JESUS THE MESSIAH
Prophecies of the Christ
He was born in an obscure village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.
He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He never went to college.
He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only thirty‑three
when the public turned against Him.
He was turned over to His enemies.
He was deserted by his friends.
He went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His
clothing, the only property He had on earth.
He was laid in a borrowed grave.
Twenty Centuries have come and gone, and today
He is still the central figure of the human race.
All the Armies that ever marched,
all the Navies that ever sailed,
all the Parliaments that ever sat,
and all the Kings that ever reigned
have not affected the life of man on this earth
as much as that
ONE SOLITARY LIFE. (From a 1926 sermon by James A. Francis).
What
do you think of Jesus Christ? Who was
he? I have asked that same question to
many people over the years. The
responses to that question are varied.
• He
was a good man.
• He
was a teacher.
• He
was a rebel.
• He
was crazy.
• He
was a prophet.
In
asking people their opinion of Jesus, I have often been given the reply, “I
don’t like to discuss religion.” Yet
that same person is often willing to discuss Buddha or Confucious
or Islam of Charles Darwin. What is it
about Jesus that engenders such a response?
Perhaps
it is because of the fantastic claims Jesus made about Himself. He said things about Himself that went far
beyond those made by any other religious leader of history. He said that God was His Father. He claimed to be the unique Son of God. He said that his death would pay for the sins
of the world. He promised eternal life
to thsoe who believe in Him.
Who
is Jesus? Who is this man that so
drastically changed the face of the world?
On the afternoon following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of
His disciples as they walked along the road to Emmaus. They did not recognize Him and when Jesus
asked about their conversation, they related the evens of the past week and how
their hopes had been dashed by the turn of those events. At this, Jesus rebuked them for their lack of
understanding of the Old Testament.
25 And He
said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the
prophets have spoken! 26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer
these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And
beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things
concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27).
Notice
the repetition of the word “all.” Jesus
used both the writings of Moses and ALL the prophets to show that He was
revealed in ALL the Scriptures. This
suggests that a proper understanding of the Old Testament will not really be a
proper understanding unless it includes a portrait of Jesus.
THE
PROMISE OF A SEED
And I
will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between
your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise
him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15).
This
prophecy was given in the Garden of Eden.
The words are spoken to the serpent.
We can understand from our perspective that Satan had used the serpent
to lead the first man and woman into sin.
God comes on the scene and pronounces judgment upon everyone
involved. An intense hatred is
pronounced between the serpent and the woman and between their offspring --
their seed.
The
first seed was to be the seed of the serpent.
It was the seed of rebellion. It
was the seed of sin. It was made up of
all who walked in the way of Adam in turning against God.
There
is also a second seed promised. It is the
seed of the woman. This second seed is
set over against the first seed. The two
seeds are at war with one another. And
God has decreed that the second seed shall ultimately win.
From
our vantage point, we know that this second seed is ultimately fulfilled in
Jesus Christ ‑ the One who was bruised for our iniquities as He crushed
underfoot the Serpent's Head.
Since
then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of
the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver those who through fear of death
were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The
defeat and destruction of Satan is accomplished in two parts. First, Christ defeated Satan when He died for
sins upon the cross and then rose in victory from the grave (Colossians
2:14-15). The ultimate conquest will be
completed at the second coming of Christ -- Paul speaks in Romans 16:20 of how the
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Just as the serpent is destroyed by striking
him on his head, the most vulnerable part of his body, so Jesus Christ will
destroy and neutralize Satan.
The
Old Testament is a history of the Satanic attacks on
the seed of the woman and the royal line of Christ. Satan may have considered either Cain or Abel
to be the seed of the woman, and so he tempted one into murdering the
other. It would not be too far a stretch
to imagine that the sinfulness that brought about the flood in the days of Noah
was due in part to the temptations wrought by Satan. Later attacks can be seen against Abraham and
his descendants, against the nation of
When
Jesus was born, there came a great intensification of these attacks. Herod tried to have the child
assassinated. The Pharisees and the
Sadducees plotted with the priesthood to put Him to death. Even Satan himself came and tried to entice
Jesus to sin. In the end, it was Jesus
who conquered. That conquest took place
upon the cross. In the very process of
striking a death blow tot he head of the serpent,
Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cross.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well‑being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5).
The
crushing of Satan’s head is not the only crushing that takes place in this
prophecy. In His crushing of Satan,
Jesus was also crushed.
|
The Seed of the
Serpent |
The Seed of the Woman |
|
Points to Satan |
Points to Jesus Christ |
|
He receives a wound to the
head -- this is a fatal wound. |
He receives a wound to the
heel -- painful but not lasting. |
|
He was fatally bruised for
all eternity. |
He was temporarily bruised
while on the cross. |
The
picture is of a man stomping upon the head of a serpent in order to kill it,
but being bitten on his heel in the process.
THE
PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
When
the Lord revealed Himself to Abram, He gave to him certain promsies
that were to form the foundation of a covenant relationship.
Now the Lord said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
So you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless
you,
And the one who curses you I will
curse.
And in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed." (Genesis 12:1‑3).
There
are three major promises in this passage that are later confirmed and developed
in greater detail.
• The
promise of a land (Genesis 12:1, 7; 13:14-17; 15:7-8; 17:8). The Lord promised that He would give to Abram
and to his descendants all of the
• The
promise of a multiplied seed (Genesis 12:2; 13:;16;
15:2-5; 17:4-6; 22:15-17). God promised
that He would make a great nation from the descendants of Abram. This was fulfilled in part when Moses led an
entire nation out of
But that is not all.
The ultimate fulfillment of this promise is the church, the spiritual
seed of Abraham that is made up of every nation, tribe and people.
• The
families of the earth are to be blessed by Abram (Genesis 12:3). Paul alluded to this promise as being
fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
And
the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall
be blessed in you." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with
Abraham, the believer. (Galatians 3:8-9).
Paul sites this promise as a forerunner of the truth
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith.
By giving this promise to Abraham, God was preaching the gospel to
him. This means that the Abrahamic
Covenant not only contins the seeds of the gospel,
but also that it forms the basis of the New Covenant into which we enter when
we believe the gospel.
We
have been promised a new country. It is
not a country of this world, but a new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells. We have been given
a commission to spread the seed of the gospel, a seed that brings blessings to
all who experience its harvest.
A
SCEPTER FROM
As
he lay on his deathbed, Jacob called his sons together and blessed them. When He came to Judah, his third son, he had
a special promise.
8 "
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father's sons shall bow down to you.
9 "
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a
lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
10
"The SCEPTER shall not depart from
Nor the RULER'S STAFF from between his feet,
Until
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
(Genesis 49:8-10).
This
promise says that the rightful kingship of
• Jesus
is the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).
• His
message is the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15).
• He
is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).
This
prophecy began to be fulfilled when David ascended to the throne. He was from the tribe of
Thus
says the Lord God, 'Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this will be no
more the same. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. 27 'A
ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it. This also will be no more, until He
comes whose right it is; and I shall give it to Him.' (Ezekiel 21:26-27).
Because
of their sins, the descendants of David were removed from the throne. They were told there would be no one to wear
the crown of
This
prophecy was graphically fulfilled. No
descendant of David ever took the title of king after the Babylonian
Captivity. There were some who ruled as
governor such as Zerubbabel. There were
also some from the tribe of Levi who eventually took the crown during the
period between the Old and New Testaments.
There were even some, like the Herods, who
were awarded the crown by the hands of the
A
STAR AND A PROPHECY
When
the prophet Balaam was hired by Balak, king of
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
And a scepter shall rise from
And shall crush through the forehead of
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
(Numbers 24:17).
Whereas
Jacob had promised that the scepter would not depart from
|
Jacob |
Balaam |
|
Genesis 49:19 |
Numbers 27:17 |
|
Emphasizes
that, once the scepter has come, it will not leave the house of |
Emphasizes that
the scepter will come to |
To
what does this star refer? Is there a
star connected to the coming of Messiah?
Yes, there is. It might be
significant that the only Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament tells of the
single sign that was used to bring the foreign Magi to
Now
after Jesus was born in
What
was it that drew the Magi to
A
PROPHET LIKE MOSES
Near
the end of the life of Moses, the Lord promised that another prophet would come
who would be like Moses.
The
LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your
countrymen, you shall listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15).
This
prophet would speak with the words of power that were equal to those spoken by
Moses. The New Testament apostles
recognized that the fulfillment of this prophecy was seen in Jesus (Acts
3:19-22).
The prophecy goes on to describe in exactly what way
the future prophet would be like Moses.
I
will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My
words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And it
shall come about that whoever will not listen to My
words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
(Deuteronomy 18:18-19).
What
made Moses so special that he should be compared with the Messiah? It was that he had the words of the
Lord. But that is not all. All of the prophets that followed had the
word of the Lord. There was something
even more special about Moses. It is
that he saw God. No made before or since
ever saw God. Moses caught a mere
glimpse of God’s “afterglow” (Exodus 33:18-23).
Only Jesus has seen God in His fulness.
No
man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the
Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18).
Notice
also the tenses that are used. Jesus is
described, not as the One who WAS in the bosom of the
Father, but as the One who IS in the bosom of the Father. This verse takes us full circuit from the
beginning to the incarnation and then to the ascension of Christ. When we come to meet Him, we come to meet One who is in the very bosom of the Father.
A
SON OF DAVID
The
following promise was given to King David and regards his son and successor.
“When
your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant [seed] after you, who will come forth from you, and I will
establish his kingdom.
“He
shall build a house for My name, and I will establish
his kingdom forever.
“I
will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I
will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but my
lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I
removed from before you.
“And
your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me
forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
|
Dead Sea Scroll 4Q Florilegium,
a midrash scroll, shows that the |
The
promise to David revolves around the establishment of a SEED. This takes us all the way back to the promise
we saw back in Genesis 3:15. It was
there that the Lord had promised Adam and Eve that there would come One who would be of the seed of the woman. This Seed would crush the serpent’s
head. He would be the destroyer of the
works of Satan.
This
promise is fulfilled in two parts. The
immediate fulfillment will be in the person of Solomon. He will be the seed who will build a house in
the name of the Lord. It will be Solomon
who constructs the
|
Solomon |
Jesus |
|
Son of David. |
Ultimate son of David. |
|
Established the united
monarchy of |
Established the |
|
Built the temple. |
He WAS the temple. |
|
Established a kingdom that
would continue until 586 B.C. |
Established an eternal
kingdom that will never end. |
|
Chastened because of his
iniquity. |
Took upon Himself the sins of the world. |
The
first part of verse 14 (“I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me”) is quoted twice in the New Testament.
·
Hebrews 1:5
quotes it in a context that speaks of Jesus as the Son of God.
·
2 Corinthians
6:18 gives a partial quote as the Lord tells US that “I will be a father to
you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me.”
THE
LORD’S MESSIAH
Psalm
2 was traditionally sung at the coronation of the kings of
1 Why are the nations in an uproar,
And the peoples devising a vain
thing?
2 The
kings of the earth take their stand,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed (Psalm 2:1-2).
The
nation of
This
Psalm begins with the nations in an uproar.
They are in an uproar because the people have devised a vain thing. What is the answer to such an uproar? It is the gospel. Jesus has called us to make disciples of the
nations by teaching them the good news.
THE
PROMISE OF A RESURRECTION
In
the midst of a Psalm of David in which he calls out for refuge in the midst of
trouble, there is a verse that has Messianic implications.
For Thou wilt not abandon my
soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.
(Psalm 16:10).
How
do we know this to be a Messianic Psalm?
It is explained in Paul’s interpretation of it in Acts 13:35. Paul pointed to this Psalm as an Old
Testament prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus. He pointed out how David had lived and had
died and was buried and remained in his tomb, but, by contrast, Jesus was
raised from the dead so that His body did not undergo decay.
THE
SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE MESSIAH
Psalm
22 is another song of David that reflect both the
experiences of that king as well as the sufferings and death of the greater Son
of David.
1. The cry from the cross.
My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?
Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
(Psalm 22:1).
These words were echoed by Jesus upon the cross. They point to the mysterious separation that
took place there. They hint that, for a
brief instant of time, the Son was separated from the Father as He bore our
guilt upon the tree.
2. The mockery of the onlookers: All who see me sneer at me; they separate
with the lip, they wag the head, saying, 8 "Commit yourself to
the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in
him." (Psalm 22:7-8).
Those who mock King David in his troubles are a mere
shadow of the men who would one day mock the Messiah.
3. The physical sufferings.
14 I am
poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax; It is
melted within me.
15 My
strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death.
16 For
dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can
count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me (Psalm 22:14-17).
The spiritual and emotional suffering of the Messiah
was accompanied by real physical suffering.
Crucifixion was an agonizing death that often included dislocation and
muscle cramps that added to the pain of piercing hands and feet.
4. The divided garments:
They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast
lots. (Psalm 22:18).
All four of the gospel accounts make mention of the
dividing of the clothes of Jesus among the soldiers (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24;
Luke 23:34; John 19:24).
THE
PRIEST KING
Psalm
110 is the most quoted in the New Testament.
It is the Psalm that Jesus used to challenge the religious leaders of
A Psalm of David.
The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Thine enemies a
footstool for Thy feet."
(Psalm 110:1).
As
we approach this Psalm, we see at the outset that there are three people
mentioned. This cast of characters is
seen in the first verse.
1. King David.
The superscription calls this a Psalm of David. He is the king of
2. The Lord.
This is God. He
is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
He is called here by His divine name - Yahweh. He is the God who led His people through the
3. David’s lord.
This is the third character of this first verse. He is really the main character of this
Psalm. The entire Psalm is addressed to
Him. He is seen here as David’s lord and
He is seek in verse for as a Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is Jesus Christ.
|
The Lord
(Yahweh) |
David’s
Lord |
David the
King |
|
Yahweh said... |
To my lord... |
|
|
"Sit at My right
hand, Until I make Thine
enemies a footstool for Thy feet." |
||
To
be seated at one's right hand was to be in the place of honor. Thus when Joseph brought his sons to be
blessed by Jacob, he was careful to place the older son at that Patriarch's
right hand and was displeased when his father crossed his hands to put the hand
of blessing upon the head of the younger son.
David
was the beloved of the Lord, but David was not called to sit at the right hand
of God. That special place was reserved
for another. This is the place of
highest honor. It can only be held by
the One who deserves all honor and glory.
It is held by the Son of God.
David
is only a bystander in this drama. He
listens to the conversation of two that are greater than he. The conversation involves sitting in the place
of honor. This is especially significant
when we consider that the One who sits is described in verse 4 as a priest. One thing that a priest did not do when he
came into the temple is to sit down.
Jesus is the priest who sat down.
He sat down because His work upon the cross was completed.
Notice
the patience of God. The Father is
pictured as speaking to the Son: Sit here UNTIL... We are in the between times today. We are awaiting a final consummation.
The
consumation takes place when the enemies of David’s
Lord serve as a footstool for His feet.
When we think of a footstool, we think of a comfortable piece of
furniture on which you set your feet when you kick back to watch the afternoon
football game. But this is not the image
that is in view in this verse. This
reflects the ancient practice of a king bowing in complete submission to a
master conqueror.
This
same passage was the object of discussion in one of the key confrontations of
Jesus and the religious leaders. It is
recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels.
The setting was
41 Now
while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying,
"What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They said to
Him, "The son of David." (Matthew 22:41-42).
The
question that Jesus asks concerns the identity of the Christ -- the identity of
the Messiah promised from the Old Testament.
Whose son will he be? What will
be his lineage? From what family will he
come? The Pharisees know the
answer. The Messiah is to come from the
house of David. He will be the son of
David. This brings up a second question.
43 He said
to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 44 'The
Lord said to my LORD, “Sit at My right hand, Until I
put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet”? 45 If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his
son?"
46 And no
one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask
Him another question. (Matthew 22:43-46).
Jesus
refers to Psalm 110. It was recognized
by the Jews to be a Psalm of David and a Psalm that spoke of the Messiah who
was to come. The Jews recognized that
there were three characters in this Psalm.
|
David |
He is the one
who writes Psalm 110 |
|
The Lord |
The Hebrew of
Psalm 110 uses the term Yahweh to describe the Lord |
|
My (David’s) Lord |
This
unidentified one is told to sit at the right hand of Yahweh. The only other clue to his identity is that
he is David’s lord (adoni) |
The
question revolves around the true identity of the one whom David describes as
“my lord.” He is shown to be a different
person from Yahweh, for it is Yahweh who says to Him, “Sit here.”
Here
is the point of the question. A son is
not by nature greater than his father.
Fathers do not bow down before their sons. Fathers do not look to their sons for
leadership. If this is the sake, then
how can the Messiah be both...
·
David’s Son
·
David’s lord
The
Scriptures make it quite clear that the Messiah is BOTH David’s son as well as
David’s lord. How can this be? It can only be the case if the Messiah’s
existence predated his birth. It can only
be the case if the Messiah had a pre-incarnate existence. The Messiah is to be both the Son of Man and
the Son of God.
THE
BRANCH OF THE LORD
In
that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit
of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of
This
is the first time in the Bible that the Messiah is described in terms of a
BRANCH. It seems to look back to the
Lampstand which stood in the Tabernacle.
This Lampstand had seven branches.
It also had flowers and fruit built into its design. It was a representation of the Tree of Life.
The
Tree of Life had stood in the Garden of Eden.
It symbolized continued relationship with God. When that fellowship had been broken, mankind
had been cast out of the Garden and had been banned from the Tree of Life.
That
fellowship had been restored. It had
been restored through a new promise and a new covenant. It was the promise of a Redeemer ‑ a
Life‑Bringer.
That
redemption was found within the nation of
Psalm
80:8‑9 describes
The
good news is that there is the promise of a BRANCH. It is described as the "fruit of the
earth (the Hebrew can read "the fruit of the LAND"). This can be understood in one of two ways:
1. It can refer to the fact that Messiah is to come from the
2. It could be a veiled reference to the One who was crucified,
dead and BURIED ‑ and who then came forth from the EARTH.
From
this time onward and through the rest of the Old Testament prophets, there
continues to be a promise of One who will be known as
the BRANCH.
1 Then a
shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a BRANCH from his roots will bear fruit.
2 And the
Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1-2).
5 "Behold,
the days are coming," declares the LORD,
"When I shall raise up for David a righteous
Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 "In
His days
And
And this is His name by which
He will be called,
'The LORD our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 23:5-6).
15 In
those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring
forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In
those days
The
image that is seen in these verses is of a tree that is grown by the Lord and
which has a stem that is Jesse from which comes a shoot. This small shoot grows into a branch that
bears great fruit.
Then
say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is
Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple
of the LORD.”’ (Zechariah 6:12).
Zechariah
ties the idea of the Branch to the promise that He would branch out from
where He is. It is significant that
Jesus described Himself as the “True Vine” (John 15:1). He went on to say that any branch that is
unfruitful or that is not a part of the vine is thrown aside and cast into the
fire.
IMMANUEL
Therefore
the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and
bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14).
The
passage begins with a series of historical events. This prophecy did not take place in a
historical vacuum. This is true of all
of the prophecies of the Bible, but in this case we are given detailed
information of the very real need and the situation in which it arose. From the context that is given, we learn that
the promises contained in this prophecy do not speak only to issues within the
four walls of the church. The message is
placed in a context that was relevant to the world affairs of that day. The implication is that it will also be a
message that will be relevant to all of mankind today.
1. The Historical Context of the Prophecy.
Now
it came about in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham,
the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah
the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to
Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.
When
it was reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans
have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the
trees of the forest shake with the wind. (Isaiah 7:1-2).
Isaiah prophesied at a time when the Assyrian Empire
was at its zenith and the fierce Assyrian warriors had spread their reign of
terror throughout most of the known world, plundering and burning wherever they
went. The small kingdoms that lay along
the shores of the
Tensions mounted as the confederation threatened to
invade
It was into this scene that Isaiah came. He was a man with a message. The message was from God. The message was that the enemies of God would
fail.
2. A Promise in Time of Trouble.
Then
the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the
highway to the fuller's field, 4 and say to him, 'Take care, and be calm, have no fear
and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands,
on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and
the son of Remaliah. 5 Because
Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has
planned evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and
make for ourselves a breach in its walls, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God, "It shall not stand nor shall
it come to pass. 8 For the head
of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin
(now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer
a people), 9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of
Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not
believe, you surely shall not last.”’” (Isaiah 7:3-9).
God gives a prophecy to Ahaz. He tells Ahaz what will take place in the
future. The collision of armies is not
the end of the story. There is salvation
at hand and it will not come by anything that Ahaz can do. The only part that he must play is to
believe.
3. The Offer of a Sign.
Then
the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself
from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the
LORD!” (Isaiah 7:10-12).
The Lord does not call for a “blind faith.” Faith is required, but it is a faith that is
accompanied by a sign. God offers to put
His signature to the promise that He has given.
In the case of Ahaz, God even permits Ahaz to choose what the sign shall
be. He says, “Ask anything you
want. Make it as great a sign as you
desire. Make is something whereby the
greatness of My strength will be seen.” But Ahaz refuses to ask for such a sign. But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I
test the LORD!” (Isaiah 7:12).
At first glance, Ahaz seems to be doing a very noble
and pious thing. He gives the excuse
that he does not want to test the Lord.
But that is not a correct response.
It is like the man who says, “I do not pray because I do not want to
bother God with my problems.” Such a
stance is the result of a heart of unbelief.
The good news is that the story does not end
here. God turns from this unbelieving
king and gives a promise to those who will believe. Here is the sign. A virgin will conceive and shall be with child. She will have a son. He will be called Immanuel. It is a name that means “God is with us.”
4. The Sign of Immanuel.
Then
he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try
the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 Therefore
the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and
bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. 15 He will
eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.
16 For before the boy will know
enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will
be forsaken. (Isaiah 7:13-14).
There is a “child motif” that runs through this
section of
Shear-jashub (Isaiah 7:3).
Immanu-el
(Isaiah 7:14; 8:8).
Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3).
Isaiah’s children (Isaiah 8:18).
The Royal Child (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Immanu-el stands out in contrast to the other children in
that there is no father mentioned. Even
the mother is not named except to refer to her as “the virgin.” In this regard, Immanu-el
and the Royal Child of chapter 9 are seen to be similar. This same “child motif” is seen in the book
of Hosea. This is notable because Hosea
is commonly thought to have been a contemporary of Isaiah.
The sign is that a young maiden shall be with
child. She shall have a son. He will be called Immanuel. But the prophecy does not end here. It goes on to tell what the sign will
signify. The sign has been given for a
specific localized reason.
He
will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose
good. 16 For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and
choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. (Isaiah
7:15-16).
The sign was not to end with the birth of
Immanuel. It was only to begin
there. The rest of the sign was that the
child would grow and develop into a young boy.
Before that boy had reached the age of being able to tell the difference
between right and wrong, the kings of both
I believe that the sign of Immanuel was given as a
partial fulfillment in the days of Ahaz.
This is seen in the following chapter where Immanuel himself is
addressed (Isaiah 8:8). But that is not
the end of the story. Even though his
name was Immanuel and expressed the truth that God was working in the lives of
His people, there remained a further and more complete fulfillment.
That fulfillment is seen in the person of Jesus. Matthew 1:22-23 presents to us the truth that
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel. He is God with us.
It is no mistake that Isaiah used the specific word
that he did. The Hebrew word Almah (translated “virgin”) technically means a
“young maiden.” Every time it is used in
the Old Testament, it describes a young unmarried damsel.
What is it about the virgin birth of Christ that is so
important?
Because sin is passed down from the father?
Because of the supernatural origin of Jesus?
Because Jesus is God?
None of these are taught in the Scriptures or in this
specific passage. Instead, the
significance of the virgin birth is that this was the promised sign. This sign points to the fulfillment of the
promise that God would be with us.
THE
LIGHT OF
1 But
there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He
treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later
on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The
people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
(Isaiah 9:1‑2).
Isaiah
did not have a popular message. It was a
message of gloom and doom. The previous
verses at the end of chapter 8 reflect this.
But in the midst of this gloom and doom, there breaks through those dark
clouds a shining ray of hope. Note the
emotional content of this description.
In anguish
Contempt
Walk in Darkness
Live in a
No
more gloom
Glorious
See
a great Light
The
Light will Shine on them
Zebulun
and Naphtali were beautiful lands with a major problem. The problem is that they were the buffer zone
between
By
the days of Jesus, this region had come to have a high Gentile population. It would be known as "
This
is the place where God chose to send His Son.
Not
Not
the
Not
But
Jesus
was not sent to those who already had the light. He was sent to those in darkness. He came to heal the sick, not the
healthy. We live in a world that is in
darkness. There are bad times
ahead. But there is good news. A light has come. The light has come.
THE
PROMISE OF A SON
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There
will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his
kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it
with justice and righteousness
From then on and
forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will
accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6‑7).
For
the past three chapter we have seen a "son
motif" running through the pages of Isaiah. It began in Isaiah 7 with the virgin‑born
son named Immanuel. Throughout chapter 8
we read of Isaiah giving names to his children that had prophetic
significance. Now we come
the final promise of a Son.
Isaiah
opens this section with a bit of typical Hebrew parallelism:
For a child will be born to us,
A son will be given to us.
There
are many celebrations that we observe throughout the year during which we have
developed a tradition of giving gifts.
There is Mothers Day and Fathers Day and there are birthdays. Of all of these, there is only one in which
everyone is given gifts. It is
Christmas. Though it has become commercialized,
perhaps it is appropriate that this is a time of giving gifts because it
commemorates the time when the Son was given.
The great truth of the gospel is that God so loved the world that He
GAVE His only begotten Son.
1. His Profession: And
the government will rest on His shoulders.
The Hebrew word
here for "the government" is used only here and in verse 7. It is derived from the Hebrew word describing
a prince or ruler.
To which government does this refer? Verse 6 does not say. But verse 7 indicates that it is HIS
government. It is the government of the
Throne of David.
The problem with this is that, from a physical
perspective, the throne of David is long gone.
There is a nation of
And yet, the promise says that this will be a reign of
righteousness which shall last forever.
And that of this government there shall be no end.
What is this government? I would suggest that this
"government" refers to the
2. His Personality: Wonderful
Counselor.
When we think of a counselor, it brings to mind one
who has the answers to our problems.
Jesus has the answer because He IS the answer. He is the way, the truth and the life (John
14:6).
3. His
Power: Mighty God.
The phrase “mighty God” is not all that common in the
Old Testament, but when it is used, it points to God (Isaiah 10:21 and Jeremiah
32:18). In this case, it points to the
deity of the Son.
4.
His Permanence: Eternal Father.
The Hebrew of Isaiah 9:6 speaks of the Messiah being
the "eternal Father." What
does this mean? Some have taught that
this is an indication of Modalism ‑ that Jesus
IS the Father and that they are both one person in the same way that I am a son
and I am also a father.
The Hebrew phrase is a compound word. This seems to be a Hebraism. There are a number of examples of this:
• Abiethon (2 Sam. 23:31), "father of strength,"
means "strong"
• Abiaseph (Ex.6:24), "father of gathering," means
"gatherer"
• Abigail
(1 Chron.2:16), "father of exultation," is a woman's name meaning
"exulting"
If this is the same sort of Hebraism, then the term
"father of eternity" in Isaiah 9:6 means simply that the promised Son
would be eternal.
5. His Peace:
Prince of Peace.
The ministry of the Son was to bring the most
important peace of all; the peace that is between God and man. He IS our peace (Ephesians 2:14) and He has
not only made peace between God and men, but also He has broken down every wall
that divides men.
THE
SERVANT OF THE LORD
In
the same way that a child motif runs through the early chapters of
1. The Voice in the Wilderness.
3 A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let
every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be
made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 Then the
glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
When we first read these words, we might have a
tendency to try to take them literally.
We might imagine mountain-moving bulldozers that raise valleys and level
mountains and pave highways.
To do so would be to try to impose a 21st century
interpretation on an ancient writing. It
would be missing the entire point.
The Scriptures themselves explain to us the meaning of
this passage when it is quoted in the New Testament.
As
it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send My messenger before Your
face, who will prepare Your way; 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready
the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” (Mark 1:2-3).
Mark says that this is “written in Isaiah, the
prophet” (1:2). Actually, the quote is
taken from two separate passages of the Old Testament.
“Behold,
I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me,,,” (Malachi 3:1a).
A
voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in
the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3).
Mark tells us that both of these passages have
reference to the same thing. They both
point to John the Baptist who was the messenger and the voice calling for the
way to be prepared in the wilderness.
3 A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Let
every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be
made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 Then the
glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
John was the voice calling in the wilderness who came to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord’s
Messiah. He built a highway upon which
the ministry of Jesus entered history.
John prepared the way.
But notice for whom it was that he prepared the way. It is seen in verse 5. He prepared the way for the glory of Yahweh.
Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
I cannot read these words without thinking of the
incident of Moses in the wilderness.
Moses had seen some great things.
He had seen the plagues of
Was there anything more for which a man could
ask? Only one thing remained. Moses asked that he might be permitted to see
the glory of God.
Moses asks, “Show me your glory!” And the Lord replies, “You cannot do that and
live; but I will permit you to catch a glimpse of My
afterglow.” The Lord places Moses into a
cleft in the rock and covers it and then His goodness passes by and Moses is
allowed to see the afterglow of God’s glory.
But here is a promise that the glory of the LORD
will be revealed. That for which
Moses could only long is given to men.
How can such a thing be?
And
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of
the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).
In the person of Jesus men were able to see the glory
of the Lord. On the night of Jesus’
arrest, his disciples asked Him about this.
Philip
said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus
said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know
Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father”
(John 14:8-9).
2. The Servant as the Embodiment of Israel: In Isaiah 41:8-9, the Lord describes
8 But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
9 You whom
I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts,
And said to you,
'You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you. (Isaiah
41:8-9).
However, as we continue reading the prophecies of
Isaiah, we come to the power where the servant is pictured, not as the entire
nation, but as being embodied in a single individual. This faithful servant is contrasted to
1 “Behold,
My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul
delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will
not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will
not be disheartened or crushed,
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."
5 Thus
says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 "I
am the LORD,
I have called you in righteousness,
I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you,
And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness
from the prison. (Isaiah 42:1-7).
Like
His ministry is not only to bring justice, but also to
open the eyes of the blind and to release those who have been in bondage. He is a liberator and He is also just and
righteous.
3. The Suffering Servant.
13 Behold,
My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up,
and greatly exalted.
14 Just as
many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He
will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
(Isaiah 52:13-15).
From this passage to the end of chapter 53 is set
forth in the form of a chiasm. It is a
parallel that begins and ends of the same note.
The important point of this parallel is see in that which is at the
pivotal point.
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Exaltation; 52:13-15 |
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Exaltation; 53:10-12 |
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↓ |
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↑ |
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Rejection; 53:1-3 |
|
Rejection; 53:7-9 |
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↓ |
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↑ |
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Suffering; 53:4-6 |
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Notice that the aspect of suffering is the central and
pivotal point of the passage. But before
we read of the suffering of the Servant, we are first guaranteed of the
exaltation of the Servant. He will
prosper. This is the same message as is
found in the book of Revelation. Jesus
Wins!
In verse 14 we saw that many were
astonished. Now in verse 15 we see that many
nations are sprinkled. The point is that
the Messiah not only worked in a surprising manner, but that He also produced
some surprising results. His coming
would result in the salvation of the nations and even kings would recognize His
authority.
1 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
(Isaiah 53:1).
Verse 1 is a rhetorical question. After all, this is a message that everyone
ought to have believed. But the truth of
the matter is that many have not believed the report of the prophet. Why not?
It is because of what we read in verse 2:
2
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face,
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah
53:2-3).
Jesus was not the stereotype of a heroic figure. He didn’t come across as a conquering king or
a majestic ruler. He grew up as a simple
carpenter. There was nothing about His
appearing that would attract the natural man.
4 Surely
our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-6).
In these verses we go back and forth between the truth about the work of Jesus versus what people THOUGHT
about Jesus. It is a contrast between reality versus delusion.
|
53:4 |
Reality |
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows
He carried; |
|
Delusion |
Yet we
ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God,
and afflicted. |
|
|
53:5 |
Reality |
But He was
pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed
for our iniquities; The chastening
for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His
scourging we are healed. |
|
53:6 |
Delusion |
All of us like
sheep have gone astray, Each of us has
turned to his own way; |
|
Reality |
But the LORD
has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. |
Unbelieving
This was graphically illustrated in the case of
Barabbas. This man was a thief and a
robber. He had been caught and tried for
his crimes and sentenced to death.
Seeking to pacify a hostile crowd, Pontius Pilate released Barabbas and
crucified Jesus. The one who deserved to
die was given life and the One who had done no wrong was sent to the
cross. It was a cross that was meant for
Barabbas.
Verse 6 widens the scope of the cross to show how it
extends itself to all.
All
of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each
of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6).
This is the same concept that Paul presents in Romans
5:12-18. It is the concept that all were
under sin and that all sins were subsequently atoned.
Sheep are not known for their organizational
skills. Left to themselves, they will
wander and they will keep on wandering.
We are like that. Left to
ourselves, our tendency is to wander away from God. This is why we need a Savior.
In verses 4-8 we see a contrast between our need over
against the Servant’s divine remedy for that need.
|
|
The Servant’s Remedy |
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Our griefs
(53:4). |
He Himself bore (53:4). |
|
Our sorrows (53:4). |
He carried (53:4). |
|
For our transgressions
(53:5). |
He was pierced (53:5). |
|
For our iniquities (53:5). |
He was crushed (53:4). |
|
For our well-being (53:5). |
The chastening... fell upon
Him (53:5) |
|
In need of healing (53:5). |
By His scourging (53:5). |
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All of us like sheep have
gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way
(53:6). |
The LORD has caused the
iniquity of us all to fall on Him (53:6). |
|
For the transgression of my
people to whom the stroke was due (53:8). |
He was cut off out of the
land of the living (53:8). |
The innocent was punished in place of the guilty. The guilty as permitted to go free.
BORN
IN
But as for you,
Too little to be among the clans of
From you One will go forth
for Me to be ruler in
His goings forth are from
long ago,
From the days of eternity. (Micah 5:2).
Just
as David had come from
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