Q: How does Jesus Christ fulfill the words of Isaiah 49:7?
A: Thank you for your question. Isaiah 49:7 says, "This is what the LORD says-- the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel-- to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." The first thing to look at is how the LORD, who is saying these things, is described. God is said to be the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel. Later in the chapter it says that "all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Isaiah 49:26)." Notice how the Lord refers to Himself as "Savior." Who is the Savior of the world? It is Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ was born, an angel of the Lord appeared and said about Jesus, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11)."
As you continue on in Isaiah 49:7, you read that the LORD is talking to "him who was despised and abhorred by the nations." A word that can be used in place of despised and abhorred is hate. In John 7, Jesus is talking to His brothers, who are encouraging Him to become a "public figure." He says to them, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil (John 7:7)." In essence, Jesus is saying that He is despised and abhorred by the nations in this passage. In Matthew 12:18, it says, "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations." Matthew specifically points to the words of Isaiah as being fulfilled because Jesus was healing the sick who were being brought to Him. It was in this way He was being a servant of rulers. After all, what are rulers, but leaders of nations.
If a King were to rise before someone and a prince were to bow, it is a clear sign they are submitting to that person. Given the fact that Kings and princes are the leaders of their respective kingdoms, the person they would submit to would have to be someone of extreme power and authority. That "person" is Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation describes Jesus Christ like this: "On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:6)." Since He is God in the flesh, there is nobody on earth who would not rise before Him or bow in His presence. The Apostle Paul summed up the idea of submitting to Jesus Christ in the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians. "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11)."
Finally, Isaiah 49:7 speaks of how the LORD chose Jesus. Luke 9:35 says, "A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."" Here we see God clearly saying that He has chosen Jesus Christ. These are just some of the ways in which Jesus Christ has fulfilled Isaiah 49:7. I encourage you to do a comparative study of the words and phrases found in this verse in order to find more parallels between them and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. May I suggest starting with a search of "Holy One," "faithful" and "redeemer." You will be encouraged by what you find in your study and I am confident your faith and trust in our God and Savior Jesus Christ will be increased. Like Philip you will be able to say with confidence, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (John 1:45)." Grace and Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment