The Sunday before Christmas, Tim concludes our series O Come O Come Emmanuel. This talk looks at the verse of the carol calling Jesus “Rod of Jesse”, as seen in the prophecy from Isaiah. Images of despair and destruction precede the passage read in this episode, a prophecy which ultimately came to pass in 722 BC, and in 587 BC, with foreign armies destroying Israel and capturing their people.
But the beginning of this passage encourages Israel to look for a shoot coming from the stump of Jesse – a new king from the line of Jesse and of David. That King is who we celebrate at Christmas – and who we look forward to his coming again – Jesus.