Family Chapel

The prophet Isaiah ends his message to God's people with an overarching reminder of God's judgment and mercy. He is the Lord of all righteous judgment. And He is the Lord of salvation. In the end, God will receive his glory and secure for Himself his people.

God once again shows the full scope of salvation, which is people from all nations enjoying the glory of God. God's people have a very important role in seeing salvation spread to the ends of the earth by reflecting God's glory. They can faithfully do that by preaching the Gospel and by persisting in prayer. Even with such an overwhelming mission at hand, God's people can take heart because God will see this mission to completion.

In light of the salvation we have received through the Suffering Servant, we are to be a righteous people. We are to rightly relate to God by turning away from idolatry through the practice of Sabbath. We are to also rightly relate to our neighbors by turning away from injustice through the practice of mercy. In doing so, we reflect the very righteousness of God and show that we belong to His Kingdom.

God issues the invitation to receive the gift of salvation that He has secured through the Suffering Servant. This gift of salvation brings a great reversal from shame to honor and from fear to power. This gift of salvation is freely available to all those who repent. While this gift might sound too good to be true, it is guaranteed by God's way, God's word, and God's sign.

Isaiah points to the coming Messiah as the suffering servant. This Messiah shall come and bring salvation and heal many through his sacrifice and death. In this passage, we will see not only the merciful salvation that we have received, but also our Lord who fully identified with all our pain, brokenness, and suffering as he was crushed on our behalf.

After the people have returned from exile and received God's great vision of salvation through the Servant of the Lord, they are still left waiting for this salvation. Likewise, we too find ourselves waiting for Christ to return in order to fully establish God's Kingdom. We can rightly wait for our future salvation by crying out to God in faith to bring salvation soon, by maintaining courage in the face of fear, by remembering the free gift of God's grace, and by leaving behind the old life of sin.

After prophesying the unexpected deliverance of Israel through Cyrus, Isaiah then points to the true servant of God, the Messiah of the Lord, who will bring ultimate deliverance and salvation. Jesus is the fulfillment and true servant of God who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through his obedience, God proves his love, care, and mercy for us. Through his obedience, we are healed. He served us completely so that we may serve in full obedience and trust.

As God has hinted at before, He now makes it very clear that He will deliver His people out of exile, but He will do so through the Persian emperor Cyrus. With this move, God shows Himself to work in mysterious ways beyond our narrow set of expectations, which can lead us to question His wisdom and goodness. But when God works in mysterious ways, we should respond by putting aside our arrogance, trusting that God will exceed our expectations, and resting in God's commitment to us.

After presenting the salvation that He alone offers, God points out the folly of idolatry. God's people were prone to look for salvation elsewhere - just as we are prone to do so today. But God shows that idolatry is futile, burdensome, and blinding. God invites us to turn away from our idolatry by remembering His power, returning to Him in repentance, and rejoicing in Him through singing.

As God has comforted His people and reaffirmed their place in His Kingdom, He now unpacks what their salvation entails. Salvation is like a multi-faceted diamond that shines in many different ways. In this passage, we see five major facets of salvation: adoption, revelation, deliverance, forgiveness, and revival. This multi-faceted salvation is ultimately made available for us in Christ.