The Messiah. Literally, the "stem" means the "stump" of the tree left in the ground, after the branches had been cut down and the luxuriant foliage removed. The meaning is that the Messiah would come when the family of Jesse had been reduced to the social status it occupied at the time of its ancestor, before the golden age of David and Solomon. The Messiah would come as a shoot from the stump of the family tree, but the tender twig would grow and become a flourishing, fruitful Tree.