Isaiah is called the Messianic prophet because his prophetic references that speak of the life of Christ far outnumber any of the other Old Testament prophets. There are twenty-two direct references to the prophet Isaiah that are quoted in the New Testament and many other quotes, perhaps at least one hundred that also speak of the life and ministry of Jesus, the Christ. This next series will delve into the New Testament verses that are directly linked to Isaiah.
Isaiah continually points to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, driving this point home. The New Testament directly quotes Isaiah twenty-two times; the Gospels quote Isaiah fourteen times; Acts quotes him three times, and finally, Paul’s letter to the Romans quotes Isaiah five times. Clearly, Isaiah deserves the title “The Messianic Prophet.”
The next passage that speaks of the word of Isaiah being fulfilled is found in John’s gospel which reads, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” John 12:38.
The passage quotes from Isaiah 53:1 and is one of the Servant songs, each of which speak of Jesus as the ultimate Servant and the Messiah of Israel. John had previously written in John 1:11 that Jesus came to His own, and His own did not receive Him; speaking of the Jewish people who would not believe in Him. This verse is followed by a promise that, “to those who did receive Him, to those He gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12.
In my last blog, I began to look at the prophecies in Isaiah which have their fulfillment in Christ. We continue the study with Matthew 13:14 which states, “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which states:
14. Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.”
Isaiah is called the Messianic prophet because his prophetic references that speak of the life of Christ far outnumber any of the other Old Testament prophets. There are twenty-two direct references to the prophet Isaiah that are quoted in the New Testament and many other quotes, perhaps at least one hundred that also speak of the life and ministry of Jesus, the Christ. This next series will delve into the New Testament verses that are directly linked to Isaiah.
New Things! Who among us does not enjoy receiving something new- new clothes, new shoes, a new purse, a new house, a new car, a new baby! When I was a boy, we lived on a farm and raised cows. Back then the cow feed was sold in brightly colored feed sacks. We were not poor, but my mom was very frugal, and she always kept the feed sacks. She used them to make colorful shirts for my brother and me. A special time of year was when my mom would make each of us a new brightly colored shirt to wear to church on Easter Sunday. We were always proud to wear a special shirt made by my mom.
The question arises: Is God into new things? The writer of Ecclesiastes, or the preacher, says in Chapter 1 Verse 9, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun.” The preacher is writing from one perspective; however, the prophet Isaiah in his book states an entirely different viewpoint. In Chapter 43 Verse 15, God states through the prophet, “I am their Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King”. And in Verse 19, the Lord continues to speak saying “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?”
The scripture goes on to say that God will give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to His chosen people. “The people whom I formed for Myself, they will declare my praise.”
Isaiah speaks of several other new things that God will bring forth among the people who will declare His praise on the earth. Isaiah 42:10 speaks of a new song; Isaiah 42:9 and 41:1 speak of a new strength; Isaiah 62:1-2 speaks of a new name; and Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22 speak of God ultimately creating a new heaven and a new earth. The prophet Isaiah declares over and over again that God is into new things.
I spent many years of my life as a believer in Christ and His atoning work on the cross, pondering 2 Corinthians 5:17 which states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I would hear others share testimonies how God had radically changed their lives, but I would have a hard time relating. And then over a period of time, it was as though the Holy Spirit came and began to brood over my life even as a mother hen broods over her chicks. I became convicted of sin in my life, and one day I prayed a prayer in which I said, “Lord, I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I want to start over and be a New Testament Christian, whatever that means.” It was as though a light bulb went off in my soul. God and His Word became a rich treasure in my life. I began to put off the old and put on the new, and I too became a new creation in Him.
May each one who reads this, call upon the Lord Jesus in faith and become part of His new creation in the earth, His Church.
The first time the word garden appears in the Bible occurs in Genesis 2:8. Vegetation had already been brought forth in creation as reported in Genesis 1:11-12. Genesis 2:8 introduces a different thought and imagery by stating that, “God planted a garden.” Again the impression is given that God personally was involved in “planting” this garden.
A common metaphor of a vineyard or garden recurs often throughout the Bible. In fact, the word vineyard occurs 104 times in all: 84 times in the Old Testament and 22 times in the New Testament. The closely related word, garden, occurs 63 times bringing the total of these two words to 145 uses in both the Old and New Testaments.
When we look at the way in which God speaks to us today, it will always transcend our own methods of communication whether we are relating to a switchboard operator or using modern technology. God goes beyond that which we know in the natural. Our methods of communication may change through time; however, our God remains the same yesterday, today and forever. When He speaks, He speaks into our heart, our spirit and our innermost being. In our day in age, those things that entertain us captivate us: probably no different than times past. We must ask then, are we plugged into the things that entertain us, or are we plugged into God who is ultimately the only one who can fulfill us? May the Lord open each of our hearts, eyes and ears that we may truly “hear” what He is speaking to each of us today!
