Scripture Notes: The Shoot (Isaiah 11)

The prophet Isaiah frequently points directly toward the coming Messiah, but he does so in a mysterious way, a way that would probably have confused his original audience, indeed, a way his original audience may not fully have appreciated. For one thing, Isaiah prophesies the coming of a Suffering Servant, someone who will take the people’s sins upon himself and suffer and even die for them. This is not the powerful, political Messiah people wanted, but it is the compassionate, merciful Messiah people needed.

In chapter 11, Isaiah describes the One Who is to come as a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” and a branch out of Jesse’s roots. The Hebrew word for “shoot” is hoter, and it refers to a twig or a branch. It could also mean a rod. So it is something small, something thin, something apparently weak. It comes from the stump of Jesse, meaning that Jesse’s line has apparently been cut off, but only apparently. Indeed, after the time of the Babylonian exile, Jesse’s line (which is also the line of King David, Jesse’s son) seemed to disappear. But it was merely hidden, waiting for this small shoot to arise.

Isaiah also describes this newcomer as a branch, in Hebrew neser, a sprout. This, too, suggests smallness. The One Who is to come will not appear powerful in the eyes of the world. He will start small, even seemingly insignificant. What can a shoot or a branch do?

But there is something very special about this shoot. Isaiah tells us “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” There is more than meets the eye in this little branch. In fact, this shoot will grow and reveal Himself to be something beyond Isaiah’s wildest imaginings.