20150619 Friday, June 19 2015
Isaiah 01: What Did The Messiah Read From Isaiah That Day?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read; and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah"

"Isaiah," from an English-language rendering of the Hebrew name pronounced yesh-aw-yaw, was a prominent prophet of the LORD (see The LORD God Our Saviour) during the time of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of the Kingdom of Judah (see Kings of Israel and Judah and Israel In History and Prophecy: Kingdom Of Judah). At that same time, the Kingdom of Israel (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel and Judah) was being conquered and taken away into exile (see The Galilee Captivity and Israel In History and Prophecy: The Lost Ten Tribes).

Isaiah's prophecies involved much more than just the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel. As we will cover in the chapters of Isaiah, the prophet knew, in great and amazing detail, that the Messiah was coming - so much so, that when the ministry of the Messiah began (see The Ministries Of The Two Greatest Prophets), it was Isaiah that He first quoted to announce His arrival (the King James Version uses "Esaias" for Isaiah in the New Testament).

"4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day [see also What Did Jesus Do On The Sabbath?], and stood up for to read. 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,

4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

4:20 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. 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4:16-21 KJV)

The verses of Isaiah that the Messiah quoted were Isaiah 61:1-2 - keeping in mind that the original scrolls had no chapters or verses (they were an invention of European printers and publishers about 1,500 years later; see also How Many Pages Did The First Bibles Have?). The Messiah nevertheless quickly found (keeping in mind that without chapters and verse numbers, people back then had to really know the Scriptures in order to find things that quickly) what He wanted because the Word of God knew the Word of God ("1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1,14 KJV).

"61:1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn" (Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV)

The prophecies of warning that were given to Isaiah to deliver to the people of Israel were timeless in their intent and purpose. While many, in one way or another, claim to be, or seek to be, part of physical Israel, the entire purpose of "Israel" was to be a "called out" people, from all nations (see The Origin Of Israelites And Jews) who were to have been the first to live according to God's Law on a national basis (see When Did The Ten Commandments Begin? and The Christian Ten Commandments).

"Israel" was a prophecy of the Church of God, whose identical purpose is to be the means by which the children of God would be born into the Kingdom of God (see What's The Expiration Date Of The Church? and What Was The Lesson Of John 3:16?). The true Gospel isn't about being, or impersonating, physical Israelites, or building a man-made, man-serving "church" (see Why Is The Church Called The Body Of Christ? and Hireling Shepherds) - it's purely and entirely about the coming Kingdom of God (see What Gospel Did Jesus Preach?).

The prophets were sent to Israel and Judah to warn them to get back on the right way (see Strait And Straight). The LORD's true Christian Holy Days (see The True Christian Holy Days) are prophetic observances of the process of salvation. When the LORD said "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting" (verse 13 below), He wasn't telling them to not observe the Holy Days that He commanded them to observe. He was telling them to stop observing them in a perverted and corrupted manner - just as they had turned their entire national existence into a self-destructive cesspool of liberal iniquity (see Iniquity In History And Prophecy and Which Way Is Right And Left?).

"1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. 1:24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. 1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. 1:31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them." (Isaiah 1:1-31 KJV)

Fact Finder: How did Israel make use of a "home remedy" to miraculously heal a king of Judah?
See Hezekiah's Healing