Intertextuality Pair

Luke 7:22 → Isaiah 35:5-6

Allusion

Later text

Luke 7:22BSB

So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Earlier text

Isaiah 35:5-6BSB

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square13:49

Significance

Jesus' reply to John's disciples — "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised" (Luke 7:22) — constitutes a deliberate scriptural answer drawn from Isaiah 35:5-6 and Isaiah 61:1. Isaiah 35 describes the eschatological transformation of creation accompanying the return of Yahweh to Zion: blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, lame people leaping, mute tongues singing. By cataloguing his miracles in the language of Isaiah 35, Jesus is signaling to John — himself deeply versed in prophetic expectation — that the age of Isaianic restoration has arrived. The answer to John's question ("Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?") is not an affirmation but a demonstration: the signs of the messianic age are present, and those who have eyes to see should recognize their fulfillment. Note that Jesus adds "the lepers are cleansed" and "the dead are raised" beyond Isaiah 35, escalating the scope of the claim.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Promise-Fulfillment

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