Christ In Isaiah

Is 11 “shoot from the stem of Jesse”; “Branch from his roots will bear fruit” (2) “Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him.” (Seven spirits of God Rev 5, Spiritual perfection)

Spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, fear

“He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth”

“Will slay the wicked”

Is 40 “Lord will come with might”

Is 52 “Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him”

Is 50:4 “Given me the tongue of disciples” “Sustain the weary one with a word”

Is 53 “Lamb led to the slaughter” “oppressed and afflicted”;

Isaiah tells us who the Messiah is (Isaiah 9).

Jesus identifies Himself through Isaiah (Isaiah 61/Luke 4).

Peter explains people's response through Isaiah (Isaiah 8 & 28).

Paul explains salvation through Isaiah (Romans 9–11; 15).

John ends the Bible using Isaiah's imagery of the New Creation.

#1 Isaiah - Who He Is

Referenced: 419 (quotations & allusions)

66 (Direct Quote)

Isaiah points to Jesus Christ

Isaiah 9:6 KJV 1900

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah does not simply say a Messiah is coming but tells us who He is.

Child—Son—Mighty God—Everlasting Father—Prince of Peace

Isaiah paints a picture that no ordinary man could fulfill.

Question:

Which title stands out to you the most?

Transition

Seven centuries later Jesus stood up and introduced Himself.

#2 I Am He

Luke 4:16-21 (Is 61)

(The Spirit of the Lord is upon me)

Christ points back to the words of Isaiah—a well known and beloved prophet of God.

Jesus had sat in the synagogue with these people

The shock was not that he was claiming to be the Messiah, they were waiting on Him after all… The shock was the HE was claiming to be Messiah.

"It's Me."

Discussion

Jesus didn't merely preach Isaiah.

He claimed to fulfill Isaiah.

Everything Isaiah promised...

Jesus declared had arrived.

Question:

What would your reaction have been sitting in that synagogue?

Why do you think Jesus chose Isaiah 61 instead of another passage?

Transition

Some believed. Others rejected Him.

How do you reject Someone who opens blind eyes, Raises the dead, Cleanses lepers, Feeds thousands.

Without asking for money. Without seeking fame?

Peter answers that question.

#3 The Stumbling Stone

The young farmer

1 Peter 2:6–8 KJV 1900

6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

Isaiah 8:14 KJV 1900

14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

If you fall on the rock or if the rock hits you—you fall either way.

Matthew 21:44 KJV 1900

44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Matthew F. The Rejected Son Is Actually the Exalted King (21:33–46)

He had described himself as a potential “stumbling block” for those who did not believe in him (11:6). Such a skeptic who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. And if the skeptic’s resistance is so deeply entrenched that God takes the initiative in bringing judgment and the stone falls on him (cf.

We either become apart of the building or we are broken or crushed by it.

Those who rejected Him did not stop going to the synagogue, they didn’t take of their “godly robes”, they didn’t stop praying—but they never started believing beyond their expectations.

Romans 9:31–32 KJV 1900

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

Peter says Jesus became a stone of stumbling.

Not because He produced no evidence.

Not because His miracles weren't real.

Not because His words weren't true.

People stumbled because He wasn't the Messiah they wanted.

They wanted a king who came as a servant.

They wanted someone to defeat visible Rome but He came to defeat invisible sin.

They expected a glorious throne but he bore a sinners cross.

The problem was never Jesus. The problem was their expectations that fed earthly desires.

Discussion

Illustration

The farmer wasn't dying because there wasn't water.

He was dying because he refused to believe the well existed.

Israel wasn't spiritually thirsty because God failed to send a Savior. Many remained thirsty because they refused the Well of salvation standing in front of them.

Question

Has your expectation of God ever become a stumbling block?

Are Christians today capable of stumbling over Jesus in the same way?

Why is truth offensive sometimes?

Closing Thought

Isaiah spoke—Jesus fulfilled—Peter explained.

The same Christ Isaiah preached, who stood in Nazareth, and who Peter called the cornerstone—still works today through His Spirit.

The people of Jesus day witnessed the same things we have in our life.

We have believed the testimony of Scripture, and many of us have also witnessed God still healing, delivering, restoring, and transforming lives through the Spirit of Christ.

This question is just as important for the new believer as it is the life-long saint: Is Jesus your Cornerstone......or is He a stone you trip over?

If there is one thing the people of Jesus day proved—it’s that you can spend a life time with the scriptures and miss the Savior of those scriptures.

One Final Question

Am I asking God to send rain...while standing by the well He has already provided?