Series: Isaiah
Title: A Root Out of Dry Ground
Text: Isaiah 53: 2
Date: September 22, 2013
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Isaiah 53: 2: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
There is a double metaphor
in this verse. First, the metaphor
compares Christ to a tender plant, a root—“he hath no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Secondly,
there is a metaphor comparing the tribe of Judah, the house of Jesse, the house
of David, the nation of Israel—and all sinners as well—as “dry ground.”
Proposition: I want to show you Christ is the Root
and all sinners, including God’s elect, are dry ground. We give nothing to
Christ the Root but Christ the Root gives all to his people.
Divisions: 1) The Root before dry ground 2) The
Root out of dry ground; 3) Substitution by the Root 4) The Root within dry
ground sinners
I. CHRIST IS THE ROOT THAT IS BEFORE THE DRY GROUND
Illustration:
The root comes first. You have a seed,
then a root, then a tender plant, then a sapling, then it grows into an
oak. Christ is First—the Root.
Christ, the Root, is the
Seed of Abraham—meaning, according to the flesh, he came through Abraham,
Isaac, Israel, of the tribe of Judah, of the house of Jesse, of the house of
David, of Joseph and Mary. But Christ is the Root that bore them—he is God our
Creator.
Christ Jesus was the Son of
David, according to the flesh—meaning Christ came through the lineage of
David’s house. Mary and Joseph were both the descendants of King David.
So Christ was born of the
lineage which the old testament scripture said he would be. But listen to this
scripture:
Revelation
22:16: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning
star.
Christ indeed was the root
that came from David, as the offspring of David in the flesh, but Christ, as
God the Son, is the Root from which David came.
Christ is the
self-sufficient God, the self-sustained Life and Surety—the Root—of all God’s
elect. We receive life and righteousness from him and he carries us. David was
born from Christ the Root.
Matthew
22:41: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is
he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43: He saith unto them, How then doth
David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine
enemies thy footstool? 45: If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46:
And no man was able to answer him a word,…
Christ gave David life and
righteousness, then Christ came into this world through David, he became the
offspring of David.
Romans
11: 16:…if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Some say Paul is speaking
here of Abraham as the Root, but Christ is the Root, the Vine, the Olive Tree,
who bore Abraham. Christ said, “I am the
vine, ye are the branches.” Christ is
Holy and his people, as branches born from Christ the Root, are like him—holy.
Romans
11: 17: And if some of the branches be broken off,…
The natural children of
Israel, rebellious, were branches that God broke off. They were “suckers”
attached to the Vine which appeared as branches but were not true branches
because they brought forth no fruit produced by the Vine. Christ said, “Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit he taketh away:” (Jn 15: 2)
They were in Israel but they were not all of Israel so Christ, God the
Son, broke them off.
Romans
11: 17:…and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them,
You and I, who are Gentiles,
given life and faith and made righteous by Christ are like wild olive branches
grafted into Christ the Root and the Olive Tree.
Romans
11: 17:…and with them partakest of the Root and fatness of the Olive Tree;
All of God’s elect, called
out from among Jew and Gentile, are made to partake together of Christ the
Root, of the fatness of Christ the Olive Tree—just as true branches grow
together with grafted branches in a natural tree.
Romans
11: 18: Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the
root, but the root thee.
We cannot boast against
unbelieving Jews broken off because of unbelief—we were just like them—dry
ground. Only grace made the difference. Boasting is excluded. We, as branches,
do not bear Christ the Root, but Christ the Root bears us. Dry ground gives nothing to Christ but Christ
our Root gives everything to us.
So you see, Christ is the
Root—the Vine—the Olive Tree—God the Son—the Life—by whom his people are
born.
Isaiah 53: 2: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
II. AND CHRIST IS THE ROOT THAT CAME FROM DRY GROUND.
Christ came according to the
flesh from the nation of Israel, of tribe of Judah, of the house of Jesse, of
the house of David—which had become dry ground by the time he came—none of
their former glory existed. Why?
Rebellion in Israel
Isaiah
1: 1: The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem…2: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken,
I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 3:
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth
not know, my people doth not consider. 4: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with
iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken
the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone
away backward.
The Holy One of Israel is
Christ the Root—God the Son, the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. Those rebellious children were those natural
branches—“suckers”—not God’s true elect, not truly, vitally, connected to
Christ the Root. But that is also a description of every son of Adam—you and me
in our flesh—God’s elect included. We are dry ground.
Isaiah
1: 5: Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6: From the sole of the foot
even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment. 7: Your country is desolate, your
cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your
presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Divine Election
If God’s elect are the same,
“Who maketh thee to differ from another?”
Isaiah
1: 9: Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
God by his grace—who chooses
whom he will and passes by whom he will—he alone makes one sinner to differ
from another sinner. That nation is an example of sinful, fallen man—the Root
formed that nation—just like he made Adam but they rebelled like Adam—and all
we became as a garden that hath no water—a dry ground.
Destruction of Transgressors
Isaiah
1: 28: And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be
together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29: For they shall
be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for
the gardens that ye have chosen. 30: For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf
fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
God has never been unjust
toward us. He gave them great light—sending them his prophets, giving them his
scriptures—just like he has for you and me.
They took on a form of religion—they drew near in body—but their heart
was far from God—like some of us were. But in our flesh, we desired mighty, impressive
oaks—so when we beheld Christ—that root out of dry ground—there is no beauty
that we should desire him.
Sinner, hear what God
says. Christ the Root says of you sinner—you shall be ashamed of the mighty
oaks you have desired. Do you despise
coming here? Do you have no desire to
walk in the light God has given you?
Learn from Israel—they wouldn’t walk in the light God gave them so God
made it so they couldn’t!
Judicial Reprobation by the Root Sent
Isaiah
6: 8: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who
will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9: And he said, Go, and tell
this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but
perceive not. 10: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy,
and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Who fulfilled this prophecy?
Christ the Root fulfilled this prophecy and the prophecy in Isaiah 53. Listen to:
John
12: 37: But though he [Christ] had done so many miracles before them, yet they
believed not on him: 38: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath
the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39: Therefore they could not believe,
because that Esaias said again, 40: He hath blinded their eye and hardened
their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41: These things said
Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
They would not simply draw
near to be taught of God so God turned them over to judicial reprobation so
they could not. I am showing you that Christ is the Root from which the house
of David. And that by the judgment of God, the house of David, became a dry
ground and so are we. This is why Christ came and why he’s a “root out of a dry
ground.”
Isaiah
6: 11: Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted
without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly
desolate,12: And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great
forsaking in the midst of the land. 13: But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it
shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose
substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be
the substance thereof.
Christ the Root bore Jesse’s
house, David’s house, that whole nation. Then because the natural branches refused
to walk in the light God gave them, he cut down that tree and made it a dry
ground. Yet, in it he reserved a tenth—an elect remnant. Christ the Root, the
Substance, came from that elect remnant to save his people like a tender plant
grows out of tree stump. He told Ahaz, here is the sign assuring you that the
scepter shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come.
Isaiah
7: 14:…Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
The Root from the Stump
The enemies that God used
were like an ax in God’s hand. The enemies boasted, God said
Isaiah
10: 15: Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall
the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?...33: Behold, the Lord, the
LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature
shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34: And he shall cut down
the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
[By Christ the Root] 11: 1: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 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 of the fear of the LORD;…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.
From Dry Joseph and Dry Mary
Furthermore, Christ came
forth as the Root out of the dry ground of his parents—Joseph and Mary. Christ
bore them and provided all for them, not them for Christ. Christ came exactly
as the old testament scripture said he would through the house of David—which
Mary and Joseph were. God determined before that Christ would be formed in
Mary’s womb. And Joseph would be the instrument to provide for Christ as he
grew up. Therefore, the triune God, including Christ who is God the
Son—protected and provided for Mary and Joseph in every step they took from
their youth up.
Brethren, Christ protected
us from our youth up till Christ was formed in us, too. Sinner, have
you ever considered that may be why he has preserved you so far. Why
haven’t you died, yet?
It was God the Son, the
Root, that came with the Holy Ghost when the body of Christ our Savior was
formed for him in Mary’s virgin womb. Christ was formed in the womb of a virgin
in order to be the spotless, sinless High Priest and Lamb of God, Christ could
not be “conceived in sin” in the womb as you and I.
Protection by the Root
It appeared that Joseph and
Mary were protecting the infant Lord Jesus—but remember, dry ground gives
nothing to the Root but the Root gives to the dry ground. In reality, it was the Root directing and
protecting Joseph and Mary. We know that is true, because Christ said, “Think
not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil.” (Mt 5: 17) And every move Mary and Joseph made was
Christ fulfilling that which the prophets wrote.
Matthew 2: 13: And when they
were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word: 14: When he arose, he took the young
child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15: And was there until
the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son…20: Saying, Arise, and
take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they
are dead which sought the young child’s life. 21: And he arose, and took the
young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22: But when he
heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, being
warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he
came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Christ the Root bore and
gave all blessings to Mary and Joseph, just as he has to us, brethren. Dry
ground gives nothing to the Root. The
Root bears us, we don’t bear the root.
Nothing to Bring to Nothing
Here is the point: Christ
came as a Root out of a dry ground, out of a poverty-stricken family and
nation, with none of its former glory, on purpose. God chose base things of the
world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, to bring to
nothing things that are. (1 Cor 1: 28)
Natural eyes, would have
desired a King, so Christ was not born of nobility—yet Christ was King. Natural eyes, would have desired a rich
Savior so Christ was poor—yet Christ created all AND is the proprietor of all
things—even when it appeared he owned nothing.
He did not use political
leaders or famous movie stars or popular athletes or rock-n-roll music or
anything else that appeals to the base, carnal nature within dry ground
sinners. Christ choose fishermen to
speak for him. He despised prostitutes
and publicans who he made rigtheous to represent him. He chose the foolishness of preaching to
spread his good news. They chose a cruel
Roman cross where his body would hang before men, stripped and beaten and
marred more than any other man. He must
give the desire or else we would boast. Thou bearest not the Root, but the Root
thee. The Root came to give life to his chosen who are dead, dry ground. The
Root came to establish righteousness and freely give that righteousness to
sinners unable to give him anything.
Isaiah
60:21: Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for
ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
III. SUBSTITUTION--THE ROOT TOOK THE PLACE OF GOD’S ELECT WHO WERE
DRY GROUND—Isaiah 53 says Christ became the Substitute—taking the place of
God’s elect.
The justice of God had to be
upheld—his elect must pay eternal death. Christ is eternal God so he could
satisfy eternally and as Man he could die. So the Spotless Lamb actually did
what the spotless lamb ceremonially did in all the old testament shadows. Christ willingly bore the sin of his people.
Isaiah
53: 6:…“the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Now, listen to the Psalms
describe the dryness he suffered in place of his people who are dry ground.
Psalm
102:4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my
bread.
Psalm
22:15: My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my
jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Psalm
32:4: For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into
the drought of summer. Selah.
Finishing the Curse
Psalm
104:29: Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath,
they die, and return to their dust.
God hid his face from Christ
in just judgment. And how the Savior was troubled! But when justice was satisfied—HE himself
gave up his breath, HE laid down his life, and went to the dust of the
grave. Why? To finish the curse. Because
in the garden, Justice said, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return.” (Gen 3: 19) But Christ did not stay there because he satisfied God and
justified his people.
Isaiah
53: 11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear
their iniquities. 12: Therefore will I divide him a portion with the
great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured
out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he
bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 54: 1: Sing,
O barren, [oh dry ground] thou that didst not bear;…
Revelation
5:5: And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the
tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose
the seven seals thereof.
Sinner, can you rejoice that
by Christ’s finished work you have now been made the righteousness of God in
him? Have you ceased working for salvation? Are now motivated to good works by
his love? If so, let me tell you why you!
IV. WHEN CHRIST THE ROOT IS FORMED IN A SINNER, CHRIST IN YOU IS
AS “A ROOT IN A DRY GROUND.”
Our flesh provides no
fertile ground—only dry ground. Our flesh contributes nothing to our
salvation—we are only dry ground. (John 6: 63)
We have to be made to confess that. So at first, it is much the same as
what the Lord did to the nation of Israel.
He brings us down to see we are but dust.
Isaiah
40: 6…All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field: 7: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the
LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isaiah
5: 24:…their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as
dust:…
Christ keeps us there
beholding our dry ground of sin…“till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a
mountain”—as a tree with all its branches broken off. (Is 30: 16-17.) Therefore
will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious and merciful unto you—till you see
your salvation is all of his grace and mercy.
Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be exalted—till you see he
alone is to be glorified for your salvation. For the LORD is a God of
judgment…” (Is 30: 18)
This is how he imparts Godly
fear, the brokenness of the broken heart, contriteness of the contrite heart.
So when he has brought his child to repentance from our dry ground of sinful
flesh, to you cry out to him in faith like the publican that smote upon his
breast. Then Christ makes his child to
know he is all YOUR Righteousness and all YOUR Sanctification—for “if the root
be holy, so are the branches.” (Rom 11: 16) A still small voice whispers in the
conscious of the inner man,
John
15: 3: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4: Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5: I am the vine, ye are
the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Before, you saw no
comeliness in him that made you desire him.
Now you say,
Psalm
73:25: Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I
desire beside thee.
So you willingly confess to
the world your old man is buried and you are risen with Christ to newness of
life in believer’s baptism.
Then you have the peace only
Christ gives! Can I tell you what true
peace is? Peace in believing is the peace Christ gives when he gives us
confidence of knowing: the Root has born me from my mother’s womb, the Root
made me the righteousness of God by what he accomplished, the Root gave me life
and all things that pertain to godliness, and the Root is guiding me and
working all things for my good in everything that is going on around me in this
earth. Amazing grace! He is doing this for me, who in my flesh, is
nothing but dry ground. So you never depart, nothing can separate the true
branch from the Vine. You shall dwell with the King in his kingdom
forever!
Amen!