Sermon -- 2nd Sunday of Advent (December 7, 2025)

A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE WILL PRODUCE A HOME OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

ISAIAH 11:1-10.

In the name + of Jesus.

    When John the Baptist foretold the coming of the Messiah, it was more of a warning than a reason to rejoice.  John said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance! …  Already the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees.  So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:8,10).  John prepares the way for the Lord.  Part of that preparation means removing from our lives everything that our Lord would find offensive and contrary to his commands.  It is getting rid of the bad.  That’s the “repent” part.  But it is also replacing the bad with the good.  That is the “produce fruit” part.  The Lord created us in his own image.  We are to be a reflection of the goodness of God. 

     John the Baptist warned that we will be judged when the Lord comes.  The judgment will be stern, just, and final.  “Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10).  If we reflect a different image than our Lord’s, then we are not what God created us to be.  If our behavior is rotten, then we will be cast away like rotten fruit or cut down like a diseased tree.  The cry, “Repent!” still goes out today for that reason.

     When Jesus first came, he did not come slaying sinners or laying waste to cities.  John the Baptist was not wrong, he just had an issue with depth perception.  The Messiah, the righteous judge, will come to judge the living and the dead, but first he came to redeem sinners.  The Lord would rather not cut people down and throw them into eternal hellfire.  Jesus’ goal is to convert sinners into saints so that our delight comes not from gratifying any and all desires, but our delight comes from living as God desires.  Our Lord’s desire is to restore everything from corruption to perfection so that everything again reflects the goodness of God.  The righteous judge will produce a home of righteousness. 

     John the Baptist did not preach a new message.  Seven centuries before John, Isaiah had foretold what the Messiah would do: “He will be delighted with the fear of the LORD.  He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, nor will he render decisions based on what he hears with his ears, but with righteousness he will judge” (Isaiah 11:3-4).  At first glance, this sounds terrible.  The Lord “will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or render decisions based on what he hears with his ears”?!  How else can someone gather the evidence for a proper judgment?

     When people take the witness stand, they are to report what they had seen and heard.  They can identify suspects.  They can repeat conversations they heard.  Based on what was presented at trial, the jury gets to pass a judgment—either “guilty” or “not guilty.”  They are not allowed to convict a man just because they think he is crude or looks scary.  They are not allowed to acquit him just because he comes with a hard-luck story.  The jury is to judge him based on the law and the facts presented.  Why would the Lord do things differently?

     We do not see and hear everything.  How many people get angry because they only heard part of a conversation?  We also draw wrong conclusions when we don’t hear everything.  I remember a conversation with my wife when we uttered the phrase, “Disney World.”  One of our children ran excitedly to the others and said, “Mom and Dad are taking us to Disney World!”  We can be deceived by things we hear.  We are also deceived by the things we see.  If someone posts photos on social media, you might falsely conclude that their life is more glamorous and exciting than yours is.  People usually hide their struggles, their hardships, and their pain.  We also try to hide our sins.  We have cover-up stories or try to make our guilt someone else’s fault.  We rarely know the full story.  We buy into the story people choose to share, or we choose to believe the version we want.  That’s why we do not make sound judgments. 

     But not so with the Lord.  He goes beyond what can be seen with the eyes.  He knows more than what he hears with his ears.  “Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD—how much more human hearts” (Proverbs 15:11)!  There are no secrets before God.  Your social media posts may impress some, but God knows every little thing.  Your heart lies open before the Lord. 

     “With righteousness he will judge…” (Isaiah 11:4).  The righteous judge will not be fooled, swayed, or biased in his judgment.  “With the breath from his lips he will put the wicked to death” (Isaiah 11:4).  The Lord will utter the sentence, and the wicked will get what they deserve.  They will be condemned eternally.  Is that good or bad?  It is only good if you are righteous.  It is terrifying when you realize that your heart lies open before the Lord. 

     God be praised that the Lord also lays open his heart to you!  This is what the Lord says: “Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD.  Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow.  Though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).  Yes, Jesus will judge, but he is more eager to save.  Yes, Jesus will condemn the guilty, but he is more eager to cover over our guilt with his own righteousness. 

     The Lord Jesus shed his innocent blood to pay for the sins of the world.  Then he washed away every stain of sin by applying that blood to you in your baptism.  Isaiah described it this way: “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord.  My soul will celebrate because of my God, for he has clothed me in garments of salvation.  With a robe of righteousness he covered me” (Isaiah 61:10).  What’s more, Jesus continues to cleanse you with his body and blood in holy communion.  If you crave Jesus’ righteousness, come to the altar where he delivers it.

     Now, if Jesus has paid for your sin by his death, then the Lord will not issue a condemning sentence a second time for sins already paid for.  If Jesus has clothed you with a robe of righteousness, then a righteous judgment must declare you “not guilty.”  God is pleased with you; for he delights in what is good.  Through Jesus, you are without blame before God.  The righteous judge will welcome you to a home of righteousness.  This is proper justice displayed in divine mercy. 

     As God was creating the heavens and the earth and everything in them, he would assess his work throughout the process.  Five times, we hear, “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25).  After God had completed all his work, he gave his final assessment: “Indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).  God’s creation was a reflection of God’s own goodness.  Because the creation has been spoiled by sin, Jesus  will restore his creation to its perfect state and make it a new home for those who are declared righteous.  The righteous judge will produce a home of righteousness.

     Isaiah described it: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together, and a little child will lead them.  The cow and the bear will graze together, and their young ones will lie down together.  The lion will eat straw like the cattle.  The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand into a viper’s den.  They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9). 

     Every bit of wickedness, bitterness, animosity, and rivalry will be gone.  If we let a wolf anywhere near a lamb right now, the lamb would become lunch meat.  If parents let a child play with cobras and vipers, the child would either be killed by the snakes or taken away from his parents.  Just recently, a 19-year-old man climbed into a lions’ den at a zoo in Brazil.  It is said that his ambition was to be a lion tamer.  He was mauled to death by a lioness.  The lioness was not tame, and he could not tame her.  This mauling was both unfortunate and predictable in a world of sin.  Even domesticated animals bite, scratch, and attack. 

     But in the home of righteousness, everything will be made right.  All that God had declared to be good will be made good once again.  All creatures will live in harmony, and the world itself will be free from any disasters.  For, Jesus will purify the world from anything which has been corrupted by sin.  The righteous judge will produce a home of righteousness.    

     It will be wonderful to live in a world where we don’t have to be afraid of snakes and spiders, black ice, white-out conditions, and cold and flu season.  But if the Lord fills this new heaven and earth with sinners, it cannot remain a home of righteousness for long.  Even if the climate is perfect, hearts would still grow cold; words would still get heated.  Even if the animals did not devour one another, people would still make biting comments and argue and fight with each other.  What good is a perfect world if people are still wicked?  But that is not how it will be.  The righteous judge will produce a home of righteousness.  It is not just that the world is made right.  All the people who dwell there will be righteous, too. 

     John the Baptist urged, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8)!  In this world, we will continue to do that.  We will put to death our sins and strive to do the good God desires.  Our Lord has already worked in us the desire to do what is good.  And here, we struggle to do these good works.  But the Lord who will raise us up on the Last Day will restore not just the world.  He will raise us up with perfected bodies and hearts and minds.  We will be righteous when we enter the home of righteousness.  We will be confirmed in holiness so that nothing wicked will ever enter there again.

     The righteous judge will produce a home of righteousness.  “They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).  All things will be right forever.  We will know the Lord and his will.  We will delight in God’s goodness and reflect it.  We will be restored to what God has created us to be.  God will produce it.  We will see it.  And indeed, it will be very good.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.