Keeping His Promise: Isaiah 44:1-5

Following Jesus being seated at the right hand of God that we focused our last episode on, it makes perfect sense for us to start this episode by looking at one of the first things Jesus does after stepping, or sitting, in this position – especially since what Jesus does is clearly foreshadowed and prophesied about.

To start this episode off, let’s look at the Old Testament prophecy that Jesus then references. Our Old Testament passage is found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 44, and let’s read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, Isaiah writes:

¹ “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
² Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you,
‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
³ ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
⁴ And they will spring up among the grass
Like poplars by streams of water.’
⁵ “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.

Part way through these first few verses describing God’s people at some point in the future, Isaiah draws attention to God pouring out His Spirit on a later generation of His people. God promises to give His Spirit and His blessing on His people.

While the context for this prophecy could refer to the time of Jesus’ disciples, or much, much later, I won’t speculate exactly when this prophecy was or will be fulfilled. However, because of the ambiguity present, as well as a pretty generic sounding way this prophecy could be understood, I wouldn’t be surprised if this prophecy could be fulfilled multiple times in multiple generations.

However, how does this prophecy relate specifically to Jesus’ ministry?

Let’s jump into the New Testament, and into the gospels to find out. Part way through the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, John’s gospel dedicates a significant portion of space to the message Jesus shared with the disciples as they were finishing up their supper, and walking to the Garden of Gethsemane.

In John, chapter 16, starting in verse 1, Jesus tells His disciples:

¹ “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. ² They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. ³ These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. ⁴ But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

⁵ “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; ¹¹ and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Let’s stop reading here. In this passage, Jesus reemphasizes the prophecy given in Isaiah about a later group of God’s people receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus even takes the prophecy, and applies it to Himself, saying that He, referring to Himself, would send the Holy Spirit after He had arrived in Heaven.

However, Jesus also shares the sobering truth that the only way for the Holy Spirit to be poured out in the way that Isaiah prophesied, was if He left and returned to Heaven.

This is a powerful idea. If Jesus had not returned to Heaven, He would not have been able to be seated at God’s right hand, and prior to Him sitting in that position, He would be unable to send the Holy Spirit. While a little oversimplified, this is one understanding of the details as they are laid out.

Looking within the first few chapters of the book of Acts, we discover that not long after Jesus returned to heaven, somewhere in the range of 10 days, the disciples received the Holy Spirit as promised in an amazing and significant way.

However, does this then mean that the Holy Spirit was not present prior to that point, or that we don’t have access to the Holy Spirit in our own lives if we have not experienced a clear and special event like the disciples have?

I suspect that the answer is no to both of those possibilities. I believe the Holy Spirit has been present and working throughout all of history, from the very beginning, moving forward through Jesus’ life and ministry, and also in every generation following Jesus’ return to Heaven. I believe that every passage that ultimately made it into the Bible, as well as messages for specific people at specific times that were not included in the Bible, are examples of the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance during the times leading up to Jesus. In my mind, every prophecy that came to pass was directly because the Holy Spirit prompted a prophet or messenger to write it down, and then also crafted history to move in that specific way.

The big reason for this is to draw attention to Jesus!

When we look at how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit’s role, one big role He has is pointing people to Jesus. In the Old Testament times, much of what the Holy Spirit did was working through prophets and prophecy to help the people return to God and pay attention to the signs that would take place in the early part of the first century. As our year focusing on prophecy has shown us, there are no shortage of connection points between Jesus’ life and ministry and the Old Testament writers and prophets.

However, what about the point in history we are living right now? What is the Holy Spirit’s role for the span of time following the Old and New Testament generations? In my own mind, the Holy Spirit, which was clearly given to the disciples shortly after Jesus ascended into Heaven, is actively working in the world today. In my mind, from reading Jesus’ description of the Holy Spirit’s role, I get the picture that the Holy Spirit is actively pointing people to pay attention to the Jesus described in the Bible, while also reminding people of Jesus’ soon return. We are challenged to read and study what the Bible teaches so we will be able to recognize Jesus when He appears, because there will be no shortage of imposters as time nears the end. The best way for us to be able to recognize any fake Jesus is to be very familiar with the genuine Jesus who came in the first century.

Jesus stepped into history at the moment prophecy specified, and His life and ministry fulfilled an amazing amount of prophecies. When we let the Holy Spirit lead and guide our focus, we will be led to grow closer to Jesus both today, and every day moving forward into eternity!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you in one way or another, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to accept the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind and let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you to pay attention to Jesus.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, keep praying and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. While other people have plenty of ideas about God, Jesus, and the Bible, only when you study the Bible for yourself will you know personally what it teaches. Don’t let eternity rest on the opinions of someone else!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!