2nd Sunday of Advent: Roots and The Branch

I just sat down with a large cup of coffee.  The Christmas tree shines bright.  The house is quiet.  There is no hustle or bustle or hurry because we will have "sofa church" in about an hour and a half.

In my last post I blogged about the historic snow storm we had in north Georgia a couple of days ago.  The reason it was historic?  It was the largest snow storm we have had in this area in anyone living's memory - - in the month of December!  I made it home yesterday from my snowbound trip out of town, but last night, returning from a hospital visitation, the roads were once again treacherous.

This morning, at 8:26, it is bitterly cold outside. All the snow slush remains re-frozen.  Hence, many churches cancelled their services for today.  I'm grateful to be sitting here in the quiet, Advent candle lit, sipping my coffee as I wait in my PJs for our church's live broadcast over Facebook - - - aptly called "sofa church".  By 10:00, Hubster will have joined me on the couch.  God is good!

Today's Advent scripture is Zechariah 6:12-13, another Messianic prophecy, yet one not as familiar.  Here, the prophet refers to a future ruler and high priest called "The Branch".  There are other scripture verses which touch on this passage, and it is on several of those I want to concentrate this morning.

12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord.  13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest(C) on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

Do you have a nickname?  Usually, a nickname typifies something about the person.  For example, I knew a guy once named "Chip", which referred to "a chip off the old block".  The family called him that because his familial name was horrid, and because they wanted to remind the child and everyone else that he sprang from his dad (the old block, lol)! 
The names of Jesus in the Bible, both those attributed to Him in OT prophecy and those He and others gave Him in the NT, do the same thing.  They describe some aspect of who Jesus is.

1.   Why is the Messiah called "the Branch" here in vs. 12, and what is meant by "branch out from his place"? 
Jesus was born into obscurity, in the tiny town of Bethlehem, often called the City of David, because his earthly mother and her husband were of the house and ancestry of David.  But, from His obscure beginnings, He rose to tremendous, world-changing prominence. 
Elsewhere, Messiah is called the "root of Jesse" (David's father).  Look here in Isaiah 11 - - -

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2The 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.…

(vs. 1-2)

In Revelation, John reports that one of the heavenly beings (called "elders") refers to Jesus Christ as both the Lion of Judah's tribe and the "root of David":

Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

2.  Many of you know that Solomon built the first temple, and Nehemiah and crew built the second temple....what temple did Jesus build?

Jesus said in John 2:19 - - - "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

The Jews were confused by that assertion, but John clarifies for us in verse 21:

"But the temple He had spoken of was His body."

3.  In verse 13, we see God saying through Zechariah that Christ will sit and rule on His throne.  The implication is that this will be a physical rule which, as we all know, did not happen during Christ's earthly ministry.  However, it will happen when He returns.  The verse goes on to say that Christ will be, not only a king/ruler, but also a priest during his future reign.  Furthermore, Zechariah prophesies that between these two roles, there will be perfect harmony.  Two key passages to examine in this regard are Isaiah 11:9 and Revelation 20:1-10.  Here they are:

"...for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

Is. 11:9

1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

      4Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Rev 20:1-6

The Devil will be locked up during this 1000 year reign, and the true "one world religion" will be the truth of Jehovah God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And, we who are His (see Rev. 20:6) will also reign with Jesus during that 1000 years!  What in the world (pun intended)?  Can you even imagine? "Priests of Christ"?!  I truly can't.  But, I'm excited at the prospect.

There is so much more to explore here - - - Jesus' priesthood being after the order of Melchizedek (Genesis 14, Hebrews 7).  Melchizedek was an Old Testament king and priest, the king of "Salem", which was the early "Jerusalem".  But, we can delve into that at a later time.

As we journey on through Advent, I hope you are having a blessed season! 

Dear Father God, thank you for this new day and for the food you give us from your Word.  It is a blessing to study more about your Persons as we wait for the birth of Jesus during this Advent season. Today, please draw us deeper into Your heart, Your will for us, and make us more like our Savior, whose birth we long for in this Advent season.  In Jesus' name, amen.