Today is the Fourth Advent and Christmas Eve. Many families will read from Luke 2 this evening, but I am wondering if there is more to consider from Isaiah.
At the site Jews for Jesus, I found this comprehensive listing of prophecies made by Isaiah with their related fulfillment that you can read as a family today or study yourself:
The Messiah would be born of a virgin
| Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a asign; bBehold, a cvirgin shall conceive, and bear a dson, and shall call his name eImmanuel. | Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name aJESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the bthroneof his father cDavid: 33 And he shall areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no bend. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I aknow not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The aHoly Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the bSon of God |
Matthew 1: 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 aBehold, a bvirgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his cname dEmmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.. |
The Messiah would be the great light
| Isaiah 9:1 aNevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, bwhen at the first he lightly afflicted the land of cZebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in adarkness have seen a great blight: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.[Hebrew Bible 8:23-9:1] |
Matthew 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be afulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of aZabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, bythe way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of tight; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.he Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in adarkness saw great bl |
Luke 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to aprepare his ways; 77 To give aknowledge of salvation unto his people by the bremission of their sins, 78 Through the atender mercy of our God; whereby the bdayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give alight to them that sit in bdarkness and in the shadow of cdeath, to guide our feet into the way of peace. |
The Messiah would be the Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace
| Isaiah 9: 6 For unto us a achild is bborn, unto us a cson is given: and the dgovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, eCounsellor, The fmighty gGod, The heverlasting Father, The Prince of iPeace. 7 Of the increase of his agovernment and peace there shall be no bend, upon the throne of cDavid, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with djustice from henceforth even for ever. The ezeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. [Hebrew Bible 9:5-6] |
Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name aJESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the bthroneof his father cDavid: Luke 1:79 To give alight to them that sit in bdarkness and in the shadow of cdeath, to guide our feet into the way of peace. |
John 6:51 I am the living abread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bbread that I will give is my cflesh, which I will dgive for the elife of the world.
See also
|
The Messiah would be called a Nazarene
| Isaiah 11:1 aAnd there shall come forth a brod out of the cstem of dJesse, and a eBranch shall grow out of his roots: | Matthew 2:23And he came and dwelt in a city called aNazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was bspoken by the prophets, He shall be called a cNazarene. [1] |
The Messiah would perform signs of healing
| Isaiah 35:5 Then the aeyes of the bblind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an ahart, and the tongue of the dumb bsing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. |
Matthew 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those athings which ye do hear and see: |
Luke 7:20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 21 And in that same hour he acured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave bsight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the apoor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be aoffended in me. |
The Messiah would be preceded by a forerunner
| Isaiah 40:3 ¶ The avoice of him that crieth in the wilderness, bPrepare ye the cwayof the Lord, make straight in the desert a dhighway for our God. 4 Every avalley shall be bexalted, and every cmountain and hill shall be made dlow: and the ecrooked shall be made straight, and fthe rough places plain: 5 And the aglory of the Lord shall be brevealed, and all flesh shall csee it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. |
Matthew 3:1 In those days came aJohn the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, 2 And saying, aRepent ye: for the bkingdom of heaven cis at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet aEsaias, saying, The bvoice of one crying in the wilderness, cPrepare ye the way of the Lord, make his dpaths straight. |
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the agospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my amessenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The avoice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.See also Luke 1:76 Luke 3:1-6 Luke 7:27 John 1:22-23 |
The Messiah would be a light for the nations of the world
| Isaiah 42:1 Behold my aservant, whom I uphold; mine belect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have cput my dspirit upon him: he shall bring forth ejudgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor alift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 aA bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the aisles shall wait for his law. 5 ¶ Thus saith God the Lord, he that acreated the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth bbreath unto the people upon it, and cspirit to them that dwalk therein: 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a acovenant of the people, for a blight of the cGentiles; |
Matthew 12:15 But awhen Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16 And charged them that they should not make him known: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by aEsaias the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my aservant, whom I have bchosen; my cbeloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. |
Luke 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy asalvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A alight bto lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.see also John 8:12 |
The Suffering Servant [2]
| Isaiah 52:13 ¶ Behold, my aservant shall deal bprudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were aastonied at thee; his bvisage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he asprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been btold them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. 53:1 Who hath abelieved our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender aplant, and as a broot out of a cdry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no dbeauty that we should desire him. 3 He is adespised and rejected of men; a man of bsorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we cesteemed him not. 4 ¶ Surely he hath aborne our bgriefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 10 ¶ Yet it pleased the Lord to abruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an boffering for sin, he shall see his cseed, he shall prolong his days, and the dpleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. |
Matthew 26:28 For this is my ablood of the new btestament, which is shed for many for the cremission of sins. Matthew 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, Mark 10: 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a aransom for many. Mark 14: 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
|
Luke 22: 20 Likewise also the acup after supper, saying, This cup is the new btestament in my blood, which is shed for you. John 12: 37 ¶ But though he had done so many amiracles before them, yet they bbelieved not on him: See also |
The Messiah would do life-affirming redemptive deeds
| Isaiah 61: 1 The aSpirit of the Lord bGod is upon me; because the Lord hath canointed me to dpreach egood tidings unto the fmeek; he hath sent me to gbind up the brokenhearted, to hproclaim iliberty to the jcaptives, and the opening of the kprison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of avengeanceof our God; to bcomfort all that cmourn;
|
Luke 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The aSpirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath banointed me to cpreach the dgospel to the epoor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to fpreach gdeliverance to the hcaptives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at iliberty them that are bruised, 19 aTo preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture afulfilled in your ears. |
Christ is the one who will descend below all things to save us from all things, what Nephi understood to be the “condescension of God” (1 Nephi 11: 16). And it is the simple blood and straw reality of the first Christmas that first causes the power of this world to desert (Isaiah 7:16).
How profound a prayer comes from the Psalms! “Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved” (Psalm 80:7). It is this Yeshua son of Mariam “through whom we have received grace” (Rom. 1:5) who will save us, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
This is the promise at the threshold of Christmas. Let us praise this king of heaven.[3]
[1] Did the OT prophesy Jesus coming from Nazareth?
[2] The Suffering Servant, related articles:
• The Rabbis’ Dilemma: A Look at Isaiah 53
• Who’s the Subject of Isaiah 53? You Decide!
• To whom does the Prophet Refer?
[3] Adapted from a post written by December 20, 2016, in By Common Consent
Related Posts
Don't Miss a Post!
Stay up to date with the latest news, fulfilled prophecies, and study tips
I wish I would have found these before Christmas, really appreciate the perspective. Definitely will be using this next year.
Sorry I did not get them up earlier. Sadly I had let the holiday slip from my home now that the kids are gone, but a Google Alert reminded me of the first advent. That’s when I went searching for Isaiah’s part in the celebrations. Interestingly enough I found many resources on the internet; most included some verses from Isaiah.