Prophetic authority

Isaiah is not an easy study. There are three distinct authors, and one must search through many paragraphs to sift out the gold. So, why search the Scriptures? One reason may be to mine the true nature of God and man. 

For Jesus and Paul, the Scriptures were the Old Testament, and Isaiah was a popular choice. There are 35 references to the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament (2 Kings, 2 Chronicles and the book of Isaiah itself), while there are 25 references in the New Testament (13 in the Gospels, 5 in Acts, and 7 in the writings of Paul). We can see then the importance given to this prophet.

Here are three of Paul's references (from Eugene Peterson's The Message and the NKJV): 

1. Paul reminds his readers of their great heritage as "children of promise" -

Galatians 4: "Remember what Isaiah wrote: Rejoice, barren woman who bears no children, shout and cry out woman who has no birth pangs, because the children of the barren woman now surpass the children of the chosen woman. Isn't it clear, friends, that you, like Isaac, are children of promise?"  (The Message)

2. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul settles a long-ago question [Isaiah 40:13"Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counseller hath taught him?" NKJV] -  

I Cor 2: 14-16: "Isaiah's question, "is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit." (The Message)

"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." (NKJV) 

3. Paul assures us of the continuity of God's goodness as he references Isaiah again [Isaiah 13:19 "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." NKJV] -

Romans 9:27-33: "Isaiah maintained ... 'If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled "chosen of God," they'd be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. God doesn't count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus.' Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth: 'If our powerful God had not provided us a legacy of living children, we would have ended up like ghost towns, like Sodom and Gomorrah.' 

"How can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. ...Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together: 'Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can't get around. But the stone is me! If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way.' " (The Message)

"Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.... As it is written, Behold I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." (NKJV)

But let's finish with the Gospels. Matthew 3:3 from The Living Bible -

"John and his message were authorized by Isaiah's prophecy: Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!"

That sense of authority is perhaps what epitomises the prophets of old most of all.

Julie Swannell