The father of the great King David was Jesse of the tribe of Judah, and the Israelites hoped and believed that another great leader would arise from the remains of that tribe who would do great things. The image Isaiah employs is that of a great tree, reduced to a stump, which seems dead, but from which new life, a new shoot appears. The Church understands this new “shoot” to refer to Jesus the Messiah. Matthew opens his Gospel (1:1-16) with a genealogy, tracing the descent of Jesus from Abraham to Judah, and then directly through Jesse and David to Joseph the husband of Mary “of whom Jesus was born who is called Christ (Messiah).”  

Historically it is clear that the first Christians did not regard themselves as a new society, but as the ancient ‘people of God,’ that is, as a continuation in the faith of the the OT Patriarchs and Prophets. They considered themselves the spiritual descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they considered Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah.

From the Day of Pentecost, the Church has understood the term “remnant” to refer to the Church. We, the disciples and followers of Jesus, are the remnant of both the OT and the NT. 

Thus, our calling and our privilege is to help people to gather around Jesus. “Come unto me,” Jesus says. When people come to Jesus as Lord, they may not be completely aware of it at the time, but they are repenting, they are returning to the Father, they are offering themselves up to be transformed, and they are being strengthened in goodness.

Application: Think of four ways in which you might consider yourself to be “coming to Jesus.”