I AM the Root and the Bright Morning Star

Welcome! Today we continue our I AM series, where we seek to deepen our understanding of the I AM statements of Jesus. This is our next-to-last message in this series; next week, we will look at the statement of Jesus as being The Word.

Today’s I AM statement comes from Revelation chapter 22, the final chapter of the Bible:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” – Rev. 22:16

This verse is kind of a two-for-one deal, as we have two titles of Jesus: First, the Root and the Offspring of David, and second, the bright Morning Star.

Let’s start with the first title. I am the Root and the Offspring of David. The root is something that comes before; the offspring is something that comes after. How can this be?

We of course know the answer – Jesus is God; He is eternal. He is the Messiah. The issue of Jesus’ identity was the core issue that led to His crucifixion. The Jewish leaders had been jealous of Jesus for some time, but this hatred grew to a fever pitch when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I want to read the account of Jesus’ entry from Matthew, along with what happened immediately after this. Notice how these are all connected, how the people treat Jesus, and how the leaders respond. This is from Matthew 21.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” – Matt. 21:6-11

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” – Matt. 21:12-13

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked Him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants You, Lord, have called forth Your praise’?” – Matt. 21:14-16

“Your” praise. Jesus is clearly identifying Himself as the Messiah, but He is also identifying Himself as God, as the object of worship. “Hosanna” in the original Hebrew meant, “Please, save us!” and this was contained in the idea, but it was more than a prayer for salvation – it was an expression of adoration and worship. Hosannas to anyone but God would have been considered idolatry.

This brings me back to my question: How can Jesus be the Root and the Offspring of David, one that follows after David but yet one that comes before? Again, our answer is that Jesus is the Eternal God, one of three Persons in the Trinity of God. But the Pharisees and priests are not ready to hear this.

Jesus presents this question to the Pharisees in Jerusalem during his final few days before the crucifixion, shortly after the events we have just read. The account is found in Matthew, Luke and Mark. We will continue on in Matthew, in Chapter 22.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. – Matt. 22:41-42

This is just the start. The Pharisees seemingly give this answer together, as it is obvious. And to them it was obvious. But they thought it meant that the Messiah was only the offspring of David, not the Root. But the thing is, when you look at the passages describing the Messiah as the offspring of David, it becomes obvious that He is far more than just a man. For example, look at this passage from Isaiah 11:

A Shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. – Is. 11:1-5

Jesse was David’s immediate father. And so this passage shows that this messiah figure will indeed come after David. Jesse is referred to a stump because of the context of Isaiah – one of his main themes of Isaiah is that Judah and Jerusalem will finally fall as a result of their ongoing sin and disregard for the Lord. The promised land will be taken away from them! David, the son of Jesse, was the one who had at last taken Israel from her various enemies. The Jews understood Messiah would be one who took it back again, a kind of “second” David, and so the term “the son of David” meant more than just genealogy, although it meant that too. It meant that the Messiah would do what David had done.

The passage is encouraging: out of this stump of Jesse, out of the fallen line of kings who did not serve God and sinned greatly, after the great fall of Israel and of Judah, would come a Branch, or Shoot, one that would bear fruit. The description is of the Messiah, the one on whom the Spirit would rest, a sneak preview of Jesus’ baptism when the Spirit, in the form of a dove, rests on Jesus, and God says, “This is My Son, whom I love.” And the passage describes the Messiah as judge – a good judge, a righteous judge, and a judge who also metes out punishment upon the wicked. And note that He is described as far more than human – it says that with just His breath, He would slay the wicked. Whether this was meant to be taken literally or figuratively (the latter, I’m sure the Pharisees thought), it meant that the Messiah had power far beyond that of a mere man.

Here is another passage on the Messiah, Son of David:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David [from David’s line] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior. – Jer. 23:5-6

Again, this Messiah figure comes from David, again He is called a Branch, again He is King. And again, He is more than a man – He is described as Lord – a term reserved for God – and as Savior, together a title more than worthy of Hosannas. It is obvious to us that this refers to Jesus. The Jewish leaders should have seen this as well – they knew these passages! Indeed, the Pharisees were experts in Scripture – or to be more precise, they were experts in reading and discussing Scripture. On the other hand, following it, obeying it, repenting as it pointed out their sins, not so much. But they knew what the Scripture said.

There are many other passages we could consider but let us go on with the account of Jesus in Matt. 22. Recall that Jesus asked the Pharisees what they thought about the Messiah, and whose son He was. They replied that He was the Son of David. Here is how the passage continues:

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions. – Matt. 22:43-46

How could David’s son be David’s Lord? The Pharisees immediately knew the passage that Jesus was quoting. This comes from Psalm 110. This is a Psalm “of David.” Let’s read from it:

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, Your young men will come to You like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of His wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. – Ps. 110:1-6

David calls this future son of David, his Lord! And there is no question that David is talking about the Messiah. We see the same kind of holy battle scene that we saw in our earlier passages today. And he is called a priest. A king that is also a priest? That goes against the Law of Moses. But preceding the Law of Moses we see the example of Melchizedek, a king who is also serving as a priest, one to whom Abraham gave an offering or tribute. Note again that the Messiah figure is more than a man. Not only does He transcend the Law of Moses, being a warrior, king, and priest, but He is a priest forever; that is, He is eternal. The Jewish leaders, and the priests in particular, probably didn’t like to think about this Psalm. It said that there was a priest who would serve as priest forever. The implication was that the present priesthood, the ancient priesthood that went all the way back to the time of Moses, was, in contrast, temporary. It was indeed more temporary than they realized, as the whole thing would end a few decades later, in AD 70.

And so we see that the idea that Jesus is the Root and Offspring of David was not really a new concept in Revelation. We see Jesus explaining this to the Jewish leaders shortly before the Crucifixion, but the idea is actually spelled out in the later prophets and even goes back to David’s own writings. The very title that the Jewish leaders rejected, should be one that we, as believers, rejoice in. We should want to join in with the children shouting Hosanna’s to our Savior, King, and God.

I want to point out that the Isaiah and Jeremiah passages we looked at today (Is. 11:1-5 and Jer. 23:5-6) specifically call the Messiah a branch, or, equivalently, shoot, a word that can also be described as offspring, but which means much more. In the Is. 11 passage, the word used is Netzer, a word closely tied to Nazareth! And Jesus is called the Nazarene, for He grew up in Nazareth.

Here is another passage that describes Jesus as the Branch:

“‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. – Zech. 3:8-9

Again, the Messiah figure The “stone” is likely Jesus, elsewhere called the “cornerstone” who is described as having seven eyes in Rev. 5:

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” - Rev. 5:6-10

And so the Messiah in Zehariah is called the Servant, and the Branch, and the Stone, which I think is meant to be reference to the Cornerstone. And indeed, God did remove the sin of the land in a single day, when Jesus went to the cross for our sins.

The “branch,” or offspring, is also used in Zech. 6:

‘Here is the Man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 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 on His throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ – Zech. 6:12b-13

Again, we see the term the Branch, and we see the joint roles of king and priest. I believe that “The Temple of the Lord” is not primarily referring to a physical Temple, but instead to the church universal, to the body of believers who have given themselves to Him and follow Him. Through them He indeed “branches out from his place” and salvation goes from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and then to all the ends of the earth.

I could say much more, but we have a second title of Jesus to investigate. Here again is our opening passage from Rev. 22:

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” – Rev. 22:16

What does it mean that Jesus is the Bright Morning Star? Astronomically speaking, the morning star refers to Venus, the brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon. Venus always appears in the east before sunrise, or west after sunset. It never appears overhead at midnight. At present, Venus rises at 6:09 am, reaches its peak at 1:03 pm (when it is not visible, due to the sun shining and overpowering it), and sets at 7:58 pm. The sun presently rises at 6:21 am (12 minutes after Venus rises) and sets at 8:28 pm (30 minutes after Venus sets, meaning that Venus’ morning rising is much more visible than its evening setting at present).

Again, I want to look at some Old Testament passages referring to the “star of the morning.” Our first passage is from Isaiah 14:

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. – Is. 14:12-20

Is this referring to Jesus? Certainly not! This is Lucifer, who is said elsewhere to appear as an angel of light. But isn’t Jesus the bright morning star? Yes. Jesus is the true bright morning star. Satan, always the great imitator of Jesus, imitates Christ in this way (and does so quite poorly, I might add).

“Morning stars” can be symbolic of heavenly beings (and recall that Lucifer was an angel). Job 38 gives us this description of creation (God is talking):

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? – Job 38:4-7

In one of Balaam’s prophecies, he refers to the Messiah coming at a future time, and uses “star” symbolism to do this. From Numbers 24:

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. – Num. 24:17a

That Jesus is associated with a star is demonstrated by the star that the Magi followed to see the baby Jesus. From Matt. 2:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” – Matt. 2:1-2

But what is the meaning behind Jesus as the Bright Morning Star? Why is this one of His titles? The answer is in the verse immediately after this verse in Revelation. Here it is, with the verse we have been looking at this morning:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” – Rev. 22:16-17a

Let us say it now: Come! The Bright Morning Star is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ coming. When does the star come? In the morning, when it is still dark. But its coming tells you that night is over, and the day begins. Spiritually speaking, we are currently in the night. But when Jesus, the Bright Morning Star comes, we know that day is upon us, that the reign of Satan on earth is over, and that an eternity with Christ in the New Heavens and the New Earth awaits us. He is indeed the Bright Morning Star.

Now I want to finish today by going back to the idea of Jesus as the Root. Now trees and plants have multiple kinds of root systems. The kind you are probably most familiar with is when roots are isolated to each plant, and the plant spreads through seeds that grow up new, independent plants. Think of carrots, for example – you can pull up one carrot from your garden without all of the other carrots coming up with them.

Now, the Greek word for root is riza, and although the word is used figuratively and literally in a variety of ways in Scripture, from a botanical point of view, going all the way back to the Greek, the word riza referred to a root system that is not independent, but instead, interdependent. And today, in botany we use the word rhizome, which comes from that root word (pun intended) riza.

What is a rhizome? A rhizome looks like a root, as it is a part of a plant that is underground, but more precisely, it is a subterranean plant stem. Unlike true roots, which grow vertically, deeper and deeper into the earth, rhizomes grow horizontally, maintaining a fixed depth. In plants that have rhizomes, true roots grow down from the rhizome, and shoots grow up from it, breaking the surface, and giving the appearance of being independent plants. But the plants are not independent; they remain connected via the rhizome.

Some rhizomes are edible; ginger is an example of a rhizome that we eat. Another example is the horseradish that we ate together during the Passover service a few weeks ago. For the casual gardener, rhizomes may not be your friend, because they spread underground and are both difficult to contain and difficult to eliminate. We had a beautiful flowering cherry tree at our house but had to cut it down because as its roots grew it became a danger to the foundations of our house. But underground it created an extremely dense mat of material that not only still sends up shoots years later, but also makes it difficult for anything else to grow. Blackberry bushes also have rhizomes, and we have found them able to travel under our driveway and pop up in our lawn. Crepe myrtles are also rhizomes, and although we have never planted any at our house, we have them now thanks to the wandering rhizomes from our neighbors’ plants. In terms of their ability to spread, perhaps the most impressive rhizomes are bamboo and aspens. We are all familiar with bamboo, but aspens maybe less so, as they don’t grow here. But in Colorado and surrounding states, entire aspen forests are connected through their rhizomes. And some of these aspen rhizome root systems are known to be thousands of years old. If you are looking for a Biblical example, look at the olive tree. Why are they in groves? Because olive trees also have rhizomes.

Plants connected by rhizomes share nutrients and therefore are better able to withstand drought. And rhizomes also protect plants from forest fires. The upper matter, the visible part of trees and plants, may burn, but the rhizomes are protected, and new plants shoot up from them a short time after the fire has ended.

I think rhizomes are a powerful symbol of our collective relationship with Jesus. A plant is connected to other plants via the rhizomes; in the same way, believers in a community are connected to one other – and to Jesus Himself – via Jesus, our rhizome. A plant has resilience and energy stores that are not apparent because they are fed and strengthened in and through the rhizomes; in the same way, believers have resilience and power that are not from or in themselves, but through and in Christ. And a mature plant may appear to only be a few decades old, but in fact its rhizome may have been around for centuries or millennia; in the same way, those who are in Christ are not only connected to Jesus the Incarnate one, but they are also connected to Jesus who was present at the creation of the Universe.

And with that, let us look at our main passage one last time:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” – Rev. 22:16-17a

Come, Lord Jesus!