02/09/2022, 19:09 The Deity of the Messiah in Isaiah and in light of New Testament Exegesis

The Deity of the Messiah in Isaiah and in light of New Testament

Exegesis
Sam Shamoun

Introduction
Anti-Trinitarians, i.e. Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses etc., often make the
assertion that the Holy Bible,
especially the OT, differentiate the Messiah from Yahweh.
Here are two specific OT texts where the Messiah
is depicted as being distinct from God:

"‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I

delight; I will put my Spirit on
him and he will bring justice to the
nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed
he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In
faithfulness he will
bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes
justice on
earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.’ This is what God the LORD
says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and
all that comes
out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on
it: I, the LORD, have
called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will
keep you and will make you to
be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind, to free
captives from prison and to release from the dungeon
those who sit in darkness.’" Isaiah 42:1-7

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has
anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the
captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to
proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all
who mourn," Isaiah 61:1-2

According to the NT writings these passages find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ whom
God anointed with
his Holy Spirit at his baptism:

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was
praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a
dove. And a
voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well
pleased.’" Luke
3:21-22

"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went
into the
synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet
Isaiah was
handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is on
me, because he has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant
and sat down. The eyes of
everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by
saying to them, ‘Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’" Luke 4:16-21

"Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed
all their sick,
warning them not to tell who he was. This was to fulfill what was
spoken through the prophet
Isaiah: ‘Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put
my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim
justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no
one will hear his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he
will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.’
Then
they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him,
so
that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, ‘Could this
be the
Son of David?’" Matthew 12:15-23

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Anti-Trinitarians infer from this premise that the Messiah cannot be God since OT
prophets teach that he is
personally distinct from Yahweh.

The Paradoxical God

This ignores, however, the fact that the Holy Bible depicts God as a paradoxical Being,
One who is beyond
human comprehension and unlike any created thing.

A paradox is something which, on the surface, seems contradictory or inconsistent but

in reality isn’t. Since
the Holy Bible teaches that God is beyond comprehension and
unlike his creation:

"Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are
higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave —
what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." Job 11:7-9

"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you
perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar
with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem
me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me, too lofty for me to attain." Psalm 139:1-6

"He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our
Lord and
mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." Psalm 147:4-5

"Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom
did the
LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that
taught him
knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?" Isaiah 40:13-14

"‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’
declares the LORD.
‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.’" Isaiah 55:8-9

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his
judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who
has been his counselor?’ ‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?’ For from
him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans
11:33-36

"may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high
and deep is
the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge
— that you may be filled to
the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:18-19

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that the inspired Bible writers would portray
God as a Being who is
paradoxical by nature.

As an illustration of the paradoxical nature of God, consider the NT teaching that Jesus in his prehuman
existence was the Word who was with God and who was God (John 1:1), the Son of God who has a God and
at the same time is Thomas’ Lord and God (John 20:17, 28, 31). Christ is also said to be God that reigns
forever and who was anointed by his God above his fellows (Hebrews 1:8-9).

This paradox is not limited to the example of the Lord Jesus’ relationship with
God (the Father) or the NT,
since we find this same phenomenon within the inspired
teachings of the OT writings. The Hebrew prophets
refer to a specific Angel or Messenger
who is personally distinct from and yet identified as Yahweh:

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"The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it
was the spring that is beside
the road to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar,
servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where
are you going?’ ‘I'm
running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered. Then the angel of
the LORD
told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel
added, ‘I will so
increase your descendants that they will be too
numerous to count.’ The angel of the LORD
also said to her:
‘You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him
Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand
will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in
hostility toward all
his brothers.’ She gave this name to the LORD who spoke
to her: ‘You are the God who sees
me,’ for she said,
‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’ That is why the well was called Beer
Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered." Genesis 16:7-14

In the above passage the Angel expressly tells Hagar that he has the ability to give
her descendants too
numerous to be counted, a Divine function. As if this wasn’t
astonishing enough the writer then says that
when the Angel spoke it was actually Yahweh
speaking to Hagar! Hagar even calls this specific Messenger
the God who sees, a clear
witness to the Angel’s omniscience since her statement implies that he is the One
who
sees all that occurs and is aware of all the afflictions that God’s people endure.

Moreover, the Angel calls himself the God of Bethel, or the God of the house of God:

"In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male
goats mating
with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God
said to me in the dream,
‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he
said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating
with the flock are streaked,
speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to
you. I am the
God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me.
Now
leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’" Genesis 31:10-13

Thus, the Angel is both distinct from God and yet fully God as well.

{Note: There is strong Biblical support for this specific Angel being none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ in
his prehuman existence. For the details please consult these
articles (1; 2; 3; 4; 5}

In a similar manner, the OT writers – specifically the prophet Isaiah – state

that the Messiah is both
personally distinct from Yahweh, as we saw above and as we see
once more in the following citation where
we are again told that Yahweh will place his
Spirit upon him:

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a
Branch will bear fruit. The
Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom
and of understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the LORD - and he will delight
in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by
what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he
hears with his ears; but with
righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give
decisions for the poor of
the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the
breath of his lips
he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash
around
his waist… In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the
peoples; the
nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious."
Isaiah 11:1-4, 10

While at the same time affirming that the Davidic King is also Yahweh in some sense and
therefore fully
Divine.

With the foregoing in mind, our purpose in this particular article will be to focus on
the witness of Isaiah in
order to document how this inspired prophet didn’t merely
believe that the Messiah was God’s Servant who
was anointed with the Holy Spirit and
power to accomplish the will of Yahweh. We will set out to prove that
this blessed prophet
also believed that the Messiah is God in the flesh. We will further examine certain
statements from the book of Isaiah such as references where Yahweh is said to be coming in
order to carry
out specific functions, whether to save or judge, and show how the NT
writers take these very passages, or
their specific language, and apply them to the Lord
Jesus.

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Immanuel – The Mighty God is with us

The prophet announced that a time would come when a virgin maiden would give birth to a
son who would
be God coming to dwell with his people:

"Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not

enough to try the patience of men?
Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the
Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:13-
14

The prophet further stated that this child would come from Galilee and rule on
David’s throne as the Mighty
God,

"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the
past he
humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he
will honor Galilee of
the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan- The
people walking in darkness have
seen a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death a light has dawned… For to
us a child is born, to us a
son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will
be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the
increase
of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and
over
his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time
on
and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7

It is rather interesting that in the very next chapter the prophet applies one of the
names of the Messiah,
specifically the title Mighty God, to Yahweh himself!

"In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no
longer rely on him
who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy
One of Israel. A remnant will
return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the
Mighty God." Isaiah 10:20-21

This male child, according to the NT, is the Lord Jesus Christ:

"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to
be married
to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child
through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want
to expose her to public
disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had
considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife, because what is conceived
in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth
to a son, and you are to give him the
name Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins.’ All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will
be with child
and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ — which
means,
‘God with us.’" Matthew 1:18-23

"When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee.
Leaving Nazareth,
he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area
of Zebulun and Naphtali—
to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the
way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee
of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have
seen a great light; on those
living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From
that time on
Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’"
Matthew 4:12-
17

For a further discussion of Isaiah 9:6-7 we recommend these articles (1, 2).

Yahweh as the Stone of Stumbling – Messiah’s rejection by his people

Yahweh told Isaiah that he would lay a Stone, even a Cornerstone, for his people to
trust and believe in:

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"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a
tested stone, a precious
cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never
be dismayed.’" Isaiah 28:16

According to Isaiah this Stone is actually Yahweh God whom the people are called to
fear and honor as holy,
and yet the prophet states that not all would believe in him and
that God would therefore become a Stone of
stumbling to the unbelievers:

"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not
fear what they fear, nor
be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy.
Let him be your fear, and let
him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and
a stone of offense and a rock of
stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a
snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many
shall stumble on it. They shall fall and
be broken; they shall be snared and taken." Isaiah 8:12-15

Amazingly, the NT takes these same statements and applies them to the Lord Jesus,
identifying him as the
Stone of stumbling whom believers are exhorted to honor as holy:

"if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the
living Stone —
rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him —
you also, like living stones, are
being built into a spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. For in
Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and
precious
cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ Now
to you
who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The
stone the builders
rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that
causes men to stumble and a rock that
makes them fall.’ They stumble because
they disobey the message — which is also what they
were destined for." 1 Peter
2:3-8

"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do
not fear what they fear; do
not be frightened.’ but in your hearts honor Christ the
Lord as holy, always be prepared to
give an answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you have. But do
this with gentleness and reverence,
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak
maliciously against your good behavior
in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:14-
16

All flesh shall see God’s Glory – The Messiah as the Human Appearance of Yahweh
Yahweh promised to send a herald to prepare for his coming when all people would see
his glory:

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and
proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received
from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one
calling: ‘In the desert prepare the
way for the LORD; make straight in
the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall
be raised up, every
mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the
rugged places a
plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together
will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 40:1-5

The NT teaches that John the Baptist was that voice of Isaiah 40 who was to come to prepare for the coming
of God. The authors further state that John actually came to prepare for the coming of Christ, and that the
Lord whose glory would be seen by all is none other than Jesus!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without
him nothing was made
that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of
men. The light shines in the
darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. here came a
man who was sent from God; his
name was John. He came as a witness to testify
concerning that light, so that through him all
men might believe. He himself was
not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The
true light that
gives light to every man was coming into the world… The Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who
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came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies
concerning him. He cries out,
saying, ‘This was he of whom I
said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was
before
me."’… John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the
voice of one calling in
the desert, "Make straight the way for the Lord."’
John 1:1-9, 14-15, 23

This isn’t the only place where the apostle John claims that Isaiah saw the glory
of Jesus:

"Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they
still would not
believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
‘Lord, who has believed our
message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been
revealed?’ For this reason they could not
believe, because, as Isaiah says
elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their
hearts, so they
can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I
would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke
about him. Yet at the
same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But
because of the Pharisees they
would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out
of the synagogue; for they loved
praise from men more than praise from God. Then Jesus
cried out, ‘When a man believes in me,
he does not believe in me only, but in the one
who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the
one who sent me.’"
John 12:37-46

The Evangelist asserts that Isaiah announced that the Jews would reject Jesus since the
inspired prophet saw
Christ and spoke of him. Interestingly, one of the passages that John
sources to prove that the OT prophet
had seen the glory of Christ is Isaiah 6:10, a verse
which in context speaks of Isaiah seeing Yahweh seated on
his throne in glory:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high
and exalted, and
the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs,
each with six wings: With two
wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their
feet, and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth
is full of his glory.’
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the
temple was filled
with smoke. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean
lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the
LORD
Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his
hand, which he had taken
with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said,
‘See, this has touched your
lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned
for.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
‘Whom shall I send? And who
will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go
and
tell this people: "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but
never
perceiving." Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and
close their
eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.’" Isaiah 6:1-10

Thus, according to John the blessed prophet actually saw the Lord Jesus when he spoke
of seeing Yahweh in
Isaiah 6!

Yahweh comes to save the day – The Messiah as Divine Redeemer and Judge
Isaiah also informs us that when God appears to save and judge the peoples he would
perform certain
miracles:

"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and
blossom. Like the
crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for
joy. The glory of Lebanon
will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they
will see the glory of the LORD, the
splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble
hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those
with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong,
do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance;
with divine
retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be
opened and
the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the
mute tongue shout for
joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the
desert." Isaiah 35:1-6

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The NT records how Jesus performed the very same miracles that Isaiah claimed God would
do when he
arrives on the scene!

"Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large
crowd went
along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried
out—the only
son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town
was with her. When
the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don't
cry.’ Then he went up and touched
the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He
said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The
dead man sat up and began to talk,
and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all
filled with awe and praised
God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has
come to help his people.’ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and
the surrounding
country. John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of
them, he sent them to the
Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we
expect someone else?’ When the
men came to Jesus, they said, ‘John the Baptist
sent us to you to ask, "Are you the one who was
to come, or should we expect someone
else?"’ At that very time Jesus cured many who had
diseases, sicknesses and evil
spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the
messengers, ‘Go
back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight,
the
lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the
good news is preached to the poor.’" Luke 7:11-22

The crowd’s response to Jesus’ miracle of raising the widow’s son to

life that God had come to help his
people is rather ironic. These individuals may have not
fully known at this point in time how true their words
were since Jesus wasn’t merely
a prophet, but God’s very own unique Divine Son who had come to do the
very works of
God. In other words, the statement of those witnessing the miracle was more correct than
they
may have realized since Jesus was actually God Almighty who had come in the flesh to
visit his people!

Isaiah further noted that God would come to also gather his flock together and to
recompense the people for
all that they had done:

"You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good
tidings to
Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say
to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’ See, the Sovereign LORD
comes with power, and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him, and his
recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a
shepherd: He gathers the
lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads
those that have
young." Isaiah 40:9-11

And yet according to the NT, it is the Lord Jesus who carries out all of these
exclusively Divine functions:

"For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and
then he will
reward each person according to what he has done." Matthew 16:27

"‘Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to

everyone according to
what he has done.’ … He who testifies to these
things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus."
Revelation 22:12, 20

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…
I am the good
shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father
knows me and I know
the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other
sheep that are not of this sheep
pen. I must bring them also. They too will
listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and
one shepherd."
John 10:11, 14-16

Yahweh our Righteousness – The Messiah who justifies

Yahweh announced to his people that he alone would justify them since it is in him
alone that a person
receives justification or the righteousness that results in salvation:

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"They will say of me, ‘In the LORD ALONE are righteousness and strength.’
All who have
raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the LORD
all the descendants
of Israel will be found righteous and will exult." Isaiah 45:24-25

The NT, however, expressly teaches that believers are justified through faith in Christ
and by their personal
union with him:

"but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the
wisdom of God… It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God—that is, our
righteousness, holiness and redemption." 1 Corinthians 1:24,
30

"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11

"God made him [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that IN HIM
[Christ] we might
become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Moreover, Isaiah further announced that God would save and justify by sending forth his
Servant, the
Messiah as a light of salvation for all the earth:

"‘Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was
born the LORD called
me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth
like a sharpened
sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished
arrow and concealed
me in his quiver. He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in
whom I will display my
splendor." But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I
have spent my strength in vain and for
nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand,
and my reward is with my God." And now
the LORD says— he who formed me in the
womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself, for I am
honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my
strength– he says: "It is
too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back
those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you
may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."’ This is what the LORD
says— the Redeemer
and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred
by the nation, to the servant of
rulers: ‘Kings will see you and rise
up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD,
who is faithful, the Holy One
of Israel, who has chosen you.’ This is what the LORD says: ‘In
the time of my
favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep
you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to
reassign its
desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, "Come out," and to
those in darkness, "Be free!"
They will feed beside the roads and find pasture
on every barren hill. They will neither hunger
nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the
sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them
will guide them and lead them beside
springs of water.’" Isaiah 49:1-10

The prophet went on to explain that this Messianic Servant saves mankind by dying as a
vicarious or atoning
sacrifice for the sins of God’s people:

"Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the Arm of the
LORD been
revealed? For HE grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root
out of dry ground; he
had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty
that we should desire him. He
was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief; and as one from
whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed
him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But
he was wounded for our transgressions; he
was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned
— every one — to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us
all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a
lamb that
is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened
not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation,
who
considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the
transgression of my
people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich
man in his death, although he
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had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to
crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes
an offering for guilt, he shall see his
offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of
the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the
anguish of his soul he shall see and be
satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my
Servant/my righteous
Servant, justify the many/make many to be accounted righteous, and he
shall bear
their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall
divide
the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with
the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the
transgressors."
Isaiah 53:1-12

Here, Isaiah identifies the Messianic Servant as the Arm of Yahweh, a quite significant
title as we shall see in
the next section.

Yahweh does it all by Himself – Isaiah’s Denial of Yahweh Redeeming through an

Intermediary
Isaiah reiterates the point of Yahweh alone justifying and saving people by mentioning
the fact that Yahweh
could not find any intermediary to assist him since there is no one
worthy enough to mediate before God on
behalf of the people:

"… The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He
saw that there was NO
ONE, he was appalled that there was NO ONE TO INTERVENE; so HIS OWN
ARM worked
salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on
righteousness as his
breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the
garments of vengeance and
wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. According to what they
have done, so will he repay wrath
to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will
repay the islands their due. From the west, men
will fear the name of the LORD, and from
the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he
will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the LORD drives along. ‘The Redeemer will
come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,’ declares the LORD. As for me, this is
my
covenant with them,’ says the LORD. ‘My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that
I have
put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your
children, or from
the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,’
says the LORD." Isaiah 59:15b-
21

"Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained
crimson? Who is this,
robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his
strength? ‘It is I, speaking in
righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why are
your garments red, like those of one treading the
winepress? ‘I have
trodden the winepress ALONE; from the nations no one was with me. I
trampled
them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my
garments, and I
stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year
of
my redemption has come. I looked, but there was NO ONE TO HELP, I was appalled that
no one gave support; so MY OWN ARM worked salvation for me, and my own wrath
sustained
me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them
drunk and poured their blood
on the ground.’" Isaiah 63:1-6

The foregoing indicates that by calling the Servant "the Arm of Yahweh" in 53:1 the inspired prophet was
again confirming that the Messiah is more than a man. Isaiah saw no contradiction with his statement that
Yahweh alone saves, vindicates, judges etc., and with his assertion that Yahweh will do so through the
agency of the Messianic Servant since the latter is not some created being but is Yahweh’s very own Arm,
the visible manifestation of God’s own Power who was sent to redeem his people by his death on their
behalf.

In other words, by applying the phrase Arm of Yahweh to the Messianic Servant Isaiah
was affirming that he
is an intrinsic part of God’s very own eternal Being, the Agent
of God’s Power, or the One who fully
possesses Divine Power to bring salvation to the
world:

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"but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the
wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:24

Thus, Yahweh does save alone even though he does so through the Messiah since the
latter is not a creature
but the Mighty God sent to atone for the sins of mankind!

And since Jesus is the Messiah it should not come as a surprise that the NT would
describe his appearance in
the same way that Isaiah described the coming of Yahweh in
Isaiah 63:1-6, i.e. the One whose garments are
red from the blood splatter of the enemies
which he tramples under his feet as he treads upon them in the
winepress of God’s
fury:

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is
called
Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing
fire, and on
his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but
he himself. He
is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the
Word of God. The armies of heaven
were following him, riding on white horses and dressed
in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his
mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike
down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an
iron scepter.’ He treads the
winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe
and on his thigh
he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
Revelation 19:11-16

Nor should it surprise us that the NT writers also identify Jesus as Israel’s
Redeemer, the One who comes to
deliver the inhabitants of Zion, the descendants of Jacob:

"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not
be conceited:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the
Gentiles has come in. And
so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn
godlessness away from Jacob. And
this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’"
Romans
11:25-27

Since he is the Lord God who comes from heaven to save his elect:

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus
Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform
our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious
body." Philippians 3:20-21

"for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you
turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son
from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from
the coming wrath." 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ
was sacrificed
once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a
second time, not to bear sin,
but to bring salvation to those who are
waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28

Every knee shall bow before Yahweh – The Exaltation and Worship of the Messiah
Yahweh prophecies that a day will come when everyone will bow before him since he alone
is the Savior of
the world:

"Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who
foretold this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And
there is no God apart from
me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to
me and be saved, all you ends of
the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself
I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in
all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before
me every knee will bow; by me every
tongue will swear." Isaiah 45:21-23

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A prediction which the NT says will be fulfilled when every person bows before Jesus
and confesses him as
Lord:

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:9-11

Yahweh has and will always be there – The Messiah as the First and Last
In the book of Isaiah Yahweh identifies himself as the First and the Last:

"Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the
beginning? I,
the LORD — with the first of them and with the last —
I am he." Isaiah 41:4

"This is what the LORD says — Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the
first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Isaiah 44:6

"For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield
my glory to another. Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first
and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out
the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together." Isaiah 48:11-13

As the context indicates, the meaning of First and Last is that Yahweh has been there from the very
beginning, since he created the universe, and he shall also continue to be there till the end. In fact, Yahweh
will continue to be there forever since he is the I AM or the One who exists, having neither a beginning nor
an end and is therefore eternal.

Amazingly, the Lord Jesus applies the title "the First and the Last", as well as the name I AM, to his own
Person:

"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and
was glad.’ ‘You
are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him,
‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘I tell you the
truth,’
Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I AM!’ At this, they
picked up stones to
stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple
grounds." John 8:56-59

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand
on me and said:
‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am
the Living One; I was dead, and behold I
am alive for ever and ever! And I
hold the keys of death and Hades.’" Revelation 1:17-18

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who
is the First and
the Last, who died and came to life again." Revelation 2:8

Jesus could see Abraham since, as the I AM, he has always been there, even before the
beginning of creation,

"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before
the world
began." John 17:5

And shall continue to be there forever:

"and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you
always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Conclusion

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Our examination of the Biblical data showed that the inspired authors of the Holy
Scriptures believed that the
Messiah is both personally distinct from God and yet fully
God in nature. For instance, we read in Isaiah
certain verses where the prophet referred
to the Messiah as Immanuel, or God with us, and as the Mighty
God who rules on
David’s throne forever. We further looked at the NT writings to show how the authors
took
specific statements from the book of Isaiah concerning the nature and deeds of Yahweh
and applied all of
them to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the Anti-Trinitarian assertion that Jesus cannot be God, since he is

depicted as being personally
distinct from God, is nothing more than a false dilemma and a
non sequitur. It is based on the erroneous
assumption of unitarianism, i.e. God is a
single Person as opposed to a plurality of Divine Persons who exist
as a single Being.

This is a view which the Holy Bible does not support since the consistent teaching of
the inspired Scriptures
is that, even though there is only one eternal God, there are
three eternally distinct Persons who are fully God
in nature, namely the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit.

Related Articles

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/jesus_is_yahweh.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_yahweh.htm
http://forananswer.org/Top_JW/Bowman_Isa44_24.pdf

Articles by Sam Shamoun

Answering Islam Home Page

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