Jesus had many people who questioned him. They didn’t believe he had the right to teach or do miracles. Jesus answered by saying that the old writings in the Bible — the Scriptures — were actually talking about him. In the book of John 5:39, Jesus said:
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
John 5:39
This means Jesus believed that the Old Testament, written hundreds of years before him, told about his life. The writers of the Old Testament said that God gave them the words. Since no human can know the future perfectly, Jesus used this as a way to show that he really was part of God’s plan. Today, we still have the same Old Testament books to read and check for ourselves, unchanged and pre-dating Jesus by hundreds of years,
The figure below shows Isaiah in a historical timeline with some other Old Testament writers.
Isaiah shown in historical timeline. He lived in the period of the rule of the Davidic Kings.
Isaiah lived about 750 years before Jesus, during the time when kings from the family of David ruled Israel. This time was not good — the people and leaders were doing wrong. Isaiah asked the people and kings to return to God and follow the Mosaic Law, but he knew they wouldn’t listen. So he warned them that their kingdom would be destroyed, and the royal family line would stop ruling.
Isaiah used a picture, or metaphor, to describe the royal family. He saw it like a big tree. The tree’s root was Jesse, the father of King David. David and his sons were like the branches of this royal tree.
The image Isaiah used of the dynasty as a tree
First a Tree … then a Stump … then a Branch
Isaiah said God would cut this tree down. It would become just a stump — a small part left behind. But then Isaiah gave a surprising message. He said that one day a small shoot — a Branch — would grow out of the dead-looking stump. This Branch would have the Spirit of God and would be wise, powerful, and full of knowledge. This shoot, or Branch, is a person — a man from David’s family, even after the royal family line had ended.
dynasty pictured as a Stump of Jesse – father of David
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge.”
Isaiah 11:1-2
This cutting down happened 150 years later, around 600 BCE, when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and took the people away. Jesse was David’s father, so the “stump of Jesse” meant the royal family was broken. But Isaiah’s message didn’t end there — he said new life would come from it.
The Branch: A coming ‘him’ from David possessing wisdom
Shoot from the dead stump of Jesse
But this prophecy looked further ahead than just the fall of the kings. The prophet Isaiah said the royal line would be like a stump—cut down and lifeless, like a tree that has been chopped. Yet, one day in the distant future, a shoot would grow from that stump. Some trees can grow new life from an old stump, and Isaiah used this picture to show how the Branch would come. He called this Branch a “him”, meaning he was speaking of a specific man. This man would come from the line of David, after the royal dynasty had fallen. He would be filled with wisdom, power, and knowledge—as if the very Spirit of the Lord rested on him.
Jesus … A ‘him’ from David possessing wisdom
Jesus fits this prophecy. He came “from the stump of Jesse”, since both Jesse and David were his ancestors
What makes Jesus remarkable is the wisdom and understanding he showed. His calmness, clever answers, and insight when dealing with both friends and enemies have amazed people for centuries. In the Gospels, he showed power through miracles. People may choose not to believe them—but they cannot ignore them. Jesus clearly matches the one Isaiah spoke of: a Branch from David, full of wisdom and power.
Jeremiah and The Branch
Isaiah was the first prophet to speak of the Branch, but he was not the last. About 150 years later, during the time the royal family was actually being destroyed, another prophet named Jeremiah gave a new message about the Branch.
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD our Righteousness“.
Jeremiah 23:5-6
So this Branch will be a King. This matches Psalm 2, which said the Christ (or Messiah) would be a Son and a King. This means the Branch and the Son of God are the same person.
The Branch: The LORD our Righteousness
Jeremiah said the Branch would be called “The LORD Our Righteousness.” This is very important. As we saw in the story of Abraham, people have a big problem: we are not perfect — we are sinful or “corrupt.” But we need “righteousness” — being right and clean before God.
Jeremiah says that God Himself will give us the Righteousness we need, through the Branch. “The LORD” is YHWH, the special name for God in the Old Testament. So somehow, the Branch — who is also God — will help people be right with Him.
How will this happen? The prophet Zechariah gives more clues. He even tells us the name of this coming Branch — and that name is Jesus. That will be explained in the next part.
