A small tree will begin to grow from the stump of Jesse. That branch will grow from Jesse's roots. The LORD'S Spirit will always be with that new king to give him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit will help him know and respect the LORD. He will find joy in obeying the LORD. This king will not judge people by the way things look. He will not judge by listening to rumors. He will judge the poor fairly and honestly. He will be fair when he decides what to do for the poor of the land. If he decides people should be beaten, he will give the command, and they will be beaten. If he decides people must die, he will give the command, and those evil people will be killed. Goodness and fairness will be like a belt he wears around his waist.

Jesus traveled to Nazareth, the town where he grew up. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue as he always did. He stood up to read. The book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He opened the book and found the place where this is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor. He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. He sent me to free those who have been treated badly and to announce that the time has come for the Lord to show his kindness." Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the helper, and sat down. As everyone in the synagogue watched him closely, he began to speak to them. He said, "While you heard me reading these words just now, they were coming true!" Everyone there said good things about Jesus. They were amazed to hear him speak such wonderful words. They said, "How is this possible? Isn't he Joseph's son?"

When the people heard the things that Jesus said, some of them said, "This man really is the Prophet." Other people said, "He is the Messiah." And others said, "The Messiah will not come from Galilee. The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of David. And they say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived." So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. Some of the people wanted to arrest him. But no one tried to do it.

(The Temple police went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, "Why didn't you bring Jesus?" The Temple police answered, "We have never heard anyone say such amazing things!" The Pharisees answered, "So he has fooled you too! You don't see any of the leaders or any of us Pharisees believing in him, do you? But those people out there know nothing about the law. They are under God's curse!"

But Nicodemus was there in that group. He was the one who had gone to see Jesus before. He said, "Our law will not let us judge anyone without first hearing them and finding out what they have done." The Jewish leaders answered, "You must be from Galilee too! Study the Scriptures. You will find nothing about a prophet coming from Galilee." Then they all left and went home.