A voice for the word of God
Isaiah
Isaiah is often called the evangelical prophet, for no book in the Old Testament speaks so clearly of the coming Savior. From the child born to us in chapter nine to the Suffering Servant of chapter fifty-three, his words are quoted throughout the New Testament. His own call began with a vision of the holy God.
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”Isaiah 6:8
His life and calling
His life and calling. Isaiah prophesied in Judah, the southern kingdom, roughly in the eighth century before Christ, "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (Isaiah 1:1). His ministry unfolded against the looming threat of Assyria. His call came in the temple in a vision of the Lord "high and lifted up," with seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3). Overwhelmed by God's holiness and his own uncleanness, Isaiah cried, "Woe is me! for I am undone," until a coal from the altar touched his lips and his sin was purged. Then he answered the Lord's question, "Whom shall I send?" with, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:8). Isaiah was a covenant voice to kings and people, counseling trust in God rather than in foreign alliances. He confronted injustice, pride, and empty religion, and comforted the faithful with promises of restoration. Far from being merely a predictor of events, he was a preacher of God's holiness, judgment, and salvation to a nation drifting from the Lord.
His message
His message. Isaiah held together fierce warning and radiant hope. He denounced empty worship, calling instead for justice: "cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed" (Isaiah 1:16-17). He announced judgment on Judah's pride yet promised comfort: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God" (Isaiah 40:1). He proclaimed the incomparable greatness of the Lord, who calls the stars by name and gives power to the faint. At the heart of his message stands the promise of one who would save through suffering, the Servant who was "wounded for our transgressions" and by whose stripes "we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Isaiah's book moves from the ruin of sin to the vision of a new heavens and a new earth, insisting that God's purpose is redemption. His message is that the Holy One judges sin truly and yet reaches out to save a people who cannot save themselves.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Isaiah points to Jesus more explicitly than any other prophet. His promise, "unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," who is called "The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6), the New Testament reads as fulfilled in Christ. The virgin who bears a son called Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) is quoted at Jesus' birth (Matthew 1:23). Above all, Isaiah 53 describes the Servant who bore our griefs, was led "as a lamb to the slaughter," and made "his soul an offering for sin." Philip used this very chapter to preach Jesus to the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:32-35). Jesus opened His own ministry by reading Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," and declaring it fulfilled (Luke 4:18-21). What Isaiah saw from afar as promise, the gospel proclaims as arrived. God spoke by Isaiah, and has now spoken in the Son whom Isaiah longed to see (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Questions people ask
Why is Isaiah 53 so important to Christians?
It describes a servant who suffers and dies for the sins of others, is "wounded for our transgressions" and bears "the iniquity of us all." The New Testament applies these words directly to Jesus, and Philip used them to preach the gospel (Acts 8:32-35).
Did Isaiah actually predict the Messiah, or is that a Christian reading?
Isaiah contains genuine promises of a coming deliverer and a suffering servant. Christians confess these are fulfilled in Jesus, while honestly acknowledging that Isaiah first spoke into his own eighth century setting, and the fullness of meaning became clear in Christ.