Isaiah 42.06 “6 “I am
the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand
and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,”
This is a very familiar passage to
most Christians/organizations who are pro-Israel. This passage is even used by
many Jewish groups today, and all of them use this passage stating that Israel
is to be a light to all the nations.
But if we take a look at this
passage in complete context we will see that this passage is not referring to
the nation of Israel, but instead to the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach).
This passage in context actually
begins at the chapter break, so we will look at Isaiah 42.01-07.
Isaiah 42.01-03 “1
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will
bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in
the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He
will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”
Matthew, the writer of the first
Gospel, quotes these three verses from Isaiah.
Matthew 12.17-20
“17 This was to fulfill what was spoken
through Isaiah the prophet: 18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY
BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE
SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. 19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT;
NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. 20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT
BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO
VICTORY.”
The next passage in this text that
is quoted in reference to the Messiah is Isaiah 42.07.
Isaiah 42.07 “7 To open
blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in
darkness from the prison.”
Jesus, answering John the
Baptist’s disciples wanting to find out if Jesus was truly the Messiah:
Matthew 11.04-06 “4
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report
to John what you hear and see: 5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO
THEM. 6 “And
blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.””
So we have simply seen from
quotations in the Gospels that this passage, in context is referring to Jesus
the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach).
But let us dig a little further
and look at passages that are in reference to Isaiah 42.06, or are quoting it, specifically
the last part of this verse, “…As a light to the nations,”.
Isaiah 49.06 “6 He
says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the
tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of
the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.””
In context, Isaiah 49.01-06 talks about God’s Servant (the
Messiah or HaMashiach) and His ministry to the
Gentiles.
Isaiah 51.04-05 “4
“Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law
will go forth from Me, And I
will set My justice for a light of the peoples. 5 “My righteousness is
near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The
coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.”
In context, Isaiah 51.01-52.12 talks about the Messiah (HaMashiach) as a righteous ruler, and specifically
the Messiah (HaMashiach) ruling over the
Gentiles and Israel in the Millennium (Revelation 20.01-06).
Isaiah 60.01-03 “1
“Arise, shine; for your
light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 “For
behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the
LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. 3 “Nations will
come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
In context Isaiah 60.01-22 as well mentions the reign of
the Messiah (HaMashiach) during the Millennium
(Revelation
20.01-06) and that the nations will be attracted to the light of His
glory.
Luke 02.32 “32 A
LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.””
In context we read that Luke 02.01-39 records for us the events
surrounding the birth of Jesus. Specifically in Luke 02.25-35, we read about
Simeon who the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would live long enough
to see the Messiah (HaMashiach).
When he cried out praising God for
allowing him to see the Messiah (HaMashiach), he acknowledged that Jesus was
the Messiah (HaMashiach) and that Jesus would bring “A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES…”.
Simeon here was quoting Isaiah 42.06, thus attributing this passage
not to the nation of Israel, but to Jesus!
John 08.12 “12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light
of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have
the Light of life.””
In context, John
08.12-20, this was during the Feast of Tabernacles. A major feature of this
Feast was the lighting of giant lamps in the women’s court of the Temple area.
The wicks of these lamps were made from the priests’ worn-out garments. The
light illuminated the Temple area and the people gathered to sing praises and
dance. The light was to remind the people of how God was with them in the
wilderness as a pillar of fire (Numbers 09.15-23).
So when Jesus declared that He was the Light of the World,
He was referencing Isaiah 42.06, for apart from Him there is no
salvation from sin for mankind.
Acts 13.47 “47
“For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE
GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’””
In context Acts 13.01-14.28 records for us the first
missionary journey of Paul. They were in Antioch, and after the reading of the
Land the Prophets, the officials in the synagogue gave Paul an opportunity to
speak, and he spoke about how the Old Testament spoke of the coming Messiah (Ha
Mashiach). The next Sabbath the Jewish leaders were not too happy and spoke
blasphemous things about Paul’s teaching the previous week. Paul and Barnabas
answered the Jewish leaders with much boldness (Acts 13.46), stating that the
word of God needed to be spoken first to the Jews, and now because of their
rejection, they were going to take the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles.
And when they said this, they were quoting Isaiah 42.06!
Acts 26.23 “23
that the Christ was to suffer, and
that by reason of His resurrection
from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.””
In context Acts 25.13-26.32 we are told of Paul’s defense
before King Agrippa. Paul was declaring to King Agrippa that his message of
salvation was in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the death and
the resurrection of the Messiah (HaMashiach).
1Peter 02.09 “9
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may
proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light;”
Peter here is talking about how his readers are now chosen
by God to declare to the unbelieving world about whom Jesus is and what He did.
They are to be witnesses of Jesus, proclaiming to those is spiritual darkness
about Jesus the light of the world (John 08.12), thus being in fulfillment of Isaiah 42.06.
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