A few years ago, shortly after moving into the manse, I planted a frangipani tree in the backyard next to our neighbour’s fence. At first it grew well with some healthy leaves and even its first flower. I was looking forward to seeing more growth and flowers last year, but the frosts that hit the Barossa Valley in September 2024 changed all that. The frosts severely damaged the branches of the tree, and they began to die. To try to save the plant, I pruned the dying branches, replanted it in a large pot, and placed it under the front veranda of the manse to shelter it from more frosts.
Two of the frangipani’s three branches have turned brown and died. However, on the third branch, there is sign of life. A small new branch has begun to shoot, giving hope for more leaves and eventually some flowers. Even though it looked like the plant might die, the new branch indicates that there is still life and gives the promise of a healthy future for the plant.
When the prophet Jeremiah wrote the words of this week’s Old Testament reading, Jeremiah 23:1-6, it was looking to him as though the family tree of the great King David was dying. Many of the kings since David and Solomon had lost their way and were leading God’s people down paths which took them away from God, his goodness and his blessing. As we read their stories in 1 and 2 Kings, and in 2 Chronicles, we see kings who dedicated themselves to worshiping idols, who trusted their treaties with other nations more than they trusted God, and who used their power and authority more for their own benefit and control than to serve, protect and bless God’s people. These are the shepherds that Jeremiah said had “destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for” (v1 NLT). Because of what they had done, God allowed foreign nations to conquer his people and take them into exile. It looked to many that the family tree of David was just about dead, much like my frangipani tree after last year’s frosts.
However, just like the frangipani tree has shown that there is still life in it by shooting out a new branch, through Jeremiah God promised that he would raise up a new, “righteous Branch” (v5 NIV) from David’s royal family tree. Jeremiah goes on to promise that this king who is to come “will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land” (v5 NLT) and through his reign all of God’s people “will be saved” and “will live in safety” (v6 NLT).
This “righteous Branch”, the shepherd-king who would save God’s people by doing what is just and right, gather them from the nations and watch over them so they can live in safety, is Jesus. As we read Jesus’ family trees in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38, both versions trace Jesus’ ancestry back to King David. The Magi came to worship him as king in Matthew 2:1-12. More than a dozen times in the gospels, Jesus was called “son of David” which identified him as the shepherd-king God had promised through Jeremiah. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds welcomed him as the coming king (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13-15) and even Pontius Pilate identified him as the “king of the Jews” when the notice of the charge against him was nailed to Jesus’ cross (Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19).
Many people, both in Jesus’ time and our own, struggle to believe that Jesus is the “righteous Branch” who would rule as king because he is a very different kind of king to what we might expect. Jesus didn’t use rules, force or coercion to establish the just and righteous reign that Jeremiah prophesied. Instead, Jesus did what was just and right in humility and suffering. He saved his people and keeps us safe from everything that would harm us in our bodies, minds and spirits through his crucifixion and resurrection. Instead of establishing a worldly kingdom through power or control, Jesus established a spiritual kingdom in which he does what is just and right for us by giving his life for ours, forgiving us for our sin, loving us even though it cost him everything, and bringing us into new relationships with God and with each other through grace and mercy. Worldly kings or political leaders can’t exercise their authority this way, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense from an earthly point of view to establish a kingdom of grace and self-sacrificing love. That’s why Jesus said to Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). While worldly powers exercise power and control through the rule of law, Jesus, the righteous branch of King David’s family tree, does what is just and right by giving his life for us on the cross, defeating sin and death through his resurrection, reconciling us with our heavenly Father, and giving us a place where we can find shelter, safety and peace in his eternal spiritual kingdom through faith in him.
At times, we can become suspicious and cynical about our worldly political leaders. Like the Old Testament kings, they can seem to use their position and power for their own glory instead of the good of the people they serve. We can disagree with their positions and policies on a wide range of issues. We can be critical of what they do or disengage with the political process when we think we can’t make a difference. Having faith in Jesus as the righteous Branch of David who comes to do what is just and right can help us when we start to feel this way. It reminds us that we are part of God’s eternal kingdom of justice and righteousness through faith in Jesus because he rules over us as our king. Even though we might not see Christ’s kingdom at work, we can trust that the Kingdom of God is a hidden kingdom and Jesus is still at work, doing what is just and right in us and through us. This faith can motivate us to work for what is just and right in our world as members of Christ’s kingdom. Instead of growing cynical about earthly leaders, both in Australia and around the world, and disengaging from the political processes, we can get involved and work together for what is just and right as members of Christ’s kingdom in the world. At times we might have different ideas about exactly what that looks like, but when we trust in God’s justice and righteousness in Jesus and work for what is just and right, God’s Kingdom comes and Christ’s reign as the righteous Branch is extended in the world through us.
I will continue to watch the branch shooting from my frangipani tree in the hope that this new branch will produce healthy leaves and flowers. In a similar way, we can watch for the righteous branch of David’s family tree, Jesus our lord and king, who comes to us to do what is just and right in our lives and in the world through us, now and into eternity.
More to think about or discuss:
- Have you ever had a plant that looked like it was dying but shot out a new branch? How did you react when you saw it? How can new branches give us hope?
- What does it mean to you that Jesus comes as our king to do what is just and right? What might that look like in our time and place? What might that look like in our lives?
- As a citizen of Christ’s kingdom, how can you work with God & other believes to do what is just & right in your life? In our local community? In the world?
Pastor Eugene Online 
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