required of his office, but also to remind us that he received those things as our heads so as to communicate them to his members. Ralph Erskine put it thus. He says, oh believer, be strong in the grace that is in Christ. Oh, it is strange, The grace that is in him is in thee, as the life that is in the heart is in the toe, the foot, and the outermost members. There is a communication of vital strength and influences from the heart and head to all the members of the body. So the believer's grace is in Christ, and the grace that is in Christ is in the believer. Christian, how should you use this text as you yourself are praying for sanctification? Friend, you're to remember that all that you are requiring, all that you are pleading for at the throne of grace is found fully in your head and will only come through him and by virtue of that vital union that you have with him. Christian, it is there. It is there. Our text tells us it is so. And this should make us bold then to go to the throne of grace and pray for its application. So as we leave this text, friend, hope only in Him. That is, of course, the immediate application that this congregation was to hear. This Christless people were to be told again and again that their only hope was in Him. not in Assyria, not in the great ones of the earth, not in their ingenuity, not in their negotiations with powers, not in any other thing, but only in Him. And so Christian, that is the exhortation for you and for me. Don't hang a part of your life upon His ability. Hang it all. And as you do, Christian, remember that the one who's described in our text is worthy of all adoration, is worthy of all of your service. And friend, I would remind you as well, that the Christ that is set before us in our text, He's not an idea. He's not a theme. He is a living person. with a beating heart this moment. And Christian, for you and for me, for all of us in this room, that means that this text is of the most vital importance, of the most pressing importance. And so friend, take the Christ that is there offered. Take him for the first time. Take him again. And again, amen.