Isaiah is one of the most important Old Testament prophets. How do we know this?
- John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness in fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3-5 (Matt. 3:4-6).
- Jesus defined the purpose of his ministry by quoting Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:18-20).
- Paul shifted his ministry focus from Jews to Gentiles by appealing to Isaiah 49 (Acts 13:47).
- And the negative response of the Jews to the gospel was cited as a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 6:9 (Acts 28:26-27), just to name a few examples.
For the next few months we will focus our study on Isaiah 40-66, but don’t miss the inspiring content in the first half of the book.
- Isaiah 6, for example, describes the prophet’s call to ministry: “Here am I, send me.”
- Isaiah 7-11 provide some of our clearest prophecies about the birth of the Messiah, linked to his reign: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14).
- Isaiah 19 presents Israel as the “third part” between Egypt and Assyria – a unifying presence in the world.
- Isaiah 35 describes “the way of holiness” the Lord would open to gather his people in.
- And Isaiah 36-38 shares the powerful story of God’s deliverance of Jerusalem from the mighty Assyrian army.
Then Isaiah 40 turns a corner in terms of tone and content, providing rich and detailed descriptions of The Servant of the Lord.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:1-2
This chapter begins with comfort and the promise of forgiveness and ends with the promise of power:
“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:30-31
Come be encouraged by these wonderful promises from our God. Come revel in the glorious prophecies of the Lord Jesus, our Servant, King and Messiah. Come drink of the living water. Come and see the promises of final justice and eternal joy. And as we see the goodness of Jesus, the Servant of the Lord, we will be challenged by the question – are we living as servants of the Lord like Him?