Isaiah 11:2, commentary and pictures

The shoot from Jesse's stem and root is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and ruler from Jesse's line, the child held by Mary.
The Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him as wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and reverence for the Lord.
This anointing makes Him quick to discern what is right, so He does not judge by outward appearance or by hearsay.
He judges the poor and meek with righteousness and equity, strikes down the wicked by His word, and His reign is girded with righteousness and faithfulness, bringing peace where nothing harms and gathering the remnant of His people.
The same endowment fitted Him for His earthly work of bringing good news, healing the brokenhearted, freeing captives and comforting mourners (Isaiah 61:1-3), restoring people to God's image, and those who abide in Him are to act and speak in His Spirit.

Anointed Branch from Jesse

The Rod coming out of the stem of Jesse, the Branch growing out of his roots, and the root of Jesse is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and coming ruler from Jesse's line, the child Mary held. Upon that Branch rests the Spirit of the Lord as the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, and the spirit of knowledge and of reverence for the Lord. This resting is a full endowment with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

Joined to the next verse, this anointing makes Him quick to discern what is right and of understanding in the fear of the Lord. Therefore He does not judge by outward appearance or by hearsay.

Righteous Reign and Restoration

The endowment of the Spirit equips him to judge the poor and meek with righteousness, equity, fairness and justice, and to act justly rather than by outward appearance or hearsay. The same anointing of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and reverence for the Lord makes him discerning in the fear of the Lord. He also executes judgment against the wicked, slaying the wicked by his mouth.

His reign is girded with righteousness and faithfulness, the holy mountain enjoys peace where nothing hurts or destroys, the Gentiles seek the root of Jesse as an ensign, and the Lord recovers and gathers the remnant of his people a second time. This anointing equips him for his earthly work described in Isaiah 61:1-3 of bringing good news, healing the brokenhearted, freeing captives, comforting mourners, and restoring them to joy and righteousness. It qualifies him to carry the weight of responsibility for the fallen race, to bring life and immortality to those dead in trespasses and sins as God's gift of love, to restore the world and to restore people to God's image, and it presents his character and fitness for his work.

John the Baptist proclaimed and preached this prophecy about the coming Messiah, and his witness pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Living by the Spirit

The resting of the Spirit of the Lord as wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and reverence for the Lord fits and equips Christ for restoring people to God's image. That anointing makes Him discerning in reverence for the Lord, not judging by outward appearance or hearsay. Those who abide in Him are therefore to act and speak in His Spirit. Human judgments and counsel cannot take the place of God's wisdom, while Christ's grace can overcome inherited defects of character and fit people for the work God has chosen for them.

This Scripture belongs with the prophecy of righteous judgment of the poor and meek, slaying the wicked by the mouth, a reign girded with righteousness and faithfulness, peace on the holy mountain where nothing hurts or destroys, the Gentiles seeking the root of Jesse as an ensign, and the Lord recovering and gathering the remnant of His people a second time. Believers who come together to be blended together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are to solemnly investigate and consider it together. They are to do so in order to unify in the name of the Lord.

The promise that the Lord's Spirit rests on the one appointed to serve, giving wisdom for the work, extends to a helper in the entrusted work. It was that the Lord would give W. C. White His Spirit and wisdom to assist in the work entrusted to Ellen White. That provision included relieving him of burdens so he could assist. It included continuing to provide him with the Spirit after her return to America.