We are in our annual series called Crosstown Basics where we review our church mission statement: making disciples of Jesus by exposing people to credible gospel community. We believe that genuine disciples of Jesus can only be made by the gospel, in community, and on mission. This week, we’re talking about the importance of community for the making of disciples.

I’ve chosen Isaiah 54 for this topic, and here’s why. Isaiah 53 is a rather well-known chapter. We Christians love it for how it clearly prophesied about the atoning work of Jesus—Isaiah’s Suffering Servant—on the cross on Good Friday.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:4–6)

There’s the gospel for you.

But we aren’t so familiar with Isaiah 54, and yet it is surely meant to be read right along with Isaiah 53. It tells us what happens next, when the great prophecy of Isaiah 53 has been fulfilled. And one of the things it speaks about is the benefits that come to the community whose iniquity has been laid on the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. If, as a Christian, you lay claim to the prophecies of Isaiah 53, then don’t stop there! Isaiah 54 is our heritage, too. That’s how the chapter concludes: “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD” (v. 17).

If we at Crosstown hope to be a credible gospel community, it will only be because we ground our confidence in the person and work of Jesus and know the heritage he has secured for us. That’s what this chapter is about.

In verses 1-3, we are told about the expansion of the community. In verses 4-10 we are reminded of the explanation for the community. And in verses 11-17, we see the establishment of the community

The Expansion of the Community

First, the expansion of the community in verses 1-3.

The Central Promise of the Scriptures

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. (Isa 54:1)

We can see that the LORD is the speaker, but to whom is he speaking? Who is the “barren one,” the one who has “not been in labor”? It is not any one particular person; the great poem of Isaiah 40-55 is addressed to God’s whole people, the ancient nation of Israel.

And yet the reference to childlessness is not entirely metaphorical. We remember that the story of Israel effectively begins in Genesis 12, when God calls Abraham and his wife Sarah, choosing them to be the solution to the problem we were told about in Genesis 3-11. God made a promise to them, remember?

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Gen 12:2-3)

Problem is, Sarah was barren and had no child (Gen 11:30). But God insisted that Abraham’s “very own son” through Sarah would be his heir and that his offspring would be like the stars of the sky. As the story of Israel unfolds in Genesis and on into Exodus, the issue of infertility is a great challenge to the realization of the divine promise.

And that divine promise is so much more important than it was to Abraham and Sarah. This is the central promise the Bible holds out for all of us. It is through the Abrahamic family that God promised to bless “all the families of the earth.” The promise to Abraham’s family is what the Bible offers as quite literally the hope of the world.

The Christian Claim

So, what Isaiah 54:1 is referring to is this promise. It is looking forward to the time when, at long last, what God had promised to Abraham and Sarah, indeed to the rest of the world, would be realized.

Are we still waiting or has that day come? The Christian claim, of course, is that what Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 53 has come to pass. It follow, then, that so, too, have the prophecies of Isaiah 54 come to fulfillment.

But don’t take my word for it. In Galatians 4:27, the Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 and draws this conclusion: “Now you, brothers (and sisters), like Isaac, are children of promise” (Gal 4:28). To the Christians in the churches of Galatia Paul can say, “You are the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham.” Father Abraham had many sons, I am one of them, and so are you!

What Paul dares to do here is to take this prophecy of Isaiah and to give it a fresh gospel interpretation.[1] In other words, to read Isaiah 54 like a Christian is to read it as having now been fulfilled, just like we do with Isaiah 53.

Now what if we did that? Then we would see the expansion of the community, described in verses 2-3, as being fulfilled over the past 2000 years as the gospel has gone to every nation on earth and the church of Jesus Christ has been planted wherever that gospel has been believed. Just consider for a moment how you and I, worshipping the God of Israel through Israel’s Messiah, Jesus, right here in August 2025, right here in Oklahoma City (that’s a long way from Jerusalem) are proof that Isaiah 54:2-3 are being realized. Today and everyday, as Christians gather to sing and to rejoice and to praise the name of Jesus the Messiah of Israel, in every tribe and with every tongue, we see Abraham’s offspring possessing the nations and inhabiting the cities of the world.

Enlargement Theology

The church has not replaced or superseded Israel in God’s plan, but neither is the church a separate entity from Israel as dispensational theology (which has informed so much of modern American Christianity) often maintains. Rather, this is enlargement theology, and it is what as God had always promised. When the Suffering Servant has finished his work as Isaiah 53 says, “Israel” will no longer be equated with being a Jew; rather, the family of God will enlarge and expand to include Jew and Gentile alike, everyone who by faith is united to the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth. Regardless of ethnicity or geography, it is they who will be counted as members of God’s family.

We read Isaiah 53 and have no problem knowing it is referring to Jesus and what he achieved for us. His death was his bearing the sin of many,” the Lord laying upon “him the iniquity of us all.” Well, that’s great. But now what?

There’s a hymn written at the end of the 19^th century with a chorus that goes like this:

When we all get to heaven,
what a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
we'll sing and shout the victory![2]

Well, yes, one day. Until then, I guess we’ll just have to slog our way through life.

No need to wait! Isaiah 53 has been fulfilled, so, “Break forth into singing and cry aloud!” Right now! The victory has already been won. If the church today would believe that, it would go a long way toward making us a credible gospel community.

The Explanation for the Community

The expansion of the community is followed in verses 4-10 by the explanation for the community.

Our Lover

We will be asking the same question that the original hearers of Isaiah’s prophecy would be asking. How can these things be? What makes it all possible for the fulfillment to be realized and for Israel to spread over the whole world? How do we sing and rejoice when there’s still so much to grieve and to lament? This isn’t what we might have expected, now is it?

But, “Fear not,” comes God’s word of assurance right off the bat. “You will not be ashamed” nor will you “be disgraced,” he promises. Israel, of course, has been ashamed and disgraced, and the rest of verse 4 says exactly that. But something happens that rights all wrongs, something that will assuage the memory of the shameful reputation they have experienced before.

That something is what is described in verses 5-8, and it is built on the covenantal relationship between God and his people. A covenant, like the kind that we see in a marriage.

You know Keith Urban’s song, The Fighter, that he sang with Carrie Underwood? My wife hates that song; I kind of like it. Anyway, I couldn’t help but think about it right here. Because the point that is being made in verse 5 is that when Isaiah 53 is fulfilled, the people of God can be assured of their future because they have a husband who will fight for them. And who is this husband? Who is their “fighter”? What is his resume? He is our Maker. “The Lord of hosts is his name.” He is “the Holy One of Israel” and our “Redeemer.” He’s just “the God of the whole earth,” that’s all. Alec Motyer comments,

The Lord has committed himself to us as husband in all his fulness of power, he is on our side as Redeemer in all the fulness of the divine nature (he is the Holy One). Every circumstance that befalls us is within the divine sovereignty of the God of all the earth.[3]

The Faithful Spouse

What is the explanation for the Christian community? We have God as our lover, and he is the ultimate faithful spouse.

It is important to keep the corporate nature of this prophecy at the forefront, and only then to make the personal application. Because verses 6-8 summarize the love story between Israel and Israel’s God. They went through a rough patch in their relationship. There was, in fact, a separation. And it was a painful one, to be sure. Verse 7 speaks of God deserting them for a brief moment. This refers to the exile Israel experienced in the Babylonian captivity, when God abandoned his temple, allowing Nebuchadnezzar and his army to destroy it.

From Israel’s perspective, it seemed as if God had broken his covenant with them. But, no! It was Israel’s unfaithfulness that caused the separation. Similarly, God’s “overflowing anger” is God’s revulsion at Israel’s unfaithfulness to him—how else would we expect a spouse who has been betrayed to react, to feel?

But in verses 7-8, it is God’s “great compassion” and “everlasting love” that win the day. It is God’s determination to win back his bride that brings about salvation. In spite of Israel’s sins, God does not give up on his covenant he made with them.

Now many Christians, not quite sure about what to do with the Old Testament, have thought that the whole Israel-thing was God’s “Plan A” that he had to scrap because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, and that the New Testament gives us a new “Plan B.” But no! In the wake of the mysterious work of the Servant in Isaiah 53, the prophecy here is that God’s covenantal relationship with his people is at last restored.

And restored forever. No more shame. No more separation. No more reproach. No more exile. Ever. That’s where we find ourselves in the story.

The Ground of Assurance

I know it does not always seem that way. From the perspective of your own, personal relationship with God and through the lens of your own personal life experiences, you may have wondered a thousand times over if God has left you for good. The circumstances of your own life may have brought you truckloads of shame. The last thing you feel like doing is singing and rejoicing.

But the personal application of these verses must come in light of the corporate and communal dimension that is in view here. God is speaking of his relationship with his people as a whole. The marriage we see between a man and a woman is a symbol of the real marriage, Paul says, that exists between Christ and his church (Eph 5:32). If you are a member of his church then you are a member of his bride to whom he has committed himself forever. Listen to God’s vow to his covenant people, to his church, in verse 10: For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed.

And just as when God made a covenant with Noah, he gave him the sign of the rainbow, so God has given to us the covenantal signs of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, assuring us that he will remain true to his promise.

Now, let’s be honest for a moment. When we take a look at the church, do we see the same beautiful, desirable bride that God sees? Perhaps you like your church quite a bit; I hope so! But perhaps you don’t. Perhaps you’ve been wounded so much by your own church experiences that you’re about to throw in the towel.

I get it. Yes, the church disappoints. Those who claim the name Christian so often are unfaithful.

But the point is that God will not disappoint or be unfaithful. He has made an eternal covenant with his bride, the church, and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. What explains that? Not any lack of unfaithfulness on our part, but the utter faithfulness of God to us in Christ.

The Establishment of the Community

Finally, in verses 11-17 we are told something about the establishment of the community. Verse 14 says “in righteousness you shall be established.” But let’s look at this a bit closer.

Beautiful Foundations

In spite of the “storm-tossed” history of God’s people, verses 11-12 speak of God establishing for them a strong and beautiful foundation. Alec Motyer writes, “By words and pictures, Isaiah creates an impression of dazzling splendour, reaching from the unseen foundations upwards to walls, gates and battlements.”[4]

These verses are no doubt inspirational to John’s vision in Revelation 21. He is shown “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v. 9) which he describes as “the holy city” (v. 10) with foundations “adorned with every kind of jewel” (v. 19).

Ok, sure, the church today to our eyes might not look like much, but God sees beauty where we do not. And because he has poured out his Spirit upon his people, he guarantees that his bride will become the beautiful city he intends her to be. Verse 13 references the new covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31, which Jesus says is fulfilled in those who come to him (Jn 6:45). God will not be mocked. His faithful love for his bride will bring about her final beauty. “Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8:29).

Secure Defenses

God will establish his community with beautiful foundations, and, as verses 14-17a say, with secure defenses. As God builds his church, there will be opposition. But, “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,” he promises. Nothing will stop the spread of God’s people; they will quite literally take over the world, as verses 2-3 alluded to.

Now, here we must say that the way in which this will happen is by the nations becoming part of the family. “Israel dispossesses the nations not as a destructive military conquest but as the blessing brings them into the family.”[5] There is no hint of an aggressive “Christian nationalism” here or anywhere else in Scripture. In fact, the idea of a “Christian nation” as is sometimes spoken of is foreign to the biblical vision. Because the way the kingdom of God advances is through gospel proclamation, with absolutely zero tolerance for weapons that kill people. That’s not necessarily an argument for pacificism; no nation today can last long without military power. But the kingdom of God possesses a power that is stronger than any nation on earth can ever possess.

Servant Identity

What kind of power? We had best learn it. It is the power we see in Jesus, the power to lay down one’s life and to take it up again (Jn 10:17-18). It is cross-shaped power. It is Easter Sunday power. It is new creation power.

It is the power the Suffering Servant shows in Isaiah 53. But notice here, at the end of Isaiah 54, it is our power, too. “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD.” Servants, in the plural. Those who hear the voice of the Suffering Servant are summoned to be servants, too. To share in his suffering, yes, but also to share in his vindication, in his resurrection.

Now, what do you say, brothers and sisters? What if we believed not just Isaiah 53 but also Isaiah 54? What if we grounded our confidence together in the person and work of Jesus and came to know the heritage he has secured for us? What might we expect to see happen in our community in the year ahead?

So let us dream together and pray together and see what God might do through us together.

_____

[1] F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary, ed. I. Howard Marshall and W. Ward Gasque (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 222.

[2] Eliza E. Hewitt, “When We All Get to Heaven,” in The Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention Press, 1991), no. 514.

[3] J. A. Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 446-447.

[4] Motyer, Prophecy of Isaiah, 450. Emphasis original.

[5] Peter John Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants, Second Edition (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 497.