The Names Of Jesus - “The Branch”

The Names Of Jesus - “The Branch”

Isaiah 11:1

“Then a Shoot will spring from the Stem of Jesse and a Branch from his Roots will bear fruit.”

The Old Testament is filling references to the coming Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus would be revealed to the world through the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Although those four Gospels tell many of the same stories of Jesus, they sometimes differ in the way they tell them. The reason they do that is because they each have a different purpose in mind. They are each trying to present a different element of who Jesus was.

Matthew was written to a Jewish audience and its author presents Jesus as the Righteous King from the line of David. Mark, on the other hand, tells of the same Jesus but He becomes the Suffering Servant, an important element of the Jewish Messiah. Luke, writing to the Gentiles, portrays the human Jesus who is the Son of Man. The final Gospel, John, emphasizes the Son of God - the divine Jesus - God in the flesh.

Now, back to the Old Testament. Jesus is the Branch that the ancient prophets write about. Here is the amazing thing: the prophets reveal four things about the coming Branch.

Jeremiah 23:5

“…I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely...”

Zechariah 3:8

“…behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.”

Zechariah 6:12

“Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD.”

Isaiah 4:2

“In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious…”

Isn’t that awesome? The Old Testament knew the exact characteristics of the coming Messiah hundreds of years before a single letter of those books had been written.

Jesus is the Branch, the outward reaching arm of the Tree of the Lord.