God Is Making All Things Right!

written by Tommy Austin, Student Pastor (December 24, 2022)

Isa 11:1-5 CSB

[1] Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. [2] The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him -- a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. [3] His delight will be in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears, [4] but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips. [5] Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

Have you ever experienced something that was “just right”? Imagine a cookie baked to perfection! The baker knew how to balance the ingredients perfectly. She knew exactly how much sugar to use, how much butter to use, and (most importantly) how many chocolate chips to add. As we are thinking about this cookie, what is the most important ingredient needed to bake it? The baker! Without the baker all the ingredients would just sit on the table and with a bad baker the ingredients would make a bad cookie. A good baker is the key to making the perfect cookie, because she can measure (or judge) exactly how much of each ingredient needs to go into the cookie dough.

Now, think about the world that we live in. Think about your school, your job, your sports team. Would you say that the world is “just right” like that cookie you imagined? I am going to guess that each of us would answer that question with a “no”. We see that people hurt others. We see that people lie to others. We see that people make fun of others and gossip about them. And if we are honest, we do those things as well! It is quite clear that the world is not “just right”. If we are going to apply our cookie example to the world, it sounds like the world needs a good baker, or more properly a good judge. It sounds like the world needs a judge that can make things “just right”.

In our first text, Isaiah tells us about that judge. Isaiah calls him a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” We know him as Jesus. Jesus is a far descendent of Jesse. Isaiah describes the great judge Jesus in this text, and I think it would be helpful if we observed a few of the ways in which he describes him. Isaiah says that Jesus has wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. I think we would all say that the person that is going to make the world “just right” would need all those characteristics. Isaiah also says that Jesus does not judge by what he sees or hears. What does this mean? Unlike people that can only see what is happening on the outside of a person, Jesus can see what is happening in the heart and mind of a person. Therefore, Jesus knows exactly how to make the world “just right”. Lastly, in this text, Isaiah says that Jesus is a righteous and faithful judge. This means that Jesus always makes the right decision, and we can always rely on Jesus to make the right decision. Jesus sounds like an amazing judge! The perfect one to make all things right! Jesus is the one that can turn our hopeless world into a place of great hope!

Now we must ask, how is Jesus making all things “just right”?

Mat 1:18-25 CSB

[18] The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. [19] So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. [20] But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] "She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [22] Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: [23] See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated "God is with us." [24] When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord's angel had commanded him. He married her [25] but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

We have already established that unlike the perfect cookie, our world is not “just right”. People hurt others. People lie to others. People gossip about others. And if we were honest, we do not escape from these things either. We hurt others. We lie to others. We gossip about others. We have caused the brokenness of the world in the same way others have. The Bible calls this sin. Sin is living in disobedience to God’s Word in God’s world. Sin always has consequences. You might not always feel the consequences of your sin, but someone always does. Therefore, sin is the reason why the world is broken. Our sin has not only broken the world, it has also broken our relationship with God. Our sin and the sin of every other person is the reason why Jesus needs to make the world right. The big question is: how? The answer: Jesus starts by making us right with him! He accomplishes this through his first coming: Christmas!

Have you ever fixed something (or watched someone fix something) that was broken? A car? A toy? A bike? Normally when these things stop working, there is a part inside that is not operating as it should. The key is to fix the malfunctioning part and the toy will work as it should again. We take a broken part that is operating in the wrong way, and we make it right. In a similar way, this is how Jesus is making the world right. We have already acknowledged that we are sinful. We have spread brokenness throughout the world. Therefore, for the world to be made right, we must be made right.

In today’s second text, we read an amazing truth about Jesus, he is God with us. Jesus is not just a wise man. He is not just a teacher of good principles. He is not just a spiritually enlightened person. Jesus is God with us and, according to this text, he has come with a purpose: to “save his people from their sins.” This is how Jesus is making us right! He has come to save us from our sins.

As “God with us”, Jesus lived the life of obedience that we should have lived. He lived in perfect obedience to God’s Word in God’s world. Yet, he was accused of sins that he did not commit and was condemned to a death that he did not deserve. The Bible claims, that through Jesus’ innocent death, he paid the penalty for all the sins and brokenness in this world. But that was not the end of the story. After being dead for three days, Jesus rose from the grave and proclaimed victory over sin and its consequences! Jesus was more powerful than the sin and brokenness in the world!

Now, Jesus is making an offer to us. He is calling us to turn from all the ways in which we are hurting ourselves and the world around us (our sins) and place our trust in Him as the Savior and leader of our lives. If we do this, Jesus has promised to empower us by his Spirit in order to live the right way in God’s world. A way that spreads love, peace, joy, and hope to the world around us. This truth should give us great hope! When God wanted to make the world right, he did not trash it and start over. No! He is working to rebuild the people in His world, so that they might live in the way they were designed: to glorify God.

This is how Jesus has begun to make the world right through his first coming. We celebrate this on Christmas Day!