Isaiah, the Messianic Prophet
The story of Jesus saturates the Bible narrative and prophecies of His first Advent are found throughout the Old Testament. One scholar, J. Barton Payne, found as many as 574 verses in the Old Testament that somehow point to or describe or reference the coming Messiah. Alfred Edersheim found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.
As one of the major prophets, the book of Isaiah has many of those prophecies, perhaps more than any other book of the Old Testament. In fact, Isaiah 53 is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. Maybe that’s why Matthew quotes Isaiah in the story of Jesus’ birth (Matthew 1:23). Jesus himself quotes Isaiah when he announces who He is at the start of His ministry (Luke 4:21).
We just can’t look at the birth of Jesus without considering the many prophecies He fulfilled, and Isaiah is the best place to find those predictions. Known as the “Shakespeare of the prophets,” Isaiah has often been called the “evangelical prophet” because of his incredibly clear and detailed messianic prophecies – all written nearly 800 years before Christ.
Someone calculated that the 36 details about the Messiah in chapter 53 alone have a 1 out of 68,719,476,736 chance of fulfillment by one person. Jesus fulfilled all of them in His first coming. Yet, there are many more prophecies by Isaiah, and these are astoundingly accurate. Here are just a few found in Isaiah:
In addition to his prophecies of Christ, Isaiah is where that famous verse we so often quote comes from: “Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8). Are we ready to be sent?
Look Up – Connect with God
Read: Take any one (or 2 or 3) of these prophetic verses and talk about how they were fulfilled in Jesus. Discuss the probabilities any one man could fulfill even a small percentage of those prophecies. Marvel at God’s handiwork and wonder why it’s so difficult for people to accept the truth of who Jesus is.
Key Verse: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Pray: Lord, open our eyes to see, hear, and understand your truth. Thank you for providing such compelling evidence that Jesus is your son. Deepen our faith to believe what you say, always. We are ready to serve you.
Look In – Family Memories
Discuss: Which of the prophecies is most compelling to you? What does that do for your faith?
Look Out – Connect with Others
Bring a plate of Christmas goodies to a neighbor or two, along with an invitation for them to join you at the Christmas Eve Service, December 24 @ 6:00 pm.