“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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The Messiah is Not a Netzer, He is The Netzer
The Messiah grew up in Nazareth, but in all likelihood, it is not the town in Israel today called “Nazareth”. That’s a long story, so I won’t tell it here. In all likelihood, the place called “Gamla” in Israel today was called “Nazareth” during the Messiah’s day.
See “Gamla: History Unveiled” for details. You should explore the site. It contains a lot of good information.
The Messiah was called “the Nazarene”, because He lived in Nazareth. The name “Nazareth” is derived from the Hebrew word “netzer”. A netzer is a shoot from the root of an olive tree. It’s also called a “branch” of the olive tree. That’s why Isaiah and Jeremiah called Him “the Branch” and “the Shoot from the root of Jesse”.
The Messiah is not a netzer. He is the Netzer.
After the Messiah’s resurrection, His followers became a sect of Judaism. They were called “the Sect of the Nazarenes”. They were accepted as a sect in Judaism, even though the ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious leaders who controlled Judaism had conspired with the Roman occupiers of Israel to crucify the Netzer. The Sect of the Nazarenes was banned from synagogues during the ill-fated Bar Kochba Rebellion in the mid-2nd century AD. For details, See “The Trilogy”.
With that in mind, take a look at Isaiah 11: 1-5:
“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. He will delight in the fear of Yahweh, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also, righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the belt around His waist.” (Isaiah 11: 1-5)
Now, take a look at Jeremiah 23: 5-6:
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live securely; and this is His Name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh Our Righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
The Messiah is the Branch and the Shoot from the root of Jesse. His Name is Yahweh.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
