Messianic Prophecy | Winter 2025 Devotion
- Jordan Lane
- Jan 26
- 8 min read
"Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”
-Isaiah 53: 12
This season’s devotion was written by my husband, Jordan. Below is an extended version in which he offers further commentary on this scripture along with links to relevant sources.
Jesus in Prophecy
There are few books in the Bible that tell us more about the mission of the Messiah quite like Isaiah. The importance of the prophecies found in this book cannot be understated. It may come as a surprise to some Christians, but Isaiah is equally as informative as the gospels if not more about the Messiah. Yet it was written about 700 years before Christ’s birth. One of the first Messianic prophecies in Isaiah is 4:2 where the term “The Branch” is used. This term was also used by Zechariah (3:8, 6:12) and Jeremiah (23:5, 33:15). Interestingly, Jeremiah in both passages links the Branch of David, the Righteous King directly to God. The term “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” is capitalized in that way because the word for LORD is YHVH or the unpronounceable name of God, from which modern Christians derive Yahweh. The next is the Isaiah 7:10-17 Emmanuel prophecy, also referring to a Son born to the House of David. There's also Isaiah 50 and the Suffering Servant prophecy. While not the first prophecy to make mention of this figure, it clearly details the ‘Suffering’ of the Servant.
As a quick side note, Dr. Chuck Missler theorized that verse 6 may be the key to understanding why the disciples did not recognize Jesus after His resurrection until He spoke to them or interacted with them in a familiar way (John 20:11-16, Luke 24:13-32). Those disciples would have only ever seen Jesus as an adult with a beard, or a very bloody face near His crucifixion. They would not recognize Him easily with scarred skin where His beard used to be. The scriptures mentioned here are a few picked from Isaiah, and references to the Messiah are so woven into this book that it’s often hard to separate it out from any other subject.
Let's now take a moment to consider the precision of Isaiah 53 (and 52) and what it tells us about the love that our Savior has for us. He came to Earth already knowing that “His visage” [would be] “marred more than any man” (52:14). Knowing He would be; “despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (53:3), “wounded for our transgressions”, ”bruised for our iniquities” (53:5),”numbered with the transgressors” (53:12). Knowing before it was over He would have “poured out His soul unto death” (53:12). He endured all of this, for a sinner like me. When The LORD met Abraham to discuss Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16-33) Abraham pleaded with Him to spare it for the sake of the righteous. He argued down to 10 men, but Abraham was satisfied knowing that God would not destroy just one righteous man, his nephew Lot. We know that Jesus would have taken on His mission even if it meant the salvation of you alone: someone beloved from His creation.
Our greatest desire as Christians should be to know God intimately through a relationship with Jesus. The same Jesus written about in Isaiah 53, who went through unspeakable suffering to reconcile mankind (the Jews first and foremost) to their Creator. We must remember that Jesus wasn't just a Jew, but He was and is THE JEW. He is not only the giver of the law which God's people could not live up to, but the only man who could live by and fulfill it as well. As a gentile, I am a beneficiary of the grace that overtook this world when the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came to atone for sin and fulfill Israel’s mission of bringing the light of God’s grace to the world. It is my daily challenge to conform to His likeness.
Typology of Christ in the Old Testament
We see foreshadowing of Christ's work not only in the words of the prophets, but in the lives and actions of many Old Testament figures as well. Abraham sacrificing (almost) his only son, Isaac, on the same mountain where Jesus would later be crucified (Genesis 22) is one of the most obvious examples of this prophetic symbolism. Another example is Joshua. He suffered blamelessly along with the Israelites for 40 years in the desert due to their refusal to trust God (Numbers 13) in taking possession of the Promised Land. He and Caleb were the only two adult Israelites allowed to live through the wilderness wanderings and enter the Land. Joshua was then appointed leader and led the Israelites in their victorious campaign against the inhabitants of that land (see all of Joshua). He acted as both a suffering servant and a righteous leader.
One of the most compelling examples is that of Joseph. Joseph was the favored son of Israel / Jacob, of whom no sin is spoken in the Bible (Genesis 39-48). This is not to say he was actually sinless, but there is no mention of any sins on his part. I believe the Holy Spirit included this detail (or rather lack thereof) due to the prophetic nature of his story and the Messiah. His ascension to leadership over Israel was foretold in dreams. He was hated and rejected by his brothers: the tribes of Israel. He entered Egypt, narrowly avoiding being murdered by them due his oldest brother Rueben’s intervention. He faced direct and intentional temptation by Potifar’s wife. He was condemned via false witness in spite of his innocence. He became a prominent ruler in Egypt (idiomatic of the gentile Earth) while separated from Israel. When they came to him in their time of affliction, Joseph revealed his identity to his brethren, preserving them and caring for them. Lastly, Joseph bore 2 sons resulting in some of the most intriguing prophetic foreshadowing of all, in my opinion.
When Israel / Jacob comes to recognize Joseph, he adopts the sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as full heirs in place of Joseph (Genesis 48:5). This effectively gives Joseph a double portion in Israel. These half-gentile children are acknowledged as equal, adopted heirs in the tribes of Israel. From then on, there are 14 tribes spoken of, but only 12 mentioned at any one time. Often Levi is left out due to his inheritance not being physical but rather the priesthood. Sometimes Joseph is spoken of while other times Ephraim and Manasseh are spoken of in his place. This is so intriguing to me because it illuminates the role of Christians in the Kingdom of God. We have part in the covenants that God established with Israel, and have been given direct adoption and son-ship under the Father by the merits of His righteous Son. While Christians are co-equal with the actual Israelites, we are a distinct and different group of people. We do not replace Israel, rather we join them.
Interpretations in Modern Judaism
Isaiah 53 has been used as a key prophecy in identifying Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah over the past 2000 years. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Forbidden Chapter’ due to its controversial relationship to Judaism. The term is a bit of a misnomer though. This chapter is not actually forbidden or omitted from the Tanakh as some would claim. It is, however, interpreted in a very different way. The Jewish people see two ‘Messiah’s’ in their scripture. They have various titles but the easiest way to separately identify them are by ‘The Suffering Servant’ and ‘The Righteous King’.
One interpretation suggests the concept of Dual Messiahs. There is some debate as to when this idea began. Some would argue is was with the Essenes, a sect of Jewish mystics who settled in Qumran before 100 BC. The Essenes are agreed upon to be the scholars that copied and preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls, but while their scholarship is well respected, their commentaries on scripture were not seen as sound doctrine and never adopted into the mainstream of either Judaism or Christianity.
The idea of Dual Messiahs is more commonly traced back to Rashi, an extremely well-respected French Medieval Rabbi who lived between 1040 and 1105 AD. Rashi faced antisemitism motivated by Supersessionist doctrine and experienced the People's Crusade toward the end of his life. It is believed this persecution in the name of Christ drove him towards an interpretation which invalidated Christian claims of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and God incarnate. The most common view contradicting Jesus as the Messiah existed before Rashi, but gained popularity due to his work. The idea is: the Suffering Servant spoken of in Isaiah 53 as well as other places in Scripture is referring to Israel as a nation. They suffer due to their failure to live up to God’s ideal for them. In this interpretation, the Righteous King that arises is an Israelite who does live up to God’s purpose, perfectly, and comes as a conqueror. Christians can almost agree with this concept, except it does not allow for the Suffering Servant to be a specific individual, or for that same Servant to become Israel’s ruler.
While modern Jews are acquainted with the concept of Dual Messiahs, it is not the dominant view. The Suffering Servant spoken of in prophecy referring to Israel as a nation and not a specific person is. In this view, the Messiah who will reign as King is the ideal, Righteous heir of David. The Suffering of the Messiah is fulfilled through the nation, and the reign of the Messiah is fulfilled through the King as a singular representative of Israel. This Messiah is not God incarnate, but a righteous descendant of David. This is a bit of an oversimplification, and mainly focuses on the ideas in conflict with Jesus being the Messiah.
The Suffering Servant being Israel as a nation is, in basic principle, is something that Christians can agree with. Jesus in His first role as the Suffering Servant is the ideal Israelite. The sufferings of Israel and many historic Israelites from scripture are prophecies of Jesus. Some verses used in support of this Jewish perspective include Isaiah 41:8-9, Psalm 44:9-12, Zechariah 13:4-6, and the continual persecution of many of the prophets. The general case of the prophets' suffering is, in my opinion, the clearest example of Israel’s righteous leaders suffering for the sins of the nation. All the while laboring for their redemption.
As a Christian I contend that Isaiah 53 does indeed refer to Israel’s ideal self. I also believe that the Jewish Messiah can be viewed as two different figures with different purposes, so long as those figures can also be the same person. The Suffering Servant would atone for sin and fulfill the purpose of bringing the light of YHVH to all the world. He would then return to His place at the right hand of the Father “Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” (Hosea 5:15). Then He will return and save the Jewish people, reigning as the Righteous King. Israel will know the love of their Jewish Savior one day, and we will all worship together. We will spend eternity as brothers and sisters, God’s chosen children alongside their adopted siblings, washed in the blood of the Suffering Servant, our Righteous King.
Further Study
Thank you for reading! I hope you found this extended version of the Winter 2025 devotion interesting. I pray that as you study God's Word, and the Old Testament specifically, you will see Christ's presence and His incredible love for you throughout its page .
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