Resurrection Tree

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—

yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

He will delight in obeying the LORD.

He will not judge by appearance

nor make a decision based on hearsay.

He will give justice to the poor

and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word,

and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.

He will wear righteousness like a belt

and truth like an undergarment.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;

the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.

The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,

and a little child will lead them all.

The cow will graze near the bear.

The cub and the calf will lie down together.

The lion will eat hay like a cow.

The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.

Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,

for as the waters fill the sea,

so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD.

In that day the heir to David’s throne

will be a banner of salvation to all the world.

The nations will rally to him,

and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. (Isaiah 11:1–10 NLT)

In his book Mercy Streets, Taylor Field shares a story about a tree in the meager backyard of their ground floor tenement apartment. He and his wife had taken it from where it was growing in a fence – it was a volunteer plant, what some might call a weed – and transplanted it into their yard. After a time, it grew larger and taller and stronger, though it was still young, and when it was without leaves it looked more like a large stick poking out of the ground than it did a tree. One winter day, when a utility employee was in the backyard for some work being done, he broke the tree in two as part of a joke with his coworker.

Field shares how he and his wife, Susan, were furious at the cavalier disregard for this tree that had grown to mean so much to them; in response, the utility company agreed to pay $600 to replace it with a tree of the couple’s choosing. Field writes, “Our grief was diverted by the excitement of something new and expensive.”

Then Easter morning arrived; Field looked out his back window and saw a green sprout sticking out of the stump they had presumed to be dead. He writes, “‘Let’s forget the fancy tree,’ I told Susan. ‘This tree is far more important. It is a resurrection tree.’ Now our tree is three times as tall as I am, with a gnarled place where it was broken off, but strong and tall.”

By the first century, the stump of David’s family was not dead and barren, but it was no longer a source of powerful or great leaders – until a new shoot appeared, a new Branch by the name of Jesus. But this new Branch, this child of David’s line, would not be like anything seen before.

Like with David, the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Jesus, but it would not be to help him conquer Philistines; he would conquer death.

He would not calm the tormented spirit of the king; he would calm the storm and bring peace – shalom – to our world.

Jesus would not be a king of Israel; he is the King over all kings and Lord over all lords.

Jesus is our resurrection tree; he brings life and conquers death. Imagine being witness to this new life sprouting green and strong from the stump of an old tree.

While none of us were present for the birth of the new Branch in Bethlehem, all of us who profess faith in Jesus and follow after him have experienced his new life sprouting in our own souls.

Take time to reflect on this new life in Christ you see sprouting and growing strong in your soul. Think back on the years past as well, taking note of the ways the Spirit has seeded your life with his resurrection power, bringing life where there once was only death.