Section 882
II. He is further described by his lineage and descent, the son of Jesse
He is not described here as the son of Abraham (of whose seed the Jews generally boasted they were), in whom all the nations of the earth were blessed; nor is he described as being of the tribe of Judah, the honourable tribe of Judah, from whom the Messiah was to spring; but he is called the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. Bethlehem was but a small town, or city, and the family of Jesse, in that city or town, seems of no great note: hence Saul asks his servants, whom he suspected to carry on a private conference with David, "Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds"? (1 Samuel 22:7). So Nabal, when applied to at sheep-shearing by David's servants, Who is David? (says he) And who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master (1 Samuel 25:10). I suppose this must he some runaway man or other. Of so little note were David and his family. Yea, David suggests as much himself, when he says, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? (2 Samuel 7:18).
Now the Messiah is represented as one that should spring from Jesse: There shall come forth a rod out of the stern of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1). And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people (Isaiah 11:14); which is to be understood of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, and describes his low and mean estate by lineal descent.
The family of Jesse was raised to great grandeur in David and Solomon: and in after-times a numerous race of kings sprang from them, which ennobled that family, and made it very illustrious, to the times of the Babylonish captivity; but after that, they decreased quite to the times of the Messiah; and it was very low indeed then. The family of Jesse was like a tree cut down to the roots, scarcely any thing of it appeared above ground. Joseph, a poor carpenter, and Mary, a poor virgin, these were the remains of that once famous family from which the Messiah sprang; and they are both represented as very poor. They came to Bethlehem, to which they both belonged, to be taxed there. Mary's time drew near, and there she was delivered of her son: but there was no room for them in the inn, and we may be sure the reason was, because of their meanness; and at the time of her purification, she brought an offering of the meaner sort.
Christ was so mean, that he gave offence to the Jewish nation. They could not think that this person who sprang from them should be king of Israel. Is not this the carpenter's son? (say they) Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? and his sisters, are they not all with us? (Matthew 13:55, 56). Don't we know them all, what poor, mean persons they are? and they were offended. Such a low condition this family was in, when the Messiah was born: and he sprang from it, as a root out of a dry ground. His education was agreeable to his birth, He was brought up in an obscure place, Galilee; concerning which, Nathaniel says, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46). He had not been sent so much as to a private school, much less to a University; therefore he was upbraided with it afterwards. How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? (John 7:15). Never been at school. He was not only represented as the carpenter's son; but they say, Is not this the carpenter? (Mark 6:3). It seems he was brought up to trade. O, how low was our Lord brought in our room and stead! He was found in fashion as a man, and in the form of a servant. He who was Lord of all; he to whom the world belonged, and all the fulness of it; yet was obliged to some few persons for his support—Thus we see the wonderful, amazing grace of our Lord Jesus, "who, though he was rich, and Lord of all, yet for our sakes became poor; that we, through his poverty, might be made rich."