Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Jesse's Stump

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.  And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  Isaiah 11:1-2(NLT)

I’ve got this elm tree that won’t quit.  It was a young tree, maybe about 15 years old when I first decided it was too close to my fence and needed to come down.  I’ve cut it down five or six times in the dozen years since the first razing; it keeps coming back.
You don’t expect a stump to produce a new limb; what’s dead is dead.  Yet, that’s exactly what the prophet Isaiah said about Jesse’s family.  Jesse was a descendant of King David.  Ever the poet, Isaiah strung together the beautiful imagery of resurrection; Jesse’s family, part of that old dead stump, Israel, would have a new driving, a shoot that would grow, thrive and produce fruit again.
Another prophet, Micah, said it more plainly:

As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s people, your royal might and power will come back to you again.  The kingship will be restored to my precious Jerusalem.  Micah 4:8(NLT)

Less poetic than Isaiah, Micah still presents what can be missed by the dull ear – the monumental difference between an earthly kingdom and a spiritual one.  Hollywood does that all the time.  Last night my bride and I watched a TV movie, Killing Jesus.  In some ways it depicted the life and ministry of Jesus in refreshing ways, showing his lighthearted joyful nature, as well as the suffering.  At other points, and (in my opinion vital points) there were omissions, or outright distortions.
For instance, in Jesus’ early years, prior to being baptized by John, he is portrayed as not understanding that he is Messiah; he tells the Baptist:  I never thought of myself as anything more than a simple carpenter from Nazareth. 
There is no Biblical evidence of that; rather just the opposite.  One such instance[2] was when Jesus was 12.  He stayed behind in Jerusalem when his parents left town.  When they went back, they found him teaching the teachers at the temple.  He knew he was doing his father’s business – his Heavenly Father.  That was awareness of his mission.
In the movie’s scene where Pilate agrees to have Jesus crucified Barabbas is nowhere in sight.  How vital is this point – Jesus, the best of the best, voluntarily taking the penalty of Barabbas, the worst of the worst.  The illuminating sacrifice of Christ needs the darkness of sin to get our attention.
And then, they bailed on the resurrection – the women and a few officials entered Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, only to find an empty shroud.  There is no appearance of Jesus…only a smile on Mary’s face, as if she’s the only one who gets it, that He’s alive.
And the sea shore fish fry where Jesus came to the disciples – it gets spiritualized.  There’s no Jesus walking around in a resurrected body – only Peter now replicating Jesus’ miracle of catching a boatload of fish after praying on a slow-catching afternoon.  He smiles and hollers to the other disciples – He’s come back!
They saved the worst part for the end.  After a tepid, feeble hint of a resurrection, the images fade as the voiceover declares that “…according to many scholars and those who believe, Jesus was resurrected, and Peter went on to establish one of the world’s most significant religions.”  Religion? 
Frankly, despite the attempts at presenting a “happy” Jesus, while failing at so many significant theological points, in hindsight the only positive thing I can say is that I’m glad I only wasted 3 hours in front of my TV; at least I didn’t blow $20 going to a theater to see a thinly-veiled liberal misrepresentation of the Gospel.
Well, if the dead stump of Jesse’s tree produced new fruit in Israel, maybe the dead stump of Gospel faith in America will have a new chance…but we will have to get rid of Hollywood first!
For You Today
Go ahead and watch those Christmas movies, just make sure you have your Bible handy; not everything that comes from the movie industry is fact-checked!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com
[2] Luke 2:49

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