Audio Transcript:

Welcome to Missions on Point, the Propempo perspective on church and missions.

Hello, I’m so glad you’ve joined us today. We’re on episode 234. The series we are currently in has been exciting because we are walking through the Bible and showing how every book of the Bible plays an important role in leading the church to where it finds itself today, commissioned by King Jesus to preach the gospel to all nations and thus form local churches to worship God and continue the task from there. We have surveyed the Pentateuch and the history books of Joshua through 2 Chronicles. Now we are turning our attention to the prophets. We will spend a week on each of the major prophets and a couple of weeks on the minor prophets. The prophet Isaiah is first.

Isaiah very clearly has two halves to the book. The first half is mostly judgment and the second half is mostly hope. Yet, the gospel includes both parts together. Even in the first chapter, which focuses on Judah’s wickedness, we are promised, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” And “Zion shall be redeemed by justice.” Yet this message is not just for the nation of Israel. Isaiah sets the stage for his message of world evangelization in the second chapter of the book, when he says that the mountain of the Lord will be established as the highest mountain and all nations will flow to it to worship God. The pride of all mankind will be humbled and all mankind will cast off their idols.

Chapter four combines the images of judgment and hope into one as the Branch of the Lord is glorified. The branch is a stump that has been cut down in judgment, yet the hope is that it remains and will grow new life. Death comes before resurrection. Israel and Judah are like God’s vineyard, yet he tears it down because they did not produce the fruit he wanted. Isaiah paints a picture that the hope of the world comes as Israel is rejected as God’s vineyard.

Isaiah chapter six is a highlight of the book and the whole Bible, giving us a picture of heaven, with angels declaring, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” What we sometimes miss in this declaration is that the whole earth is full of his glory. That is the vision of heaven that we long for, and it is the primary motivation of missions, to fill the earth with the glory of God. It’s quite appropriate then that Isaiah’s call is also the call of all missionaries. We should have a similar response to the prophet, who first declares, “woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” And after we receive the grace of God’s atonement to cleanse us from our sins, we too should offer ourselves to the Lord and say, “Here I am! Send me.”

Yet, the prophet’s ministry and the missionary’s ministry are different. Yes, they both have a word from the Lord, which is a burden they must share, but Isaiah has a specific ministry to the people of Israel that we need to recognize. God commissions Isaiah by telling him that he will say to his people, “keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Jesus applies this prophecy to the Jews who would reject him. And at the very end of the book of Acts, in Acts 28, the same application is made. Throughout the book of Acts, the Apostles go to the Jews first, but they reject Jesus. And after this passage is quoted in Acts 28, verse 28 says, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” That’s the conclusion of the book of Acts. The Jews did not listen, but the Gentiles will.

Next, Isaiah continues the message of salvation through judgment as he gives a sign to the evil king Ahaz which is simultaneously one of the most well-known prophecies of the coming Messiah. Isaiah promises Ahaz that the sign that God’s salvation would come through judgment is that a child would be born whose name would be Immanuel, meaning God with us. The judgment is that the nation is in distress, darkness and gloom, but redemption would come as a day would come where those who walked in darkness would see a great light and Galilee of the Gentiles would be made glorious. It becomes very clear that the promised child here in chapter 9 is not possibly Isaiah’s child born as a sign to Ahaz, but another child who was divine, the Son of God wrapped in flesh. The serpent-crushing seed of the woman is able to bear all the weight of every nation on his shoulders.

For Ahaz, the immediate tool for God’s judgment is Assyria, the rod of God’s anger. Yet, their hope is that they are not completely destroyed. The stump of Jesse, the righteous branch would bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon him, and he would judge righteously. And even though God’s people would be sent into exile, God would bring a remnant of his people back from the four corners of the earth. And the implication here is a hope for the Gentiles, that the root of Jesse would be a signal for all peoples of the earth, that God would bring back his remnant from every nation, and that it would not just be the Jews returning from exile, but that they would bring people from the nations with them. Isaiah says in chapter 12, “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.” God’s name is to be proclaimed among all the peoples of the earth.

Next in Isaiah, we have a large section of God’s judgment and grace among all the nations of the world. God’s judgment falls upon Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Cush, Egypt, Jerusalem, Tyre, Sidon, and ultimately the whole earth. It’s interesting to note that Jerusalem is thrown in the mix with all the other nations. And the thing that defiles the earth is its inhabitants. Yet, there is hope. A highway will be built from Assyria to Egypt, with altars worshipping the one true God there. God will make a feast for all peoples, and he will swallow up death forever, giving hope of the resurrection, and defeating the Leviathan. Israel is redeemed and the exiles return. Warnings of judgment are mixed with promises of grace. Judgment is like a de-creation into chaos, but salvation is a reversal of the curse. And God is proved as sovereign over the world through his prophetic word.

Chapters 36-39 provide an historical transition in the book between the two halves of judgment and hope. Of note in this story is that God uses a pagan army general to make his point. The Rabshekah, the commander of the Assyrian army, stands before the walls of Jerusalem, mocking God. And he rightly states that the gods of all the other nations could not save them from Assyria. And God proves himself in contrast to all other gods, that he has the power to save and he wipes out the Assyrian army. God’s work of salvation is displayed on a global stage.

As we reach chapter 40, we turn to the second half of this book, focused on hope. Comfort is promised to the embattled Jerusalem. Her sin has been pardoned. A highway in the wilderness prepares the way for God. Every valley is lifted up and every mountain made low. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” All flesh will see the glory of God. The highway here is the same as earlier, where all nations can come to worship God, without the hindrances of mountains and valleys. Everything that separates people from worshipping God will be removed.

One of the key features of this second half of Isaiah is the emphasis on the Servant of the Lord. God’s Spirit would be on his Servant. The Servant would bring justice without being harsh, and he would be a light to the nations. It’s interesting to try to identify who the Servant is. At times it seems clear that God is calling the nation of Israel as his servant. At other times it seems like the prophet Isaiah is the servant. And yet at other times it seems like the only person who could be the Servant is the promised Messiah. It’s no wonder that the Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip on the road, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or another?” Philip is able to explain that the Suffering Servant is Jesus. So, whatever role the prophet or Israel played in God’s plan as a Servant who is a light to the nations, they point to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. Isaiah 49:6 says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Israel’s exile proved that it was insufficient as God’s light. The prophet’s mission was not simply to call back the remnant of Israel, but to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. Only Jesus, through his own exile in death, could bear the weight of sin and shame in Isaiah 53. And, only Jesus, through his resurrection, would be able to bring salvation to the ends of the earth, bringing back a people for God from the nations. All kings and nations are called to forsake their idols and worship the One True and Living God. All who are thirsty are called to come and purchase God’s salvation without money, because God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who would seek the Lord. Isaiah 56 makes clear that foreigners that join themselves to the Lord will not be cut off because God’s house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Chapters 60-66 of Isaiah are filled with glorious hope in a future new covenant that God will make with his people. There will be no more violence, devastation, destruction, sun, moon or weeping. God’s people will be clothed in a robe of righteousness. Jerusalem is given a new identity, and there is a new heavens and a new earth where God and his people rejoice, and all are priests, and those who have rebelled suffer God’s wrath. And most importantly, all people everywhere see God’s glory.

For those of us who have entered into that new inaugurated but not yet consummated new covenant with God, we can parse the timing of the prophetic visions. The prophet searched and inquired about the person and the timing of the future suffering and subsequent glories. Future fulfillments were hard to distinguish. But now, we are able to discern these future hopes: the hope of salvation in the return from exile, the hope of salvation in Christ’s first coming, and the hope of salvation in Christ’s second coming. And yet in all of these calls to hope, we see the Gentiles included in them all. God has always intended the light of his glory to go to the ends of the earth, and that is what the church is engaged in now. And we are spurred on by the prophet Isaiah. It’s an encouragement we need because we too will face suffering as we await the future glory of God to all peoples everywhere. So, let’s preach from Isaiah and preach about God’s glory through the church to the ends of the earth.

Thanks for joining us today on Missions on Point. We trust that you'll find more help and resources on our websites at Propempo.com and missioserve.org. We are so thankful for those who support us, enabling us to produce this podcast. Now to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen.

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