Scriptures: Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 33:14-18, Zechariah 3:8-9, 6:9-13, Hebrews 7
Isaiah 11 describes the righteous ruler who will be anointed with the Holy Spirit to rule Israel and bring peace to the earth as the Branch. “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). The Branch comes from the stump of Jesse, King David’s father. Not only is Jesus descended from King David, as we see in Matthew 1, but he is an entirely new branch that precedes David because he comes from the stump of David’s father, Jesse. What does that mean? In scripture, cutting down a tree is a sign of judgment.
In Daniel 4, Daniel interprets the king’s dream in which the king is a tree cut down to a stump because of his pride and belief that he had accomplished what God had actually done for him. Daniel told the king, “The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules” (Daniel 4:26). The Messiah of the Jews comes from the stump of Jesse, indicating that God cut down the tree of Israel all the way back to Jesse, keeping the root system that began with Abraham and starting a new tree with a new Branch, a new David.
When our neighbor’s tree was injured, she cut it back to a stump. Miraculously, a branch grew from the stump and became a beautiful tree. Just like Daniel told the king that his kingdom would be restored when he acknowledged that Heaven rules, Jesus, the Branch, told the Jews they would see him again – their promised King – when they say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). Jesus was quoting the passage in Psalms 118 that follows the declaration that the stone the builders rejected (Jesus) has become the cornerstone. When the Jews acknowledge Jesus as the Branch sent from heaven, they will receive their King and the kingdom ruled by God will be restored to them, as was promised to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’ For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices’” (Jeremiah 33:14-18).
The name of the Branch is “The Lord Our Righteous Savior.” We certainly see in the life of Jesus that he did “what is just and right in the land.” But after disclosing the name of the Branch, God links the Branch to both a coming king from the line of David and the eternal priesthood. Why? This mystery is explained to the prophet Zechariah who lived during the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile. In Zechariah 3:8-9, God reveals that the High Priest, Joshua, is symbolic of God’s servant who is to come, called the Branch, through whom God would remove the sin of the land in a single day. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest offers the appointed sacrifice to cleanse the whole nation of sin. As High Priest, the Branch – The Lord Our Righteous Savior – offered a sacrifice to accomplish forgiveness of sin for all on one day. The sacrifice Jesus offered was his own body as payment for our sin.
Hebrews 7 confirms that the priests still have a man standing before God continually to intercede for us, although Jesus is of the type of priesthood of Melchizedek. In Psalm 110:4, King David prophecies the coming king who is “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek was a High Priest of God and King of Salem (now called Jerusalem) who blessed Abraham and to whom Abraham tithed (Genesis 14:18-20). The Branch is older than the Davidic kingdom, as his kingdom comes from the stump of David’s father, and he is older than the Levitical priesthood, as he comes from the order of Melchizedek.
Zechariah 6 describes how the Branch will rule as both High Priest and King, symbolized by the High Priest, Joshua, being given a crown. Through this imagery we see that the Messiah, the Branch, is first a High Priest and then is crowned King. This order is crucial in understanding Jesus’ first mission which had to be fulfilled before he could be given a crown. Jesus came first as Israel’s High Priest to offer himself as a sacrifice for sin and mediate a new covenant between God and man. Hebrews 7 tells us that Jesus is our great High Priest who continually intercedes for us. Zechariah 6 tells us that the Branch who is King will also be the one to rebuild the temple.
“Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’” (Zechariah 6:11-13).
God tells Zechariah, here is what the Branch will look like: a High Priest who is crowned King with harmony between the two offices that had formerly been strictly kept separate. The temple built by this future High Priest/King would be a future temple because Zechariah also gives specific instructions to Zerubbabel who built the second temple. Even as the second temple was being built, God began hinting that there would be another temple built by the Branch that would “branch out from this place.”
How would the temple branch out? By spreading across the globe through Spirit-filled believers. As we’ll explore further in the lessons to come, Jesus’ body is now the Temple where God’s Spirit dwells, and all who remain in Christ carry his Spirit wherever they go. We are now the temple which has branched out from Jerusalem, where it began on the day of Pentecost (Festival of Weeks), to fill the earth. Just as Jesus is the Branch, all who are united to Christ have now become branches who spread the good news. But to be a branch, we must remain connected to Jesus through a daily personal relationship.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5-8). By remaining in the Branch, we become a branch who bears fruit. We see this principle over and over in scripture. We who remain in Jesus become like him. Jesus is our High Priest and King who makes us a royal priesthood. He is a Son who makes us sons. His identity becomes our identity.
Response:
Jesus, I honor you as my High Priest and King. May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for living to intercede for me as my High Priest. You are the Branch, “the Lord my Righteous Savior.” May your temple branch out to fill the whole earth with your goodness. I ask you to fill me with your Spirit and equip me to do your kingdom building work so I may also be a branch like you who brings the Father glory.
(The picture above is an olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. I stared at it for the longest time and finally took a picture. I realize now that it represents Jesus, the Branch who grew from the stump of Jesse.)
