Jesus' instruction to the disciples in the upper room (Luke 24) corrected their messianic expectations and their ethnocentricity. The Messiah was to be less the popular conqueror and more the suffering servant. The favor of God was not just for the Jews but for all peoples. The universal vision of the prophets is seen in various ways. Every time I read through the major and minor prophets, I am surprised at how often their messages target nations other than Israel or Judah. There is also a frequently repeated concept of the nations streaming into Jerusalem to worship. For instance, Zechariah says, "In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'" (8:23). Jesus reversed the direction while maintaining the focus on the nations by explaining "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47).
I have neither time nor space to survey all the prophetic scriptures that focus on the nations. Perhaps one clear example will suffice to sensitize our reading and study of the prophets to the pervasiveness of this teaching -- that the prophets not only foretold the coming of the vicarious Savior but also foresaw the spread of His salvation to all peoples.
Of all the passages in the Prophets, none better portrays the vicarious atonement of the Messiah than Isaiah 53. I have read of Jewish families who forbid that their children read the chapter because it is so clearly fulfilled in Jesus. The importance of this passage can be seen in that eleven of its twelve verses are quoted in the New Testament. All four Gospels quote some portion of it. It was this passage that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading and from which Philip preached Jesus to him (Acts 8:34). I doubt that anyone would dispute that Jesus' understanding of His death and resurrection was rooted at least partially in this passage.
Goerner draws attention to the context of Isaiah 53 to show that the prophecy of Jesus' passion was "bookended" by prophecies of "the exaltation of the true God among all the nations of the earth." The issue of context takes on special significance considering that in Jesus' day the scrolls had no chapter or verse divisions. So in the prior pargraphs it says, "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (52:10) and "Behold, My servant shall deal prudently ["prosper" in the margin]; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high" (52:13) and "So shall He sprinkle ["startle" in the magin] many nations" (52:15). Then in the paragraph following we read, "For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman" (54:1) and "your descendants will inherit the nations" (54:3) because "He is called the God of the whole earth" (54:5).
It was on the basis of Isaiah 54:1-3 that William Carey preached the annual sermon to his local Baptist association of churches that led to the formation of the first "Protestant" missionary society. His sermon theme still challenges us today: "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
If we understand and trust the Bible's message about God's provision of a Savior , shouldn't we also understand and obey the Bible's message about God's purpose of saving the nations? Let us pray that we will be consistent in heeding what the Scriptures say.
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