Who or what is God referring to in Isaiah 11:1?

Question

Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit."

Answer 1

First, I note that the A.V. says in Isaiah 11:1 that a Branch shall grow out of Jesse's roots. Verse 10 adds that an ensign of the people (including Gentiles) will be a root of Jesse. The answer becomes clear in Revelation 5:5, which reads (A.V.):

"...Weep not: behold the Lion that is of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book..." (A.V.)

Both verses speak of the glorified, resurrected Jesus Christ, back in heaven. Many Hebrew scripture readers take the one referred to in Isaiah 11:1 to be the foretold Messiah. My Bibles with marginal reference notes link it to Revelation 5:5.

As the Isaiah prophecy is not fully revealed until the glorified Christ gives the revelation of God in that last book of the Bible, understanding of the 'clues' in the book of the Revelation must be collated. This is done in the book I now quote from, where it examines Revelation 5:5:

"The first title is that of 'The Lion of the tribe of Juda'. Now Juda was David's ancestor and hence the second title follows, 'The Root of David'. But a mystery lies in this twofold description of Christ, the Lamb, and in order to open it as clearly as possible I intend to expound the second title first. Evidently the Lion of the tribe of Juda was David's Root, because David's ancestry sprang from this tribe centuries after Juda had passed away.

Yet, for all that, the tribe itself was not the root, though after the flesh David was rooted in that tribe, springing in the matter of ancestry, from the loins of Juda. Nevertheless, not the tribe of Juda, but the Lion of the tribe of Juda is said to be David's Root.

David's Root was spiritual, not natural. It was divine, not carnal. Even as he said, 'The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool', Psalm 110:1. Of this passage Peter speaks centuries later on the day of Pentecost, saying of David that he was both dead and buried, and his sepulchre was with them to that day.

'Therefore,' concludes Peter, 'being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to David, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ.'

Then Peter continues, 'For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself' - in Psalm 110:1, centuries before - 'The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ', Acts 2:29-31 and 34-36. Then, that same Jesus, being ascended into the heavens - where the Lamb of God appears - must be David's Root, for David calls him expressly 'my Lord'.

[Re. Jesus' challenge about that in Matthew 22:42-46] ...they could not understand the text nor how he could be David's son so many generations after the prophecy. But he had been begotten of the virgin Mary, who, though herself of the seed of David, nevertheless conceived by the Holy Ghost.

As to the one born of Mary, though by her genealogy he was the son of David, from heaven he was the Son of God, who was before David existed, and therefore was he whom David names, My Lord, and whom in consequence the Spirit calls 'the Root of David'. For of this Root, David sprang.

Therefore when one of the twenty-four elders speaks of 'the Root of David', he means not the natural root - which was, through Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, but David's spiritual Root, that is, a root in terms of the hidden underground growth and unseen development far beneath the surface of the earth, which, springing up. gave rise to David's prominence... Roots lie unseen, untraced and undetected beneath the earth...

But David, through Jesse, and that by direct ancestry, sprang of Judah. Hence, therefore, the elder announced first that the one who should prevail to take the book is called 'The Lion of the tribe of Juda'. Rev. 5:5... The Lion precedes both Judah and his tribe." (The Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp 119-120, John Metcalfe)

The author then explains how that is tied up with Jacob (who was called Israel) prophesying what would result from his 12 sons. Of his fourth son he said, "Judah is a lions' whelp..." Then comes the famous prophecy about a coming Shiloh from between his feet, the Christ (Genesis 49:8-12) Notice how Judah is the offspring of a lion - a lion's whelp, or cub? Judah is not the Lion. He is the whelp of the Lion. The Lion begat Judah, being chosen above his brothers to bear the promised Seed. At last, Revelation 5:5 gives understanding to what God was referring with that prophecy in Isaiah 11:1. (Ibid pp121-123)

A Branch requires a root from which it develops. Therefore, Isaiah 11:1-10 speaks both of One from whom Jesse would arise (the Root being the preincarnate Christ) and that Christ in the flesh would later be that Branch visible. Jesse was the literal father of David, but the quote has already shown how Christ was the spiritual Root of David. Yet it requires Revelation 5:5 to resolve the mystery fully, as it also explains the extent of the 'fruit' Christ bears (Rev. 7:4-17).