Isaiah
Author: Isaiah son of Amoz · Date: c. 740 – 680 BC
Salvation belongs to the Lord — judgment on the proud, comfort for the humble, a Servant who suffers.
Introduction
Isaiah is sometimes called 'the fifth gospel.' Prophesying in Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, he confronted the spiritual collapse of Judah and pointed beyond the coming exile to a glorious restoration. The book divides naturally in two: chapters 1–39 emphasize judgment, chapters 40–66 comfort. At the heart stand the four Servant Songs, climaxing in Isaiah 53 — the clearest Old Testament portrait of the crucified Christ.
Outline
- Prophecies of judgmentIsaiah 1–39
- Comfort and the Servant of the LordIsaiah 40–55
- The future glory of ZionIsaiah 56–66
Key verses
Chapter notes
Detailed reflections on key chapters in Isaiah.
- Isaiah 53 — The Suffering Servant
Seven hundred years before Calvary, Isaiah describes a servant despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, who is wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace is upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. He is led as a lamb to the slaughter and yet by his knowledge shall justify many. No other Old Testament passage so clearly anticipates the cross. The New Testament writers quote it again and again as the master-key to the meaning of Christ's death.
Substitutionary atonementMessianic prophecyThe Lamb of GodJustification
More book introductions