“Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” – Isaiah 55:13

There is an old joke about being a thorn among roses … or was that rose among thorns?

Whatever the word order, the truth is the same. In the midst of roses, there are always thorns and wherever the thorny protrusions of rose branches appear, eventually a bud and a bloom with emerge to become a rose.

Jesus was the twisted rod from the stem of Jesse.  “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)

What attracts us to Jesus is not physical appearance nor earthly impressiveness. It is not His natural charisma, nor His political connections. The Bible does not describe these. It does not mention the tenor of His voice, the size of His physique, the color of His eyes, nor His natural talents.

He was  the twisted branch of whom it has been sung …

“Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.”

And again …

“This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.”

The cross was hewed from such rugged wood out of which has bloomed life-giving forgiveness and eternal grace.

Thorns purposefully planted, give way to things of beauty.