Isaiah lived some 800 years before Jesus of Nazareth, yet Jesus and the apostles declared that he prophesied of Jesus and the gospel of salvation. Isaiah is the first of the prophetic books and that’s why I began with him.
I said in my introduction, “I have to admit, I had to exercise a good bit of restraint – there is so much good stuff in Isaiah, I had to restrict myself to the prophecies of the first coming and life of Christ!” For example, 2:1-5 speaks of the salvation Christ will bring and 5:1-7 is a passage Jesus alluded to when he said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” As wonderful as these passages are, and as much as they speak of Christ, I don’t think they speak of the life or ministry of Christ, so I will begin with Isaiah 6. Specifically, verses 8-10. (Unless otherwise indicated, I will be using the Septuagint (LXX) since this is the version most often quoted in the New Testament.)
Isaiah 6:1 And it came to pass in the year in which king Ozias died, that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory.
2 And seraphs stood round about him: each one had six wings: and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3 And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the lintel shook at the voice they uttered, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 And I said, Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips; and I have seen with mine eyes the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 And there was sent to me one of the seraphs, and he had in his hand a coal, which he had taken off the altar with the tongs:
7 and he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and will take away thine iniquities, and will purge off thy sins.
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, behold, I am here, send me. And he said, Go, and say to this people,
9 Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not understand; and ye shall see indeed, but ye shall not perceive.
10 For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
In chapter 6 Isaiah had an amazing vision of the Lord, and as a result he is sent on what is to be an unsuccessful mission (8-10). And it turns out verses 8-10 are some of the most frequently quoted verses from the Old Testament, being quoted five (5) times in the New Testament. (I admit, I did not know this until I did this study.) This emphasis is, as we shall see, significant.
Matthew 13:10-17
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Jesus quotes this passage in answer to the question, Why do you speak to them in parables? He says it is a judgment on them because they closed their ears and shut their eyes. Therefore he speaks in parables to hide the truth from the disinterested; those who are interested, those who are hungry, those who desire to see and hear these things will seek for understanding and find it.
This quotation in Matthew is why I chose to use the Septuagint – while the English doesn’t necessarily show it, in the Greek Matthew and Isaiah agree (nearly) word for word.
This is a powerful passage. It explains the teaching style of Jesus and its repeated use in the New Testament answers the vexing question, Why aren’t the Jews believing in their own Messiah? As Jesus said, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias (Isaiah).”
Mark 4:10-12
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
This is the same situation and question, with the same answer and quote. But there is one difference, which is quite cool. Isaiah and Matthew have,
Lest at any time they should … be converted, and I should heal them.
Mark has
lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Mark explains what I should heal them means – their sins should be forgiven them.
Luke 8:10
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
John 12:37-41
37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
John’s presentation of this difficult passage seems the harshest, for he says, “Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again...” What does this mean, “they could not believe”? St. Augustine said: "If I be asked why they Could not believe? I immediately answer, Because They Would Not. And God, having foreseen their Bad Will, foretold it by the prophet."
“Because they did not believe the report of the prophets concerning Christ; therefore they credited not the miracles which he wrought as a proof that he was the person foretold by the prophets, and promised to their fathers. Having thus resisted the report of the prophets, and the evidence of Christ's own miracles, God gave them up to the darkness and hardness of their own hearts, so that they continued to reject every overture of Divine mercy; and God refused to heal their national wound, but, on the contrary, commissioned the Romans against them, so that their political existence was totally destroyed.” (Adam Clarke)
Acts 28:23-28
23 And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
This is a pivotal passage for the gospel. As Paul declared to those Jews in Rome, “I brought the gospel to you but you will not listen so as to be converted to Christ, therefore this salvation is being sent to the Gentiles.” Their stubborn refusal to hear, mixed with God’s judgment, means they have been blinded. It is not total blindness of the Jews (“some believed”) nor that all Gentiles are saved, but it does explain why the Jews as a people do not respond to the Gospel while the Gentiles are coming in as “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.”
By what right does Jesus take these words spoken to Isaiah and apply them to himself? He was the very One Isaiah saw when he said, “I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne.” And He was the One who spoke the words to Isaiah. Therefore, He knew He was referring to His own ministry. This passage also explains the Gospel. As Paul said, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, ‘Their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted.’ Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
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