A
Nazarene Descended From Jesse
In
the Old Testament, the Messiah’s lineage is revealed to us in a very specific
way. When we consider the exact
description of His lineage, we can understanding why this is one of several
major tests that will help us to identify the Messiah. Make no mistake about it, as we consider the
prophecies of His lineage, a multitude of Jews can immediately be eliminated as
a possible Messiah.
One
of the many OT descriptions of His lineage tells us that He was a descendant of
Jesse who came from the city of Nazareth.
It is this promise that we will be looking at in today’s devotional.
THE
SCRIPTURES:
Isa 11:1
1) And there shall come forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:10
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.
Isa 53:1-3
1) Who hath believed our
report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2) For he shall grow up before him as a tender
plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see him, [there is] no
beauty that we should desire him.
3) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Matt 1:5-6
5) And Salmon begat Booz of
Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6) And Jesse begat David the king; and David the
king begat Solomon of her [that had been
the wife] of Urias;
Matt 2:22-23
22) But when he heard that
Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to
go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside
into the parts of Galilee:
23) And he came and dwelt in a city called
Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall
be called a Nazarene.
Matt 4:13-16
13) And leaving Nazareth, he
came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of
Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying,
15) The land of Zabulon, and the land of
Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea,
beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16) The people which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung
up.
Luke 3:31-32
31) Which
was [the son] of Melea, which was [the son] of Menan, which was [the son] of Mattatha, which was [the son] of Nathan, which was [the son] of David,
32) Which was [the son] of Jesse, which was [the son] of Obed, which was [the son] of Booz, which was [the son] of Salmon, which was [the son] of Naasson,
John 19:19
19) And
Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on
the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Rom 15:11-12
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.
THE
STUDY:
I would like to make two very quick points before
we begin our look at these promises of the Messiah. First of all, just a reminder for us…. the man
named Jesse was the Father of King David and the grandson of Boaz and Ruth
(Ruth 4:13-22).
Secondly, many times the title “Nazarene” is
confused with the title “Nazarite”:
1. A
“Nazarite” was an individual who made a promise to God to abstain from 3
things: grape products, cutting of hair, and touching dead bodies. He did this as an act of honoring God and
publically displaying his devotion to God (Num 6:).
2. This is
in contrast to the title “Nazarene” which describes an inhabitant of the city of
Nazareth.
Please remember, we will see that our prophecy in
today’s lesson tells us the Messiah would be a “Nazarene”, in other words, he
would be an inhabitant of the city of Nazareth. To my knowledge, no place in the Bible are we
told that Jesus took the vow of a Nazarite.
THE
PROPHECY:
Isa 11:1
In Isa 11:1, we read that the Messiah would be a
descendent of Jesse… “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse” The picture
is of a stem (or stump - Jesse) that brings forth a branch (David), that brings
forth other branches, leading to a rod (or twig - the Messiah). The Messiah is pictured as a twig, not to
minimize His greatness but, to emphasize that He would be a distant generation
descendant of Jesse. Each offshoot of a
branch is always smaller than the branch from which it comes.
This
prophecy is followed by a different thought that is related…. and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots: In this section of the promise of the Messiah, we
see a look at “his roots”, in other words the ancestors of Jesse. We are told that not only would the Messiah
come from Jesse, but He would also be known for his descendance from Jesse’s
famous fore-fathers (Adam, Noah, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Judah etc etc )
Finally,
in this prophecy we see that the Messiah is given the title “Branch”. This is a very important title. In this title, we see the Messiah clearly
linked to the city of Nazareth. Here is
why…
The
Hebrew word translated “Branch” in this text is the word “netser”. The city of Nazareth gets its name from this
word. Many believe that originally, the
physical location of Nazareth was filled with trees and overgrowth. It is, probably, for this reason the city was
given the name “Nazareth” or “place of branches”.
Isa 11:10
Once again, in this text, we see the Messiah
described as related to Jesse, in this case He is pictured as the “root of
Jesse”. “And in that day there shall be a root of
Jesse,…” He would
spring forth out of Jesse’s line much like a root will spring forth from the main
tree.
Isa 53:1-3
In this related prophecy of the coming Messiah, we
see His coming and life on earth pictured as a plant growing among a sinful
world…. “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of
a dry ground:” The prophecy
then continues explaining that He would be rejected by sinful man.
THE
FULFILLMENT:
A Descendent of Jesse:
Matt 1:5-6
In this description of
the physical lineage of Jesus (Mary’s line), we find He was a descendant of
Jesse… “And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed
begat Jesse;
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her
[that had been the wife] of Urias;…”
Luke 3:31-32
In this description of
the legal lineage of Jesus (Joseph’s line), we find He was also a descendant of
Jesse…
31) Which
was [the son] of Melea, which was [the son] of Menan, which was [the son] of Mattatha, which was [the son] of Nathan, which was [the son] of David,
32) Which was [the son] of Jesse, which was [the son] of Obed, which was [the son] of Booz, which was [the son] of Salmon, which was [the son] of Naasson,
Rom 15:11-12
In this passage, we find the Apostle Paul attributing
the Isaiah prophecy of the Messiah to Christ… “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.”
A Citizen of Nazareth:
Matt 2:22-23
Here, we have the historical account of Joseph, the
legal father of Jesus, taking his family to Nazareth to escape the persecution
brought upon the Jews by Herod and Archelaus. This took place when Jesus was a
small boy. Please note this event is said to be a fulfillment of the Isa 11:
prophecy…”But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his
father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God
in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a
city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Matt 4:13-16
We are told that Jesus left Nazareth to begin His
ministry (following His baptism), after moving there as a young boy.… “And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,…” This helps us to
understand that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and was legitimately thought of as
being a Nazarene, although He had been born in Bethlehem
John 19:19
Another proof that Jesus was considered a “Nazarene”
is found on the title given to Him at His crucifixion. “And Pilate wrote a title,
and put [it] on the cross. And the
writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
PRACTICAL
APPLICATION:
The New Testament demonstrates to us the Jesus fulfills
the prophecy of Isaiah where we are told that the Messiah would be a Nazarene
that descended from the line of Jesse.
This is another proof that Jesus completely, and perfectly, fulfilled
the Messianic promises of the Old Testament. What a wonderful, glorious truth for all
mankind...God kept His promise to send His chosen One to be King and Saviour of
His people.
May the Lord bless our study of His Word.
If you have any questions about salvation you are
welcome to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I’ll be more than happy to answer any
question you may have.
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Relationship With God”. On this page,
you will find several blog entries explaining the way of salvation and
important truths about salvation.
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