Isaiah Matthew
Isaiah 41:1-42:9 and the Gospel of Matthew.
FE 1Keep silent, islands; and let the people renew their strength; let them come near; then let them speak; let them come near together to judgment.
Isaiah 41:12Who has stirred up the righteous one from the east, and hurried him on? The peoples will surrender before him, and kings will be confounded. He gave them as the dust to his sword and as driven stubble to his bow.
3He will pursue them, then make peace; and he will not pass that way on foot.
4Who has prepared and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Master, the 1st and the last; I am he.
Isaiah 41:2-45The islands saw it, and were afraid; and the ends of the land were afraid, and they drew near and came.
6Each helped his neighbor; and each said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer, him who strikes the anvil saying, It is ready for the soldering; and they fasten it with nails, that it should not be moved.
Isaiah 41:5-78But now, Israel, you are my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, whom I have strengthened.
9I have called you from the ends of the land and from among the prophets, and said to you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and have not rejected you;
10do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your god; I have strengthened you, and have also helped you, yes, I will also uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:8-1011All those who disgrace you will be ashamed and confounded; they will be as nothing; and those who strive with you will perish.
12You will seek those who strive with you, but you will not find them; those who war against you will be as if they were nothing.
13For I am the Master, your god, the strengthener of your right hand. I have said to you, Do not fear; I am your helper.
14Do not fear, helpless men of Jacob, remnant of Israel. I am your helper, says the Master, and your savior, the holy one of Israel.
15I have made you as a new threshing instrument, a thing which tears and crushes to pieces; you will thresh the mountains and beat them small, and will make the hills as chaff.
16You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them; and you will rejoice in the Master and will glory in the holy one of Israel.
Isaiah 41:11-1617The poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue is dried with thirst, I, the Master, will answer them, I, the god of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will open rivers in the mountains and fountains in the middle of the valleys; I will make the wilderness pools of water, and the dry land springs of water.
19I will plant in the wilderness the cedars, the acacia tree, the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will set in the plain the cypress and the pine and the box tree together;
20that they may see and know and consider and understand that the hand of the Master has done this and the holy one of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 41:17-2021Bring near your cause, says the Master. Bring near your counsels, says the king of Jacob.
22Let them come near and show us the things that are to come; show us the former things, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare to us the things that are to come.
23Show us the wonders that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; yes, do good, or do evil, that we may relate it and look at it together.
24You are nothing, and your works are corrupt; choosing you is an abomination.
Isaiah 41:21-2425I have stirred up one from the north, and he will come from the rising of the sun, and will call on my name; and the princes will come, and will be trampled down like mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
26Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know, and before, that we may say, He is righteous. Yes, there is no one who shows, yes, there is no one who declares, yes, there is no one who hears your words.
27These things are the chief concern of Zion; I will give to Jerusalem one that brings good news.
28For I looked, but there was no man who could meditate about these things, that I might ask him, and that he might give me an answer.
29They are all nothing; their works are vanity; their images are wind and vanity. Isaiah 41:25-29
FE 1Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit on him that he will bring forth justice to the peoples.
2He will not cry, nor make a sound, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3A bruised reed he will not break, and a flickering lamp he will not extinguish; he will truly bring forth judgment.
4He will not fail nor be discouraged until he has set justice in the land; and the islands will wait for his law. Q Matthew 12:18
Isaiah 42:1-45The Master God says, he who created the skies and stretched them out, he who spread forth the land and all that is in it, he who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it,
6I the Master have called you in righteousness and have held your hand and have strengthened you and have given you for a contract to the people and for a light to the peoples;
7that you may open the eyes of the blind, to release prisoners from bondage, and bring out of the prison house those who sit in darkness.
Isaiah 42:5-78I am the Master; that is my name; and I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images.
9The former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Isaiah 42:8-9 (Isaiah 41:1-42:9 BRB)
Isaiah talks about calling the islands together for judgment and calling the generations forth from the beginning. This matches Jesus judging Korazin and other cities relative to ancient cities like Tyre and Sodom.
20Then Joshua began to disgrace the cities in which his many works were done, and which did not repent. He said,
21Woe to you Korazin. Woe to you Beth Saida. If the works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they might have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
22I say to you, it will be easier for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Matthew 11:20-2223You, Capernaum, which have exalted yourself up to the skies, will be brought down to the grave. If the works which were done in you had been done in Sodom it would be standing to this day.
24I say to you, it will be easier for the land of Sodom in the judgment day than for you. Matthew 11:23-24 (Matthew 11:20-24 BRB)
Isaiah talks about the sons of Abraham. This matches Jesus' discussion about sons having a revelation of the father.
25At that time Joshua answered and said, I thank you, my father, the master of the skies and land, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the men of understanding and you have revealed them to infants.
26Yes, my father, for such was your will.
Matthew 11:25-2627Everything has been delivered to me by my father and no man knows the son except the father, nor does any man know the father but the son and to whom the son wishes to reveal him.
Matthew 11:2728Come to me all you who labor and carry burdens and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am genial and meek in my heart and you will find rest for your souls.
30For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (Matthew 11:25-30 BRB)
Isaiah talks about Jacob being a threshing instrument. This matches the disciples picking grain in the wheatfields.
1At that time Joshua walked on the sabbath among the grain and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and eat.
Matthew 12:12When the Pharisees saw them they said to him, Your disciples are doing something that is not lawful to do on the sabbath.
Matthew 12:23He said to them, FA Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry?
4How he entered into the house of god and ate bread that was on the table of the Master, what was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? H 1 Samuel 21:4
5Or, have you not read in the law, that the priests in the temple disregard the sabbath yet are blameless? H Numbers 28:9
FA 6But I say to you, that one greater than the temple is here.
7If you only knew what it means, I want favor and not sacrifice, Q Hosea 6:6 you would not condemn those who are blameless.
FA 8For the son of man is the master of the sabbath. Matthew 12:3-8 (Matthew 12:1-8 BRB)
Isaiah says to bring your cause and counsel near, and to decide between good and evil. This matches Jesus doing good and the Pharisees doing evil.
9Joshua departed from there and came to their synagogue.
101 man was there whose hand was withered, and they questioned him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, that they might accuse him.
Matthew 12:9-1011He said to them, Who is the man among you with 1 sheep, that if it should fall into a pit on the sabbath, would not take hold of it and lift it up?
12How much more important is a man than a sheep? A Genesis 37:24 Therefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.
Matthew 12:11-1213Then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched out his hand and it was restored like the other.
14The Pharisees went out and they took counsel against him so they might destroy him. Matthew 12:13-14 (Matthew 12:9-14 BRB)
Matthew quotes directly from a portion of this passage in Isaiah.
15Joshua knew it and departed from there, and a great many people followed him and he healed them all.
FA 16He charged them not to say where he was,
17so that might be fulfilled what was said by the hand of the prophet Isaiah, who said:
18My servant with whom I am pleased, my beloved one in whom my soul rejoices, I will put my spirit on him, and he will preach justice to the peoples.
19He will not argue nor will he cry aloud, and no man will hear his voice in the street.
20He will not break even a bruised reed, and he will not extinguish a flickering lamp, until he brings justice to victory,
21and in his name the peoples will find hope. Q Isaiah 42:1 Matthew 12:15-21 (Matthew 12:15-21 BRB)
Isaiah says Yahvah gave Jesus for a contract to open the eyes of the blind and bring out of the prison house those who sit in darkness. This matches Jesus healing the blind and mute man and explaining how to plunder the strong man.
22They brought him FA a lunatic, 1 mute and blind, and he healed him so that the mute and blind man could speak and see.
Matthew 12:22FA 23All the people were amazed and said, Perhaps this man is the son of David.
Matthew 12:2324When the Pharisees heard it they said, This man does not cast out devils except by Lord Zebub the prince of demons.
Matthew 12:2425Joshua knew their thoughts and said to them, FA Every kingdom which is divided against itself will be destroyed, A 1 Kings 12:17 and every house or city that is divided against itself will not stand. A Genesis 37:18
26If the accuser casts out the accuser he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
Matthew 12:25-2627If I cast out demons by Lord Zebub by what do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.
28If I cast out demons by the spirit of god, then the kingdom of god has come near you.
Matthew 12:27-2829Or, how can a man enter into the house of a mighty man and plunder his goods? But if he 1st bind the mighty man, then his house he may plunder. Matthew 12:29 (Matthew 12:22-29 BRB)
Isaiah links all the different antagonists in this set of stories in Matthew. The cities that ignored Jesus, the wise and learned who did not have a revelation of the father, the Pharisees in the wheat fields and synagogues, and the strong man, are all the same. Jesus judges each of these and vindicates his followers.