Isaiah is often used in his own prophecies as a type for Christ. This is an excellent example. Obviously, the phrase, ’whom shall I send,’ has reference to the discussion had in the beginning when the Savior was chosen to be the Redeemer of the world. The Pearl of Great Price teaches this doctrine:
’And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.’ (Abraham 3:27-8)
’AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying--Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me--Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.’ (Moses 4:1-4)
When considering Isaiah as the one who said, Here am I; send me, we must understand that Isaiah was volunteering for the mission of preaching to the house of Israel. His mission was a type for Christ. His people were like those of Christ’s day—they had ears but were spiritually deaf, and they had eyes but were spiritually blind.
"In many ways, Isaiah and Jesus faced comparable and extremely difficult teaching situations. Isaiah was the last great prophet to address assembled Israel. During his ministry, the Ten Tribes were taken captive; they later fled to the north and became lost. His words went with these Israelites, and later with Lehi and his people. Of course, Isaiah’s messages also remained with the Jews in Jerusalem. Furthermore, since so many of Isaiah’s prophecies deal with the last days, his words are of particular value to those of covenant Israel who now read his book. Given this wide time period and recognizing the wide range of spiritual attitudes that the readers of his work would have, Isaiah was challenged to find the means to teach such a diversified audience.
“Jesus faced a similar challenge during his earthly ministry. He needed to impart special knowledge to his ‘elect’ apostles and disciples, while at the same time teaching the multitudes. Among the crowds were people of varying degrees of spirituality, some seeking the truth, others trying to entrap Jesus, and many simply satisfying their curiosity. Also, Jesus knew that his words would inspire countless generations of readers in varying cultures, languages, and spiritual conditions. Therefore, he spoke in parables so that the listener or reader would understand according to his individual level of spiritual sensitivity.” (Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet, by Victor L. Ludlow, pp. 133-4)