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Jesus and Cyrus in Isaiah

Question:

Which parts of Isaiah are about Jesus and which are about Cyrus?

Answer:

King Cyrus of Persia is arguably most famous for liberating the Jewish people from Babylon in 538 B.C and permitting them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-4).

He is mentioned in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1ff. Because he liberated the Jews, he is referred to as God’s anointed (Is. 45:1).

Jesus is most prominently associated with Isaiah as the “suffering Servant,” which prophesies his atoning death on behalf of the Jewish people and the whole world (Isa. 52:12 to 53:12).

For more on Jesus’ role as the Suffering Servant, see CCC 601, 608, 615 623.

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