BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Today’s reading brings us to Isaiah 61, a moving poem about the glory of Yahweh’s future Kingdom. It’s designed as the literary center of Isaiah’s conclusion, suggesting this material is central to Isaiah’s purpose in writing. The prophecies written in this scroll focus on the glory of Yahweh’s future Kingdom.

As you’ll learn in the video, the author packs this poem with hyperlinks to the rest of the Hebrew Bible. The God who turns parched deserts into lush gardens, who replaces tears and ashes with radiant crowns, who brings his people from captivity in darkness to the glorious light of freedom—he’s on a mission to restore his whole creation.

The poem in Isaiah 62 continues the good news of Yahweh’s Kingdom, focused this time on Jerusalem. The ruins on Mount Zion will be rebuilt into a beacon of beauty, Yahweh’s glory spilling over the city’s walls for all the world to see.

It’s a beautiful image, but it’s a far cry from where the people are now—conquered, powerless, haunted by injustice and oppression. Their glimpse of future glory forces them to confront the gap between where they are and where God wants them to be. Just like Isaiah crying “Woe!” in Yahweh’s heavenly temple, the people respond to their glorious vision with confession and repentance.

The Israelites remember God’s rescue … and also their rebellion. Is there any hope? Will Yahweh’s ongoing pattern of showing mercy continue? If it does, will the people learn what God is trying to teach them?

Reflection Questions

• Read Luke 4:14-21. What connections to Isaiah 61 do you notice? What is the significance of Jesus launching his public ministry with words from Isaiah 61?
• In Isaiah 62, Yahweh promises to give Jerusalem a new name. Where else in the Bible have you seen God give someone a new name? How do these naming stories help you understand Yahweh’s promise to Jerusalem in today’s reading?