Life and Ministry of the Christ in Isaiah
#3 Isaiah 9
2 The people who walk in darkness saw a great light, those who dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.*
A great light will shine upon Galilee of the Gentiles. Matthew 4:12-16 tells us:
12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Thus it was prophesied that Christ would have a ministry in Galilee, as he in fact did.
Isaiah goes on to say,
9:3 The multitude of the people which thou hast brought down in thy joy, they shall even rejoice before thee as they that rejoice in harvest, and as they that divide the spoil.
4 Because the yoke that was laid upon them has been taken away, and the rod that was on their neck: for he has broken the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Madiam.
When shall this joyous deliverance come? When Christ comes:
6 for a child was born to us and a son was given to us, the rule was upon his shoulder, and his name is called messenger of great counsel, wonderful counselor, strong God, ruler, prince of peace, father of the coming age; for I bring peace upon the rulers, peace and soundness.
7 His government shall be great, and of his peace there is no end: it shall be upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to support it with judgement and with righteousness, from henceforth and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.
What a wonderful prophecy! It is well known, being quoted often during Christmas. However, it is never directly quoted in the New Testament. But I believe the angel Gabriel had this in mind when he said to Mary (Luke 1:31-33):
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Amen! And the ancient Jews understood this of Christ as well:
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon writes to Jacob Alfajumi:
“God named Him (the Messiah) with six names as He says concerning Him: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Mighty, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’. That He calleth Him God in a distinctive manner, is to say with it, that His glory surpasses that of all other children of men.”
Targum Isaiah:
“The prophet saith to the house of David, A child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; and He has taken the law upon Himself to keep it, and His name had been called from of old, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, He Who Lives Forever, The Anointed One (or Messiah), in whose days peace shall increase upon us.”
The early church also knew this passage spoke of Christ. Irenaeus quotes this verse:
“Now, the Scriptures would not have testified these things of Him, if, like others, He had been a mere man. But that He had, beyond all others, in Himself that pre-eminent birth which is from the Most High Father, and also experienced that pre-eminent generation which is from the Virgin, the divine Scriptures do in both respects testify of Him: also, that He was a man without comeliness, and liable to suffering; that He sat upon the foal of an ass; that He received for drink, vinegar and gall; that He was despised among the people, and humbled Himself even to death and that He is the holy Lord, the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Beautiful in appearance, and the Mighty God, coming on the clouds as the Judge of all men; — all these things did the Scriptures prophesy of Him.” †
Tertullian also quotes this verse, and says it speaks of the cross
“Come now, when you read in the words of David, how that “the Lord reigns from the tree,” I want to know what you understand by it. Perhaps you think some wooden king of the Jews is meant!— and not Christ, who overcame death by His suffering on the cross, and thence reigned! Now, although death reigned from Adam even to Christ, why may not Christ be said to have reigned from the tree, from His having shut up the kingdom of death by dying upon the tree of His cross? Likewise Isaiah also says: For unto us a child is born. But what is there unusual in this, unless he speaks of the Son of God? To us is given He whose government is upon His shoulder. Now, what king is there who bears the ensign of his dominion upon his shoulder, and not rather upon his head as a diadem, or in his hand as a sceptre, or else as a mark in some royal apparel? But the one new King of the new ages, Jesus Christ, carried on His shoulder both the power and the excellence of His new glory, even His cross; so that, according to our former prophecy, He might thenceforth reign from the tree as Lord.” ‡
Praise the Lord! Jesus is this Christ!
--==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
* All Old Testament Scripture quotations are from the Septuagint (LXX).
Why am I using the LXX? This was the version used by Jesus, the apostles, and the early church, as well as the one quoted by Matthew.
† Irenaeus (AD 115-202), Against Heresies, Book 3, chapter 19 paragraph 2 here
‡ Tertullian (AD 155–240), Against Marcion, Book III Chapter 19 “Prophecies of the Death of Christ” here
Why do I always quote Ante-Nicene Fathers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian? Simply put, because I want the earliest sources, those nearest to the Apostles.
No comments:
Post a Comment