I went to the thrift store and got a couple of ornaments for our Jesse Tree they were $1.00 or less. A wooden lion, a wooden camel, 4 wooden stars,a fuzzy sheep, and a golden angel I was so pleased with each of them since we won't have time to make an ornament each day.
I found this list including the scripture references here.
The Symbols:
Earth
Apple & Snake
Mary
Ark & Rainbow
Camel &Tent
Lamb
Colorful Coat
Doorway With blood
Tablet With 10 Numbers
Cluster of Grapes
Stick With bronze serpent
Whale
Sheaf of Wheat
Slingshot
Scroll
Stump With Leaf
Lion & Lamb together
Dove & Crown
Shepherd’s Staff
Cross
Heart With Writing
Bethlehem
Fiery Furnace
Brick Wall
Star
Candle or Light
Angel
Baby in Manger
Advent Jesse Tree scripture quotes from the Revised Standard Version:
The Jesse Tree represents Jesus’ family tree. It takes us through that first long Advent, which lasted from the Fall to the Incarnation with a collection of Scripture meditations to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
1. In the Beginning (Symbol: planet Earth)
Genesis 1:1-3, 27, 31
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face
of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the
waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was
very good.
John 1:1-5, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things
were made through him, and without him was not anything made
that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father.
2. The Fall (Symbol: apple)
Genesis 3:3-6, 9-11
But God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the
eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she
took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband,
and he ate.
But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are
you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which
I commanded you not to eat?”
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive.
Romans 5:12, 14-15
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men
sinned. … Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who
was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like
the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much
more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that
one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
3. Mother of All Living (Symbol: Mary)
Genesis 3:14a, 15, 20
The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother
of all living.
Luke 1:26, 28, 31, 38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth. … And he came to her and said, “Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with you! … And behold, you will conceive
in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
… And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be
to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
John 19:26-27
When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved
standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that
hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Revelation 12:1-2, 17a
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with
the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of
birth, in anguish for delivery.
Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make
war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the
commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.
4. Noah and the Ark (Symbol: ark and rainbow)
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:15-18; 9:8, 15-16
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on
the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will
blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground,
man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am
sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of
the Lord.
[The creatures] went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all
flesh in which there was the breath of life. And they that entered,
male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him;
and the Lord shut him in. The flood continued forty days upon the
earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose
high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly
upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “… I will
remember my covenant which is between me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again
become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds,
I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Matthew 24:36-39, 42
[Jesus said,] “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the
angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the
days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in
those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered
the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept
them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. … Watch
therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
I Peter 3:20b-21a
In the days of Noah, during the building of the ark … a few, that is,
eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which
corresponds to this, now saves you.
5. The Blessing to Abraham (Symbol: camel)
Genesis 12:1-3; 17:5
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and
make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless
those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by
you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.
“No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of
nations.”
Hebrews 11:8, 12
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not
knowing where he was to go.
Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born
descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the
innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham.
6. Sacrifice of the Son (Symbol: lamb)
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13
After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him,
“Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son,
your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you.” … When they came to the place of which
God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon
the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven,
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said,
“Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son,
your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and
looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by
his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up
as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Colossians 1:15[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all
creation.
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
7. Joseph in Egypt (Symbol: colorful coat)
Genesis 37:3-5, 8a, 18-19, 23, 28
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children,
because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long
robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father
loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could
not speak peaceably to him.
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they
only hated him the more. … His brothers said to him, “Are you
indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over
us?”
[One day] they saw him afar off, and before he came near to them
they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another,
“Here comes this dreamer.” … So when Joseph came to his
brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves
that he wore. … Then Midianite traders passed by; and [the
brothers] drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold
him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver; and [the
Ishmaelites] took Joseph to Egypt.
Genesis 41:41; 42:6; 45:4-5
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the
land of Egypt.” … Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it
was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers
came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the
ground. … So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, I
pray you.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother,
Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed
or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent
me before you to preserve life.”
Matthew 2:13-15
Now when [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the
child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell
you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and
departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of
Egypt have I called my son.”
8. Passover (Symbol: doorway with blood)
Exodus 12: 3, 5a, 6b-8, 11-13
Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’
houses, a lamb for a household. …Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male a year old. … The whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then
they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts
and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat
the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs they shall eat it. … In this manner you shall eat it: your loins
girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and
you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s passover.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite
all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The
blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
John:1:29; 6:4, 52-54
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. … The
Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this
man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink
his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
1 Corinthians 5:7b
Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.
9. The Ten Commandments (Symbol: tablet with 10 numbers)
Exodus 20:1-4a, 7a, 8, 12-17
And God spoke all these words, saying, “ am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make for yourself a graven image. … You shall not take the name
of the Lord your God in vain. … Remember the Sabbath day, to
keep it holy. … Honor your father and your mother, that your days
may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You
shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall
not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox,
or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Matthew 5:3-10
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the Kingdom of heaven.
9a. The Promised Land: Canaan (Symbol: cluster of grapes)
Genesis 17:7-8
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your
descendants after you throughout their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants
after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after
you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Numbers 13:1-2a, 17-18a, 20, 23,27
The Lord said to Moses, “Send men to spy out the land of
Canaan, which I give to the people of Israel.” … Moses sent them
to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up into the
Negeb yonder, and go up into the hill country, and see what the
land is … and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there
is wood in it or not. Be of good courage, and bring some of the
fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe
grapes.
And they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a
branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a
pole between two of them; they brought also some pomegranates
and figs. … And they told him, “We came to the land to which you
sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.”
Revelation 21:1-3
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;
and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”
9b. Bronze Serpent (Symbol: stick with bronze serpent)
Numbers 21:6-9
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit
the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people
came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken
against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that he take
away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And
the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole;
and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So
Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a
serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
John 3:13-15
No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from
heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life.
9c. Jonah (Symbol: whale)
Jonah: 1:15-17, 2:1-3, 7-10, 3:2-3a, 5
So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea
ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord
exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made
vows.
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and
Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
saying, “I called to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered
me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the flood was round about me; all thy waves and thy billows
passed over me. ... When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy
Temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true
loyalty. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee;
what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the
dry land.
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the
message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord. … And the people of Nineveh
believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from
the greatest of them to the least of them.
Matthew 12:38-41
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher,
we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil
and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be
given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the
Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
10. Ruth and Boaz (Symbol: sheaf of wheat)
Ruth 1:16; 2:2, 8, 10-12; 4:13-14
But Ruth said [to Naomi], “Entreat me not to leave you or to return
from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you
lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God
my God.”
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field,
and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall
find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” … Then Boaz
said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in
another field or leave this one, but keep close to my maidens.”
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him,
“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice
of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that
you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your
husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and
mother and your native land and came to a people that you did
not know before. The Lord recompense you for what you have
done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife … and the Lord gave
her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to
Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without
next of kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel!”
Matthew 1:5b-6a
Boaz [was] the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of
Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
11. David and Goliath (Symbol: slingshot)
1 Samuel 16:1, 13a; 17:3-4, 8-9, 45, 47-49
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul,
seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your
horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for
I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of
his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David
from that day forward.
And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and
Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley
between them. And there came out from the camp of the
Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was
six cubits and a span.
He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come
out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come
down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will
be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you
shall be our servants and serve us.”
Then David said to [Goliath], “You come to me with a sword and
with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of
the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. … All this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with
sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you
into our hand.” When the Philistine arose and came and drew
near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to
meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took
out a stone, and slung it, and struck [Goliath] on his forehead; the
stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright
morning star.”
11a. God’s Forgotten Scroll is Found (Symbol: scroll)
2 Kings 22:2, 23:1-3
[King Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and
walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside
to the right hand or to the left. … Then the king sent, and all the
elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the
king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of
Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and
the prophets, all the people, both small and great; and he read in
their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had
been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the
pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord
and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his
statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of
this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people
joined in the covenant.
Psalm 119:33-35Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the
end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe
it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy
commandments, for I delight in it.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art thou to take the
scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood
didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation.”
12. Prophecy: A Shoot From the Stump of Jesse (Symbol: stump
with leaf)
Isaiah 11:1-5, 10
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not
judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but
with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity
for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the
wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and
faithfulness the girdle of his loins. … In that day the root of Jesse
shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations
seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
Acts 13:16, 22-23
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of
Israel, and you that fear God, listen: When [God] had removed
[Saul], he raised up David to be their king; of whom [God] testified
and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my
heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s posterity God has
brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.”
13. Prophecy: The New Creation (Symbol: lion and lamb together)
Isaiah 11:6-10
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down
with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and
a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their
young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not
hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day
the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him
shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
Revelation 21:4-5a
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be
no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any
more, for the former things have passed away. And he who sat
upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
14. Prophecy: Prince of Peace (Symbol: dove and crown)
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those
who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government
will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful
Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace.”
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no
end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish
it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this
time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do
this!
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let
them be afraid.”
John 18:33, 36a, 37bPilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to
him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” … Jesus answered, “My
Kingdom is not of this world. …You say that I am a king. For this I
was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness
to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”
15. Prophecy: Good Shepherd (Symbol: shepherd’s staff)
Ezekiel 34:2b, 4-5, 10-12, 15a, 16a, 23-24
Thus says the Lord God: “Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been
feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? … The
weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed,
the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not
brought back, the lost you have not sought and with force and
harshness you have ruled them.” So they were scattered,
because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the
wild beasts.
Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds; …
I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be
food for them.” For thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself
will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd
seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered
abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from
all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and
thick darkness. … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. ... I
will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind
up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak. … And I will set up
over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed
them: He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord,
will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among
them; I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Luke 7:21b
[Jesus] cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and
on many that were blind he bestowed sight.
John 10:11, 16, 27[Jesus said,] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep. … And I have other sheep, that are
not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my
voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. … My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
16. Prophecy: Suffering Servant (Symbol: cross)
Isaiah 53:4-7, 9, 12b
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he
opened not his mouth.
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in
his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no
deceit in his mouth.
He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
John 19:1, 15-18Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. … They cried out,
“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have
no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own
cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in
Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two
others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
17. The New Covenant (Symbol: heart with writing)
Jeremiah 31:31-33
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my
covenant which they broke, though I was their husband,” says the
Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of
Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my law within
them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.”
Hebrews 9:13-15
For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and
bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of
the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who
are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a
death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions
under the first covenant.
18. Bethlehem Prophecy (Symbol: Bethlehem)
Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the
clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be
ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Luke 2:4-7
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth,
to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because
he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with
Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were
there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to
her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid
him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
19. Exile and Persecution: The Fiery Furnace (Symbol: fiery
furnace)
2 Kings 17:23
The Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all
his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own
land to Assyria until this day.
Daniel 3:19, 21, (Az 1,26,) 28Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression of his
face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was wont
to be heated. ... Then these men were bound in their mantles,
their tunics, their hats and their other garments, and they were
cast into the burning fiery furnace. … And they walked about in
the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the
Lord.
But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with
Azariah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the
furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered
his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s
command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and
worship any god except their own God.”
Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
19a. Return to Jerusalem (Symbol: brick wall)
Nehemiah 1:3; 2:18; 6:15-16
And they said to me, “The survivors there in the province who
escaped exile are in great trouble and shame; the wall of
Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me
for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me.
And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened
their hands for the good work.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the
nations round about us were afraid and fell greatly in their own
esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished
with the help of our God.
Revelation 21:10-14
And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain,
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most
rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall,
with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the
gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were
inscribed; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the
south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of
the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
20. Christmas Star (Symbol: star)
Numbers 24:17-19a
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: A star shall
come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it
shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of
Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed, Seir also, his enemies, shall
be dispossessed, while Israel does valiantly. By Jacob shall
dominion be exercised.
Matthew 2:1-6, 9-11
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the
Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to
worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests
and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ
was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is
written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from
you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’”
When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star
which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to
rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and
worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him
gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
21. Light of the World (Symbol: candle or light)
Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The
Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When
evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries
and foes, they shall stumble and fall. Though a host encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
John 1:9, 8:12
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the
world.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he
who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.”
22. Angels Proclaim the Miraculous Birth (Symbol: angel)
Genesis 18:1-4, 8b-10a
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at
the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he
saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed
himself to the earth, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in
your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be
brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.”
… And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said
to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the
tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and
Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Luke 2:8-14
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
23. The Birth of Jesus (Symbol: baby in manger)
Isaiah 7:10-14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God;
let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will
not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear
then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that
you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you
a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel (that is, God is with us).”
Luke 2:1, 4-12
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be enrolled. … And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was
with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be
delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
I found this list including the scripture references here.
The Symbols:
Earth
Apple & Snake
Mary
Ark & Rainbow
Camel &Tent
Lamb
Colorful Coat
Doorway With blood
Tablet With 10 Numbers
Cluster of Grapes
Stick With bronze serpent
Whale
Sheaf of Wheat
Slingshot
Scroll
Stump With Leaf
Lion & Lamb together
Dove & Crown
Shepherd’s Staff
Cross
Heart With Writing
Bethlehem
Fiery Furnace
Brick Wall
Star
Candle or Light
Angel
Baby in Manger
Advent Jesse Tree scripture quotes from the Revised Standard Version:
The Jesse Tree represents Jesus’ family tree. It takes us through that first long Advent, which lasted from the Fall to the Incarnation with a collection of Scripture meditations to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
1. In the Beginning (Symbol: planet Earth)
Genesis 1:1-3, 27, 31
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face
of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the
waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was
very good.
John 1:1-5, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things
were made through him, and without him was not anything made
that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father.
2. The Fall (Symbol: apple)
Genesis 3:3-6, 9-11
But God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the
eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she
took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband,
and he ate.
But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are
you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which
I commanded you not to eat?”
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive.
Romans 5:12, 14-15
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men
sinned. … Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who
was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like
the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much
more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that
one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
3. Mother of All Living (Symbol: Mary)
Genesis 3:14a, 15, 20
The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother
of all living.
Luke 1:26, 28, 31, 38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth. … And he came to her and said, “Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with you! … And behold, you will conceive
in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”
… And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be
to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
John 19:26-27
When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved
standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that
hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Revelation 12:1-2, 17a
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with
the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of
birth, in anguish for delivery.
Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make
war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the
commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.
4. Noah and the Ark (Symbol: ark and rainbow)
Genesis 6:5-8; 7:15-18; 9:8, 15-16
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on
the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will
blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground,
man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am
sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of
the Lord.
[The creatures] went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all
flesh in which there was the breath of life. And they that entered,
male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him;
and the Lord shut him in. The flood continued forty days upon the
earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose
high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly
upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “… I will
remember my covenant which is between me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again
become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds,
I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Matthew 24:36-39, 42
[Jesus said,] “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the
angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the
days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in
those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered
the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept
them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. … Watch
therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
I Peter 3:20b-21a
In the days of Noah, during the building of the ark … a few, that is,
eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which
corresponds to this, now saves you.
5. The Blessing to Abraham (Symbol: camel)
Genesis 12:1-3; 17:5
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and
make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless
those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by
you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.
“No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of
nations.”
Hebrews 11:8, 12
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not
knowing where he was to go.
Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born
descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the
innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham.
6. Sacrifice of the Son (Symbol: lamb)
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13
After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him,
“Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son,
your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
of which I shall tell you.” … When they came to the place of which
God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon
the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to
slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven,
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said,
“Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son,
your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and
looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by
his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up
as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Colossians 1:15[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all
creation.
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
7. Joseph in Egypt (Symbol: colorful coat)
Genesis 37:3-5, 8a, 18-19, 23, 28
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children,
because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long
robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father
loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could
not speak peaceably to him.
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they
only hated him the more. … His brothers said to him, “Are you
indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to have dominion over
us?”
[One day] they saw him afar off, and before he came near to them
they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another,
“Here comes this dreamer.” … So when Joseph came to his
brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves
that he wore. … Then Midianite traders passed by; and [the
brothers] drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold
him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver; and [the
Ishmaelites] took Joseph to Egypt.
Genesis 41:41; 42:6; 45:4-5
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the
land of Egypt.” … Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it
was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers
came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the
ground. … So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, I
pray you.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother,
Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed
or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent
me before you to preserve life.”
Matthew 2:13-15
Now when [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the
child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell
you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and
departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of
Egypt have I called my son.”
8. Passover (Symbol: doorway with blood)
Exodus 12: 3, 5a, 6b-8, 11-13
Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’
houses, a lamb for a household. …Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male a year old. … The whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then
they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts
and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat
the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs they shall eat it. … In this manner you shall eat it: your loins
girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and
you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s passover.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite
all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The
blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
John:1:29; 6:4, 52-54
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. … The
Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this
man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink
his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
1 Corinthians 5:7b
Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.
9. The Ten Commandments (Symbol: tablet with 10 numbers)
Exodus 20:1-4a, 7a, 8, 12-17
And God spoke all these words, saying, “ am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not
make for yourself a graven image. … You shall not take the name
of the Lord your God in vain. … Remember the Sabbath day, to
keep it holy. … Honor your father and your mother, that your days
may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You
shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall
not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox,
or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Matthew 5:3-10
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the Kingdom of heaven.
9a. The Promised Land: Canaan (Symbol: cluster of grapes)
Genesis 17:7-8
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your
descendants after you throughout their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants
after you. And I will give to you, and to your descendants after
you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Numbers 13:1-2a, 17-18a, 20, 23,27
The Lord said to Moses, “Send men to spy out the land of
Canaan, which I give to the people of Israel.” … Moses sent them
to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up into the
Negeb yonder, and go up into the hill country, and see what the
land is … and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there
is wood in it or not. Be of good courage, and bring some of the
fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe
grapes.
And they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a
branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a
pole between two of them; they brought also some pomegranates
and figs. … And they told him, “We came to the land to which you
sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.”
Revelation 21:1-3
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;
and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”
9b. Bronze Serpent (Symbol: stick with bronze serpent)
Numbers 21:6-9
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit
the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people
came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken
against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that he take
away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And
the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole;
and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So
Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a
serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
John 3:13-15
No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from
heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life.
9c. Jonah (Symbol: whale)
Jonah: 1:15-17, 2:1-3, 7-10, 3:2-3a, 5
So they took up Jonah and threw him into the sea; and the sea
ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord
exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made
vows.
And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and
Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
saying, “I called to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered
me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas,
and the flood was round about me; all thy waves and thy billows
passed over me. ... When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy
Temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true
loyalty. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee;
what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the
dry land.
“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the
message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord. … And the people of Nineveh
believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from
the greatest of them to the least of them.
Matthew 12:38-41
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher,
we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil
and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be
given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the
Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of
Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
10. Ruth and Boaz (Symbol: sheaf of wheat)
Ruth 1:16; 2:2, 8, 10-12; 4:13-14
But Ruth said [to Naomi], “Entreat me not to leave you or to return
from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you
lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God
my God.”
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field,
and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall
find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” … Then Boaz
said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in
another field or leave this one, but keep close to my maidens.”
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him,
“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice
of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that
you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your
husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and
mother and your native land and came to a people that you did
not know before. The Lord recompense you for what you have
done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife … and the Lord gave
her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to
Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without
next of kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel!”
Matthew 1:5b-6a
Boaz [was] the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of
Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
11. David and Goliath (Symbol: slingshot)
1 Samuel 16:1, 13a; 17:3-4, 8-9, 45, 47-49
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul,
seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your
horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for
I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of
his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David
from that day forward.
And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and
Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley
between them. And there came out from the camp of the
Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was
six cubits and a span.
He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come
out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come
down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will
be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you
shall be our servants and serve us.”
Then David said to [Goliath], “You come to me with a sword and
with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of
the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. … All this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with
sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you
into our hand.” When the Philistine arose and came and drew
near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to
meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took
out a stone, and slung it, and struck [Goliath] on his forehead; the
stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright
morning star.”
11a. God’s Forgotten Scroll is Found (Symbol: scroll)
2 Kings 22:2, 23:1-3
[King Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and
walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside
to the right hand or to the left. … Then the king sent, and all the
elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the
king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of
Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and
the prophets, all the people, both small and great; and he read in
their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had
been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the
pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord
and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his
statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of
this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people
joined in the covenant.
Psalm 119:33-35Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the
end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe
it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy
commandments, for I delight in it.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art thou to take the
scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood
didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation.”
12. Prophecy: A Shoot From the Stump of Jesse (Symbol: stump
with leaf)
Isaiah 11:1-5, 10
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not
judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but
with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity
for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the
wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and
faithfulness the girdle of his loins. … In that day the root of Jesse
shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations
seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
Acts 13:16, 22-23
So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of
Israel, and you that fear God, listen: When [God] had removed
[Saul], he raised up David to be their king; of whom [God] testified
and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my
heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s posterity God has
brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.”
13. Prophecy: The New Creation (Symbol: lion and lamb together)
Isaiah 11:6-10
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down
with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and
a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their
young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not
hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day
the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him
shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.
Revelation 21:4-5a
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be
no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any
more, for the former things have passed away. And he who sat
upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
14. Prophecy: Prince of Peace (Symbol: dove and crown)
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those
who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government
will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful
Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace.”
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no
end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish
it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this
time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do
this!
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let
them be afraid.”
John 18:33, 36a, 37bPilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to
him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” … Jesus answered, “My
Kingdom is not of this world. …You say that I am a king. For this I
was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness
to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”
15. Prophecy: Good Shepherd (Symbol: shepherd’s staff)
Ezekiel 34:2b, 4-5, 10-12, 15a, 16a, 23-24
Thus says the Lord God: “Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been
feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? … The
weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed,
the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not
brought back, the lost you have not sought and with force and
harshness you have ruled them.” So they were scattered,
because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the
wild beasts.
Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds; …
I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be
food for them.” For thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself
will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd
seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered
abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from
all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and
thick darkness. … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. ... I
will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind
up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak. … And I will set up
over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed
them: He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord,
will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among
them; I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Luke 7:21b
[Jesus] cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and
on many that were blind he bestowed sight.
John 10:11, 16, 27[Jesus said,] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep. … And I have other sheep, that are
not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my
voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. … My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
16. Prophecy: Suffering Servant (Symbol: cross)
Isaiah 53:4-7, 9, 12b
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he
opened not his mouth.
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in
his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no
deceit in his mouth.
He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
John 19:1, 15-18Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. … They cried out,
“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have
no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own
cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in
Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two
others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
17. The New Covenant (Symbol: heart with writing)
Jeremiah 31:31-33
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my
covenant which they broke, though I was their husband,” says the
Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of
Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my law within
them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.”
Hebrews 9:13-15
For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and
bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of
the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who
are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a
death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions
under the first covenant.
18. Bethlehem Prophecy (Symbol: Bethlehem)
Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the
clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be
ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Luke 2:4-7
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth,
to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because
he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with
Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were
there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to
her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid
him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
19. Exile and Persecution: The Fiery Furnace (Symbol: fiery
furnace)
2 Kings 17:23
The Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all
his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own
land to Assyria until this day.
Daniel 3:19, 21, (Az 1,26,) 28Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression of his
face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was wont
to be heated. ... Then these men were bound in their mantles,
their tunics, their hats and their other garments, and they were
cast into the burning fiery furnace. … And they walked about in
the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the
Lord.
But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with
Azariah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the
furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered
his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s
command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and
worship any god except their own God.”
Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
19a. Return to Jerusalem (Symbol: brick wall)
Nehemiah 1:3; 2:18; 6:15-16
And they said to me, “The survivors there in the province who
escaped exile are in great trouble and shame; the wall of
Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me
for good, and also of the words which the king had spoken to me.
And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened
their hands for the good work.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul,
in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the
nations round about us were afraid and fell greatly in their own
esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished
with the help of our God.
Revelation 21:10-14
And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain,
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most
rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall,
with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the
gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were
inscribed; on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the
south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of
the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of
the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
20. Christmas Star (Symbol: star)
Numbers 24:17-19a
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: A star shall
come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it
shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of
Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed, Seir also, his enemies, shall
be dispossessed, while Israel does valiantly. By Jacob shall
dominion be exercised.
Matthew 2:1-6, 9-11
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the
Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to
worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests
and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ
was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is
written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from
you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’”
When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star
which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to
rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and
worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him
gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
21. Light of the World (Symbol: candle or light)
Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The
Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When
evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries
and foes, they shall stumble and fall. Though a host encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
John 1:9, 8:12
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the
world.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he
who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.”
22. Angels Proclaim the Miraculous Birth (Symbol: angel)
Genesis 18:1-4, 8b-10a
And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at
the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he
saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed
himself to the earth, and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in
your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be
brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.”
… And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said
to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the
tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and
Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Luke 2:8-14
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
23. The Birth of Jesus (Symbol: baby in manger)
Isaiah 7:10-14
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God;
let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will
not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear
then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that
you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you
a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel (that is, God is with us).”
Luke 2:1, 4-12
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be enrolled. … And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and
lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was
with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be
delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” wrapped
him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there
was no place for them in the inn.
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for
behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all
the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
