Eucharistic meditation

Matthew 2:23: He came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene.

As I mentioned in the sermon, Matthew is not quoting a particular passage here. Instead, he is alluding to various passages that describe the Messiah as a holy one and as the Davidic branch. Providentially, for those with eyes to see, Jesus’ hometown reveals His Messianic identity.

We need to remember the whole story-line of the Branch of David to get the idea. At the beginning of Isaiah, the Lord threatens to cut down all the lofty cedars and oaks that have exalted themselves in pride. He is going to devastate the forest of Israel.

The Davidic house is one of the proud trees that is going to be brought low. The Davidic tree is the tallest of Israel’s trees; it is the royal tree, in which all the birds of the air find nest. Because of the pride of the Davidic kings, however, the Lord will cut down the tree and leave only a stump.

But this is not the end of the story. When there is nothing but a dried up old stump, the Lord is going to start over again, and a shoot, a branch, is going to spring miraculously from the dead stump of Jesse’s house, and that branch will grow into a tree, a tree larger and higher than the Davidic tree ever had been, a tree in which all the birds under heaven and all the beasts of the earth will find rest, an imperial tree greater than the royal tree of David.

And this tree will be a tree of life, whose leaves will heal the nations and whose fruit will delight and nourish all peoples.

Jesus is that branch, now grown into a tree, now flourishing with fruit. He is the vine of the true Israel, rising from the dead stump of the Davidic vine in order to give us the rich food of this table. Jesus is that branch, for the prophets have said, He shall be called a Nazarene.