The Shoot

The Old Testament is filled with prophecies that point to the coming of the Messiah. And hundreds of these were fulfilled through Jesus Christ within the New Testament. One can be found in Isaiah 11:1, nearly 700 years prior to Jesus, where the prophet speaks of a "shoot" that will come from the "stump of Jesse."

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” —Isaiah 11:1

Jesus Himself elaborates on His identity in relation to this prophecy in John 15.

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. - John 15: 1-8

As followers of Christ, we can only bear fruit because of the branch, and through the branch. We are fully dependent on Christ and His works in our lives. This dependence is crucial; because if we are not fully dependent, not abiding in Christ, our branch is dead. Just as Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine and the one who allows the branches to spring up from Him in John 15, we can give this a further examination by returning to Isaiah 11:1 .

In Isaiah 11:1, the word for shoot, sprout or branch that we see in our translations comes form the Hebrew word Netzer (נצר), pronounced nay'-tser. This word is interesting because the very town town called Nazareth (Matthew 2:23) is derived from the Hebrew word Netzer, meaning "shoot" or "branch." So, Nazareth can be thought of as a town that directly connects to the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah. The hometown from which Jesus, the branch, emerged in Israel. More than that, spiritually, just as we are reborn in Christ and He is our source, He is also the branch that directly sustains us and the foundation that we build our lives upon. This connection highlights the intentional fulfillment of prophetic symbolism in the life of Jesus.