The book of Isaiah is packed with prophecies about Jesus.  Some of the early church fathers called Isaiah “the Fifth Gospel”.  These prophecies don’t form pictures in the same way that the covenants or living parables do, but they do form poetic pictures of Jesus and redemption.

Chapters 7 and 8 announce that God will come to earth, to be with us, to begin to set things right.

…the Lord himself will give you the sign.  Look!  The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Isaiah 7:14-15 NLT

Chapters 9 and 11 speak of light coming finally to our dark world, and point to a coming king who will renew David’s kingdom with a kingdom that will never end.

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever.  The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.  The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.  For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

Isaiah 9:1-2 NLT

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on his shoulders.  And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.  The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.  And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  He will delight in obeying the LORD.  He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay.  He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.  The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.  He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.

Isaiah 11:1-5 NLT

Chapters 40-55 tell about a Messiah who will take away our sin and bring God’s redemption through suffering. 

He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.  We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.  He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.  And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.  He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Isaiah 53:3-5 NLT

The new covenant will be established:

“Fear not; you will no longer live in shame.  Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you.  You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood.  For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name!  He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 54:4-5 NLT

And creation will be renewed:

You will live in joy and peace.  The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!  Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.  Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.  These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Isaiah 55:12-13 NLT

To summarize, Jesus is called Immanuel, which means “God with us”.  The Messiah would be God with us, here on earth in the flesh, visible, even touchable.  The Messiah would take away our sin, through his own suffering.  The new covenant would be established, and creation would begin to be renewed.  It’s worth re-reading the gospels with all of these in mind.