Isaiah 11:1
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 11:1-16
Isaiah has already prophesied about the fall of Israel to the Assyrians. Israel would be conquered and taken captive but yet there would be a glimmer of hope. In this chapter, Isaiah tells of the coming Messiah amidst the devastation and seeming destruction of the line of David.
Israel was waiting for their Messiah to take the throne of David but now Assyria seemed to have wiped out all hope. Isaiah uses the metaphor “stump of Jesse” that indicates this messianic king would be born from a survivor of David’s family line. This family that would be leaderless and scattered would still have life within it and it would sprout this king from the remaining stump.
The apostle Paul refers to Isaiah’s prophecy in his letter to the Romans. He wrote:
“And again, Isaiah says,
‘The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope’” (Rom 15:12).
Paul quoted Isaiah in his argument to the Roman church that Jesus was in fact the Messiah and fulfilled God’s promises to Israel and “the nations.” Paul claimed that Jesus’ fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy brought salvation to the Gentiles and that we Gentiles can have the same hope that the Jews claimed in Christ.
The apostle John also claimed Jesus to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in his vision recorded in Revelation. Jesus said in John’s vision, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Rev 22:16).
The phrase “root of Jesse” also is an interesting choice of language. Isaiah could easily have used “root of David” to say the same thing but he chose Jesse as his focus. This would be to bring the focus off the great King David and put it on the humble shepherd Jesse. Jesse was a simple man from Bethlehem who lived a humble life. Jesus would first come to earth as a humble servant not as a warrior king.
During Advent, some use the Tree of Jesse to represent the genealogy of Jesus. There are many versions of the Tree of Jesse depicted in ancient art. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages depicting Jesse at the roots of the tree and Jesus at the top branch. The figures between Jesus and Jesse depict a variety of Jesus’ ancestors taken from Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies. The people in the tree differ but the theme is consistent in that God preserved the line of Jesse. And just as God promised David, He delivered the Messiah who would rule for all eternity:
“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sam 7:16).
Lastly, Paul preached to the Gentiles this very message of Isaiah. In his short summary of the history of Israel, Paul would include Jesse and God’s promise to deliver the Messiah from his family line:
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised” (Acts 13:22-23).
David’s dynasty seemed to completely disappear when Israel was taken captive by the Babylonians. For over 600 years, there was no word from God and no throne of David. It was a dark time and it seemed that God had forgotten his promise. But a stump remained and in his vision Isaiah saw a shoot emerge. This shoot is Jesus who would become a mighty tree and take his place on the throne of David. He now sits at the right hand of God bearing fruit in all of us who bear his name.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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