Isaiah 53:2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:1-3 and John 4:1-26
Jesus grew up before his Father like a root out of dry ground. This is the same language Isaiah has used before to describe the Messiah as the root. The Hebrew word used for “root” is šōreš which can either mean the root of a plant or a family lineage. In Isaiah 11, we see the word twice:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isa 11:1)
“ 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” (Isa 11:10).
Jesus is the Root of Jesse appearing in Israel like a root out of dry ground. Dry ground would then refer to Israel at the time of Jesus. The Hebrew word used by Isaiah is ṣiyyâ meaning a parched land or desert. This could refer to Israel’s geographical condition or its spiritual condition.
Generally speaking Israel at the time of Jesus was not what we would consider a geographical desert. Recall that God brought the Jews out of Egypt to take them to the promised land which God described as “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex 3:8). The first century historian Flavius Josephus wrote of Israel, “Its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it.”
So more likely Isaiah is referring to Israel’s spiritual condition when he speaks of it as dry ground. David did the same:
“You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry [ṣiyyâ] and parched land
where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
Israel was a spiritual wasteland. They didn’t have relationship with God. It had been over 400 years since they had heard anything from the Lord. Malachi was the last prophet of God and the 400 years since then were a spiritual desert. The religious leaders of groups such as the Pharisees and Sadducees had taken control of the daily requirements of Jewish law. The rituals had taken the place of relationship that God so desired from his people.
But God can turn deserts into flowing springs of water:
“He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs” (Psalm 107:35).
“They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out” (Isa 48:21).
Just as God provided water from the rock, He would provide the Suffering Servant as living water in a parched land. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Jesus is the Root that can flourish in dry ground.
And is there a better place to take living water than to a spiritual desert? Is there a better place to shine a light than in the darkest of night? The drier the ground, the greater the need for water. The darker the night, the greater the need for light. God chose Jesus to come to us at such a time when he was desperately needed. He grew up when the spiritual land was at its driest to bring living water.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt 5:6). John closes Revelation echoing the words of Isaiah:
“‘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.’
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Rev 22:16-17).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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