Lectionary Research: Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)

December 7, 2025

Liturgical Context

Sunday: Second Sunday of Advent Lectionary Year: A (2025-2026 church year began November 30, 2025) Liturgical Color: Blue or Purple Season Theme: Preparation, Repentance, and Hope

The Second Sunday of Advent focuses on John the Baptist’s call to repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah. While the First Sunday emphasizes watchfulness for Christ’s return, this Sunday turns to the historical preparation for Christ’s first coming—and our ongoing need for the same repentance.

Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10

The Text

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Historical and Textual Context

The “stump of Jesse” is a powerful image of apparent death and failure. Jesse was David’s father, and this imagery suggests that David’s royal line had been cut down—reduced to nothing more than a dead stump. Whether this reflects the Assyrian threat, the coming Babylonian exile, or the general decline of the Davidic monarchy, the message is clear: the tree of Israel’s leadership, once great and faithful, had become lifeless.

Yet from this dead stump, God promises new life. The Hebrew word for “shoot” (netzer) may even be the root of “Nazarene”—connecting to Matthew’s declaration that Jesus would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23).

Lutheran Confessional Interpretation

The sevenfold Spirit described in verses 2-3 (wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the LORD, and delight in the fear of the LORD) points to the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Messiah. Luther emphasized that these gifts belong to Christ uniquely and completely, and through Him, are shared with His Church.

The peaceable kingdom imagery (Isaiah 11:6-9)—wolf with lamb, leopard with kid, child playing near the cobra—depicts the eschatological restoration that begins with Christ’s first advent and will be completed at His return. This is not mere metaphor but genuine promise: the curse of Genesis 3 is being undone.

Law/Gospel Tensions

Law: We are the stump. Our best efforts at righteousness are dead wood. The tree of our own works has been cut down, and we have no life in ourselves.

Gospel: But God brings life from death. The shoot from Jesse’s stump is Jesus Christ, who springs up where all hope seemed lost. This is how God works—bringing life from death, hope from despair, resurrection from crucifixion.

Key Hebrew Terms

• גֶּזַע (geza’) - “stump” - implies violent cutting down, not natural death
• נֵצֶר (netzer) - “shoot/branch” - a tender, green sprout from dead wood
• שֹׁרֶשׁ (shoresh) - “root” - the hidden life beneath the surface

Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

The Text

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. (Psalm 72:1-2)

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. (Psalm 72:18-19)

Context and Connection

Psalm 72 is identified as one of the nine Royal Psalms (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 110, 132) that celebrate the king as God’s chosen representative on earth. The superscription “Of Solomon” (or “For Solomon”) suggests this may be David’s prayer for his son and successor.

Yet the psalm’s scope exceeds any merely human king. The prayer for justice and righteousness, dominion “from sea to sea,” and a reign that endures “while the sun endures” points beyond Solomon to the Greater Solomon—Jesus Christ.

Messianic Interpretation

What is said of this king was never fully accomplished by any human monarch, not even David or Solomon. The promises that the king will:

• Defend the cause of the poor
• Give deliverance to the needy
• Crush the oppressor
• Rule with peace “until the moon is no more”

These find their fulfillment only in Christ the King, who reigns now and will reign forever.

Lutheran Connection

Luther saw in the Royal Psalms the pattern of Christ’s kingdom, which operates not by force but by the Word and Spirit. The prayer that the king be endowed with God’s own justice and righteousness points to Christ, who is “our righteousness” (1 Corinthians 1:30; Jeremiah 23:6).

The closing doxology (verses 18-19) appropriately ends Book II of the Psalter but also serves as Advent’s confession: the whole earth will be filled with God’s glory through the reign of this promised King.

Epistle: Romans 15:4-13

The Text

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

Context

Romans 15:4-13 concludes Paul’s extended argument about the strong and the weak in the Roman church. But it does so by grounding Christian unity in the grand sweep of salvation history. The Scriptures—the Old Testament—were written “for our instruction” so that we might have hope.

Paul strings together citations from 2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10 (connecting directly to today’s Old Testament reading) to demonstrate that God always intended to include the Gentiles among His people.

Lutheran Confessional Emphasis

Scripture as the Source of Hope: The Lutheran Confessions follow Paul in grounding hope in Scripture alone. The Scriptures are not merely informational but life-giving—they create and sustain the hope they describe.

Christ as Servant and Savior: Romans 15:8 declares that “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.” Christ’s servanthood fulfills Old Testament promises and opens salvation to the Gentiles. This is the heart of the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit’s Power: The benediction in Romans 15:13 is Trinitarian: the “God of hope” (Father), through the work of Christ, fills believers with joy and peace “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope is not self-generated optimism but a gift of God worked by the Spirit.

Law/Gospel Tensions

Law: We cannot generate our own hope. Our natural condition is despair—cut off from God’s promises, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).

Gospel: But God is “the God of hope.” Through Scripture, through endurance, through the encouragement that comes from hearing God’s Word, hope is given to us. And not merely a trickle of hope, but hope that “abounds” and “overflows.”

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

The Text

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1-2)

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)

Historical Context

John the Baptist appears as the prophesied voice crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). His ministry marks the end of 400 years of prophetic silence. He is “Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14; Malachi 4:5), preparing the way for the Lord.

John’s baptism was shocking to his Jewish audience. Such baptism was typically reserved for Gentile converts to Judaism. By baptizing Jews, John was essentially saying: “You are in the same spiritual condition as pagans. You need to start over. Being Abraham’s children is not enough.”

Lutheran Confessional Interpretation

On Repentance: The Apology of the Augsburg Confession describes “total repentance” as what John preaches (Apology XII.132). This repentance is not merely intellectual acknowledgment or emotional regret but genuine contrition that bears fruit in a changed life. John demands: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

Yet note carefully: John preaches repentance and points to One who is coming. John’s baptism is preparatory; Christ’s baptism—“with the Holy Spirit and fire”—is effectual. John prepares; Jesus saves.

On Baptism: Lutheran theology distinguishes between John’s baptism (a baptism of preparation and repentance) and Christian Baptism (which conveys forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and new life). John’s baptism points forward to Christ; Christian Baptism applies Christ’s finished work.

Law/Gospel Tensions

Law: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). John’s preaching is fierce, uncompromising Law. The ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. The winnowing fork is ready; the chaff will burn with unquenchable fire.

Gospel: But this terrifying Law serves the Gospel. John’s entire ministry points away from himself to “one who is coming after me” who is “mightier than I.” The purpose of John’s preaching is not to leave us in despair but to prepare us to receive Christ. The one who cuts down dead trees is the same one who causes a shoot to spring from Jesse’s stump.

Key Greek Terms

• μετανοεῖτε (metanoeite) - “repent” - a complete change of mind and direction
• βάπτισμα (baptisma) - “baptism” - immersion, washing, a death and resurrection
• καρπὸν (karpon) - “fruit” - the visible evidence of invisible change

Thematic Connections Across the Readings

1. Life from Death

All four readings share the theme of God bringing life where there is only death:

• Isaiah: A living shoot from a dead stump
• Psalm 72: A king who delivers the needy and crushed
• Romans: Hope through endurance and the Scriptures
• Matthew: Repentance that prepares for the coming King

2. The Root of Jesse

Isaiah 11:10 and Romans 15:12 both speak of the “root of Jesse.” This creates a direct textual link between Old Testament promise and New Testament fulfillment. Christ is both the root (the source of David’s royal line) and the shoot (the descendant who fulfills the promise).

3. Judgment and Mercy

John’s fierce preaching of judgment (fire, ax, winnowing fork) stands in creative tension with Isaiah’s peaceable kingdom. Both are true. Christ comes first in mercy (the lamb lying with the wolf), but He will come again in judgment (the chaff burned with unquenchable fire). Advent holds both together.

4. Preparation and Fulfillment

John prepares; Jesus fulfills. The Scriptures create hope; Christ is that hope. The stump waits; the shoot springs forth. Advent is the season of “already but not yet”—Christ has come, Christ comes now in Word and Sacrament, Christ will come again in glory.

Suggested Sermon/Blog Themes

Theme 1: “Life from the Stump: Finding Hope in Dead Places”

Focus on Isaiah 11:1-10 with support from Romans 15:4-13.

Angle: Many in the congregation feel like stumps—careers cut short, relationships ended, health failing, dreams dead. The Gospel is that God specializes in bringing life from dead stumps. The green shoot of Christ springs up precisely where all hope seemed lost.

Catechetical Connection: The Third Article—“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” God creates life from death.

Rural/Small Town Application: Farmers understand the stump. An orchard cut down looks finished. But sometimes, from the root, new life emerges. God’s work is like that—surprising, persistent, life-giving.

Theme 2: “Preparing the Way: John’s Advent Warning”

Focus on Matthew 3:1-12 with connection to Isaiah’s vision.

Angle: John’s preaching is uncomfortable. He calls religious people “vipers” and demands they prove their repentance with fruit. In our feel-good, self-affirming culture, this is jarring. But John’s Law serves the Gospel—he tears down so that Christ can build up. Advent is not just about anticipation but about honest self-examination.

Catechetical Connection: Confession and Absolution. “What is Confession? Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution.” John’s ministry embodies the first; Jesus’ ministry provides the second.

Pastoral Application: Many parishioners carry guilt they’ve never confessed. Advent is an invitation to honest confession that prepares for the joy of Christmas forgiveness.

Theme 3: “The God of Hope: Overflowing in a Despairing World”

Focus on Romans 15:4-13 with connections throughout.

Angle: The world is drowning in despair—political division, economic uncertainty, personal struggles. Paul’s benediction in Romans 15:13 offers something radically different: joy, peace, and hope that overflows “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This hope is not wishful thinking but confident expectation grounded in God’s promises.

Catechetical Connection: The Scriptures as means of grace. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that we might have hope.” We read the Bible not just for information but for the hope God creates through His Word.

Advent Application: Hope is Advent’s distinctive note. Unlike the world’s hope (uncertain wish), Christian hope is certain expectation based on God’s faithful character and fulfilled promises.

Liturgical Considerations

Hymn Suggestions (LSB/LW)

• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (LSB 357) - especially stanza 4: “O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree”
• “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” (LSB 344)
• “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” (LSB 347)
• “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding” (LSB 345)
• “The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns” (LSB 348)

Advent Wreath

Second candle (Bethlehem candle) represents faith or the proclamation of the prophets. John the Baptist’s proclamation continues the prophetic voice.

Seasonal Emphasis

• Purple/blue vestments and paraments continue
• No Gloria in Excelsis (reserve for Christmas)
• Alleluias may be omitted or sung with restraint
• The season’s penitential character (though not as severe as Lent) is maintained

Prayers

The Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent emphasizes the preaching of John and our need for repentance:

“Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

Sources Consulted

• Working Preacher (Luther Seminary) - Isaiah, Matthew, Romans, Psalm commentaries
• 1517.org - Epistle and Gospel exegetical notes
• Institute of Lutheran Theology - Advent resources
• St. Matthew Lutheran Church sermon archives
• Lutheran confessional sources (Apology of the Augsburg Confession)

Prepared December 1, 2025 for the Second Sunday of Advent (December 7, 2025)