''He Saw His glory'': Isaiah saw the glory of the Servant of YHWH

1. John 12:41 is related to John 12:40 (where Isaiah 6:10 was quoted) because Isaiah was referring to verse 41. John wrote ''Isaiah said this'' (ταῦτα εἶπεν Ἠσαίας). The antecedent of the pronoun ταῦτα was the words in verse 41 (which was a quotation from Isaiah 6:10)

2. Isaiah recorded the words of the Lord in Isaiah 6:10 because 'he saw his glory'' (ὅτι εἶδεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ). In Isaiah 6:1, 3, Isaiah saw ''the Lord'' and ''his glory'' that filled the whole earth.  In John 12:41, John was saying that Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord Jesus (i.e. the Lord's glory which filled the whole earth). To emphasise this, John said ''and spoke about him'' (καὶ ἐλάλησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ), that is, Isaiah spoke about Jesus as the Lord whose glory he had seen in Isaiah 6.

3. It's most likely that John 12:41 is referring to an ancient targum that existed prior to the advent of Christ. The Targum of Jonathan (TJ) which is dated circa 150 B.C.E - 350 C.E.  had the reading ''I saw the glory of the Lord'' in Isaiah 6:1 which is very similar to what John 12:41 has (''Isaiah...saw his glory'').

Targum: Isaiah said that he ''saw the glory of the Lord'' (Isaiah 1:6 TJ)

NT: Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him (John 12:41 NRSV)

1. The Greek word ''doxa'' means "the condition of being bright or shining, brightness, splendor, radiance" and the idea, "honor as enhancement or recognition of status or performance, fame, recognition, renown, honor, prestige''. (Doxa, BDAG 257-258, 1 and 3). 

2. In Isaiah 6:1, 3 the glory of the Lord must be understood as something visible (such as radiance, brightness) because in the context Isaiah had spoken of seeing the Lord.

3. In the Pentateuch, the glory of the Lord refers to the face of the Lord which when seen, the one who sees will experience death:

Exodus 33:18, 20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

18 Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.”... 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.”

4. In Ezekiel, the glory of the Lord was not seen. What was seen was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. 

Ezekiel 1:28 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

 ''Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.''

 

5. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah saw the Lord but he did not die. It could be that Isaiah only saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord (similar to what Ezekiel saw). 

1. John 12:41 used the same phraseology found in the Septuagint of Isaiah 6:1, 6:3. The only difference is the inflection:

  

Isaiah 6:1     accusative case    (ten doxes auto)

John 12:41   genitive case        (ten doxan auto)

2. Isaiah had τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ occurred twice (2x) in the Septuagint of Isaiah 6 ( in v. 1 and v. 3).

1. The Servant of the Lord had no attractive appearance, had no form or majesty (in contrast to the enthroned Lord in Isaiah 6 where the Lord, the King, was full of glory (brightness and majesty). 

2. The Servant of the Lord  (Jesus Christ) in Isaiah 53 shares in the name of the Lord ( =YHWH): 

Romans 10:9, 12-14, 16 (NRSV)

9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”...14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

 

1.  Yhwh is described as exalted (ןיגבה) (way-yig-bah) in Isaiah 5:16, high (רם) (ram) and lifted up (ונשא) (we-nis-sa) in Isaiah 6:1
2.  The servant of Yhwh is also high ( ירום) (ya-rum), lifted up (ונשא) (we-nis-sa), and exalted ( וגבה) (we-ga-bah) in Isaiah 52:13
3. The servant of Yhwh in Isaiah 52:13 and Yhwh himself in Isaiah 6:1 have the same description of being ''high, exalted, and lifted up''. Isaiah saw the glory of Yhwh in the person of the exalted Yhwh's servant. In the context of Isaiah 12:41, Jesus said that Yhwh is seen when one sees Jesus. 

John 12:45 (NRSV)


And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
 

1. The disciples saw the glory of Jesus ''like that of a unique son of a father'' (δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός). (John 1:14), when Jesus did miracles (John 2:11) and when God raised Jesus from the dead.

2. Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord Jesus both before became in the likeness of men and after God raised him from the dead. The glory of the Lord Jesus pre-incarnation and post-incarnation is just the same brightness which he himself possessed with the Father before creation occurred (John 17:5).

God the Father:

Habakkuk 3:4 (NRSV)

The brightness was like the sun;

    rays came forth from his hand,

    where his power lay hidden.

Jesus: 

Revelation 19:16 (NRSV)

 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.

3. Jesus wanted his disciples to see his glory, which is the glory ''like that of a unique son of a father'' (δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός). (John 1:14).

4. There is one instance in the gospel of seeing the glory of God (John 11:40). 

John 11:40 (NRSV)

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

The case in John 11:40 still ascribed glory to Jesus because earlier in John 10:4 it says that the sickness of Lazarus is "for the glory of God''and that "for the purpose of glorifying [ἵνα δοξασθῇ] the Son of God".

John 10:4 (Literal Standard Version)

and Jesus having heard, said, “This ailment is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. (ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δι' αὐτῆς). 

John's gospel was written in A.D. 90. He wasn't alone who applied OT YHWH texts to Jesus Christ. The earliest Aramaic speaking Christians recorded in Pauline epistles (circa A.D. 49 - 61) already viewed Jesus as highly exalted, as one who shares in the name of the Lord ( = Yhwh):

1 Corinthians 1:2 (NRSV)

''To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours''

 Philippians 2:9 (NRSV) 

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

When did Isaiah see the glory of the Lord Jesus, the Servant of YHWH? 

1.  When the Lord Jesus was existing in the form of God (prior to becoming in the likeness of men):

form of God forms an inclusio with glory of God in the Christ-poem (vv. 6, 11).

   (2:6)   Form of God      

   (2:11)  Glory of God    

• The Greek word ''morphe'' means “form, outward appearance, shape.” (BDAG, p. 659)

• The Greek word ''doxa'' means "the condition of being bright or shining, brightness, splendor, radiance" and the idea, "honor as enhancement or recognition of status or performance, fame, recognition, renown, honor, prestige''. (Doxa, BDAG 257-258, 1 and 3).

Philippians 2:6-7 (NRSV)

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,

2. After Lord Jesus was risen:

1 Corinthians 2:8 (NRSV)

None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Luke 24:26 (NRSV)

 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”

Acts 3:13 (NRSV)

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him.