Unlimited: The Root of Jesse
Nov 16, 2023 296
And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” (Romans 15:12).
Paul is here quoting from Isaiah 9:10–11, a magnificent prophecy from the Old Testament that pointed forward to the coming Messiah as the Saviour of the Gentiles. The same prophet also foretold,
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not (Isa. 53:1–3.)
How connected are you to the Root of Jesse?
From what was as small and insignificant as a single root in bone-dry ground, from the last son of the insignificant family of Jesse, and from Nazareth, from which no good thing could possibly come, God has raised up the hope of the Gentiles, who will rule over the nations.
As a result, whatever may be the dryness and smallness that you may be experiencing in your life, God knows how to bring infinite possibilities from seemingly hopeless beginnings. What matters in Christ is not how you begin, but how you end.
Spiritual Application
Is Jesus the “root” of your being, from whom all of your life springs? How connected are you to the Root of Jesse? How much of his life and grace are you allowing to flow into your own life?
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