so he will sprinkle many nations.
kings will shut their mouths because of him,
for they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.
who has believed what we have heard?
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
— [isaiah 52:15-53:1]
a song of the messiah
it never ceases to amaze me that isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus was written over 700 years before Jesus was born on earth. think about that – this equates to us knowing something that will happen in the year 2724. outside of God’s revelation, this is simply impossible.
isaiah tells us that this coming messiah is not just for israel, but that He will “sprinkle many nations”. this sprinkling has a significant meaning, as sprinkling in this context refers to it as a means to forgiveness of sin.
passages like Leviticus 4:6 tell us how sins were forgiven according to the law. This tells us that a priest will “dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary”. this sprinkling of an animal’s blood was part of the process in forgiveness of sin, established by God and spoken through moses in the desert.
this passage from isaiah is essentially saying that someday, when the messiah comes, everything will change. because of Jesus, the temple, the blood of sheep and bulls, and priests making sacrifices will no longer be required. the sprinkling of blood to forgive sin will come from somewhere else. from someone else. the coming messiah would himself become a sacrifice to forgive sins, not just for israel, but for “many nations”. only Jesus could fulfill this prophecy!
this idea of non-jews being fully accepted by God continues in the next verse, speaking of kings understanding something they had not heard. they had not heard it because they lived in lands where the truth of scripture was not taught. yet this clearly states that they will hear of Christ and accept Him for who He truly is. indeed, great leaders of great nations throughout history have bowed before Christ and called Him their King.
may we be ever thankful that we do not require any action on our part to receive the salvation God so freely offers through Christ! because of Jesus, we can be free from sin, faultless and pure before Him. this is a truth that we can continue to share with all who will listen!
~ jason soroski