In the Apostle Paul’s great Letter to the Romans, we have the most detailed explanation of God’s plan of salvation for the world. We have a systematic presentation of God’s powerful redeeming work in and through Jesus Christ, the LORD. Paul summarizes the teaching of this Letter in Romans 1:16-17:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’
In Isaiah 52:13 – 56:8, we have this same pattern prophesied in a detailed manner. Let me explain what I mean. In Isaiah 52:13-53:12, we have a detailed prophesy of the life, death and resurrection of the Suffering Servant. The Christian Church believes this is a prediction of the sufferings and atoning death of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. His substitutionary death for us was the means of our reconciliation with God. The Prince of Peace brought us peace by dying a violent death at the hands of sinners (Is. 53:4,5). He is our salvation, He is our Redeemer.
God Has Always Been Working His Plan
The invitation for this salvation is first offered to the Jews in Isaiah 54. The barren woman (Is. 54:1), who becomes mother of many children is Jerusalem, which becomes clear as you read through the chapter. And then the salvation procured by the Suffering Servant, prophesied in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, is then offered to all the Gentiles of the world in Isaiah 55 & 56. For example we read in Is. 55:1 the following:
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
In other words, this salvation of grace, through the prophesied sufferings of the Jewish Messiah, is offered first to the Jews (Is. 54) and then to the Gentiles (Is. 55). Paul was very aware of what the Old Testament Scriptures taught. This Jewish Apostle didn’t pull the gospel from mid-air or anywhere else except from the Jewish Scriptures. Jesus fulfills all of God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants (Gen.12:1-3) in his life, death and resurrection.
Anyone Who Humbles Himself Is Welcome
In Isaiah 56, this theme of the gospel being for the salvation of not only repentant Jews but also repentant Gentiles continues to be emphasized. No foreigner or eunuch who joins himself to the LORD will be excluded from the Temple of the LORD (Is. 56:3-8). We have reference here of God’s intention all along: to make His house ‘a house of prayer for all nations’ (Is. 56:7). Jesus makes reference to this verse from Isaiah when he enters the Jerusalem Temple on Palm Sunday and overturns the moneychangers’ tables (Mark 11:15-19). Believing Jews, Gentiles, including eunuchs, will become ‘living stones’ in the New Temple of God (1 Peter 2:4-5).
In Isaiah 52-57, we have such a wonderful portrait of the righteousness and mercy of the true and living God. He is faithful to all of His promises, even to the point of coming to us as the Suffering Servant in Jesus, and doing for us what Jew and Gentile could not do for themselves. None of us can save ourselves. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. The LORD draws near to all who humble themselves and call on God in humble repentance. Hear these life-giving words of Isaiah 57:15:
For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’.
As the Apostle Paul proclaims, salvation is of faith, from beginning to end, and it’s first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. It is for all who humble themselves and trust the LORD for forgiveness and eternal life. This is good news.
QOTD: Do you still marvel at the wonder of God’s great wisdom and faithfulness demonstrated in His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, our LORD?