More than 700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah the prophet spoke of a stem of Jesse. And the reason why this is so important is because of who this Man was that came forth. So to understand this, we will get right into the Word. Isaiah said, 2“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 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 of the fear of the Lord.” From this passage, we understand that this Man is full of the Spirit of the Lord and therefore that same spirit allowed the people to gain wisdom, understanding and counsel from Him. He is also mighty in all His works. Isaiah also said that 2“with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Now, hopefully from this explanation, the Name of this person is coming to mind. Think about this for a minute. Who do you know that is known who is called mighty, is known to be our counselor and our Judge?
To help us understand who has the characteristics of being mighty in all works, our counselor and judge, we will look to another verse from Isaiah. It reads, 1“for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Can you see a commonality here? Well, both the Man that came out of the root of Jesus and the child that was to be have the same characteristics. We have not only a Man but a Mighty God, our Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the everlasting Father, and our Judge. Now we know that these attributes are for God Himself. Yes, the Lord God came down from the heavens, in the name of Jesus. He is from the root of Jesse, is the Son of His Father God and also our Mighty God and Father. As Isaiah said, Jesus the Father of all those that believe in Him.
One thing very interesting is the fact that Jesus, being of the root of Jesse, 2“shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” So The Lord Jesus will give to the Gentiles, that seek His face, rest. Who are the gentiles that mentioned here? Well, anyone that is not a Jew but believe in Christ for salvation. We may not be part of Israel, but still we are made part of the fold of Jesus, through faith in Him. As Isaiah wrote, to them, will He give them rest, which is glorious indeed. Nobody can give us the peace that we need in life but the Lord. Jesus even confirmed this, when He said, 3“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When we come unto to Jesus, all our burdens are lifted. He is then able to lead us unto green pastures. Even in hard times, his peace comes through when nothing else can. The Lord is our Shepherd and loves us so much as to care for our needs.
Lastly, we will look once again at the root of Jesse. For not only is this mentioned of Jesus in the Old Testament, with Isaiah, but it was also mentioned with Paul, speaking of Jesus himself. It is recorded, speaking of the prophesy of Isaiah, 4“Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Now who was this Esaias person? Well, according to the Greek, Esaias is translated to Isaiah. Now speaking of Jesus, and the root of Jesus, in fulfilling this prophesy, Paul continued, 4“I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed.” Again, he speaks of Jesus and giving Him the glory. Much like Isaiah mentioned about the rest of Jesus being glorious to the gentiles. Lastly, Paul also mentioned the gentiles in the same statement, when speaking of his ministry of Jesus and his ministry to the gentiles. For this, Jesus calls everyone to Him. Who will you follow?
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I am so grateful to know that You came down to save us all from our sins. We were looking for a Messiah and You came down willingly, in order to sacrifice Your life for mankind. On the cross, You bore our burdens and felt our griefs. What a Savior! There is no one like You, God. You are so wonderful and can do all things in my life for good. You are my Counselor and I am safe with You giving me direction. You are the Prince of Peace, for Your peace has overflowed into my life and now all my burdens are made light because You give me rest. You are mighty to save, dear God. You are my Father and I lifted You up high. I look forward to the day when I shall see You in judgement. For I will humbly bow and bask in all Your glory. Oh how beautiful You are, in all Your ways. Thank You for bringing Your gospel to us all, by extending it to the gentiles also. I am a fruit of this Lord. Whereas there are now millions of other people also that now believe in You, because of You have opened the door to us. Thank You for unfolding Your salvation to everyone. I am so grateful and give You the glory. You are my God and I can do all things in Your Name. Lead us from temptation Lord and show us the way. Help us live a life of faith, that is pleasing unto You. I love You Lord. You are my hope and the rock of my salvation. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.
Let us read the Bible:
Note: Any Numbered References, found above, are listed below.
1Isaiah 9:6-8 (KJV)
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
2Isaiah 11:1-10 (KJV)
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
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 of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
3Matthew 11:27-30 (KJV)
27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
4Romans 15:7-18 (KJV)
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,
16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
