Isaiah 52:13-15; Isaiah 53:1-12

As we wrap up this short series on Isaiah (a fitting moment to enter Advent), we come to Isaiah 53—the Suffering Servant—arguably the text that shaped the early church’s understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection more than any other. It gives us the clearest Old Testament picture of what Jesus came to do and why it matters for real life.

But it’s not a pretty picture: this is a God who heals by taking the brutality of all human sin and pain on Himself. We ask how this song might shape the way we understand our own suffering, and how it calls us toward compassion and mission in our city.

By Hannah Flint

Isaiah 40:1-11

The Bible never promises us a stress-free life. Indeed, we’re regularly told that, as Christians, we can expect suffering. However we can also always expect God to be our great comforter whatever we face. His comfort is so extraordinarily powerful that even when circumstances are at their most dire, we are lifted up, drawn closer and enlivened in our faith.

God comforts us by his nature, his word, and through the comfort of his people. Isaiah prophesies about God’s comfort coming to his people in distress. In Jesus, and by his Spirit, that same comfort is available to us now and always.

By Ed Flint

Isaiah 35 offers a vision of hope and home to God’s people in exile, hundreds of years prior to Jesus. It poetically speaks of the wildness of God’s compassionate mercy and his surprising power.

From this passage we can see a theme that extends far forward as well, that Jesus has come to give us a forever home that is secure. And because of his love and power—even in the driest, most hopeless places—songs of joy and gladness can spring up in our lives.

As he made a desert road for the exiles from Judah, so he has made a road home for us in the midst of our pain and wilderness-seasons.

By Nelly D’Alessandro

Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah prophesies the kingdom of Judah’s downfall at the hands of the Assyrians. The people of God are like a tree felled to a stump. But all is not lost. From that stump, the remnant of Israel, God’s Messiah will come, and he will restore all that has been lost.

On a personal level, we all suffer loss to various degrees. Sometimes we’re responsible, other times we’re not. Jesus, our Messiah, full of God’s spirit, comes to restore all that has been lost: our place in creation, our relationship with God, and our mission to the world. 

By Ed Flint

Isaiah 9:1-7⁠

Jesus is the prince of peace, the prince of shalom. Shalom is more than just an absence of conflict. It is everything being made complete and right. In our world, we can be very aware of the darkness. The news is often filled with it. And we have darkness closer to home; in our family relationships as well as in our own personal lives, too.

Jesus has come to dispel all darkness and bring an end to all conflict. But He can only do as much as we let Him have access to in our lives. The more we’re able to let our old selves die, and resurrect with Him, the more peace rules our lives and enables us to bring Jesus’ shalom to a world in need.

By Ed Flint