The Branch

## The Stump’s Root

Speaking of the Son of David, the King of the Promise, beginning with Jesus’ Question: “..., ‘How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” (Luke 20:41). God established the line Jesus was born into, thereby coining “Son of David” as a title for Messiah, but there is another title in Scripture that plays on this: the Branch. Many of you will recognize this Scripture as referring to Jesus... Isaiah 11:2 “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding...of counsel and might...of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

## But verse 1 says:

Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.[leading back into...] 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him...” He comes from the stump and roots of Jesse. In this analogy, Jesse is a tree. A stump’s roots are before the tree. The branches come later. The Spirit of the Lord rests on this Branch. When we see the branches move, we know the wind is present. When we see the way the Branch moves, we know the Spirit is present (John 3:8).

## The Branch’s Fruit

A well-known name of God the Church utters, “YHWH TSIDKENU”, comes from Jeremiah 23:6 “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 (TSIDKENU).”

## In who’s days? Verse 5 answers:

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king...”

The Branch is a Son of David. He will be king, a Savior, and will be called YHWH TSIDKENU. This repeats in Jeremiah 33:15. Lastly, the Branch shows up in Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12. Zechariah 6:12-13 “... ‘Behold, the man whose name is the Branch...shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall...bear royal honor, and sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne...’” The Branch builds the Temple of the Lord. The Branch is Messiah. Solomon was never called the Branch or Messiah. Through Messiah, the Church was begun. The Holy Spirit lives in us. The Church is the Temple. The Branch shall build the Temple... Zechariah 6:15 “And those who are far off shall come and help build the Temple of the Lord...” The Gentiles come from all lands far and wide.

## Self-Check

So what is the Branch’s Fruit of this whole analogy? Jesus says: John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is who bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing... 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples... 12 This is my commandment, that you love one another... 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit...”

## The Spotlight Kingdom