Jesus, the Branch

Of all the titles that are ascribed to Jesus, it does not seem as though “the Branch” is the highest or best. And yet it reveals something to us about the nature of  God’s plan of redemption, and how it is structured.

We have Old Testament texts referring to "the Branch"; references that point to Jesus in the New Testament, who “fleshes out” this image for us. So let’s see what we can learn. 

Isaiah 4:2 says that “In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious.” But “that day” was anything but glorious. The preceding verses show how the people would be stripped of all dignities due to their sins, and that “instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope.” This branch would actually be a shoot, a sucker that grows from the stump of a tree that has been cut down. The house of David appeared to have fallen.

And so this little shoot, which would grow into a great Branch, can be called, in advance of its appearance, “beautiful and glorious.” Those qualities are expanded in Isaiah 11, where the picture is political, and the reigning term seems to be “righteousness,” alongside “wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength.” Take the time to read through Isaiah 11.

But that “beauty and glory” are not even apparent to all in the earthly life of Jesus. While those who were touched by His words and deeds saw something of this, many, in their hardness of heart, did not. Isaiah 53 portrays this theme, where “the root out of parched ground” did not have an “appearance that we should be attracted to him.” We often base our expectations on appearances, and Jesus’ rejection by people made many think that He was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” 

But no, He was not stricken and smitten because of Himself, but rather, for us. Read Isaiah 53, and notice the emphasis on what was “ours” borne by “Him.” It is fitting, then, that we find another reference to “Branch” in Jeremiah 33, a new covenant context.

Jesus gave His disciples, and us, a beautiful picture of what the Branch has become. He said in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” By faith in Christ, we are united to Him, and in that relationship with Him, our lives are enabled and equipped to be fruitful. Apart from Him, lifeless, like the stump of a discarded tree.