From Jesse's Root (Isaiah 11:1-10)

I. The Dead Stump

English Standard Version Chapter 10

The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land

the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,

and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few

that a child can write them down.

II. The Insignificant Shoot & Branch

"He Shall Be Called ‘A Nazarene’”

John 1:43–45 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Who is "Him of whom Moses and also the prophets wrote?” Moses wrote at Deuteronomy 18:15 that

Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

This "prophet like unto Moses" is what Philip is referencing (more on what the Prophets wrote in a minute). So Philip is announcing the arrival of the long-prophesied, long-awaited New Moses, the Messiah, who will lead a New Exodus to a New Promised Land via a New Passover ... but Nathanael doesn't seem too impressed:

John 1:46 ESV

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

But then he meets Jesus:

John 1:47–49 ESV

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Whoa, Nathanael! That's a big flip-flop, isn't it? We know, as Nathanael exclaims, that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David and the "Son of God", the "King of Israel" and the "King of Kings," whose coming was prophesied by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and every prophet worth his salt -- but where did Nathanael suddenly come up with all that? What caused Nathanael's turnaround on Jesus? How did Nathanael go from poking fun at Nazareth to announcing the arrival of the Messiah?

Let’s look at the the prophesy of the righteous branch...

The Prophesy of the Righteous Branch

To get to the answer, here is one of the many times the great prophet, Jeremiah, announced the coming of the Messiah: Jeremiah 23:5-6

Jeremiah 23:5–6 ESV

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Jesus would be the son of David, i.e. a descendant of David, according to the flesh, according to Romans 1:3.

Romans 1:3 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

This is why we are given the genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of Mathew’s Gospel. But what of this “righteous Branch”? Isaiah, also had something to say about this “branch”, in our text this morning...

Isaiah 11:1-2

Isaiah 11:1–2 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The “shoot of Jesse”? What is that and who is Jesse? Jesse is David’s father. The tree that grew from Jesse was David and the lines of kings which succeeded him. When the line of kings was broken, the tree was cut down, leaving only a stump. A "shoot" springing forth from the "stump of Jesse" is the New David, the Messiah, who will restore Israel. Make sense?

So what does this have to do with what good, bad, or ugly comes out of Nazareth? Here's one last oracle from the Prophets. This time, we read from Zechariah:

Zechariah 3:8–10 ESV

8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”

Remember "deceit" from the passage in John? It is a form of iniquity that Zechariah says will be removed. Does "under the fig tree" sound familiar?

Nathanael quickly connected the dots, he understood Jesus' words, and that he, Nathanael, was now living the fulfillment of Zechariah's oracle.

But there's still MORE ... What about this Branch we keep hearing about? How does that fit in with Nathanael and "What good can come from Nazareth?"

What, Not Where, is Nazareth?

This brings us to the best part. How does the nowhere town of Nazareth fit in to all this? The town of Nazareth is only a couple centuries old at the time of Christ. It's too far from Jerusalem, far removed from the center of action. It's too new to have been mentioned by the Prophets, much less Moses. Or is it?

What are we to make of the following verse from the Gospel of Matthew?

Matthew 2:23 ESV

23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

When did the Prophets ever mention "Nazareth"? The town came into existence long after the deaths of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. In fact, there is no such prophesy anywhere in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be called a "Nazarene." ... Or is there? What if the Prophets have been talking about "Nazareth" all along? The question is what does "Nazareth" mean in Hebrew? Better yet, what is the word for BRANCH/Shoot in Hebrew?

וְנֵ֖צֶר=NZR

The answer is the same! The Hebrew word for "branch" is netzer, which is spelled NZR, same as "Nazareth." וְנֵ֖צֶר

"Nazareth" means "branch" in Hebrew! Jesus shall be called the "Righteous Branch" - "He shall be called a Nazarene."

This realization, along with the significance of sitting "under the fig tree", is what came flooding over Nathanael when he began speaking with Jesus. This is why Nathanael responded with the exclamation, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus is the Branch, the Netzer, shooting up from the Stump of Jesse. He is the New David, the New King of the New Kingdom of the New Israel.

Can you imagine how foolish Nathanael must have felt later, when he remembered saying to Philip "What good can come from Nazareth?" Can you imagine the facepalm? He had unwittingly made a great pun, but the joke was on him. I'm sure Philip must have reminded his friend of it many, many times. That's probably why it became part of the Gospel!

Do you, as Philip did that day, connect the dots as to who this Shoot is? He is THE Saviour. Is He your Saviour?

This is the King Whose birth we celebrate. This is the King who stands as a signal flag, as verse 10 tells us, for all nations to come and gather around and in Him to find peace and rest.