The Branch

The title of this blog is “The Importance of Understanding the Old Testament Background in Order to Fully Comprehend New Testament Words and Passages,” but of course, that is much too long. So, I have reduced it to “The Branch.” While, as we will see, the metaphor of a biblical branch is rich and multifaceted, the main consideration here will be “The Branch” as a title for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This study is an expansion of thought of the “Vine” in John 15:1 (see Pastor Matt’s recent sermon entitled “Genuine”).

Aside from the key words “vine,” “branch,” “abide,” “fruit,” “love,” “obedience,” and “joy,” which are directly stated in John 15:1-11, there is another important point that should not be missed. Pastor Matt rightly mentioned it, though time did not allow him to expand the word. I am speaking of the passage’s, the book’s, and the entire New Testament’s Old Testament relationship. Although it may not be obvious to many casual readers, practically everything Jesus said and did, as well as everything John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and the writer of Hebrews wrote is at the least indirectly traceable to the O.T. This is a weighty subject worthy of our investigation. In the case of John 15, knowledge of the Branch broadens our understanding of the Vine.

Even though it is a well-known fact that far too many Christians today ignore the O.T. and thereby the Jewish heritage of their faith, it may be said with verifiable accuracy that the Bible is a Jewish book. I am speaking not just of the O.T., but the N.T. as well. If that bold statement does not immediately settle well with you, please consider the following: Jesus was a Jew; the twelve apostles were Jews; the writers of the 27 books of the N.T. (with the possible exception of Luke) were Jews, Jews steeped in O.T. doctrine, mindset, and culture. Even if we were to try, we cannot entirely ignore the cultural milieu of Scripture being essentially Hebraic. Without in any way diminishing the incomparable universal and eternal impact of Christianity, or slighting any other culture, when the Bible is carefully studied from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, it must be concluded that the Bible is a Hebrew book. I would like to support that claim from John 15:1, where Jesus proclaims Himself to be “the true vine,” a N.T. metaphor that is directly connected to the O.T. use of “The Branch.”

NAS John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

NAS Isaiah 4:2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.

“Vine” and “Branch,” two different but intimately connected metaphors describing the same Person.

Since we are dealing centrally with metaphor in this study, allow me to clarify what a metaphor is. My computer defines metaphor as “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money) broadly.” A metaphor is figurative language. The Branch is a metaphor, as are the almost synonymous terms, vine, shoot, and sprout. The tree or plant image of a branch, vine, shoot, or sprout is used in Scripture in place of believers (John 15:1-11), the nation of Israel (Isaiah 60:21), and, as this study proves, the Messiah (Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12).

The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible writes of the metaphor The Branch, “Literally, a shoot or sprout from a tree or bush; figuratively, a messianic or other spiritual metaphor. It is used for the three sets of arms off the main shaft of the golden lamp-stand in the tabernacle (e.g., Ex 25:31–36) and for the palm fronds from which booths were constructed for the ancient Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:40–43).”

Expositor’s Bible Commentary makes a point that is helpful in understanding the biblical use of metaphors: “The Bible’s use of technical language reveals a tendency for words and phrases to begin in quite a lowly way but, through their use in various contexts, to gather more connotations and nuances as time goes by. ‘Branch’ is a good example of this (cf. “servant” in Isaiah chs. 42-53). In this way the depth of God’s purpose is progressively revealed.”

The Hebrew words translated “branch” are צֶמַח (tseh-mahk) and נֵצֶר (nets-err). The definitions of both are not esoteric. Both words simply mean sprout, shoot, growth. It is in the contexts in which these words are used that their ultimate meanings must be discovered.

Because it is so relevant in underscoring the importance of O.T. history in understanding N.T. words and passages, I quote again Baker’s notes on “branch”: “Metaphorically, the expression is found in passages where Israel is described as an olive tree (Hos 14:6), a cedar (Ezek 17:23), and a vine (v 6; cf. Ps 80:8–11). ‘Branch,’ with its implication of new growth, can signify prosperity (Gn 49:22; Jb 8:16; Ps 80:8–11; Ez 36:8). Branches can be cut or broken off; hence the word may depict judgment (Jb 18:16; Is 9:14; Jer 11:16). Such passages speak of withering, being cut, or being burned; all three ideas Jesus combined into one metaphor (Jn 15:6). In a similar way, the apostle Paul wrote that “those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they didn’t believe God” (Rom 11:19–21).”

Going back to John 15, when Jesus said He was the “true vine,” He was drawing upon a wealth of O.T. passages emphasizing a primary role of the Messiah that surely would have resonated among His largely Jewish audience. It should not be missed that Jesus began His discourse on the intimate relationship of the braches (true believers) to the vine (Himself) with these words (word order is usually emphatic and illuminating in both Greek and Hebrew). Not only was He positing an easy-to-understand and memorable metaphor in the minds of His hearers, who were immediately 12 Jews, but He was, as He did numerous times throughout His earthly ministry, claiming to fulfill O.T. prophecy (cf. Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). The true vine was unmistakably compared to the false vine of Israel.

When we remember that the ancient Hebrews were largely agrarian people, it should not surprise us the O.T. frequently spoke in biological, herbaceous, and agricultural terms of branches, vines, or sprouts. Although different Hebrew words are employed, it may be said that the words basically refer to the same idea, that is, abundant renewal that would come to revive unfaithful Israel and bring blessings to all other nations. It is essential to understand that the nation of Israel, as God’s chosen people (cf. Deuteronomy 14:2), was first intended to be that fertile branch, vine, or shoot. As God’s chosen people Israel was to be God’s to bring renewal and hope to the entire world (Gen 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; Psalms 67, 96). In great part they failed their special mission. Psalm 80 vividly and sadly describes both the intended purpose of the bountiful metaphor of a vine and what history and Scripture show has been its tragic reality:

NAS Psalm 80:8-16 Thou didst remove a vine from Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations, and didst plant it. 9 Thou didst clear the ground before it, And it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow; And the cedars of God with its boughs. 11 It was sending out its branches to the sea, And its shoots to the River. 12 Why hast Thou broken down its hedges, So that all who pass that way pick its fruit? 13 A boar from the forest eats it away, And whatever moves in the field feeds on it. 14 O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech Thee; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, 15 Even the shoot which Thy right hand has planted, And on the son whom Thou hast strengthened for Thyself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Thy countenance.

Psalm 80 describes the false vine to which Jesus is contrasting Himself to in John 15:1 (see also Isaiah 5:1-7). Israel was supposed to be a “choice vine” (Jeremiah 2:20-22; “noble” – NKJ; “select” – NET). Instead, it became the “useless vine” (Ezekiel 15:1-8; 19:10-14; note especially the direct connection to John 15:1-11 in Ezekiel’s vine/branches language, underscoring again the O.T.’s influence on the N.T.). Knowing these O.T. facts cannot help but bring clarity and dynamism to our N.T. studies.

Ultimately, of course, the metaphor of both the vine and the branch refers to Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ. Once more I use Baker’s words: “The major use of such symbolism refers to the Davidic Messiah. Although that use of “branch” actually stems from the prophetic period, its roots go much farther back. The concept was used with reference to an influential figure, such as a king’s personal servant (Gn 40:9–13), the patriarch Joseph (49:22), Job (Jb 29:19), or the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar (Dn 4:12). Passages such as 2 Samuel 23:4 and Psalm 132:17 speak of the Davidic line as “growing” or “sprouting forth” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew verbs there). Finally, images of agricultural prosperity were used of promised blessings of the messianic age (cf. Lv 26 with the prophetic passages of Isaiah and Jeremiah). Thus it is understandable how the term “branch” could become a technical designation for the Messiah.”

Isaiah 4:2 is the first occurrence of “branch” as a title referring the Messiah. Although some scholars insist this is a reference to Israel, a careful reading of the chapter and what is relevant in chapter 11, makes this highly unlikely.

Isaiah 11:1 adds a Davidic dimension to Isaiah 4:2 and further supports a Messianic rather than a national interpretation of “The Branch”:

NKJ Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

The next verse, I believe you’ll agree, clearly settles the question of Isaiah intention in the identity of the branch:

NAS Isaiah 11:2 And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Although “Branch” is never used as a title for the Lord in the N.T., when one considers the rich O.T. background of the metaphor in the context of John 15:1’s “Vine,” it is all but inescapable that the two terms are identical. Additional support for this thesis may be found in the central use of palm branches in the triumphal entry of Jesus as King into Jerusalem in John 12:13, and most likely in the complimentary titles of “Righteous One” in Acts 3:14 and 7:52 (cf. James 5:6) and “Just One” in Acts 22:14. Both terms point to the One who would spring up out of dryness (cf. Isaiah 53:2) and blossom and grow.

Over the centuries of Bible study scholars have also noted one further point of interest with the metaphor “The Branch” that is captivating. Though enigmatic and less than certain, Jesus being called a “Nazarene” is not without substance in this discussion.

NAS Matthew 2:23 and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

When the word “Nazarene” is studied, there arises the intriguing possibility that the place where Jesus grew up might be a direct connection to “The Branch.” The reasons for this educated speculation stems (get it?) from the word “Nazareth.” Even though Nazareth is one of the rare examples of a N.T. person, place, or thing that does not have a corresponding source in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Word “Nazareth” itself prompts serious evaluation. As mentioned above, one of the Hebrew words for “branch” is נֵצֶר (nets-air), which some experts believe is as an allusion to the “branch” because in Isaiah 11:1 and other references נֵצֶר (nets-air) is similar to “Nazarene.” The Bible is replete with word plays. The Branch may have grown and blossomed in a place called “Branch.”

As we have seen in this brief but revealing study, agricultural metaphors are used throughout the O.T. and carry over in significant ways into the N.T., clarifying and enriching our understanding of the things Jesus said and did. The metaphor of a magnificent, opulent branch with its greenness and spreading growth is an appropriate image of the Messiah.

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm