Jesus: The Righteous Judge & Redeemer

Isaiah 11:1,3-5, 10; 12:1-2: "A shoot (Jesus Christ) will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his (Jessie's) roots a Branch will bear fruit . . . . He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist . . . . In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious . . . . In that day you will say: 'I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.'"

In our world today, we have rulers whose execution of justice is swayed by personal preference and benefit, even if that "justice" is not fair and just. One of the assurances that we have in Scripture is the justness of Jesus Christ, the Supreme Judge, who will judge the nations with the purity of His Righteousness and Holiness. We can have the security of knowing that Jesus is not fickle or preferential but will rule according to His eternal truths that have been made known unto man since the beginning of time.

What we do find in Jesus' Word is that He will bring judgment upon the wicked, who have treated His Holiness with contempt. Those who would attempt to assert their own will over the One True God will find that they will stand before the Righteous and Faithful God without the hope of deliverance. God in His Holiness will enact His wrath against those rebellious people, and that judgment will be eternal (see Revelation 20).

Still, we find in the above cited passage that the very One who will judge the wicked will offer Himself as a Banner of Protection for His people, and He will offer deliverance from His wrath by granting His chosen, entrance into His eternal rest (i.e. Heaven). Lest one think that he is able to merit this Divine favor by his own stature or accomplishments, one should look to Isaiah 12 to see why God's mercy has been bestowed to His remnant. Specifically, we find in that chapter that these people have received salvation not from their own doing, but from the Lord, who has offered Himself as the source of salvation. These redeemed have engaged in glorious praise of the Glorious Lord who has saved them from the eternal judgment that is due them (as with all of the wicked). As these people praise the Lord for His providing Himself as the ransom for their sins, they celebrate that God now is their Strength that drives away any fear of eternal damnation. They can't help but want to share with the world this incredible offering of redemption made possible to an unholy people by God's love and sacrificial atonement for their sins. This is love at its finest.

As we reflect upon our own status, we must conclude that none of us can stand before the Lord worthy of His eternal blessings, for all of us have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23); this is why God HAD to come into the world and offer Himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 2:1-2). Jesus Christ, the Branch from the root of Jessie, came into the world in order that we might be justified freely by His grace, made manifest through His death and resurrection (Romans 3:24).

God's Faithfulness and Righteousness demand that all sin be judged. Were we left to our own defenses, we would stand condemned by His Righteousness. Therefore, our only hope of rescue is to surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord, repent of our sins of rebellion against His Holiness, and receive His offering of grace through His solely sufficient act of atonement. For those of us who are willing to yield ourselves to Him, we can celebrate with those in Isaiah 12 that He (Jesus Christ) is our Rescue, giving us the joy of "drawing water from the wells of (His) salvation" (12:3).