The Gospel of Isaiah

February 9, 2021 Monte Judah

When I was a young Baptist minister, I started an ambitious Bible study in the book of Isaiah. It was 1982, so we named the class “Isaiah through in ‘82.” It wasn’t a particularly catchy title but it did express our commitment that year to complete the study. We didn’t make it, so we renamed the class “Isaiah free in ‘83.” The second title carried even more heartfelt weight than the first. However, something wonderful and incredible happened in the latter part of this study. I saw for the first time how the Gospel (the good news) was prophesied for us today.

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when the Lord restores Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:7–10

In those days, I was a typical Baptist believer, strong in Bible study, convinced that Jesus was the Christ, and that salvation was by faith and not good works. But, to be honest, there was something missing. It was my hope that studying Isaiah would help fill that “something missing” sense.

I wanted to know with certainty, and be able to explain to others, why I believed the way I did. I was aware of the contribution made by my previous teachers in the faith. I had accepted their conclusions without challenge. I did so out of respect and honor. I did so to receive all that they had to offer. But now, I was responsible as a minister for the material and teaching. I wanted the backup and confirmation for my faith.

Why did I choose to study Isaiah? Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than any other book of the Old Testament. The book of Isaiah is like a mini-Bible with 66 chapters (66 books) with 39 chapters (as in the Old Testament) addressing historical matters in Isaiah’s day and the last 27 chapters (like the New Testament) addressing New Testament themes and subjects.

The last 27 chapters of Isaiah are the most quoted by the New Testament writers. Virtually every major doctrine taught in the New Testament can be taught using the book of Isaiah. The reason is simple. They usually quote from Isaiah. In particular, the Messiah Himself quoted from Isaiah to explain that He was the Messiah.

Isaiah 53 is one of the most powerful Biblical passages in all of the Bible, prophetically explaining the Messiah’s death as the redemptive price for forgiveness of sin. Many of my Jewish brethren are stunned when they read it. I have actually heard Jews complain of it saying, “It is more Christian propaganda,” not realizing that it is the prophet Isaiah.

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 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. 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.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. 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.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:1–11

While I was familiar with these passages of Scripture and their use in the New Testament, I was not familiar with what Isaiah was really talking about. I only had a few quotes that flowed into the New Testament thought. By August of 1983 my theological world was rocked by what else Isaiah had to say.

These were my first steps in becoming a Messianic Jew.

When Yeshua was first brought to the temple as an infant by his parents, Joseph and Mary, He completed an important ceremony in accordance with the Law of Moses. It was called “the redemption of the firstborn.” (Numbers 18:16) Five silver coins were offered to a righteous man. The man’s name was Simeon.

Simeon was a devout man who believed that he would see the Messiah with his own eyes before he passed his mortal life. His specific testimony was that he was waiting for the "consolation of Israel."

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke 2:25

But what was said and what actually happened amazed both Simeon and Yeshua’s parents.

And it had been revealed to him [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." Luke 2:26–32

And His [Yeshua’s] father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. Luke 2:33

The amazing part of this event comes right out of the words of the Gospel according to Isaiah. Consider them again.

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when the Lord restores Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:7–10

Simeon’s promise from God to see the Messiah with his own eyes was directly from the words of Isaiah. Simeon believed in God’s promise for comfort and consolation of Israel, and he bore testimony that the Messiah’s salvation would reach Gentile nations, just as Isaiah said.

An elderly woman named Anna was also in the temple that day. It was said of her that she was seeking the redemption of Jerusalem. She, too, gave the same testimony of Isaiah.

At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:38

Isaiah’s prophecy of the Good News of the consolation of Israel and the redemption is in the midst of the last 27 chapters of Isaiah. It is a summary statement defining why the Messiah would come for all peoples, not just Israel.

The Torah is systematically taught each Sabbath. A portion from the first five books of the Torah is assigned with a corresponding Haftorah (after the Torah) portion. These Haftorah portions come from other books in the Tanach (Old Testament). The last seven Torah portions leading up to the Feast of Trumpets (turning of the New Year) include Moses preparing the generation that entered the Promised Land after 40 years in the wilderness. Each of these seven Torah portions has a corresponding Haftorah portion from the book of Isaiah with a key phrase emphasized:

Shabbat Va-Etchanan Isaiah 40:1–26 – “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people…”
Shabbat Ekev Isaiah 49:14–52:3 – “But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”
Shabbat Re’eh Isaiah 54:11–55:5 – “Oh Afflicted One, storm-tossed, and not comforted…”
Shabbat Shoftim Isaiah 51:12–52:12 – “I, even I, am the One who comforts you.”
Shabbat Ki Tetze Isaiah 54:1–10 – “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.”
Shabbat Ki Tavo Isaiah 60:1–22 – “Arise and shine for thy light has come…”
Shabbat Nitzavim Isaiah 61:10–63:9 – “And foreigners will build your walls and their kings will minister to you.”

The key phrase is the first sentence expressed in that portion from Isaiah. These phrases are sequenced together to form a special homiletical teaching called the Haftorahs of Consolation. It is a call to comfort and console Israel that is scattered in the nations, and to give hope for their eventual return to the land according to the promises of Moses. Israel complains that she has been forsaken by God, but God promises to be her comforter. God also explains that the separation was temporary, and that she—Israel—should arise and shine out of the peoples in darkness. The end result is the kingdom with many coming to worship.

This special teaching, in conjunction with the seven sabbaths leading up to the Feast of Trumpets, appears to have existed even in the days of Yeshua and the second temple. Simeon and Anna obviously knew of these prophecies. Mary saw and understood the magnitude of the mission God had laid on her Son and ensured that Luke recorded these early childhood events in his Gospel.

When I discovered how powerful these prophecies of Isaiah were concerning Yeshua, I got my first taste of seeing the Messiah through Jewish eyes. The Messiah was to change the world, but that did not mean that Israel was to go away and be replaced by the church. God’s promise of the Messiah was to bring back the exiles from the nations, to restore the House of Judah along with the House of Ephraim, and to restore the whole House of Israel.

Today, some Messianic Jewish brethren scoff at my last statement. To them, the terms Jews and Israel are interchangeable in the Bible based on a purely modern definition. To those brethren, it wasn’t twelve tribes who came out of Egypt, it was a bunch of Jews who came out of Egypt. When it is pointed out that it was a mixed multitude (not everyone was a descendent of Jacob) who left Egypt, it is dismissed. When it is pointed out that Jews is a term only applied to those of the Southern Kingdom (the House of Judah) who lived in Judea and that it did not apply to other people of Israel, such as the Ephraimites of the House of Israel, they dismiss it in the same manner.

Today, unbelieving Jews discredit and dispute the Messiahship of Yeshua because they don’t see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words. They don’t see Israel comforted, they don’t see the exiles brought back to the land, and they don’t see Judah and Ephraim joined (restored) together.

Messianic Jews who dismiss the existence of Ephraim and the House of Israel today also dismiss the prophecies of Isaiah and further discredit Yeshua’s testimony before our Jewish brethren. Simply said, many Messianic Jewish leaders proclaim Yeshua as Messiah and yet dismiss the very evidence that proves that He is. They continue to carry on the behavior of our exile by vexing Ephraim. It can be equally said that very few within Ephraim understand Isaiah’s words when they vex Judah. In this case, vexing can include the meaning of repeated denial of one another.

The Haftorahs of Consolation are the Gospel—the Good News. It is Yeshua’s testimony to seek the lost sheep of the House of Israel. It is His work of redemption to "proclaim liberty for the captives and freedom to the prisoners."

From learning the Gospel in Isaiah, I have sought out other like-minded brethren who are excited about God’s promises—the good news of being redeemed out of slavery. While many speak of the Gospel, few understand the often-repeated promise of Moses and the prophets as the reason why it is “good news.” Most think that the Gospel is only New Testament material and teaching.

As the Messianic movement has grown, many brethren (a mixed multitude) have joined in. Some Messianic Jewish brethren have actually treated them like second-class citizens in the kingdom, so I have taken issue with their racial bigotry and artificial hospitality toward them. But I am encouraged, despite the error of some, because the words of Isaiah are being realized with us today as they did in Simeon’s day. As Isaiah said about us—the people who would receive the Holy Spirit—he spoke of a people who would turn again to the Torah and seek the God of the Exodus.

Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; as the cattle which go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name. Isaiah 63:11–14

We are the same people who will complete the rest of Yeshua’s prophecy of Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:1–3

We are the people—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the remnant of Israel—the children of promise.

Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed. Isaiah 61:9

The people who hear the Gospel of Isaiah know that the Messiah came and did the work of redemption, but His work is not complete. They know that the proclamation of that redemption will bring forth from all of the nations the children of promise, not the children of flesh. They will be numbered with the tribes of Israel and the future kingdom. There won’t be Jews or Gentiles anymore. Instead, Isaiah says that we will be called by a new name.

And they will call them, "The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord"; and you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken." Isaiah 62:12

Until we all return, the Messiah’s work is still in progress. Until we understand this and cooperate with it, we are not yet restored. It remains a hope for the "consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem."