Answering Islam - A Christian-Muslim dialog

The Divine Messiah Revisited

Even More OT Proof for the Messiah’s Godhead Pt. 2

Sam Shamoun


Who Justifies and Saves?

Continuing from where we left off, we now turn our attention to what the inspired Scriptures proclaim concerning the issue of salvation.


God Alone Justifies and Saves

The Holy Bible teaches that Yahweh God redeems his people from their sins and forgives them:

“If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared… Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:3-4, 7-8

It also states quite plainly that Yahweh is the only God who can actually save and justify, or declare and make a person righteous. He therefore desires the entire inhabited earth to turn to him in order to receive his salvation. 



And because Yahweh alone is able to save and make people righteous, he himself has personally provided salvation for mankind by his own power and strength:

“… and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was NO MAN, and wondered that there was NO INTERCESSOR: therefore HIS ARM brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.” Isaiah 59:15b-18



The Messiah Justifies and Saves

At the same time, however, the prophetic writings bear witness to the fact that it is the Messiah who shall bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth,


And that he is the One who will actually justify or declare and make many individuals righteous, as well make intercession for sinners,


All of which Yahweh alone is supposed to do since there is no one capable of redeeming the life of a single individual, let alone a host of human beings:


How, then, could the prophets claim that the Messiah is able to save and justify anyone if he is nothing more than a mere human?

The answer is that according to the prophetic witness the Deliverer that was to come isn’t simply a man; rather, he is also a fully divine Being who shares in the identity of the One God who sends him, just as the following OT texts confirm:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God (El Gibbor), The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 – cf. 10:20-21; 25:1; 28:29; 57:15-16; 63:16; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 24:8; Jeremiah 32:18

Here the Messiah is said to be the Mighty God who condescends to be born as a human child in order to sit over David’s throne forever. What makes this a rather remarkable prophecy is that the phrase “Mighty God” is applied to Yahweh himself in the very next chapter!


Just as remarkable is this next passage:

“Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is HIS NAME by which HE SHALL BE CALLED: Yahweh our righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:5-6 World English Bible (WEB)

The Davidic King bears the very name of Israel’s God, obviously because he shares in the identity of God himself, which is why he is able to save and justify his people!

In light of the fact that the Messiah is called the Mighty God and Yahweh our righteousness as an indication of his nature and characteristics, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to read what the prophet Micah wrote concerning his activities:


God’s anointed Ruler has been active from the very beginning since he comes from everlasting or eternity itself, which makes absolute sense. After all, the Messiah must be eternal in nature if he is going to be the Mighty God and Yahweh our righteousness in the flesh.

Finally, not only did Isaiah prophecy that the Messiah would be the Mighty God he even identified him as Yahweh’s own Arm which Yahweh employs whenever he chooses to act all alone, without the assistance of any of his creatures: 

“The Lord hath 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… Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Who hath believed our report? and to whom IS THE ARM OF THE LORD REVEALED? For HE shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: HE hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see HIM, there is no beauty that we should desire HIM. HE is despised and rejected of men; a MAN of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from HIM; HE was despised, and we esteemed HIM not. Surely HE hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But HE was wounded for our transgressions, HE was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon HIM; and with HIS stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on HIM the iniquity of us all. HE was oppressed, and HE was afflicted, yet HE opened not HIS mouth: HE is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so HE openeth not HIS mouth. HE was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare HIS generation? for HE was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was HE stricken. And HE made HIS grave with the wicked, and with the rich in HIS death; because HE had done no violence, neither was any deceit in HIS mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise HIM; he hath put HIM to grief: when thou shalt make HIS soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong HIS days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in HIS hand.” Isaiah 52:10, 13-15; 53:1-10

The context is crystal clear that Yahweh’s holy Arm is none other than the Servant of Yahweh whom Yahweh exalts and glorifies after first sending him to offer his life as a vicarious sacrifice for God’s people!

Therefore, since Arm here is intended to be a metaphor for God’s strength and power, which are eternal and infinite, this means that the Messiah is the incarnation of God’s eternal and infinite strength and power.

In other words, Isaiah is describing the coming Deliverer as the Almighty One that becomes/became flesh!   

With that said, we are now read to move on to the third part of our article.