Day 0 – Isaiah Pt.2 – Introduction

Day 0 – Isaiah 40-66 Introduction: The Fifth Gospel

Opening prayer

Father, as we begin the second half of Isaiah, please open my ears to your comfort, my heart to your grace, and my eyes to the glory of Jesus. Teach me to receive your good news with repentance, faith, and joy. Amen.

Comment

Isaiah has sometimes been called “the Fifth Gospel.”

That may sound a little strange at first. After all, Isaiah is not one of the four Gospels. It is not Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. It is a prophetic book from the Old Testament, written centuries before the birth of Jesus.

And yet, as we turn from Isaiah 1–39 to Isaiah 40–66, the atmosphere of the book changes. The first half has often felt weighty. There have been severe warnings, oracles against the nations, confronting descriptions of sin, pride, injustice, idolatry, and judgment. We have seen again and again that God’s people have turned from him. They have trusted in political alliances, foreign nations, idols, wealth, military strength, and even their own religious performance. They have not trusted the Lord.

In that sense, Isaiah 1–39 has shown us the disease.

The disease is not merely Assyria. It is not merely Babylon. It is not merely bad kings, unjust societies, or hostile nations. The deepest disease is the proud human heart that refuses to honour God as God. It is the heart that says, “I can secure myself. I can save myself. I can rule myself.”

And that disease is not limited to ancient Judah. It is ours too.

That is why the first half of Isaiah can feel heavy. It tells the truth about us. It exposes our false hopes and our spiritual evasions. It shows us that sin is serious, judgment is real, and even the best human kings are mortal, fragile, and flawed. Hezekiah, for all his faithfulness, was not the forever King God’s people needed.

But Isaiah does not leave us with the disease.  In Isaiah 40–66, we begin to hear the cure.

The opening words of this second great section are astonishingly tender: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God” (40:1). Judgment has not disappeared. Sin has not suddenly become unimportant. But now the dominant note is consolation, rescue, forgiveness, restoration, and hope.

God himself will come to save his people. He will bring them home from exile. He will reveal his glory. He will expose the emptiness of idols. He will renew the weary. He will gather his flock like a shepherd. He will pour out his Spirit. He will create new heavens and a new earth.

And at the centre of this rescue stands one of the most mysterious and wonderful figures in the whole Old Testament: the Servant of the Lord. The Servant will bring justice to the nations. He will be gentle with the bruised reed and the smouldering wick. He will be a light to the Gentiles. He will suffer. He will be pierced for the transgressions of others. He will bear sin. He will justify many.

In other words, Isaiah 40–66 stretches forward to Jesus.

That is why this section has been called the Fifth Gospel. Long before Bethlehem, Galilee, Calvary, and the empty tomb, Isaiah announces the good news of God’s saving grace. The word “good news” appears repeatedly in this part of Isaiah. It is the good news that God reigns. The good news that sin can be forgiven. The good news that the Lord himself comes to rescue. The good news that the Servant suffers in the place of sinners. The good news that God’s salvation is not only for Israel, but for the nations.

So as we begin Part 2, we should not forget Part 1. The first half of Isaiah has prepared us for the second. The earlier chapters have shown us why comfort is needed, why forgiveness is so astonishing, why human pride must be humbled, why idols cannot save, why judgment is just, and why no merely human king can carry the hopes of the world.

Now, in Isaiah 40–66, we hear God’s answer.  Not simply advice, or merely moral improvement, or a call to try harder and do better. But grace.

God comes to his weary, guilty, broken, exiled people and says, “Here is your God!” (40:9). He gives strength to the weary. He blots out transgressions. He calls his people by name. He promises a Servant. He bears their sins. He brings near his righteousness. He makes all things new.

That is what we need to hear. We need more than a diagnosis. We need a cure. We need more than exposure. We need mercy. We need more than a warning. We need a Saviour. And Isaiah gives us Jesus.

About the plan and blogs

This is Part 2 of our Isaiah reading plan. Over the next 6 weeks, we will read through Isaiah 40–66 together. Having spent Part 1 listening to Isaiah expose the disease of sin, idolatry, pride, injustice, false security, and coming judgment, Part 2 now turns our attention to the cure God himself provides.

These chapters are full of comfort and hope. We will hear the Lord speak tenderly to his weary and exiled people. We will see him declare his greatness over the nations and the emptiness of idols. We will watch him promise a new exodus, a renewed creation, and a salvation that reaches to the ends of the earth. Above all, we will meet the Servant of the Lord, who brings justice, bears sin, suffers in the place of many, and opens the way for forgiveness and peace.

Each weekday there will be:

• a short prayer to prepare your heart
• the Bible reading for the day
• a devotional reflection
• some questions for reflection
• and a closing prayer of response

As before, some passages will be immediately comforting. Others will be searching and challenging. Some will lift our eyes to the incomparable greatness of God. Some will expose the foolishness of trusting in idols or human strength. Some will take us deep into the mystery of the suffering Servant. Some will open our hope to the glory of the new creation.

But through it all, the invitation is the same: to hear the word of the Lord, to receive his comfort, to turn from false hopes, to trust his promises, and to find our deepest joy in Jesus Christ.

So let’s begin Part 2 with open Bibles and open hearts.

And let’s ask God to show us the cure he has provided: the good news of Jesus Christ, the Servant-King, who brings forgiveness, justice, comfort, and joy to the ends of the earth.

Closing prayer

Holy Father, thank you for giving us your word. As I read Isaiah, please teach me to know you better, to hate my sin more, and to trust your promises more deeply. Keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and by your Spirit make your word bear good fruit in my life. Amen.