Christ In Isaiah
Christ in Isaiah
Bro Timothy Ting | 18 October 2026 | Isaiah 9:6
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." — Isaiah 9:6
A Prophet to a People in Uncertainty
Isaiah was a prophet. He spoke to a people living with uncertainty — a nation facing real threats from outside, and spiritual corruption rotting its foundations from within. They needed more than better circumstances. They needed deliverance. They needed to be brought back into relationship with God.
And into that uncertainty, God gave them a remarkable promise. A promise that would reach far beyond their generation — a promise that would reach all the way to Bethlehem, all the way to Calvary, all the way to us. Isaiah is often called the most "Christ-filled" of all the Old Testament prophets. And when we open his words with New Testament eyes, we understand why.
The First Promise — Immanuel, God With Us
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)
Immanuel. God with us.
Centuries later, Matthew records the fulfilment:
"So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:22–23)
Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. And the name Immanuel did not merely describe where Jesus would be born — it declared His very identity. The God of heaven had come down to be with His people.
John captures the same wonder from a different angle:
"And the Word became 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 1:14)
How important is Christ to us? Isaiah already said it, 700 years before the manger. God with us.
Three Promises of Christ in Isaiah
Three promises from Isaiah that come together to show us who Christ is and what He has done for us:
In our darkness → The Promised King — His light and rule (Isaiah 9:1–7)
In our sin → The Suffering Servant — His mercy and forgiveness (Isaiah 53:1–12)
In our thirst → The Saviour Who Gives Life — His generous invitation (Isaiah 55:1–7)
Let us walk through each one.
1. The Promised King — Light in Our Darkness
Isaiah 9 opens with a sweeping vision of light breaking into deep darkness:
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." (Isaiah 9:2)
What darkness? The darkness of fear. The darkness of oppression. The darkness that comes when a people turn away from God and reap the consequences.
But Isaiah's promise is clear — darkness will not have the final word. A light will come. A light will save us.
And Matthew confirms the fulfilment of this very promise:
"Jesus… came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet… 'The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.'" (Matthew 4:12–16)
Jesus' ministry in Galilee fulfilled Isaiah's promise of light. The light the world had been waiting on for seven hundred years had finally come. And He came as — of all things — a child.
The Names of the Promised King
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name 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." (Isaiah 9:6–7)
Not an ordinary child. A child who bears extraordinary names.
Wonderful Counselor — His wisdom guides us when our own understanding fails.
Mighty God — His power accomplishes God's saving purposes.
Everlasting Father — His royal care endures forever. This title describes His fatherly care — not Jesus as God the Father. It speaks of the enduring, protective reign of the King toward His people.
Prince of Peace — His reign brings reconciliation, righteousness, and lasting peace.
The light we need is found here. Jesus Christ is the Person who brings us this light.
2. The Suffering Servant — Mercy for Our Sin
But if Jesus is the promised glorious King, a question arises — how will He actually rescue His people? And here Isaiah does something staggering. Centuries before the cross, Isaiah shows us a King who rescues His people through suffering.
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by 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." (Isaiah 53:5–6)
Look carefully at the words. Our transgressions. Our iniquities. Our peace. Our healing. Our straying. Every one of us. Isaiah does not describe this suffering in abstract terms — he lays our sin on this Servant, and lays the Servant's wounds upon us.
This is the heart of the gospel in Isaiah 700 years before the cross. Christ has the power to overcome sin — the forgiveness of sin — because Jesus bore our sins Himself.
Peter later picks up Isaiah's words almost verbatim:
"who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:24–25)
Die to sin. Live for righteousness. That is what the cross makes possible for every one of us.
How His Mercy Changes How We Live
When we truly receive this forgiveness, it changes how we live — in two directions at once:
Before God — we take sin seriously, because our forgiveness cost Christ dearly. And yet, at the same time, we receive His forgiveness fully — without remaining trapped in shame.
With Others — we become willing to forgive, because we have been forgiven. We cannot hold against another soul what Christ has released from our own.
The Ethiopian Eunuch — Jesus in Isaiah 53
In Acts 8, Philip meets an Ethiopian official on a desert road, reading from the scroll of Isaiah — the very passage we have been looking at:
"Then Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?'… Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him." (Acts 8:30–31, 35)
Philip did not need to turn to any other page in the Bible. He opened Isaiah 53, and preached Jesus. The suffering Servant of Isaiah is Jesus of Nazareth. There was no other way to go back to God. He is the only way.
3. The Saviour Who Gives Life — An Invitation to the Thirsty
If the first promise answers our darkness and the second answers our sin, the third promise answers our deepest thirst:
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance." (Isaiah 55:1–2)
God offers what we cannot buy. Everything the world sells to try to satisfy our deepest longing — comfort, status, possessions, pleasure — none of it reconciles us back to God. None of it gives eternal life.
And Jesus Himself extends the very same invitation Isaiah held out:
"On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'" (John 7:37)
Returning to the Lord
Isaiah does not leave the invitation hanging in the air — he presses it urgently:
"Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6–7)
God promises compassion and abundant pardon to those who return. Not grudging forgiveness. Not reluctant mercy. Abundant pardon — poured out full and overflowing.
Christ Meets Our Deepest Need
Isaiah's three great promises answering our three deepest needs:
Three questions follow for every reader:
Will we trust His rule as the King?
Will we receive the mercy He purchased at such a price?
Will we come to Him for the everlasting life He freely offers?
The Steps of Salvation
God has done His part — by sending His one and only Son.
As humans, we also have a role to play. The pattern Scripture lays out is clear:
Hear the gospel
Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
Admit that we are sinful and repent of our sins
Confess Jesus before others
Be baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection
And when we rise to walk in newness of life — continue to be faithful
Take This Home
Isaiah alone shows us so many examples of Jesus. Read Isaiah 53 again this week. Slowly. Carefully. Let the past-tense prophecies land — written seven centuries before Calvary, as if the cross had already happened, because in the mind and plan of God it was already done.
"He was wounded for our transgressions."
"By His stripes we are healed."
"The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
That is how great our Lord has been for us. The Promised King who came in light. The Suffering Servant who bore our sin. The Saviour who still today stands and cries out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."
Come to Him. Trust Him. Receive His mercy. Drink deeply of the life only He can give.
Immanuel — God with us. Yesterday in Bethlehem. Today in His church. Forever at His Father's right hand.
