Used, posted, January 24, 1999
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Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
This prophecy is a major prophecy concerning Christ. I dealt with the second part first: his rest shall be glorious. Christ defined this glorious rest promised by Isaiah:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now let us take the first part of the prophecy which promised an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek.
Because God's Old Testament people, led by the religious leaders, refused to glorify God as God, they were scattered world-wide, to the four corners of the earth. (Isa. 5:1-7, Rom. 1:21, 1 Cor. 10:31.)
Isaiah 11:10-16, looks past the return of God's people from all the pagan lands where Israel of old was scattered. It looks forward to the coming of Christ; it looks forward to God's Spirit drawing sinners to Christ from the four corners of the earth through the preaching of the gospel.
John 12:32, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he should die. (All men here cannot mean all men, for not all men are nor will all men be saved. It must, therefore, speak of all of the elect, Isa. 53.)
The context of John 12:23, speaks of the manner of Christ's death, v. 24. He would be lifted up on the cross:
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
We want to look at an application of John 12:32 which is true to the context of Scripture. This application refers to lifting up Christ with our lives:
1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Paul sums up man's problem -- we fail to do what we know to do.
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened that our basic problem is that we fail to glorify God as God.
Romans 14 talks of Christian liberty. But we are also told that Christian liberty must not cause an occasion for those watching to stumble:
Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
No person lives or dies to himself -- others are watching, and they are being influenced by our attitudes, actions and words.
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Our goal as Christians is not to see how much "liberty" we have in Christ. Our goal is peace and strengthening one another in the faith. Our goal is to influence others for the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
I was speaking to a man the other day about "evangelism," particularly about "cold" contacts --- that is, inviting folks we do not know to church or to the Lord with the gospel. I believe the word of God requires "cold" contacts, and those contacts should be by every available means: phone, mail or at the door. And the word of God places that responsibility upon every Believer.
The man pointed out to me what I have said many times -- more often than not, the Kingdom of God is enlarged on earth through the personal contacts of God's people. Our most effective outreach is to those we come into contact with on a regular basis.
John 12:32, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Though the context speaks of the manner of Christ's death, lifted up on the cross, the overall Scriptural context tells us that as we lift up Christ in our words and deeds, the Spirit of God will draw men to Christ. It was from the belly of the whale that Jonah said, SALVATION IS OF THE LORD. (Johan 2:9.)
But lifting up Christ is more than just lifting him up in word and deed. A key part of lifting up Christ is lifting him up in our spirits. The opposite of lifting up Christ in our spirit is lifting up self. We either exalt Christ in our spirit or we exalt ourselves in our spirit. And the move of the world today is SELF-ESTEEM.
PRIDE DEFINED
Daniel 4 tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar was walking around in his palace. As he admired its great beauty, he said,
Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? (V. 30.)
Nebuchadnezzar knew better. This was after his dream of the great image; this was after the fiery furnace; this was after his statement in 4:2, 3, "I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. "
After all these things, he was lifted up in his heart. The Lord heard him, and judged him accordingly. The pride that God is against lifts ourselves up rather than lifting Christ up.
Proverbs 8:12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy (self-important, overconfident), and the evil way, and the froward (strong, self-willed--my way or no way, used primarily of words) mouth, do I hate.
The fear of the Lord is to hate these things. The Lord realizes we are made of dust (Ps. 103:14), and that we have problems in these areas. So he says that the righteous will hate these things; the righteous will be honest about himself that these things are problems; the righteous will recognize and confront the problems; the righteous will seek victory over them by God's grace.
The righteous will not be free from pride, arrogancy, proud-speaking and evil ways, but he will hate them, and he will war against them until the day he dies.
Our actions and words may be free of pride, but the Lord looks past the heart. A serious problem faced by every child of Adam is pride of the heart.
2 Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
Pride lies continually under the surface, waiting to rear its ugly head. Pride prevents lifting up Christ. Pride requires that we lift up self rather than lifting up Christ. It requires that we esteem ourselves above others.
Two of the most wicked kings in Israel's history were Ahab and Manasseh. Their problem was the pride that resided in their hearts:
1 Kings 21:28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
2 Chronicles 33:11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
Pride and lifting up Christ and glorifying God cannot exist in the same heart and life. Either we lift up Christ and glorify God or we lift up and glorify ourselves. And God sees the heart, and he rewards accordingly.
Pride of the heart:
1) pride over our abilities.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
We can honestly look at something we have done and be pleased, or satisfied and proud with our accomplishment. The problem is when we start comparing our actions and abilities with others, and think how much better we are than they.
2 Corinthians 19:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. 14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: 15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, 16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. 17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 18 For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
Pride is saying to ourselves, "I can do better than he can," or "I am better than he is."
Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
LET EACH ESTEEM, and we do this by fixing our eyes on the areas where others excel. That will prevent pride on our part.
let each esteem--Translate as Greek, "esteeming each other superior to yourselves." Instead of fixing your eyes on those points in which you excel, fix them on those in which your neighbor excels you: this is true "humility." (JFB)
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
2) Pride is resistance in our spirit to proper authority properly used.
That includes godly spiritual authority in the church.
That includes civil authority as it is properly used.
That includes occupational authority, or the proper authority in the work place.
That includes family authority, husbands under the Lord, wives under their husbands, and children under their parents.
The resistance in our spirits to those proper authority is pride rising up.
3) how do we feel when our "authority" is challenged? Is our pride hurt?
Conclusion:
John 12:32, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
The Spirit of God must work in
the hearts of those around us; we cannot. Though our actions and
words may be the most humble in the world, what is in the heart?
Is Christ being lifted up the inner most chambers of our
heart and imagination?
Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah 5:1-7.
V. 3, the Lord is speaking to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the men of Judah. Here we see the Lord's efforts to get his people, Israel of old to bear fruit. The fruit he was looking for was for his people to do all things for the praise, honour and glory of the Lord. V. 3, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah were the religious leaders of Christ's day. No matter what the Lord said or did for them or to them, they were still motivated by pride, greed and self-fulfillment, i.e., WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO RATHER THAN WHAT THE LORD WANTED THEM TO DO.
Despite all the efforts of the husbandman, (the Father) they refused to honour the Lord God with all their time and substance. Then the Lord asked, "What more could I have done?" The His conclusion was that his only option was to lay it waste --- that is, lay Jerusalem waste. His only option was to destroy the vineyard. This scenario is repeated by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 21:33-46, where the men of Judah pronounced their own judgment.
Isaiah 5:8-24, the Lord lists the sins of the men of Judah and pronouncing woes upon them for their sins. He sums up the root of the problem, or the cause of the woes -- because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (V. 24.) They turned their backs on the word of God, and went their own way. The result was that the Lord himself will call the enemy of Jerusalem against the rebellious men therein. The enemy successfully defeated God's people, and destroyed the city. (Vv. 25ff.)
Old Testament Israel's physical captivity to Babylon was a figure of the spiritual captivity under sin. (Geneva) So Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 11 changes the prophesied gathering of Israel. It changes prophecy from a literal nation of Israel to the spiritual nation of Israel as found in the new Israel of God, the Gospel Church. (Gal. 6:16, Philippians 3:3.) It changes the prophesied deliverance from a temporal deliverance from bondage to pagan nations such as Babylon to the spiritual deliverance from the bondage to sin. In this prophecy, God shows us that true deliverance must come by Christ. Isaiah 11 looks forward to the great deliverance that was to come through the Messiah.
Natural Israel's return from Babylon to their appointed place in the land, Judah and Jerusalem, looked forward to the uniting of people around Christ.
Isaiah 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Let us look at some things
The root of Jesse, which is Christ, shall stand for an ensign.
Shall stand -- that is, it shall be permanently and prominently placed as a rallying point for God's people. The word, ensign shows the reference is primarily to an army.
An ensign:
It can stand for a place of battle --- a banner used for gathering people, enlisting into service, a sign of preparation for war, encouragement in the battle ("O Say can you see..."), marks the proper place in battle for individuals, and used to point the direction where the soldiers should stand, march and/or follow.
It can distinguish one company from another. It can also mark the location of the army commander. It can mark an army's location and stronghold.
It can mark a point of victory, e.g., the flag raising on Mount Suribachi after the bloody battle to take Iwo Jima from Japan in WWII.
It can be a mark of the location of hope, rest and comfort for individual soldiers weary of the battle. It can be a mark of a location of safety. It can be a "vision" of hope as fresh soldiers come into the battle to help the battle weary. It can mark the location of counsel and help in the time of need. An ensign can mark a gathering place before, during and after a battle. It can point to both the area of conflict and to the area of rest.
The ensign can bring order out of chaos, as each person goes to the place assigned by the commander, and marked by the location of the ensign.
The ensign is not normally held up by the commander, but by those assigned to do so.
Israel was to organize under their particular standard, with the ensign of their father's house. (Numbers 1:52, 2:2, 10:14.) Jewish tradition holds that "the standard of Judah [was, ed.] the form of a lion, because Jacob compared him to one, Ge 49:9". (Gill, Online Bible.)
Ensign:
[Isa. 11] Ver. 12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, &c.] For the gathering of them, for the calling of the Gentiles, that is, the Lord would do it; he who before is said to set his hand a second time to recover his people, whether among Jews or Gentiles; this he has done in the ministration of the Gospel, in which Christ is lifted up and held forth as the only Saviour of lost sinners, the sole author and glorious Captain of salvation, for them to flee to, and lay hold on; and this he still does, and will continue to do, until all his people are gathered in from the several parts of the world: (Gill)
The prophecy of Isaiah 11:12, said that the Gentiles, or pagans, would seek after Christ. The start of its fulfillment is in,
John 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
(Do people see him in us?)
This chapter in Christ's life takes place just before Christ's death as the Passover lamb --- the hour had come for his death, 13:1. He had presented himself as the Messiah-King of Israel, 12:12-19, and he stirred up great indignation in the religious leaders, the Pharisees. He went to Jerusalem where he preached his final message in the temple before he is put to death, vv. 24-50. Christ's final message was in response to the Greeks' request in v. 20
The Greeks came to one of Christ's disciples wanting to see Christ - that is, speak with him. So they asked Philip to introduce them to Jesus. Philip did not know what to do, so he goes to Andrew, and then both went to Christ. They told Christ that the pagan Greeks wanted to see him. Christ did not answer the request as we would consider an answer. Notice what he did say, vv. 23-26.
1) vv. 23, 24, Christ's glorification was not to be a physical rule over a literal nation, Israel. His glorification was his death, burial and resurrection.
2) vv. 25, 26, following Christ requires the same sacrifice that Christ made -- that is, death to personal prejudices, dreams, hopes and desires.
3) vv. 27, 28, knowing that the time of his death was at hand, he did not seek to be removed from the situation; rather, he sought the glory of the Father in the hour of his temptation.
4) v. 31, Christ's glorification would judge, or break the power and hold of the world and the devil from over people.
5) v. 32, is our key verse:
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
6) v. 33, Christ spoke of the manner of death he should die, the cross.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18.)
Then Christ went on to speak of himself as the Light of the world that would soon be extinguished in his death. However, he expanded the Light by urging his hearers to become the children of light, 36.
Skipping on down through this message inspired by the Greek's request to see him, we find the blindness of the Jewish religious leaders --- they refused to believe despite the miracles. V. 46, then we see an open invitation for the Greeks to believe on him. V. 47, we find a clear condemnation of the Jewish religious leaders, and of all who refuse to believe on him.
Lifted up, or exalted [5312]. The word is used to describe Christ's exaltation to the right hand of the Father; it is used opposite of human pride, e.g., Luke 14:11. Though the word is not used, the exaltation of Christ would easily fit into Matthew 28:19, 21 -- preaching the cross of Christ, and training the converts (nations) to obey the word of God (Christ).
Thus our Christian obligation is to present Christ at all times
Philippians 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Paul's great concern was to boldly magnify Christ in all he said and did -- Christ's office of Prophet, Priest and King.
Magnify Christ:
1) by preaching the gospel of Christ at every opportunity.
2) by obedience to his will, our life and conversation, in the good times.
3) by obedience to this will in the bad times, enduring hardships and great sufferings as Christians and on account of our Christian stand.
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Our Christian responsibility is to lift up Christ, not to build a Church &c.