The Great Saviour Sent to Egypt and All Nations

Isaiah 19:20 promises Egypt a Saviour and a great one. Historical parallels illuminate this prophecy's scope: Alexander the Great liberated Egypt from Persian oppression, while Ptolemy Soter (the Saviour) granted Jews equal civic privileges in Alexandria. Philo records a million Jews flourishing in Egypt under such favour. Yet these temporal deliverers merely prefigure the ultimate fulfillment.

The prophecy transcends any single historical figure. When Egypt cried out to Elohim, deliverance came repeatedly—through political rulers, through the temple of Onias, through the Septuagint translation making Scripture accessible, through the theological witness of Philo—until Christ Himself arrived as the great Saviour promised.

The Messiah stands supreme in five dimensions: Great in His Person ("God over all, blessed for ever"); great in the character He sustains; great in the works He performs; great in the salvation He bestows; great in the glory to which He is now exalted. A medieval Mexican monk's allegory captures this truth: a maiden stands on an island amid a lake of fire, surrounded by malignant fiends, yet she smiles, unconscious of danger. Her peace rests not in the absence of peril, but in the presence of her Saviour.

Yahweh's promise remains operative: when nations cry out, He sends deliverance—supremely through Christ, the great Saviour of all peoples.