Isaiah 40:9
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!” (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 40:9-31
Isaiah prophesied that there would be a heralder that would announce the Messiah’s coming. John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the voice of one calling in the wilderness. He was sent to announce the Messiah’s presence in order to prepare the way for him.
In verse 9, the Messiah has arrived on the scene and those who “bring good news to Zion” are to go high up on a mountain, lift up their voice and say to Judah, “Here is your God!” In other words, shout it from the mountain tops that Jesus is here!
Notice that it’s good news. The coming of the Lord is not a time of fear and dread. The people were not supposed to be afraid of the Lord’s arrival. Isaiah 40:9 specifically says for the people to not be afraid. They were to shout the good news!
There are three places this passage could have been fulfilled by Jesus – or maybe was fulfilled by Jesus in three different ways.
The first was the announcement of Jesus by John the Baptist. John the apostle recorded this event on a day when John the Baptist was with a couple of his disciples and Jesus passed by the area. “When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’” (John 1:36).
The second was the announcement of Pilate. After he had Jesus flogged, he tried to convince the people to allow him to free Jesus. But they wanted him crucified. So he sat Jesus down on the “judge’s seat” and announced to the Jews, “Here is your king” (John 19:14).
The third was the directive of Jesus to his apostles. After Jesus had returned to heaven and they received the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed them to essentially go shout it from the mountaintops that he was the Messiah. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
This is also a prophecy we can fulfill every day in our own lives. Jesus is the Messiah who takes away the sin of the world. This is good news! We want everyone to know this marvelous thing that has happened. It’s our responsibility to take this message to the ends of the earth. But we can start with those around us. At the end of each day, can we say that by our actions that we proclaimed to those around us, “Here is your God!”
Christ in the Old Testament 
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