Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Second Sunday in Advent

And a Rod will emerge from the root of Jesse, and a Flower will come up from the root. And God’s spirit will rest on Him, a spirit of wisdom and intelligence, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety. He will fill Him with a spirit of the fear of God; He will not judge according to reputation or reprove according to speech. Rather, He will render fair judgment to a humble one, and He will reprove the humble of the land; and He will strike the land with the word of his mouth, and with breath through His lips He will destroy ungodly things. And He will be girded at the waist with righteousness and enclosed with truth at his sides. And a wolf will feed together with a lamb, and a leopard will rest with a kid, and a little calf and a bull and a lion will feed together, and a small young child will lead them. And an ox and a bear will feed together, and they will be together with their young, and a lion will eat straw like an ox. And an infant child will lay its hand on an asp’s hole and on a bed of asps’ offspring. And they shall surely do no wrong, nor will they be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain because the whole land was filled with knowing the Lord, as much water covers the seas. And in that day there will be the Root of Jesse and the One who rises up to rule nations; nations will put their hope in Him, and His repose will be honor. (Isaiah 11:1–10 LXX)

Properly speaking, there is only one man who may take away their reproach. Who is that man? Jesus, who according to the flesh rose out from the root of Jesse, “made from the seed of David according to the flesh, predestined Son of God in power according to the spirit of justification.” Indeed, “a rod rose out from the root of Jesse.” This rod is not the “firstborn of all creation.” This rod is not he who “in the beginning was with God, God the Word,” but the rod from the root of Jesse who was born according to the flesh. Therefore, “a rod rose out from the root of Jesse, and a flower came up out of his root.” Who is the flower, and what is the root? For both are one in the very subject. The difference, however, is of labors. For if you are a sinner, the flower is not for you, nor will you see the flower, who is from the root of Jesse; for the rod will come also to you in the same way as the disciple speaks of the rod and the flower. Indeed, about the rod he says: “What do you wish? Should I come to you with a rod?” But indeed, about the flower: “Or in the love of God and in the spirit of gentleness?” Therefore, a rod rose out from the root of Jesse for the one who is beaten with punishments, a rod for the one who is in need of rebuke, a rod for the one who has a need to be reproved. But indeed, a flower for the one who has already been instructed and is not in need of stern correction or certainly is not in need of punishments but has the strength now to begin to flower toward a perfect fruit. For first a flower is shown; then, after the flower, a rod is made into a fruit. “A rod rose out from the root of Jesse, and a flower arose out of his root.”

Origen, Homilies on Isaiah 3.1

And there shall be on that day clearly indicates that it will be during the prophesied time that this one who shall be raised “from the root of Jesse” himself shall arise, clearly indicating the resurrection from the dead, after which the “rulers and leaders of the nations” and nations shall hope in Him. For the king will not be from the Jews, as David and his successors were. But He will conquer Israel’s narrow quarters, and He will rule everywhere on the earth. And nations shall hope in Him, thus fulfilling the prophecy which was spoken by Moses: “A ruler shall not be wanting from Judah and a leader from his thighs, until the things stored up for Him come, and he is the expectation of nations.” And he brings the verse to a conclusion by saying: and His rest shall be honor, or, in the very apt phrase of Aquila and Symmachus: and his rest shall be glory. For after informing us about His first advent and birth among people and about everything in between until such an end as will be, he states: and His rest shall be glory. Not even mentioning His death, he speaks of His rest as glory and honor. For that was the end of our Savior’s dispensation among people. Our Savior Himself proved this when He said in the prayer to His Father: “Father, glorify Me with the glory which I had with you before the world was made.”

Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah 11