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"Isaiah as the Fifth Evangelist" Project

Jim Martin
Oct. 19, 1999

Isaiah points in so many ways to Christ and His work it is no wonder he has received the name "the Fifth Evangelist." Isaiah's view of the Messiah can be seen in three main way: The names he gives Him, the work he shows Him doing, and the response he shows people have to Him. The charts and explanations below help explain these three points.

These verses may not all seem to apply directly to Christ, but all are names applied to God. Two names, “LORD” and “Holy One of Israel” often appear together--so often that when I used the Online Bible© to search for them both together, almost all of these names were also found connected with them in one passage or another. This implies that all these names tie together in a closer way than just being names of God. Since many of them definitely refer to the coming Messiah, the fact is presented to us that all of these names, though they describe God, also have a message for us on just who the Messiah is and, in part, what he will do for us.

The work of the Messiah, however, is more fully described for us throughout the book. Perhaps one of the best summary of His overall work is seen in the 61st chapter where the three main periods of Isaiah’s prophecy come together. The first verse deals with Christ’s first coming, as Christ himself pointed out in reading this part only in Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry (Luke 4:16-21). Verses two and three tell generally of the work of our Lord still has to complete and the rest of the verses (4-11) give a specific focus on Israel--some during the restoration from captivity and some for the end of time.

It is only logical to begin by looking at the work He has already finished. This passage speaks, for example, of the Messiah’s being “anointed to preach good tidings to the meek.” The anointing consecrated Him as a priest, His announcing of God’s full plan, is pointing to the role of prophet he fulfilled, and the decisiveness to go to the meek partly points to the authority God gave Him as King. Of course, this one verse or one passage could never show all he did but it hints at it, and many other passages help fill it out.

From the virgin birth recorded in Isaiah 7:13-16 to the step by step description of His death on the cross in chapter 53, the details are clearly stated of his life as “a man of sorrows.” Through these details, though, Isaiah lays out a basic plan of God and a picture of His work through the Messiah. First, as we have already seen, he reveals who He is.
Secondly, He protects His people from outside harm, sometime directly(Isaiah 4:5-6; 7:1-12) and sometimes by warning them what is coming even if they have begun to drift away(8:19-22; 30:1-7) This second warning comes many times before the one who is a light to Israel is forced to light them in judgment(10:17). How do they force God to do anything? He simply can’t stand the demanding attitude from them, as Isaiah 5:19 shows. He comes to see us as we are and destroys until we finally call on Him, even though He is in the midst of us all along and delivers(12:6) Through this plan of action, God shows us what we do that is horrid in His sight.

Yet despite all this He still grants us his forgiveness and glorifies us (Isaiah 60:9) , part of all the nations He calls (Isaiah 55:5) and lets us worship Him (Isaiah 60:14). What a great work He is shown to do!

Bibliography

Custer, Stewart. “The Messianic King.” Biblical Viewpoints, November 1978: 113-119.

Nutz, Earl. “The Commission of Messiah.” Biblical Viewpoints, November 1978: 131-135