Isaiah 55:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He offers to you an everlasting covenant, O faithful descendant of David. Behold, I assign him as a witness to the nations, the ruler and master of tongues. The nations, who have not recognized you, shall invoke your name; and peoples who have not known you shall seek you out for the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for you will be glorified. After giving the promise, "Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live" (Isaiah 55:2), He clearly indicates how this promise will be fulfilled: He pledges an everlasting covenant.

The old law lacked permanence and was meant only until the time of correction, as wise Paul states: "In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13, 7). The old covenant was shadowy, while the new covenant radiates with the truth's splendor. The God of all spoke through one of the prophets: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). This is not like the covenant He made with their forefathers when He led them out of Egypt; they broke that covenant, and He disregarded them. The new covenant, which shall be given to the house of Israel, promises that God's laws will be upon their minds and inscribed in their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

John also clarifies the distinction between the Old and New Covenants, stating, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). In this way, grace and truth denote the redemptive ministry of the Gospel, characterized by true and spiritual service. Moses served as a minister of the temporary shadow, while Christ, the eternal One, heralded the enduring ministry.

The eternal covenant Christ offers to those who approach Him through faith is expounded upon: the faithful one of David. This could imply that the promise made to David regarding Christ, our Savior, will extend to the Gentiles, or it could refer to the divine and holy words of Christ, who was born of David in the flesh, thus rendering them sacred as they make those who live by them reverent, similar to how the "fear of the Lord is clean" (Psalm 19:9). The Gospel is described as life-giving, as Jesus affirmed, "The words that I speak to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63). These words instill reverence, righteousness, and innocence in those who welcome them, as well as faithfulness by confirming their faith and righteous living. Such is the potency of Christ's words.

Referring to Christ as the descendant of David, it is stated, "Behold, the testimony among the Gentiles is His, the prince and lord of tongues." He bears witness, as our Lord Jesus did, that the Gentiles have also become favored, and anyone willing may share in the light of true knowledge. Employing the poet’s lyre, He calls out, "Hear this, all you nations; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world, rich and poor alike. My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding" (Psalm 49:1-3).

Wisdom and understanding were essential for those who strayed, worshipping creation instead of the Creator, attributing divinity to material things. Yet the Word became flesh, revealing the truth as He pronounced, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind" (Is. 61:1). Such afflictions plagued the Gentiles, but through Him, they were liberated; they received wisdom from Him, becoming wise, no longer spiritually broken and weak, but sound and robust, ready to undertake every righteous and saving deed.

Notice the precision in His wording: When He stated, "I have given Him as a witness to the Gentiles," He did not imply that He was merely a prophet, but clearly intended to establish Him as ruler and sovereign over the nations. The blessed prophets and Moses, even before them, were known as servants who conveyed messages with "Thus saith the Lord." In contrast, our Lord Jesus embodied divine authority in His words, which astonished the Jews, for "He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22). His teachings transcended the shadows of the law, as He, being the Lawgiver, transformed the written words into essence, trading types for spiritual clarity, commanding as One in authority.

The prophetic reference to the Gentiles is evident in the words spoken by the Father to the Son: "The Gentiles, who have not known you, shall call upon you; and nations who have not known you shall turn to you." Those who once dwelled in darkness recognized Christ as God and looked to Him as their hope, advocate, and source of salvation. Why? "For the Lord your God is the Holy One of Israel" as they glorify the Son, acknowledging His divine origin and sharing in the glory of the Father.

He, being the radiance of God's glory, was not made equal to God through ambition, but humbled Himself, taking on the form of a servant, being found in human likeness, and becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11). After humanity's temporary rejection of Christ, He is fully restored to His inherent divine glory, both in honor and in human form. This is signified by God giving the Son a name that is above every name, as He declared, "Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5).

Knowing that due to their lack of faith the Gentiles would come to believe, He directed His message to them, proclaiming that He sent His Son as a testament to all nations, declaring His laws and commands, as He said, ‘This gospel will be preached throughout the entire world as a testimony to all nations’ (Matthew 24:14). Thus, He subdued the proud Pilate with His declaration: I came into the world to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). The apostle Paul writes to Timothy regarding Him as ‘the one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, a testimony in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle’ (1 Tim. 2:5-7). Every remark made here pertains to Him who, like a lamb led to slaughter, did not open His mouth, and of whom it was said: ‘We saw Him, and He had no form or beauty’ (Isaiah 53:2), and ‘Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows’ (Isaiah 53:4). To Him, those who previously did not know Him hurried, proclaiming: God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 45:1), and, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 89:1). Concerning their faith, we read: Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have never heard will understand (Isaiah 52:15). He is the witness of all that the Father has promised and disclosed to the world, which mystery Paul, in his brief address to the Ephesians, describes as: ‘The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory’ (Eph. 1). Concerning Him it is written: for the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you, and by that glory which was His before the foundation of the world. This is confirmed by the prophet: ‘the glory of the Lord shall be revealed’ (Isaiah 40), who is the brightness of His glory and the exact representation of His being (Heb. 1), when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father (Phil 2), who responded to the Son asking for the glory He had before: and I will glorify, and I will glorify (John 12:28). Of Him, John the Apostle declares, ‘We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14). Consequently, when he refers to Him who was with God in the beginning as the Word, he identifies Him as the Father of glory, and when he recounts His words from the Gospel, ‘Why do you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth?’ (John 8:40), he invokes the God of our Lord Jesus Christ—not to distinguish between the two, but to show that the same Son of God speaks both of His divine glory and of the humanity He chose to embrace.

Thus, the kingdom of Christ embodies the kingdom of truth: He ruled over a world shrouded in the falsehoods of polytheism and superstition, exemplifying the truth, and He affirmed His testimony through His death. This testimony resonates powerfully in the words spoken by God the Father to Christ, "This is the testimony among the Gentiles I have given to You."