Objective

In this study, we’ll see how God gave Isaiah very specific prophecies about Christ, showing us His plan for salvation and comfort despite our sin.

Key Verse

Isaiah 40:1: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Introduction

The second half of Isaiah focuses on the comfort and salvation that God wants to give His people. Even though we often disobey Him, God loves us and shows mercy. He longs to forgive and restore us.

This theme begins right at the start of this section. God calls for comfort to come to His people because their time of punishment will end.

Isaiah 40:1-2: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

This is followed by a prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. A voice will cry out to prepare the way for the Lord.

Isaiah 40:3: A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

The glory of God will be revealed in the Messiah. We see this fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 40:5: And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

John 1:14: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The second half of Isaiah can be divided into three sections. Each one builds on God’s promises and points us to Christ. In this study, we will explore them together to understand how God brings deliverance, reveals our Deliverer, and promises a glorious future.

• Prophecies about Israel’s deliverance
• Prophecies about Israel’s Deliverer
• Prophecies about Israel’s glorious future

As we go through these, you will see how Isaiah’s words give us the fullest picture in the Old Testament of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Prophecies about Israel’s Deliverance

Israel is comforted with the promise that God will deliver her from her troubles. God’s promises always rest on His character. This is why we can trust Him completely. He is eternal, all-powerful, and caring.

Isaiah 40:28-31: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God reminds Israel that He chose them and called them for a purpose. He created them to know Him and make Him known.

Isaiah 43:1-2: But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:7: everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

Isaiah 43:10: You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 43:25: I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

God demonstrates His sovereignty even through foreign leaders to accomplish His purpose. We see this clearly with Cyrus, the Persian king. Proverbs 21:1 tells us that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” God’s control over Cyrus shows us that even the most powerful man on earth cannot hinder God’s plan. God will always work His will.

This is both similar to and different from how God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. With Pharaoh, God hardened his heart to bring judgment and show His power in delivering Israel from Egypt. With Cyrus, God moved his heart to show mercy and bring deliverance to Israel from Babylon. In both cases, God’s sovereignty over human leaders accomplished His perfect plan for His people.

Isaiah 45:1-4: This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.

God reminds Israel that He alone is sovereign. No nation or idol is greater than His power and wisdom.

Isaiah 46:9-10: Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

These promises of deliverance point forward to Jesus, who delivers us from sin’s bondage. Just as God used Cyrus to free Israel from physical captivity, He sent Christ to free us all from spiritual slavery.

(Notebook Moment: Read God’s promises in Isaiah 43:1-2. How have you experienced God being with you through hard times? What does it mean to you that He calls you by name?)

Prophecies about Israel’s Deliverer

This part of Isaiah contains many great prophecies about Christ. We learn about a suffering Servant who will bear our sins and sorrows. This suffering Servant is Jesus, who came to serve and save us.

Isaiah 49:5: And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength.

Isaiah 50:6-7: I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

These prophecies about the suffering Servant found their perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 27:26: Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Luke 9:51: As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

The greatest passage about Christ in the Old Testament is found in Isaiah 52 and 53. It tells us so much about what Jesus would do for us. The suffering Servant will be rejected by many. He will be beaten and disfigured. He will bear our sins and sorrows. He will accept our punishment willingly. He will be buried in a rich man’s tomb. And He will be exalted.

Isaiah 52:13-15: See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Now let us read carefully this amazing prophecy about the suffering Servant:

Isaiah 53:1-12: Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53 is perhaps the high point of the entire Old Testament. This passage is so important that the New Testament speaks about it several times.

Acts 8:30-33: Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you understand what you are reading? Philip asked. How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me? So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.

1 Peter 2:21-25: To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Matthew 8:16-17: When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

These prophecies show Jesus as the suffering Servant who takes our place. Through Him, we find forgiveness and healing.

(Notebook Moment: Think about Isaiah 53:5—by his wounds we are healed. How has Christ’s suffering brought healing to your life? What does it teach you about God’s love?)

Prophecies about Israel’s Glorious Future

The final part of Isaiah gives us a picture of the reign of Christ on earth. It will be a time of joy, righteousness, and peace.

Isaiah 61:10-11: I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Isaiah 65:25: The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Isaiah prophesies that God’s purpose is to bring Gentiles into His kingdom as well. People from all nations will come to know Him.

Isaiah 60:1-5: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.

God is fulfilling this through the church, where Jews and Gentiles become one in Christ.

Acts 14:27: On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

There are other great prophecies in the second half of Isaiah. Jesus quotes from them and says He has fulfilled them.

Isaiah 61:1-2: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.

Luke 4:18-19: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Isaiah also prophesies about the Second Coming of Christ. When Christ comes again, He will judge sin and reign in righteousness.

Isaiah 63:1-6: Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save. Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.

Isaiah 66:15-19: See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment on all people, and many will be those slain by the Lord. Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow, declares the Lord. And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.

Revelation 19:11: I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

Christ will create a new heaven and a new earth, free from sin and suffering.

Isaiah 65:17: See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Revelation 21:1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

These prophecies give us hope for the future when Christ reigns.

(Notebook Moment: Imagine the peace described in Isaiah 65:25, where the wolf and lamb feed together. How does this picture of Christ’s kingdom encourage you in today’s world? What steps can you take to live in His peace now?)

Conclusion

Isaiah is a book to learn well. It gives us the fullest picture in the Old Testament of Christ—His suffering, His reign, and His salvation. Through Isaiah, we see God’s heart to comfort His people and bring them into a glorious future.

How do we receive the blessings that God has for us in Christ? It comes through obedience and willingness to follow Him.

Isaiah 1:19-20: If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

As we study the second half of Isaiah, we are reminded that God offers comfort after judgment. He sent Jesus as our Deliverer to suffer for our sins and open the way to eternal life. This prophecy fulfilled in Christ calls us to repent and trust Him. The same merciful God who spoke to Israel invites you today to find comfort in His Son. Let these words strengthen your faith and fill you with hope for the glorious future He promises.

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