The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Day 53, The Root of Jesse

Isaiah 11:1-2, 10 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

 On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will seek Him,
and His resting place will be glorious.

The last post that I wrote (sorry for skipping a day—bad headache) concerned God taking a twig off the very top of the tree of Abraham to separate from the heritage of sin before replanting it. Today’s verses also focus on keeping the Messiah’s life distant from the human sinful world. However, the approach is different. Instead of replanting a twig to start a new tree, these verses give the idea that old family tree has been chopped down until only a stump remains.

Once the tree of sin, of Adam’s heritage, has been toppled, the Messiah will spring from the roots of Jesse.

Why Jesse? Why name him? Why not say from the roots of David or the roots of Abraham?

Well, Jesse was David’s father. But he didn’t just raise a king. He raised warriors, a few who made it into Scripture by the briefest name reference, one that fathered one of David’s mighty men, and one that fathered a traitor. David was the eighth and youngest son.

So Jesse fathered Israel’s greatest king and the man after God’s own heart. But he didn’t realize it. In fact, when Samuel came to Jesse to anoint the next king, Jesse discounted David as a possible reason for the visit. He didn’t even include him in the list of sons to appear.

Sin has a tendency to discount heaven’s purposes.

Now the roots of Jesse that gave rise to Israel’s greatest king will also generate history’s greatest king. The same lineage that brought about a David will welcome the Messiah for all mankind.

But to make the new tree holy, to keep it pure, the tree of sin must die. When Jesus is crucified, when he called out: “It is finished!” the tree of Jesse was chopped down.

Three days later the root sprang to life, full-sized and flowering. And we have been basking beneath it ever since.

A Sixty-Day Countdown to Christmas


More Days

Introduction to The Messiah Simeon Waited For

Holding Jesus

Day 3, A Sketch of Simeon

Simeon Was a Godly Man

Day 5, Simeon's Testimony

Day 6, Prophecies for the Gentiles

Day 7, Blessing to Nations

Day 8, A Holy People

Day 9, Welcoming God's Firstborn

Day 10, The Name of Simeon

Day 11, Staying Alive

Day 12, Following the Spirit

Day 13, Taking Up Jesus

Day 14, God's Slave

Day 15, True Peace

Day 16, Seeing Reality

Day 17, The Intent of the Law

Day 18, For All Peoples

Day 19, Making Mary and Joseph Marvel

Day 20, A Blessing

Day 21, Hinting at the Rest of the Story

Day 22, Mary Will Grieve

Day 23, Making Simeon into Simeon

Day 24, Prophet to the Prophets

Day 25, A Priest Like Melchizedek

Day 26, Destined for Sacrifice

Day 27, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 1

Day 28, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 2

Day 29, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, Part 3

Day 30, Jesus as the Lamb (con.)

Day 31, Simeon as a Man of Gratitude

Day 32, Sacrificing Lambs in the Old Testament

Day 33, The Silent Lamb

Day 34, The Messiah as Light

Day 35, Jesus the Stumbling Block

Day 36, Jesus as the Rock

Day 37, The Precious Cornerstone

Day 38, The Stone in Zion

Day 39, The Cornerstone and the Gate

Day 40, The Stone of Judgment

Day 41, Into Zion First

Day 42, Restoring the Booth of David

Day 43, Forgotten Stones

Day 44, Blessed to Receive

Day 45, Crown Him with Many Crowns

Day 46, Identifying the Son of God

Day 47, The Best Storyteller Ever

Day 48, In Bethlehem, the City of David

Day 49, Born a King

Day 50, The Living Jesus

Day 51, The Mountain Tree (Part 1)

Day 52, The Mountain Tree (Part 2)

Day 53, The Root of Jesse

Day 54, David's Branch

Day 55, The Cursed Tree

Day 56, Time Fulfilled

Day 58 through 60

Day 57, Born David's King