“I,
the Lord, have called you in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people and a light
for the Gentiles…” Isaiah 42:6
And now
the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:5-6
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:5-6
Seven hundred
years before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah prophesied about a servant who would
come and be “a light for the Gentiles.”
Gentiles are non-Jews, so this servant would be coming to draw them to
God, as a light illuminates a path or a flame draws a moth.
Luke 2:32,
Acts 13:47 and 26:23 all confirm in the New Testament that Jesus would be the
one who draws Jews and non-Jews to God.
For a Jew this is odd, because Gentiles were the enemy, godless people
who worshipped idols and wealth. But
God’s plan all along was to bring all people to salvation. This is why Jesus visited Samaria, Jericho and
Caesarea Philippi—all Gentile places. He
even fed the 4,000 just like he fed the 5,000 to prove that point.