Easter In Isaiah
Notes
Transcript
Trust In God’s Perfect Plan (v.1-5)
Trust In God’s Perfect Plan (v.1-5)
Interpretation:
In response to the themes of judgment and deliverance in Isaiah 24, Isaiah 25 begins with a hymn of praise to God. The hymn expresses deep personal faith, with the prophet declaring the LORD as “my God” and exalting Him for His faithfulness in executing long-established and reliable plans. God, by accomplishing His plan, shows He is in complete control of history, always working things out exactly as He plans.
Remember that God’s plan is glorious and good. And, we are living in plan-A, not plan-B. Though sin entered and brought death, it served to magnify God’s glory by unveiling his redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.
Part of God’s wise plan includes humbling violent, self-glorifying nations, not merely to judge them but to transform many of their people into worshipers. One of the major themes we’ve traced through the Bible is the rise of “Babylon” and then the coming “Day of the Lord.” It serves as a reminder that whenever and wherever rebellion rises against God, He will come and set things right. This happens throughout history, and it’s hinted at here in vs.2 where He makes “the city a heap,” and it’s the culmination of all of human history when Jesus returns and deals with sin and wickedness forever.
Still, right beside Isaiah’s act of judgment, there is a surprising and hopeful element in God's plan: people who once did not belong to God, well now they do. Isaiah says, “strong peoples will glorify You; cities of ruthless nations will fear You” (v.3). God's salvation extends beyond Israel to all peoples, which is what Jesus is referring to when He says:
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Verses 4–5 offer comfort to the poor and needy, reaffirming God's role as a refuge and shelter. This type of poetic language is often used in the prophets and psalms to speak of God’s protective presence when Israel faces her actual enemies. In fact, ask a Jewish person what God is like, and they’ll often respond in pictures like this — God is a rock and strong tower and a refuge. However, Jesus gives us a new interpretive lens. Jesus is our refuge…our hope…our help…our protection and our salvation. His death absorbed the wrath of God due us, and now we have life through Him! We often remember Romans 5:8 and reflect on the love of God that sent Christ to die for us even when we were still rebellious toward Him. But, listen to the shelter we find in Jesus in the very next verse:
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Illustration:
There was once a master artist who specialized in mosaics. His studio was filled with broken pieces of glass, pottery, and stone—shards most people would toss away. But, he saw value in each one. Visitors would often come in during the early stages of his work and leave unimpressed. It looked chaotic—just a messy table filled with jagged, mismatched fragments. Some doubted whether he had a real plan at all.
But the artist kept working, quietly and patiently, following a design he'd drawn long ago. Every piece had its place—even the ones that looked the most damaged or dark. Slowly, the fragments began forming a picture.
Some shards represented moments of violence and pride—pieces from fallen empires that had once tried to glorify themselves. Others were from simple, overlooked places—symbolizing the poor and needy who had found shelter in the artist's hands. Some of the most beautiful tiles were those that had been rescued from ruin and transformed into something new.
Then, one day, the masterpiece was complete.
People gasped when they saw it. What once looked like broken chaos now revealed breathtaking beauty and purpose. The artist had never wasted a single shard. Every fracture had found its meaning in the bigger story. And right at the center of it all was the image of a Shepherd, holding together the one flock of people He had gathered from every nation.
Like the artist, God is orchestrating all of history—judgment, redemption, and everything in between—with perfect wisdom. Even what looks broken is part of His plan. The fall of Babylon, the rise of worshipers from among the nations, the protection of the poor, and the cross of Christ—it’s all one grand mosaic revealing His glory and grace. We aren’t living in Plan B. This has been Plan A all along.
Application:
Are you part of that beautiful mosaic? Have you surrendered your life to the Great Artist who is worthy of worship and orchestrates all of human history to reflect His infinite glory? Will today be the day you stop trying to write your own story? Will today be the day you trust God to craft your life according to His purpose and will?
Trust In God’s Prevailing Power (v.6-8)
Trust In God’s Prevailing Power (v.6-8)
Interpretation:
In verses 6-8, God will host a universal feast celebrating His kingship, where death and mourning are defeated, and everlasting joy and thanksgiving replace sorrow.
Here, tucked away in the 25th chapter of Isaiah, is the prophetic promise of what God accomplishes through the resurrection of Jesus — the defeat of death portrayed as a lavish feast for all nations. The burial shroud of sin is destroyed forever. Disgrace is removed. Eternal life is offered through Jesus, the Conqueror of death itself.
This banquet is prepared by God Himself, a reminder that we are saved through His work…through His promise…through His grace. We bring nothing of value to the table. We come with nothing but a surrendered life in our hands. No works make us commendable to God. No effort of our own will make us in the least bit owed by God. We feast on the finest of fare solely because He has provided it and given it to us as a gracious gift. So, Ephesians says:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This festive occasion celebrates the ultimate defeat of death, as God removes funeral shrouds and wipes away tears, signifying the end of sin, shame, and sorrow. The “covering that is cast over all peoples” is sin, and the “veil that is spread over all nations” is death. They were our terribly terrifying prison, shackling us all. But, hear the words of hope offered in the gospel of Christ:
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
How is this victory granted? Through the victory of Christ! Let me lay out little more of 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:13–14 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:19 “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
1 Corinthians 15:20–21 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”
And finally, 1 Corinthians 15:50–54 “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.””
You see, the resurrection of Christ is our victory! Death is forever defeated! Sin no more must reign! Through His death and resurrection, the faithful will be changed, death for life, both now and forever! Christ is the victor! The time to mourn is over! The reproach is taken away! As verse 8 proclaims, “THE LORD HAS SPOKEN!” Amen!
Application:
So what does that look like?
Lay down the performance mindset. Stop trying to prove yourself to God or others. Your place at the table isn’t based on what you bring—it’s based on what Christ has already done. That frees you to live from grace, not striving.
Turn mourning into hope. When life gets hard—when grief, death, or disappointment hit—you can face it with eyes fixed on a feast that’s coming. The tears will be wiped away. The pain has an expiration date. That doesn’t minimize the sorrow, but it redefines it.
Welcome others to the table. This is not a private party. It's a feast for “all peoples.” So live as a host on God’s behalf—invite the overlooked, forgive freely, share the hope you have. You're not just a guest; you’re also a messenger.
Worship with confidence. This whole feast is a celebration of God’s victory rooted in His promise. So, don’t live like death still wins. Christ is risen. Death is defeated. Your worship should sound like someone who believes that—bold, thankful, joyful, free.
Trust In God’s Provided Path (v.9-12)
Trust In God’s Provided Path (v.9-12)
Interpretation:
God’s people should rejoice in the certainty of their salvation, while those who cling to pride will have to face judgment. The true source of thanksgiving comes from trusting God.
Isaiah notes that this should be the day that “this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us.” When Jesus steps on the scene some 2,000 years ago, this was no trivial matter. He splits history in two. There is no person to ever walk the face of the earth to have a more profound impact than Jesus. And know this: His impact isn’t that He was a good teacher…which He was. And His impact isn’t that He was a good man who modeled how we should live…which He did. No, the essence of His impact is summed up by Isaiah in the middle of verse 9: “This is the LORD; we have waited for Him!”
Understand this — Isaiah calls us to “be glad and rejoice” now that our “salvation” has appeared. And notice the connection — this salvation isn’t found in a set of rules. It’s not found in the right rituals. Salvation is a person — God Himself, the Hope of the Ages, finally revealed in Jesus Christ. Hebrews says it like this:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Contrast this with the fate of “Moab.” Isaiah ends the chapter with a vivid image of God humbling Moab. Moab serves as a symbol of the unrepentant, showing that part of our joy in heaven will be the forever removal of the tyranny of sin and evil. This happens both here and now, and forevermore in the presence of God.
John 8:34–36 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
In the new Jerusalem, the eternal city of God, John says: Revelation 21:27 “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” and Revelation 22:3 “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”
Illustrate:
There are two travelers on this road of life. One traveler loves his own life, making his own rules, and following his own path. In self-deceived pride, he figures the rule of the King harsh, overbearing, and unnecessary. He could not care less about the Son who was sent to lead us home. The other traveler longs for and embraces the good rule of the Generous King, trusting His judgments and decrees. He faithfully follows the Son wherever He leads.
The path of the first traveler is broad…easy…and many people follow it. If it feels good, do it. Take the path of least resistance. It’s too hard to turn against the tide. Could all of these people be wrong?
The path of the second is narrow, a dim-cut but clearly marked game trail, but few follow it.
The first path leads to destruction, and the second to life.
Application: Which path are you on? The one that rejoices, “This is the LORD; we have waited for Him!” or the one that gives way to destruction, the one brought down, laid low, and cast to the ground?
May the Spirit stir our hearts to rejoice or repent this morning.
