The book of Isaiah has held a central place in the life of the church from the beginning. The apostles grounded their testimony in Isaiah by citing or alluding to it nearly 600 times, from the virgin birth (Matt 1:21; Isa 7:14) to the hope of a new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1; Isa 65:25). In light of this, St Jerome says: “Within [Isaiah] is contained all the Holy Scriptures.”(1) Indeed, the book of Isaiah came to be called the Fifth Gospel by the ancient church. Today, it is not uncommon for Isaiah to feature during Advent or Holy Week, with readings and sermons on passages about the coming king (Isa 9:1–7; 11:1–9) or the suffering servant (52:13–53:12).
Although the importance of Isaiah lingers in the church’s memory, many hide away from the daunting task of preaching through Isaiah. Consequently, the church is deprived of many of the flavours that the book has to offer. Picking and choosing only the messianic texts from Isaiah is like picking the chocolate chips out of a chocolate chip cookie. God means for these messianic texts to be savoured as part of the cookie of Isaiah. The flour of Isaiah is the pattern of divine judgement and restoration. Its salt is indictments against God’s people for injustice, pride, idolatry, drunkenness and misplaced trust. Its butter is the concern for Zion that holds the book together. Its sugar is the hymns of praise and worship. Its vanilla is the distinct emphasis upon God as the Holy One. Once we taste the chocolate chips of messianic hope as part of the cookie, the combination is so wonderful that you and your people will never want to just eat morsels in isolation again.
Whether or not you like this cookie analogy, the point is that Isaiah has far more to offer than a few isolated messianic promises. Imagine how Isaiah can summon forth by God’s Spirit a church attuned to our God who acts in judgement and restoration, who confronts and seeks justice, humility, worship and trust, who is holy, holy, holy, and who redeems and forgives. Isaiah is a book worth preaching.
Before mentioning some helpful resources for the preacher, here are some considerations to ponder:
Here is a survey of resources on Isaiah which might help you decide what to invest in: we are under no illusion that you will own or read all of the following.
Prophecy. When preaching on Isaiah, it is essential to grasp how prophecy works. Although Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001) and Abraham Heschel’s The Prophets (New York: Harper and Row, 1969) remain useful, M. Daniel Carroll R.’s The Lord Roars: Recovering the Prophetic Voice for Today (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2022) repackages the best of Brueggemann and Heschel and invites us to experience the prophetic word through powerful examples from Isaiah, Amos and Micah.
Thematic Studies. For a better grasp of the big picture of Isaiah, check out two books by Andrew Abernethy. In The Book of Isaiah and God’s Kingdom (Downers Grove: IVP, 2016), part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series, Abernethy uses the framework of God’s kingdom to capture how the major sections of the book focus on God’s rule as king and how God establishes his kingdom through the work of lead agents (king, servant and anointed Messiah), resulting in a kingdom community in a new Zion and a new creation. The appendix includes a programme for a preaching series on Isaiah. Discovering Isaiah: Content, Interpretation, Reception (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021) helpfully traces the metanarrative of Isaiah and several major themes from across the book: holiness, Zion, messianic king, suffering servant and justice.
Contemporary Commentaries. What commentaries give a detailed explanation of each passage without losing the forest for the trees? If you can afford them, look no further than John Oswalt’s two volumes on Isaiah in the New International Commentary on the OT series: The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1–39 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986); The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40–66 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998). For a one-volume commentary, consider John Oswalt, Isaiah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: IVP, 1993) or Paul Wegner, Isaiah, TOTC (Downers Grove: IVP, 2021). These commentaries hit the sweet spot of providing some detail while not losing a sense for the flow of the passage in the book.
For the more detailed end of the spectrum, the works by Willem Beuken on chapters 28–39 and Jan Koole on chapters 40–66 in the Historical Commentary on the OT are a treasure trove of interpretive insights. Additionally, nothing rivals the attention to Hebrew and critical scholarship in the volumes on Isaiah by Hugh Williamson on chapters 1–12 and John Goldingay (with David Payne) on chapters 40–55 and 56–66 in the International Critical Commentary (T&T Clark). For the end of the spectrum that prioritizes the bigger picture, consider Barry Webb, The Message of Isaiah, Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove: IVP, 1996) or Jenni Williams, The Kingdom of Our God: A Theological Commentary on Isaiah (London: SCM, 2019).
Ancient Commentaries. Tremendous insight can come from hearing how others across history have interpreted Isaiah. John F. A. Sawyer’s Isaiah Through the Centuries (Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2018) integrates commentary from across the centuries in a chapter-by-chapter commentary. An affordable and helpful commentary from the early church is Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah, trans. Jonathan J. Armstrong (Downers Grove: IVP, 2013). From the Middle Ages, the commentary by Thomas Aquinas is available free online. Calvin’s commentaries on Isaiah are unrivalled in their integration of grammatical-historical exegesis, biblical theology and pastoral considerations. They are available free in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library and can be purchased in hard copy.
Although preaching through Isaiah can be daunting and resources are helpful, never neglect the careful study of the Scripture itself. Perhaps God has given us challenging books like Isaiah to remind us that we depend on him to instruct us and that there is much beyond our grasp, leading us to deeper and deeper worship and dependence on him. As Andrew Abernethy recently put it, “God has given us a Bible that is for the hungry – for those desperate enough to depend on him for provision and who will exert great mental energy or endure seasons of dullness to eventually taste some honey” (Savoring Scripture [Downers Grove: IVP, 2022], xvi, italics original). Even if you cannot explain everything in a passage, you can trust that the Lord will enable you to taste enough honey to invite your people to taste the same.
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