Jesus Revealed in the Book of Isaiah

Every book in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, is a picture of Jesus. Let’s look at some pictures in Isaiah.

Because Isaiah had such a long ministry, he prophesied a number of important revelations about the Messiah. One is in Isaiah 7:14, which reads, “Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign, Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.” You may know that Immanuel means “God with us.”

Isaiah is telling us that God is going to come to us through a virgin birth. This prophecy connects to Genesis 3:15, a prophecy that tells us the Messiah will be born of the seed of the woman, meaning a virgin birth.

The Hebrew word in verse 14 for virgin is almah. It can mean a virgin or simply a young woman of marriageable age. Unfortunately, there were many young women of marriageable age who gave birth, so that would not be much of a sign. There are two important confirmations that Isaiah did indeed mean a virgin.

The first sign happened around 250 B.C. At this time, the Jewish people were scattered among the nations ruled by Alexander the Great. People in Alexander’s world, including the Jewish people, spoke Greek. They needed their Scriptures translated into Greek. So when the Jewish scholars translated Isaiah 7:14, they translated almah as virgin. They were looking for a virgin-born Messiah.

The second witness was in the New Testament. When the Gospel writers wrote about the birth of Jesus, they quoted Isaiah 7:14. And here is what they said in Matthew 1:22-23: “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.'”

Another incredible, well-known, prophecy that speaks of the Messiah is Isaiah 9:6-7. Isaiah writes, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this.”

Isaiah clearly says that God Almighty will come to earth in the form of a child who will be the everlasting Son of God in human flesh. He is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14. It is impossible that Isaiah could say all these things about a normal human being. This Messiah born of human flesh would be more than just a normal human being. He would be divine—Immanuel—God with us. Hallelujah!

But there is one more prophecy we are going to read which is perhaps the most important and recognized by Christians around the world. That is Isaiah 53. Read that entire chapter, and you will clearly see that Isaiah can only be talking about one person—Jesus of Nazareth.

Listen to this episode of Sounds of the Shofar on Charisma Podcast Network now to learn more. {eoa}

Dr. Richard Booker is the author of The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread and 40 life-changing books and has developed 18 college-level Bible courses from a Judeo-Christian perspective. He has made more than 550 television programs and serves as a spiritual father to many. He and his wife, Peggy, have led tours to Israel for 30 years, where for 18 years, Richard was a speaker at the International Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. This event is attended by 5,000 Christians from 100 nations. During their tours they brought humanitarian aid to needy organizations in Israel.

Dr. Booker and Peggy hosted a Kristallnacht Memorial for 18 years during which time they worked closely with the Holocaust Museum and Survivors in Houston, Texas. They also participated in a Holocaust Educators Tour to Europe. In addition, they hosted an Erev Shabbat event for 15 years, where they taught the importance for Christians and Jews to discover one another in mutual love and respect To learn more, see their website at rbooker.com.