You should see my backyard. It’s a more pertinent place for
a botanist or a scientist than a homeowner or a Frisbee player. There once was
a day when this prickly, weed-infested junkyard was a lusciously soft, green
backyard. Now, though, I could almost picnic under the umbrella-sized mushrooms
that have sprouted back there. The blades of grass are sadly outnumbered by the
less cordial weedy folks. I mow it, but it’s kind of like trimming my facial
hair… it’s a lost cause… it’s like organizing the contents of a trash can. My
point is, I don’t have much of a “green thumb”. I can do lots of things, but
growing facial hair and reviving a dead lawn are not listed in my repertoire. I
need someone’s help.
* * *
Anyway…
I’m reading through the Bible. I would encourage all of my readers to do the
same. It has radically changed my understanding of who God is and who I am. (As
a parenthetical side-note: Atheistic Bystander, I’m talking to you. Bored
Christian, I’m talking to you. Complacent Pastor, I’m talking to you.) Anyway,
as I was reading I came across this little snippet:
“Listen
to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of
things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. Now look at
the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets [or eyes]. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day”
(Zechariah 3:8-9).
I understand that this is coming from Zechariah’s vision in
a long list of, honestly, a sort of mind-numbingly long list of prophets in the
Bible. But this was one of those moments that inattentive readers have when
their eyes are glazing over the text and suddenly a word (or words) jump out
and kiss them on the cheek. This time, for me it was God’s words: “my servant,
the Branch.” This is what God spoke through Zechariah: he was going to bring
his servant who is a… is a… Branch. Not a politician, or a warrior, or an
“Italian Stallion” like the Rocky movies? A branch? A Branch with a capital B?
So,
my first thought was, What is this Branch.
I’ll take the Reader on the same journey of inquiry through which I meandered. Let’s
look at the biblical references chronologically. First we must go back in time
as Zechariah was not the first to mention the Branch. In about 700 B.C., Isaiah
wrote that the Branch is a someone. He will be “beautiful and glorious” and
that he will come from David’s family (4:2). He, in reference to Messiah, goes
on to say later that the Lord’s “servant” will grow up “like a tender green
shoot” (11:1). Approximately one-hundred years later, Jeremiah planted the
motif by saying, “I will raise up a tsemach tsaddiq [a righteous Branch] from David’s line. He will be a
King who rules with wisdom.” (23:5). About one-hundred more years after
Jeremiah’s prophecy, Zechariah claimed that this Servant Branch will build the
temple of the Lord, become king, and serve as high priest (Zech. 6:12). We’ve gone
full circle. That’s only a couple of several references to the Branch over the
course of about 200 to 250 years of biblical prophecy.
So, just to clarify… This Servant Branch comes from:
A.
David’s family
B.
God’s family
and
C.
The ground
And this Servant Branch person does three things:
1.
Serves
2.
Builds the Temple
3.
Becomes King and Priest
* * *
This
is the point of contention. What you’re about to read splits Orthodox Jews from
Messianic Jews, Mormons from Catholics, and Muslim from Christians. The
remainder of this conversation I want to have with you, Reader, is built upon
the foundational principles of what it means to be a Jesus Follower, a
Christian. Either way, I believe you will undergo a fundamental life-change
after reading this. These words cut and heal; they’re divisive and remedial;
they warn and cuddle us at the same time.
Who is the Branch to
whom these ancient prophets were referring?
Could it be Jesus? I’ve read, admittedly almost exclusively,
the New Testament my entire life and so, naturally, I assumed these ancient
prophecies were in reference to Jesus. It’s like reading the end of a book
first. So… are they talking about Jesus? It sounds a lot like him to me…
A.
Jesus is a part of David’s lineage (Matt 1:1)
B.
Jesus is God’s son (Matt 3:17)
C.
Jesus rises from the “heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40)
…
and He said…
1.
“I have come not to be served but to serve”? (Matt 20:28)
2.
“I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18); “I will rebuild the temple” (Matt
26:61, John
2:19… and don’t Christians call church the “body of Christ”?)
3.
“I AM the Messiah,” as he was chosen by God to be the priest in the order of Melchizedek,
he interceded for us, offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins,
and rose again to be the head of the church (Mark 14:62, 15:2, John 4:26;
cf. John 18:36; Heb. 4:14- 5:10; 7:15-28).
Jesus is the Servant Branch. He is the One. He is the
Messiah. He fulfilled God’s plan by coming to the earth as a human, dying as
the only acceptable propitiation for our sins, rising again to build the church
and send his Spirit to guide us. Jesus fulfilled the old prophecy laid before
him. Jesus said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer
and die and rise from the dead on the third day.” (Luke 24:46). He has served
us, he has rebuilt us, he has become King over us and has become the ultimate
Priest. What an unfathomably generous and expansive gift! It’s an offensive
love. It’s too much.
But… here’s where the Good News gets even better…
Who are we according
to God? Who does our King say we
are?
Jesus said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches…For apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5
NLT, emphasis added). Paul, an apostle of Jesus, said, “God made him who had no
sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,”
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). Did you read that? Oh my goodness!
Whoa. Now this is starting to sound really weird, though. I
mean, He’s the Branch but we’re branches? He’s God but he became sin; he’s a
lush, green prairie that became a weed-infested, waterless wasteland. For us?
What’s going on here?
Jesus gave us a green thumb. He passed on his ability to be
a branch of God. We are the servant branches as well, now.
Jesus fulfilled everything and extended the work of God by
anointing all of us who follow him as co-heirs… or shall we say, co-Branches
(Colossians 1, Romans 8:17). We, like Christ, through God’s mercy alone, are
given the opportunity to become the fulfillment of God’s plan. We, too, can
become prophets, priests, and kings. No, I’m not saying that we are our own
gods or that we become Jesus. I am simply relaying the message, called the
Gospel, that is spelled out on every page of the Bible. When Messiah was raised
from the dead and then left the earth, God glorified himself by giving us his
Spirit (Luke 24:49, John 20:22, c.f. Ezekiel 36:27). It was his plan all along.
We, then, continue to fulfill God’s plan:
A.
David’s lineage becomes extended; it’s no longer about a family name (1 Cor 1:2,
Gal 3:7, Eph 2:19)
B.
We are adopted into God’s family (Eph 1, 2:19, 3:6, Rom 8:15, 2 Tim 1:7, etc.)
C.
We are (and will be) raised up from the ground (John 5:28-29, 6:39, Acts 24:15)
And, we become “like Christ” by becoming….
1.
Servants: “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from
the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old
way of the written code,” (Romans 7:6 NIV).
2.
Temples: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and
that the Spirit of God is in you?... For God’s temple is holy, and you are
that temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
3.
Prophets: “But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives – especially
the ability to prophecy,” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Kings: “And just as my
Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right
to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29-30); “And you have
caused them [the people of God] to become a Kingdom of priests for our
God. And they will reign on the earth,” (Revelation 5:10).
Priests: “You are
royal priests [a royal priesthood], a holy nation, God’s very own
possession,”(1 Peter 2:9).
* * *
So,
it’s kind of like God has made me a green thumb, a professional gardener. It’s
like God has sent someone to my house, named Jesus, who has cleaned up my
backyard, planted grass seed, killed the weeds, and planted flowers that
brighten up the yard. It’s like I’ve been given a special ability, through no
power of my own, to maintain this new lush garden of mine. Now, as for my lack
of facial hair… I’m not sure how that fits in with the analogy… it’s just funny
and awkward. There’s probably no hope.
Jesus
said, “I am the vine and you are branches.” Those salvific words carried more
weight with more valuable implications than we might ever realize. When we
recognize that God has forgiven us already through Christ’s death, that he has
adopted us into his family, that he has given us his Spirit, suddenly life
becomes more than finding your “inner happiness” or just evolution’s next step
towards the last man, the superhuman. Christians understand that the Superhuman
(eschatos-man) has already come! His
name is Jesus and he has fulfilled “everything in every way” and has enabled us
to continue the journey (1 Corinthians 15:45). He is the Branch. We are
branches. Let us be planted by streams of living water so that we might grow
for the glory of God (Psalm 1:1). He said, “I sent you a harvest where you
didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather
the harvest.” (John 4:38). Jesus is our Planter and we gather his harvest.
