When I was in seminary, we had a series of courses where we looked at the Bible essentially broken into four parts… We had Scriptures 1, the first quarter of the Bible and first half of the Old Testament, Scriptures 2… the second half of the Old Testament, Scriptures 3, the Gospels + Acts, and Scriptures 4, the rest of the New Testament. And In Scriptures 2, we like to play a game of… “is that Jesus?!”
There are so many different passages in the Old Testament that point forward to Jesus, and some that sound good – but also have no intention of pointing forward to Jesus. Isaiah, specifically… has a handful of these passages. I remember always being excited when we found a passage that we asked, “Is that Jesus?!” and the answer would be “yes! This is Jesus!” And today’s reading is one of them.
Isaiah 11 points us to Jesus.
What I love about this chapter, is that it shares about the character of the Lord as well as about some things he will specifically do… For example, He (Jesus), will have the Spirit (11:2), he will have wisdom (11:2), he will be fair (11:4), he will obey the Lord (11:3), and he will be honest (11:5). We also read that he will bring justice (11:4), he will have powerful words (11:4), and he will fear God (11:2).
When I think about how I would want to describe someone who I follow, these words hit the spot. Isaiah 11 leaves no question for the power of God, the love of God, the gentleness of God, the greatness of God, and the salvation of God.
Questions for reflection:
- What new insight do you have of who Jesus is from this passage?
- What words do you use to describe Jesus in your life?