Isaiah 11:1 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots"
We have seen Isaiah leading up to the revelation of Jesus
Christ through the preceding chapters. We read back in chapter 7:14, "...
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel." Then in chapter 9:6, "For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace." In today's passage, the Lord is narrowing
this identification down to the house of Jesse, which brings us to the
place where we know the Messiah would come from the seed of David. It was
necessary that the Redeemer would come in human flesh because the sin debt had
been incurred by a human. God chose to bring His Son as a child through the
seed of Abraham and on down through David.
Paul stated the Gospel "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh."
(Romans 1:3) He would go on to say, "For as by one man's disobedience many
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (man - emphasis mine) shall many
be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) The writer of Hebrews stated it in this
manner, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For
verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of
Abraham." (Hebrews 2:14-16)
I use more Scripture than usual, but it is important to
understand the One named Jesus was (and still is) the planned manner of
redemption for God's people. There is no other way than by the blood of Jesus
Christ. Let us rejoice in the fact that God's love is so great that His Son was
"... delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God..." according to His knowledge of our need. The work of Jesus was not
an afterthought nor an event outside the control of God; rather, carefully planned
and carried out through the blessed grace of our Lord.