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Salvation and Rejoicing Under the Messiah’s ReignIsaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind I
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4, 5. What did Isaiah prophesy regarding the coming of the Messiah, and what application of Isaiah’s words did Matthew apparently make?
4 Centuries before Isaiah’s time, other Hebrew Bible writers pointed to the coming of the Messiah, the true Leader, whom Jehovah would send to Israel. (Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:18; Psalm 118:22, 26) Now through Isaiah, Jehovah adds further details. Isaiah writes: “There must go forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout will be fruitful.” (Isaiah 11:1; compare Psalm 132:11.) “Twig” and “sprout” both indicate that the Messiah will be the descendant of Jesse through his son David, who was anointed with oil as king of Israel. (1 Samuel 16:13; Jeremiah 23:5; Revelation 22:16) When the true Messiah arrives, this “sprout,” from the house of David, is to produce good fruit.
5 The promised Messiah is Jesus. The gospel writer Matthew alluded to the words of Isaiah 11:1 when he said that Jesus’ being called “a Nazarene” fulfilled the words of the prophets. Because he was brought up in the town of Nazareth, Jesus was called a Nazarene, a name apparently related to the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 11:1 for “sprout.”b—Matthew 2:23, footnote; Luke 2:39, 40.
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Salvation and Rejoicing Under the Messiah’s ReignIsaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind I
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b The Hebrew word for “sprout” is neʹtser, and for “Nazarene” is Nots·riʹ.
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