The Favorite Prophet of the Gospel Writers

Jesus, the changing colors of autumn, and the collision of the Old and New Testaments are just a few of my favorite things.

Before I go on with this, let me back up for a minute. Recently, Pastor Jeremy mentioned that Isaiah was the favorite prophet of the Gospel writers. Since one of my favorite things about the Bible is that it is, from start to finish, the narrative of Jesus Christ, Jeremy’s statement sent me on what I call a Scripture squirrel hunt. Simply put, I chased down all of the verses in the Gospels that used the words of Isaiah. While the writers sometimes mentioned the writing of other prophets, Pastor Jeremy was right, Isaiah was by far the most quoted. The hunt revealed nine references from the Prophet Isaiah in Matthew, six in Mark, six in Luke, and four in the book of John. I focused mainly on the writings of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, since that is where our Bible reading leads us this month. For me, the true beauty of the verses is the link between the Old Testament’s somewhat obscure passages of prophecy and the New Testament’s vibrant colors of their revelation, for it is here that we see not only Isaiah’s prophecies of the Christ but the wonderment of their fulfillment.

Now, I invite you to take some time throughout the month to enjoy not only the beauty of autumn’s colors all mingled together, but to read the following passages for yourself and enjoy the even more profound beauty of the Old and New Testaments colliding.

Isaiah 6:9 …  Closed eyes and ears … Matthew 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10
Isaiah 7:14 … Virgin with child … Matthew 1:23
Isaiah 9:1 … A light in the darkness … Matthew 4:15
Isaiah 29:13 … They worship in vain … Matthew 15:7; Mark 7:6
Isaiah 40:3 … Voice in the wilderness … Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2; Luke 3:4
Isaiah 42:1 … Behold My Servant … Matthew 12:18
Isaiah 42:4 … Hope for Gentiles … Matthew 12:21
Isaiah 42:6 … Light to the Gentiles … Luke 2:32
Isaiah 49:6 … Light to the Gentiles … Luke 2:32
Isaiah 53:4 … Carried our diseases … Matthew 8:17
Isaiah 53:12 … Numbered with transgressors … Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37
Isaiah 56:7 … A house of prayer … Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46
Isaiah 61:1 … He anointed me to preach … Luke 4:17
Isaiah 66:24 … Fire is not quenched … Mark 9:48