The First Gospel Part 34: The Gospel According to Isaiah | Josh Harrison

Rediscovering the Old Testament: The Gospel According to Isaiah

It’s always tempting, even for those steeped in Christian tradition, to separate the Testaments—cherishing the New for its message of grace and relegating the Old to the category of “ancient history.” In the latest sermon from Citizens Church of Orange County, Josh Harrison invites us to resist this tendency, guiding us instead to see continuity, promise, and, most importantly, good news running right through the heart of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Beyond Moralism: What’s Missing in the Old Testament?

For many, the Old Testament has become a treasury of moral tales: be brave like David, resist temptation like Joseph, and, if not, brace yourself for some tough consequences. But Josh points out that if the Old Testament’s chief message is simply “try harder” or “do better,” we’re left with a hollow system that feels less like gospel and more like karma—do good, receive good; do bad, suffer.

While the moral laws embedded in creation have genuine weight, reducing the ancient narrative to a cycle of sin, punishment, and the perpetual hope of self-improvement ultimately rings empty. Is God merely calling us to grit our teeth and hope for better luck next time? Or is something else stirring beneath the surface of Israel’s story—a deeper hope for heart-level transformation?

Messianic Hope: Isaiah’s Unlikely Vision

This longing for restoration finds its answer in the prophets, particularly in Isaiah’s vision of a coming one—one who will break the cycles of failure and usher in a new era for humanity. Josh methodically explores Isaiah’s messianic passages, beginning with the evocative image of a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11). Here, after the Davidic line has been cut down to nothing, hope bursts forth unexpectedly—not as a conquering monarch, but as an unremarkable, humble branch that will bear fruit.

This messiah, Isaiah says, does not mete out justice with violence, but through the “rod of his mouth”—conviction, truth, and gentle authority. Far from inciting battle, he restores creation through knowledge of God, restoring Eden-like shalom where even wolves and lambs lie together in peace.

The Servant’s Power: Quiet Justice

Isaiah’s Servant Songs take this vision further. The chosen one brings justice not by dominating, shouting, or strong-arming, but by quiet faithfulness: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42). This is a portrait of leadership and power antithetical to both ancient and modern political imagination.

According to Josh, true transformation does not come through a militant Messiah, but through a king who moves gently, prioritizing the poor and restoring the oppressed—impacting the world “by a thousand quiet kindnesses.”

The Suffering Servant: Forgiveness as Covenant

The climax of Isaiah’s vision appears in Isaiah 53. Here, the messiah is “despised and rejected,” acquainted with grief, and pierced not for his own transgressions, but for ours. Josh draws out the radical nature of divine forgiveness: rather than covering up injustice or ignoring it, God himself takes on the cost, embodying true compassion—suffering with, so that others can go free.

This, ultimately, is how the covenant is renewed. No amount of law or willpower can fix humanity’s self-made destruction. Only mercy—specifically, the mercy embodied and enacted by Jesus—can heal and transform. This is the true gospel at the heart of Isaiah and, therefore, the entire Old Testament.

Four Key Lessons from “The First Gospel – The Gospel According to Isaiah”

1. The Old Testament Is Gospel, Not Just Law
   The Old Testament isn’t a failed preliminary round or a book of moral fables, but a story brimming with hope, promise, and the seeds of the good news that will be fully realized in Jesus.

2. God’s Justice Restores, Not Just Punishes
   Biblical justice is not just about retribution but about restoration—God’s passion is for the poor, the marginalized, and the setting right of all things.

3. Transformation Comes Through Mercy, Not Self-Improvement
   Our cycles of sin cannot be broken by the law alone. Only radical compassion and forgiveness—Jesus suffering with and for us—has the power to free and transform.

4. Jesus’ Way Is Gentleness, Not Domination
   True leadership in God’s kingdom looks like humble service, quiet faithfulness, and sacrificial love. The Servant conquers not by violence, but by absorbing violence and setting all things new.

In this way, the gospel according to Isaiah is not just a foretaste but a foundational revelation—one that turns our gaze from mere try-harder religion toward the One who fulfills hope, ends striving, and remakes the world in God’s gentle, redemptive way.