The Shoot of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-12

Isaiah 11:1–12 NIV

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, 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. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Back in time to when Isaiah prophesied the world was torn apart. The Assyrians were in control. The Israelites were spread throughout the world. Ahaz, the king, was making decisions based on his own short term goals not on God. The world of the Jew seemed heading to certain doom. Isaiah prophesies that all of them will be destroyed. Hopeful huh?

Isaiah 10:33–34 NIV

See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

Talking about Assyria here, Isaiah tells the great nation will destroyed. It would be cut down to the stump. The whole nation with no hope of rebuilding.

In contrast, a shoot will come up from Jesse. The only Jesse in the Bible is the father of David. David as was the greatest king in the history or Israel. All kings were compared to him. Kings of Judah were all descended from him. So, this shoot would be the true king of Israel.

Isaiah 11:1 NIV

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Shoot of Jesse

Imagery of the shoot and branch

But this would be no ordinary king, this would be the Messiah

The chosen one, the anointed one. the true leader of Israel who who would unite the tribes, bring all of the Jews back to Jerusalem and all nations would be saved through him. We know through hindsight that Jesus fulfilled this prophesy, but they had no idea who or when this would happen.

But they knew he would be a different sort of king.

He would be a king on whom the Spirit of God rested.

Isaiah 11:2–3 NIV

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;

The Spirit Will Rest on Him

This is a big deal. You may or may not realize that until the day of Pentecost when the spirit came down like tongues of fire and never left, the Holy Spirit only came for a time to certain people, and it would leave them. That is on all people except the anticipated Messiah. So Jesus was the only person who fulfilled this prophesy.

Characteristics of the Spirit filled Messiah.

Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding

He will be filled with both earthly knowledge and God’s wisdom. Basically he would have the wisdom of Solomon, and his understanding of people. But unlike Solomon, Jesus always used that wisdom for God’s glory.

Spirit of Counsel and Might

Many have interpreted this to be a military wisdom. They thought he would be able to strategize the military plan to overthrow all nations and bring the unification of Israel by military force. But they did not understand God’s plan.

Instead Jesus able to plan, and execute God’s plan through his death and resurrection. He was able to offer wise counsel and stand strong in might for God’s kingdom and wage a war without armies.

Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord

He will delight in the fear of the Lord.

The Messiah would have an intimate knowledge of God. A deep delight and joy. A different kind of relationship. The relationship with God we should all strive for. This relationship required the Spirit of God to live in us and in him. Jesus showed this constantly. Such an intimate delight and relationship with God guided him and he relied completely on it.

This king would rule justly and watch out for ALL of his people.

Isaiah 11:3–5 NIV

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.

Judge of the Heart

Because the spirit rests on him he will rule with God’s eyes. He will not look at the outside of men or listen to their empty words. Wealth, race, status, or worldly power will not be how he decides, but rather he will look at their heart like God does.

He will help the needy, and the poor. Who did Jesus serve the majority of his life on earth? It was to the sinners, the poor, the sick and the outcast. He judged them with love. He brought them to righteousness not condemnation. And he does the same for us today.

And he will also speak the word of God

Word of God

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, he will slay the wicked with the breath of his lips. I am sure the Jewish people waiting for the Messiah struggled with this one, but we know again by seeing Jesus and his ministry how this worked. He did not just speak the word of God; He WAS the Word of God.

John 1:1 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So therefor he had the power of the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

His words broke down the arguments of the religious leaders and brought hope for the hopeless. His word is our best defense and best offense when sharing the gospel. Because they are powerful.

When Jesus spoke, when Jesus walked, when Jesus ministered, WHATEVER Jesus did he penetrated the hearts and souls of men and women. He is the Word of God.

The word is righteous and his righteousness holds everything together.

Isaiah 11:5 NIV

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Righteous and Faithful

These are two words that are the foundation of Jesus. Just like a belt held all of his clothing together, Jesus’ righteousness was is foundation. Everything he did was right and God’s plan. It was good. And just like a sash, that is beautiful and what we see, Jesus’ faithfulness was seen by all. His faithfulness to God and his faithfulness to people. I love that imagery. We see the Spirit at work in the Messiah, in Jesus, by his faithfulness to God and his people.

The Messiah’s reign will change the world.

Isaiah 11:6–9 NIV

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, 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.

New Earth, New Way

The natural order is going to change when the Messiah comes. If I was going to sum up all of this, I would sum it up with peace. Peace in the animal kingdom, peace in the relationship to humans and animals, and peace between humans.

This new reign will bring us all together not drive us apart. Without a doubt this is pointing to the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation where we are in God’s physical presence all the time. Where the world is no longer divided. Where there are no more tears or suffering because “the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of God. In the words of the old hymn, “When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! ”When we all see Jesus we will sing and shout the victory!”

Praise God!

That is not all. The kingdom of the Messiah is not limited to the Israelites or any group, it is open to all nations.

Isaiah 11:10–12 NIV

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. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

King and Kingdom for ALL Nations

The root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all nations to rally, rest and be glorious.

Jesus is the Messiah that will usher in the bringing together of the remnant of Israel from all the world. You can see why the Jews were anticipating the Messiah so much.

But this passage should light our fire as well.

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates verse 10 as all the nations will find hope. The apostle Paul quotes this in Romans 15:12 describing Jesus as Messiah

Romans 15:12 NIV

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.”

King and Kingdom for ALL Nations

We should love this because that is me and most likely you too. We are the “all nations.” in him we will find rest and a relationship with God.

Friends , this is what it is all about. This is why the Messiah was sent forth. To bring us hope, rest, relationship with God.

Jesus is not just the Jewish Messiah. He is Messiah for all the nations. We all have the opportunity to be part of God’s kingdom. The kingdom described here and in Revelation. The new earth. We have it because of Jesus.

As we enter the Thanksgiving week and then follow that up with the Christmas season, let’s remember what it is all about. Thanking God for all of his blessings which is the perfect preparation for focusing on what it means that the Messiah, Jesus, came to earth.

LET”S PRAY