Come, O Branch of Jesse!
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
Unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
In our Antiphon this week, the Messiah is portrayed as a shoot or branch that comes from “the stump of Jesse.” In Isaiah chapter 11, we find Israel at a very low place in their history, nearly at the place of complete destruction. The nation resembled a barren old stump in the ground.
Isaiah prophesies in this passage that a new shoot would come out of the stump, and this shoot will be the Messiah. This Messiah would receive anointing from the Holy Spirit, he would bring justice to the earth, especially for the weak and the poor, and he would fundamentally change the nature of creation itself, removing the curse of sin, and making all things new.
There are some ways that this amazing passage has already been fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus. And there are other ways that this passage has not yet been fulfilled, and we still anticipate in the second coming of Christ.
As you prepare for worship this Sunday, consider the following:
In what ways do you see this passage from Isaiah already fulfilled? In what ways are we still waiting for it to be fulfilled?
Is there any part of your life that feels like an old stump? Maybe a place of deep disappointment or sadness? Could you imagine God bringing new life out of that part of your life through Christ?
Isaiah 11:1–10
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 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—
3 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;
4 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.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 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.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 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.
10 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.