Isaiah: Witness and Pattern

This is the second post in a four-week series on the end of Jesus' public ministry in John. Subscribe to get the next installment in your inbox!

Last week, we saw that the crowd failed to believe in Jesus ‌en masse at the end of his public ministry. John invokes two prophecies from Isaiah to explain the people's unbelief:

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. (John 12:36b–43, ESV)

This week we look more carefully at the figure of Isaiah himself. We will see that Isaiah is both a witness to Christ, and a pattern for Christ's own ministry.

Usually, when we read the New Testament and see an Old Testament passage cited, we don't think about the author of that passage. We tend to think of Isaiah as a mere vessel through which these prophecies about Jesus were revealed.

But notice how much John emphasizes Isaiah's name throughout this passage. And notice that John emphasizes Isaiah's speaking about Jesus' glory twice even in verse 41:

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

John places further emphasis on Isaiah's witness by contrasting him with the rulers who believe but remain silent:

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it.

In other passages, John has already mustered an impressive array of witnesses:

John the Baptist "confesses" that he is not the Messiah (John 1:20)
Moses testifies to Jesus (5:45)
Abraham "rejoiced to see Jesus' day" (8:56)

And now Isaiah joins this list.

Perhaps Isaiah isn't the first person we think of when we count off the heroes of faith. After all, he isn't in that great list of heroes in Hebrews 11.

Or is he?

There is a 2nd century BC Jewish tradition recorded in a work called The Martyrdom of Isaiah, in which Isaiah is sawn in two by the evil King Manasseh of Judah. Now, there's no reason to think that John had this tradition in mind when he was writing his gospel. But it is clear that the Jewish community at the time conceived of Isaiah as a hero of faith. And – as it turns out – Hebrews 11:37 does mention saints of old who were "sawn in two." So it's not crazy at all that John would summon Isaiah to the witness stand alongside Moses and Abraham.

But Isaiah isn't only a witness to the legitimacy of Jesus' ministry. He's also a pattern for Jesus' ministry. When Jesus comes, he steps into the same role that Isaiah played 700 years earlier.

Consider again John's quotation of Isaiah 6, put alongside the original:

And [the Lord] said, "Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." (Isaiah 6:9–10, ESV)

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them. (John 12:40)

Do you notice the difference? Where God says to Isaiah, "Make the heart of this people dull," and "blind their eyes," John says, "He (that is, Jesus) has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart." John reports the command given to Isaiah as a declaration, a statement of fact. And this is similar to what Jesus says about his own ministry a few chapters earlier:

For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. (John 9:39)

Jesus is the one who ultimately fulfills Isaiah's mission. God sent Isaiah to the rebellious people of Judah to proclaim judgment. But even as Isaiah goes out, God also tells him that his message won't penetrate. Even worse – God says that Isaiah's preaching itself will be what hardens their hearts. Isaiah's message will cause the people to turn away from the healing that God offers. Instead, he will cause them to continue in their rebellion.

And this is exactly what has happened over the course of Jesus' ministry. You would think that after performing all these miracles for the crowd, it would be easy for them to believe! But consider an episode from earlier in the gospel.

John 6 begins with the feeding of the five thousand – one of the most famous miracles that Jesus performed. Jesus sits a crowd of five thousand people on the grass, and then turns five loaves and two fish into enough food for all of them – plus leftovers.

What happens next? As you might imagine, the crowds flock to Jesus even more – even trying to make him king.

Then Jesus decides to open his mouth.

The rest of John 6 records for us what we call the "Bread of Life" discourse. Here, Jesus says several things that make the people unhappy. First, he says, the people are only coming to him because they liked the bread that he provided them. Then, he tells them that he is the true bread that comes down from heaven. Then he tells them, "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:54).

That's quite the escalation. And Jesus' followers aren't having any of it. By the end of the chapter, only twelve people out of those thousands that he fed continue to follow him.

Jesus' miracles brought the people in, but then his preaching drove them away. Just as God commanded Isaiah 700 years earlier, Jesus has now blinded the people with his preaching.

But next week we'll see that this blinding isn't the end of the story.

This is the second post in a four-week series on the end of Jesus' public ministry in John. Subscribe with your email, or follow on Bluesky to get the next post in a convenient place!