“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Why read Isaiah during Christmas time?

The book of Isaiah points us toward the Sovereign God who deserves all glory and praise. Sort of like the ghosts that visit Scrooge in the Christmas carol, the author of Isaiah reminds the people of Israel of the way God has redeemed them in the past, their current disobedience and judgement in the present, and the hope of promised deliverance coming in the future.

Isaiah describes three “characters” through which his deliverance will come:

• A King like David who establishes justice and righteousness (Chapters 1-30)
• A Servant or Priest that brings justice to the nations and procures atonement for sins (Chapters 40-55)
• A Messenger or Prophet that declares God’s salvation (Chapters 56-66)

We are blessed to live in the time that we do, and to have the benefit of scripture to recognize that Jesus himself fulfills all three of these characters!

He is the king that reigns on David’s throne forever. He is the suffering servant: the priest that does all that is required to achieve forgiveness for sins. He even becomes the sacrificial lamb himself! And Jesus is the prophet that declares God’s salvation.

In Luke 4, Jesus himself reads Isaiah 61:1-2 in the temple:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.”

After Jesus was done reading, he said to those listening:

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

As you read the words of Isaiah this advent season, reflect on the Jesus as the mighty prophet, priest, and king that has carried out God’s promised deliverance.

Do not leave Jesus as a helpless baby in a manger, but recognize him as a victorious king, who is avenging the poor and oppressed.

The angels that sang glad tidings of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes were heralding the one who still proclaims the year of the LORD’s favor.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, the baby they presented to the priests was himself the great High Priest forever – one who would be the guarantor of a better covenant.

We read Isaiah at Christmas time because there is no better time to celebrate the coming of Jesus: the promised deliverance the prophets foretold.

Using this Reading Plan

There are three versions of this reading plan.

• The red plan guides you through reading the entire book of Isaiah in the first 24 days of December
• The green plan features selections from Isaiah that are about 10 verses long each day. (This reading plan will also be featured on our podcast feed, if you wish to particpate that way.)
• The blue plan is intended for families to read together, and features 2-3 verses each day.

We encourage you to choose a plan and then read it from your own Bible. If you are reading to children, be sure that they get an opportunity to see you turn to the verse and read from your Bible (opposed to an app or phone). This tactile experience will imprint upon their memories for years to come.

There are three versions of this reading plan.

• The red plan guides you through reading the entire book of Isaiah in the first 24 days of December
• The green plan features selections from Isaiah that are about 10 verses long each day. (This reading plan will also be featured on our podcast feed, if you wish to participate that way.)
• The blue plan is intended for families to read together, and features 2-3 verses each day. This is the plan that coordinates with the downloadable sticker chart.

Date	Red Plan	Green Plan	Blue Plan
December 1	Isaiah 1-2	Isaiah 1:1-6	Isaiah 1:3-4
December 2	Isaiah 3-6	Isaiah 5:1-7	Isaiah 5:4, 7
December 3	Isaiah 7:1 - 10:4	Isaiah 6:1-10	Isaiah 6:1-3
December 4	Isaiah 10:5 - 13:22	Isaiah 7:3-17	Isaiah 7:10-14
December 5	Isaiah 14-16	Isaiah 9:1-7	Isaiah 9:6-7
December 6	Isaiah 17-21	Isaiah 11:1-9	Isaiah 11:1-3
December 7	Isaiah 22-24	Isaiah 26:1-9	Isaiah 26:4, 7-8
December 8	Isaiah 25-28	Isaiah 30:15-26	Isaiah 30:19-21
December 9	Isaiah 29-30	Isaiah 32:1-8	Isaiah 32:1-2
December 10	Isaiah 31-33	Isaiah 35:1-7	Isaiah 35:3-4
December 11	Isaiah 34-36	Isaiah 35:8-10	Isaiah 35:8, 10
December 12	Isaiah 37-39	Isaiah 40:1-8	Isaiah 40:3-4
December 13	Isaiah 40-41	Isaiah 40:9-17	Isaiah 40:10-11
December 14	Isaiah 42-43	Isaiah 40:18-26	Isaiah 40:25-26
December 15	Isaiah 44-47	Isaiah 42:1-9	Isaiah 42:6-7
December 16	Isaiah 48-50	Isaiah 42:10-17	Isaiah 42:10, 13
December 17	Isaiah 51-52	Isaiah 43:1-7	Isaiah 43:1-2
December 18	Isaiah 53-55	Isaiah 44:1-8	Isaiah 44:6, 8
December 19	Isaiah 56-57	Isaiah 49:1-7	Isaiah 49:5-6
December 20	Isaiah 58-59	Isaiah 50:4-9	Isaiah 50:6-7
December 21	Isaiah 60-61	Isaiah 52:13-53:6	Isaiah 53:4-6
December 22	Isaiah 62-63	Isaiah 53:7-12	Isaiah 53:10-12
December 23	Isaiah 64-65	Isaiah 55:1-9	Isaiah 55:2-3
December 24	Isaiah 66	Isaiah 61:1-3	Isaiah 61:1-3
December 25	Luke 1-4	Luke 4:14-22	Luke 4:16-22

If you are an auditory learner, you might enjoy listening to selections of Isaiah via podcast. Subscribe to our podcast feed to hear a recording of each day's reading from the Green plan. Advent reading episodes will drop every morning December 1-24 at 6:00 a.m.

Resource	Description	Download
	Printable Bookmark (This file is a 1-page 8"x11" PDF document.)	Download
	Printable Sticker Chart for Families (This file is a 1-page 11"x17" PDF document.)	Download

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