Isaiah 11:1–10
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
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.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Matthew 3:1–12
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
by Mercedes Thomas
Despite being born and raised in Lancaster County and having a long genealogical history of Amish and Mennonite ancestors, I can’t truly say I grew up in an Anabaptist congregation. My parents separated and divorced when I was quite young and afterwards my church attendance was spotty at best throughout the rest of my childhood and adolescence.
It wasn’t until my freshman year of college through my connection with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) that I came to know and follow Jesus.
For nine years, I was a part of nondenominational ministries and churches, and I found joy and belonging in these vibrant communities. I was encouraged to be a part of a church family that perhaps had differing views on secondary issues, yet still came to worship all together on a Sunday. I am deeply grateful for all I learned from my nondenominational brothers and sisters.
However, when I returned home to Lancaster County in 2023—after several years living elsewhere—it was Anabaptism’s distinct peace stance that wooed me to this theological tradition.
By being in many nondenominational spaces, I got to know Christians who owned firearms and were prepared to use them if the need arose. I knew Christians who joined the military in active service and who saw no problem with violence on behalf of the government. And I had many Christian friends who saw war and violence as a necessary evil to keep order in our world. I also knew these Christians to be faithful disciples and committed members of the family of faith.
But I felt so much dissonance in my heart about their views of war, violence, and peace, and what I believe Scripture says.
Here at LMC, we hold the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995) as our statement of faith, which provides a corporate understanding of what Scripture teaches on matters of faith and practice. Article 22, which is on peace, justice, and nonresistance says, “We believe that peace is the will of God. God created the world in peace, and God’s peace is most fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is our peace and the peace of the world. Led by the Holy Spirit, we follow Christ in the way of peace, doing justice, bringing reconciliation, and practicing nonresistance even in the face of violence and warfare.”1
The way of peace isn’t always easy, but it’s the way modeled by Jesus that we are supposed to follow. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). We are to actively work to create and cultivate peace; those who do so share God’s heart for peace and reconciliation and are recognized as his true children.2
The book of Isaiah was written several hundred years before Jesus’ birth; and yet, the Lord revealed to the prophet Isaiah insight into the coming Messiah. This week’s passage in chapter 11 tells us more about Jesus’ righteousness and how creation will be reconciled and live in peace when he returns and reigns.
Reflect on the words of Isaiah and what they reveal to us about who Jesus is. The Spirit of the Lord rests upon him, giving him wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. He righteously judges, rather than making quick judgments based on people’s appearances or words. He holds righteousness and faithfulness together closely. And when Jesus returns and reigns over the earth, what of creation? It will be freed from its “bondage to decay,” and nature will be transformed (Rom. 8:19–21). Creation will live in harmony, and peoples from all nations will seek and follow Jesus our King!
As we reflected on last week, this future kingdom reality exists inside the beautiful, liminal space of already-but-not-yet. John the Baptist’s words in this week’s passage in Matthew chapter 3 are a powerful reminder that this kingdom is closer than we think; we must repent and follow Jesus, as nothing else can save us from the coming judgment.3
But what does this imminent, consummation of creation have to do with peace?
Think again of the image Isaiah paints: the wolf living with the lamb, the cow feeding alongside the bear, the infant playing near the cobra’s den. This is a peace that is more than just a ceasing of violence, it’s a complete change in natural behavior. A transformation of the natural order so all of creation is at peace.
We know this future is right around the corner. Though we live in a broken, cursed world now, we know it won’t always be like this. Even as we experience sickness, pain, suffering, and death, we keep our eyes fixed on this future reality.
And while we live in this fallen world, we live as Jesus commanded, modeling him and his teachings as we engage in the Great Commission (Matt. 28 16–20). This includes modeling peace and being peacemakers. Jesus never resorted to violence. Even when he was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked Peter for drawing a sword to defend him (Matt. 26:52). Knowing the pain and suffering he was about to experience, we may find it hard to swallow that Jesus did nothing in his own defense.
Like Jesus, we are to choose this more difficult path: the path of peace. Paul said, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Rom.14). We are to put down the sword and instead do good for those who persecute or hurt us. And we do this because we know Jesus, the one who came to reconcile people back to God. We know the full story, that the time is coming when all creation will be at peace. Let us live that reality here and now as we point to the hope and peace we have for the future when we are living in harmony with our Savior.