Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Advent 2 – The Long Awaited King
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Advent 2 – The Long Awaited King
Rev. Doug Floyd
Saint John the Baptist by Titian (1540-1542)
Advent 2, 2025
Rev. Doug Floyd
Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72, Romans 15:1-13, Matthew 3:1-12
This week and next week, our Gospel readings focus on John the Baptist. He is the herald of the coming Messiah. Alongside John the Baptist, we are waiting for the coming of the king.
We are waiting for the coming of Jesus the Christ.
Our psalm today comes to us as the last psalm of David. Did he write it for his son Solomon? Or did his write it for the generations of kings in his line who would sit on the throne of David?
King Solomon ascended the throne in great pomp and glory. He oversaw the construction of the first Temple. Workers spent seven years building this house of worship. Over 180,000 men worked on this project. The walls and ceiling were lined in cedar wood and then covered in gold. It was sight to behold and visual image of Solomon’s great wisdom.
The dedication of the Temple lasted 14 days. As all of Israel gathered for a time of feasting and rejoicing. Solomon prayed a great prayer acknowledging God’s mighty outstretched arm on behalf of His people and he concluded with the following words,
““And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.” (2 Chronicles 6:41, ESV)
“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.” (2 Chronicles 7:1–2, ESV)
Solomon was the golden son, destined to be the Prince of Peace. Though he was wiser than all people, he ultimately failed his people. He brought idols into the land, and he set a course that would split the kingdom in two and give birth to two nations that would struggle with one another and with unfaithfulness to God. Nonetheless, there were a few great kings in the line of David like Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah, but none of them lived up to the prayer of Psalm 72.
The sin and idolatry of the people led to judgment. The kingdom eventually collapsed, and the people were taken into captivity. The house of David fell like tree chopped down and rotting in the woods.
And yet,
The Lord was and is faithful to His promises. He had promised to David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”” (2 Samuel 7:16, ESV)
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19, ESV)
He did not abandon David. In the words of Isaiah, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, ESV) The stump would burst forth in new life, and God would restore the tree, the house of David. Though Solomon was wise, this coming king would be wiser. This king would be just and true, and he would delight in the fear of the Lord. He would reign with righteousness and faithfulness.
The words of Isaiah are similar to the prayer of David in Psalm 72. This king, this Messiah would bring stability to the kingdom of Israel and to all the world. He would vindicate the good, the poor, and the oppressed. He would judge evildoers and oppressors. In this kingdom, the poor and the oppressed and the widow and the fatherless would be protected. The stranger and the sojourner would be welcomed. This king would bring true shalom to the world. True peace and harmony.
The land would be blessed. The creatures would be blessed. The people would be blessed. Ancient enmities would dissolve: the wolf would dwell with the lamb, the leopard would lie down with the goat, the vulnerable calf would rest alongside the lion. And get this…a little child would lead them all. The kingdom of the Messiah would be a peaceable kingdom. The world would reflect the good that God spoke at creation. And the people would care for the creation in love and gentleness, and this world would be very good.
Just after our Isaiah reading today, verse 11 says,
“In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.” (Isaiah 11:11, ESV)
Then later in Isaiah 49:6, it says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (Isaiah 49:6, ESV)
The true king of Israel would restore his people and as he did, he would restore the lost peoples of the world, that is the Gentiles. Under his reign, all peoples and tribes of the earth would live in harmony.
The Jews waited and cried out for this king. For this Messiah. But many could not see him when he came. He did not look and act like the king they expected.
When Jesus came, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2–3, ESV)
The great and mighty God was so great that he could come in humility and gentleness. The great and mighty God came as surprise and comes again as surprise. As Rowan Williams writes in his poem Advent Calendar:
He will come like last leaf’s fall.
One night when the November wind
has flayed trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud’s folding.
He will come like the frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
arrested in the net
of alien, sword-set beauty.
He will come like dark.
One evening when the bursting red
December sun draws up the sheet
and penny-masks its eye to yield
the star-snowed fields of sky.
He will come, will come,
will come like crying in the night,
like blood, like breaking,
as the earth writhes to toss him free.
He will come like child.
Once again, we are watching and waiting for the coming of the King. He is the same king revealed to us in the Gospels: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
As we look for the coming of the Lord, we are crying out in our distress. In our sweet and loving community, there is still suffering: health challenges, relational challenges, financial challenges and more. Christ has not abandoned us in our struggles. Even as we wait for the coming of Christ at the end of time, we wait for His coming into our lives, our families, our struggles.
When He comes, we don’t always recognize Him. Many times, we see the hand of God in retrospect. We remember. We look back. We realize some of the ways He was present right in the middle of the struggle.
Jesus will come and fulfill the cry of his people. And yet, as always, he will come as surprise. We’ve heard the prayer of Psalm 72, the prophecy of Isaiah. At last, let us hear the vision of the king from John in the Revelation.
Jesus is the faithful witness.
He is the image the Father.
Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead.
The ruler of the kings of the earth.
He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega
He is the beginning and the End.
He is and was and is to come.
His face shines like the sun in full strength.
Jesus is the first and the last, the living one. He died, and behold He is alive forevermore, and He has the keys of Death and Hades.
Jesus opens the door that no one will close, closes, door that no one will open
He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power
He created all things, and by His will they existed and were created.
Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.
All tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”” (Revelation 7:9–12, ESV)
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”” (Revelation 15:3–4, ESV)
We are longing for the Marriage supper of the Lamb:
We don’t fully grasp it and yet we long for it. The communion of all things in Christ.
Today, we bring our sorrows, our pain, our failure, our sickness, our loss to him.
He comes to dwell with us in the midst of us.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”” (Revelation 21:3–4, ESV)
Behold, Jesus makes all things new.”
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Revelation 22:17, ESV)
O come let us adore Him.
View all episodes
By Rev. Doug FloydRev. Doug Floyd
Saint John the Baptist by Titian (1540-1542)
Advent 2, 2025
Rev. Doug Floyd
Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72, Romans 15:1-13, Matthew 3:1-12
This week and next week, our Gospel readings focus on John the Baptist. He is the herald of the coming Messiah. Alongside John the Baptist, we are waiting for the coming of the king.
We are waiting for the coming of Jesus the Christ.
Our psalm today comes to us as the last psalm of David. Did he write it for his son Solomon? Or did his write it for the generations of kings in his line who would sit on the throne of David?
King Solomon ascended the throne in great pomp and glory. He oversaw the construction of the first Temple. Workers spent seven years building this house of worship. Over 180,000 men worked on this project. The walls and ceiling were lined in cedar wood and then covered in gold. It was sight to behold and visual image of Solomon’s great wisdom.
The dedication of the Temple lasted 14 days. As all of Israel gathered for a time of feasting and rejoicing. Solomon prayed a great prayer acknowledging God’s mighty outstretched arm on behalf of His people and he concluded with the following words,
““And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.” (2 Chronicles 6:41, ESV)
“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.” (2 Chronicles 7:1–2, ESV)
Solomon was the golden son, destined to be the Prince of Peace. Though he was wiser than all people, he ultimately failed his people. He brought idols into the land, and he set a course that would split the kingdom in two and give birth to two nations that would struggle with one another and with unfaithfulness to God. Nonetheless, there were a few great kings in the line of David like Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah, but none of them lived up to the prayer of Psalm 72.
The sin and idolatry of the people led to judgment. The kingdom eventually collapsed, and the people were taken into captivity. The house of David fell like tree chopped down and rotting in the woods.
And yet,
The Lord was and is faithful to His promises. He had promised to David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”” (2 Samuel 7:16, ESV)
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19, ESV)
He did not abandon David. In the words of Isaiah, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, ESV) The stump would burst forth in new life, and God would restore the tree, the house of David. Though Solomon was wise, this coming king would be wiser. This king would be just and true, and he would delight in the fear of the Lord. He would reign with righteousness and faithfulness.
The words of Isaiah are similar to the prayer of David in Psalm 72. This king, this Messiah would bring stability to the kingdom of Israel and to all the world. He would vindicate the good, the poor, and the oppressed. He would judge evildoers and oppressors. In this kingdom, the poor and the oppressed and the widow and the fatherless would be protected. The stranger and the sojourner would be welcomed. This king would bring true shalom to the world. True peace and harmony.
The land would be blessed. The creatures would be blessed. The people would be blessed. Ancient enmities would dissolve: the wolf would dwell with the lamb, the leopard would lie down with the goat, the vulnerable calf would rest alongside the lion. And get this…a little child would lead them all. The kingdom of the Messiah would be a peaceable kingdom. The world would reflect the good that God spoke at creation. And the people would care for the creation in love and gentleness, and this world would be very good.
Just after our Isaiah reading today, verse 11 says,
“In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.” (Isaiah 11:11, ESV)
Then later in Isaiah 49:6, it says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (Isaiah 49:6, ESV)
The true king of Israel would restore his people and as he did, he would restore the lost peoples of the world, that is the Gentiles. Under his reign, all peoples and tribes of the earth would live in harmony.
The Jews waited and cried out for this king. For this Messiah. But many could not see him when he came. He did not look and act like the king they expected.
When Jesus came, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2–3, ESV)
The great and mighty God was so great that he could come in humility and gentleness. The great and mighty God came as surprise and comes again as surprise. As Rowan Williams writes in his poem Advent Calendar:
He will come like last leaf’s fall.
One night when the November wind
has flayed trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud’s folding.
He will come like the frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
arrested in the net
of alien, sword-set beauty.
He will come like dark.
One evening when the bursting red
December sun draws up the sheet
and penny-masks its eye to yield
the star-snowed fields of sky.
He will come, will come,
will come like crying in the night,
like blood, like breaking,
as the earth writhes to toss him free.
He will come like child.
Once again, we are watching and waiting for the coming of the King. He is the same king revealed to us in the Gospels: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
As we look for the coming of the Lord, we are crying out in our distress. In our sweet and loving community, there is still suffering: health challenges, relational challenges, financial challenges and more. Christ has not abandoned us in our struggles. Even as we wait for the coming of Christ at the end of time, we wait for His coming into our lives, our families, our struggles.
When He comes, we don’t always recognize Him. Many times, we see the hand of God in retrospect. We remember. We look back. We realize some of the ways He was present right in the middle of the struggle.
Jesus will come and fulfill the cry of his people. And yet, as always, he will come as surprise. We’ve heard the prayer of Psalm 72, the prophecy of Isaiah. At last, let us hear the vision of the king from John in the Revelation.
Jesus is the faithful witness.
He is the image the Father.
Jesus is the firstborn from among the dead.
The ruler of the kings of the earth.
He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega
He is the beginning and the End.
He is and was and is to come.
His face shines like the sun in full strength.
Jesus is the first and the last, the living one. He died, and behold He is alive forevermore, and He has the keys of Death and Hades.
Jesus opens the door that no one will close, closes, door that no one will open
He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power
He created all things, and by His will they existed and were created.
Jesus is the Lamb that was slain.
All tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”” (Revelation 7:9–12, ESV)
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”” (Revelation 15:3–4, ESV)
We are longing for the Marriage supper of the Lamb:
We don’t fully grasp it and yet we long for it. The communion of all things in Christ.
Today, we bring our sorrows, our pain, our failure, our sickness, our loss to him.
He comes to dwell with us in the midst of us.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”” (Revelation 21:3–4, ESV)
Behold, Jesus makes all things new.”
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Revelation 22:17, ESV)
O come let us adore Him.