Five times in the Old Testament Jesus is referred to as "the Branch." The Hebrew word is tsemach meaning, "that which springeth up," "a sprout," "a shoot," or "an offspring." A tsemach is a young shoot newly sprouted from the ground.

  A late Phoenician inscription dating from the third century, B.C. contains the phrase tsemach sedek "the rightful shoot." It meant that the individual was the legitimate heir to the throne. A similar idea is found in the fifteenth century B. C. Ugaritic Keret epic. Tsemach is a technical term signifying a son as an heir. Thus the "Sprout of Yahweh" or "the son of Yahweh" is an obvious reference to Jesus, who was the Son of God by divine conception. Hebrews 7:14 is a reference to this messianic title "Branch." It says, "our Lord sprang out of (or sprouted from) from Judah."

  The question, as to why are there four Gospels, is answered as we consider these prophecies of "The Branch." These prophecies point out four major aspects of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. The prophets of old foretold of four aspects of the Promised Seed, the Coming Messiah. Let's look at the first in Jeremiah 23.

Jeremiah 23:5:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch [tsemach, offspring], and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

  This "righteous Branch" would be a descendant of David. He would inherit the throne of David and, as such, would be a king. This important quality of the Messiah, this righteous branch or offspring, is that he would be a king. In order for Jesus to be the Messiah, he would have to be a descendant of David, inherit the right to the throne, and come as a king to Israel. This is repeated and established in a second use in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 33:14 and 15:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
¹⁵ In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch [tsemach, offspring] of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

  Again Jeremiah foretells of the Messiah as a descendant of David, one who would execute judgment and righteousness as a king. This is the second prophecy in which the coming branch, the tsemach, is portrayed as a king descended from David. This king was not to be thought of as a Gentile King, one who reigns despotically. It is not like a Henry VIII or Louis the XIV. Rather, it was to be a shepherd king like David who was to care for God's people the right way.

Psalm 78:70-72:
He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
⁷¹ From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed [raah meaning to pasture, shepherd, feed, or care for] Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
⁷² So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

  That's how The Righteous Branch would reign, "he would feed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guide them by the skillfulness of his hands." This Jesus did do. Where do we read the royal genealogy that traced Jesus' descent from David? Right, in Matthew.

  By careful scrutiny we can see that the Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the kingly qualities of the Christ, the Messiah who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. That is why the genealogy in Matthew begins with Christ's royal genealogy from Abraham down through David and Solomon to Mary, tracing the royal lineage forward to Jesus the Christ, and clearly demonstrates his qualifications for inheriting the throne of David as a king.

  The term "Kingdom of Heaven" is found thirty-two times in Matthew's Gospel, while it is not found once in any of the other three Gospels. The Kingdom of Heaven was the reign of God's anointed king on earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is a segment of the overall Kingdom of God of which God is King. There are ten parables which are unique to Matthew, all of which depict aspects of life which are associated with a king. Many of the events recorded in Matthew emphasize Jesus' position as God's anointed king. The phrase "son of David," emphasizing his royal lineage, occurs more frequently in Matthew than in any other Gospel. The record of the Magi, or the wise men is recorded in Matthew. Remember they went first to Jerusalem seeking the "King of the Jews," bringing gifts fit for a king.

Matthew 2:1,2,11:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
² Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

  Zechariah foretells another aspect of the offspring or Branch.

Zechariah 3:8:
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH [tsemach].

  In this scripture, the coming branch or tsemach is called a servant. The position of a servant would be another aspect and characteristic of the Messiah. In studying the Gospel of Mark, we can see that this Gospel emphasizes Jesus Christ as a servant willing to accept responsibility in serving and helping others. Mark records no genealogy, neither does it mention the birth of Jesus Christ. This is significant because a servant does not gain his position by descent or birth. The Gospel of Mark basically begins with Christ's ministry. The word translated "lord" or "sir" (Greek: kurios) is used seventy-three times of Christ in the other three Gospels, but only three times in the Gospel of Mark. Mark puts great stress on Jesus' actions in the service of God to his fellow man.

  Zechariah also foretells a third characteristic of the tsemach, that the coming branch would be a man.

Zechariah 6:12:
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH [the tsemach]; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

  "Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH…." The Gospel of Luke sets forth the major characteristic of Jesus' humanity. It portrays Jesus Christ as a man, a human being with needs, emotions, and feelings like any other man. Thus, Jesus Christ the perfect man is Luke's overall emphasis. Luke 3:23-38 records Jesus' legal ancestry as a man, through Joseph who reared him, all the way back to Adam, the first man. This genealogy, unlike the royal genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew, begins with Jesus and goes chronologically in reverse, as is normally done in a commoner's genealogy. The entire Gospel of Luke emphasizes Jesus Christ's relationship with the common man. The relationships with his earthly family are noted. The detail regarding the birth of his cousin John the Baptist and his humble birth in a manger are recorded in Luke. His circumcision and barmitzvah are also in Luke. He is depicted as a friend of publicans and sinners. There are eleven parables unique to Luke, which emphasize the particularly human aspects of his life. He was the Son of man, the perfect man, full of human tenderness and compassion.

  The fourth and final aspect of "the branch" is recorded by Isaiah which shows the fourth major characteristic of his ministry would be that he was the son of God.

Isaiah 4:2:
In that day shall the branch [tsemach] of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

  Here the Messiah is prophesied to be "the branch of the Lord." That is the fourth great aspect of this Messiah. Of the four Gospels, the one that clearly stresses Jesus Christ's position as the Son of God is the Gospel of John. Only John refers to Jesus as the only begotten son of God.

John 1:14,18,34:
And the Word [Greek: logos, another name or title for Jesus] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
¹⁸ No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
³⁴ And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

John 3:16,18:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son ....
¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 20:31:
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ....

  In the Gospel of John, the word "father" is used almost three times as often as in any other Gospel. It is frequently used in describing God's relationship to Jesus Christ. In this Gospel, rather than opening with a long, detailed genealogy, John simply calls Jesus "the Son of God." Some of Jesus' great miracles, such as the healing of the blind man (John 9) and the raising of Lazarus (John 11), are recorded in the Book of John. The phrase "laid down his life" is found only in John, where it is used six times. Jesus Christ "laid down his life" as the Son of God; no one could have taken it from him.

  We have seen all the uses of tsemach, which pertain to the Messiah. The coming branch, the offspring, was prophesied in these scriptures as having four characteristics: the promised Messiah was to be a king, a servant, a man, and the Son of God

  In considering the five Old Testament prophecies of the coming "branch," or tsemach, it is interesting that two of them emphasize that he would be a king ruling from the throne of David. There are two books in our New Testament, which emphatically show Jesus Christ as the king. One is the Gospel of Matthew; the other is the Book of Revelation, which foretells Christ's glorious return as the king of kings and lord of lords. What a wonderful truth from God's marvelous Word!

  Thus, the emphasis of each Gospel now comes into clear focus. In Matthew, Jesus Christ is the king, the ruler of Israel. In Mark, Jesus Christ is the servant, a leader willing to accept responsibility in serving and helping others. In Luke, Jesus Christ is the perfect man, a human being with human qualities. In John, Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God.