Commentary - Isaiah 63:1-6

Bird's-eye view

Here we have one of the most startling and glorious pictures of the Messiah in all of Scripture. Modern sensibilities, softened and sentimentalized as they are, tend to recoil from such a passage. We are presented not with a gentle teacher holding a lamb, but with a fearsome Divine Warrior, returning from a battle of cosmic proportions. His garments are not white and pristine, but stained crimson with the blood of His enemies. This is Yahweh, executing vengeance on behalf of His people.

The prophet Isaiah, acting as a watchman, sees a figure approaching from Edom, the ancestral enemy of Israel. The dialogue that follows reveals the identity and purpose of this warrior. He is the one who speaks in righteousness, the one mighty to save. But His salvation is accomplished through judgment. The winepress He has trodden is not filled with grapes, but with the nations who have set themselves against God and His covenant people. This passage is a stark reminder that God's redemption and God's vengeance are two sides of the same glorious coin. You cannot have one without the other. This is the work that Christ accomplished, and it is the work He will bring to its ultimate consummation when He returns.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

This chapter follows directly on the heels of the glorious promises of Isaiah 60-62, which describe the future glory of Zion and the work of the Messiah. After such a triumphant vision of restoration and light, chapter 63 provides the necessary balancing truth: this glorious future is secured through a fierce and decisive judgment. The enemies of God's people cannot simply be wished away; they must be dealt with. The peace of the New Jerusalem is a peace that has been won through conquest.

The imagery of Edom is significant. Edom, descended from Esau, represents the fleshly, covenant-breaking world that is in perpetual enmity with the people of God. For the Messiah to come from Edom means He has gone into the heart of enemy territory and subjugated it completely. This is not a defensive action; it is an invasion and a conquest. This passage serves as a hinge, connecting the promise of salvation to the reality of the holy war that makes it possible.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

Verse 1: The prophet asks, "Who is this who comes from Edom?" The scene is dramatic. A lone figure is seen on the horizon, coming from the direction of the enemy's capital, Bozrah. Edom stands for all that is hostile to God. This warrior is not fleeing, but marching, majestic in His clothing, in the greatness of His power. He is a conqueror. Before the prophet can even speculate, the warrior identifies Himself. "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." This is no mere angel or human king. This is the Messiah, the very Word of God. And notice the coupling: righteousness in speech and might in salvation. His power to save is grounded in His absolute righteousness. He saves justly.

Verse 2: The prophet, having taken in the majesty of the figure, now notices the state of His clothes. "Why is Your clothing red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?" It is an honest question. This glorious king looks like a common laborer after a long day of stomping grapes. The color is not the royal purple of a distant monarch, but the deep red of a worker stained by his task. The image is earthy, visceral, and shocking. The question hangs in the air, demanding an explanation for this apparent contradiction of majesty and mess.

Verse 3: The answer is breathtaking. "I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me." This was not a community harvest. This was a solitary work. This points directly to the cross, where Christ accomplished our salvation by Himself. No one could help Him; no one could stand with Him. He continues, explaining the nature of this wine. "I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I stained all My clothes." The red is not grape juice; it is the lifeblood of His enemies. This is the winepress of God's holy fury against sin and rebellion. His stained garments are a badge of honor, a testimony that He did not shrink from the bloody work of judgment necessary to secure the salvation of His people.

Verse 4: Here is the divine motive, the reason for the carnage. "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come." Do not miss the perfect parallelism. The day of vengeance is the year of redemption. For God to redeem His people, He must execute vengeance on their behalf. Vengeance is not some ugly, sub-Christian idea. It is God's righteous settlement of accounts. God's love for His elect is a fierce, protective, and jealous love. It is the kind of love that will destroy anything that threatens the beloved. The redemption of the church is secured by the just destruction of her enemies.

Verse 5: The warrior emphasizes His solitude again. "I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold." This is not a lament of loneliness, but a declaration of divine sufficiency. Salvation is of the Lord, from beginning to end. There was no human solution, no coalition that could accomplish this. Man was utterly helpless. So what sustained Him? "So My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath upheld Me." His own inherent power and His own perfect, holy justice were all that He needed. His wrath against sin was the fuel for His work of salvation.

Verse 6: The conclusion is stark and final. "I trod down the peoples in My anger and made them drunk in My wrath, and I brought down their lifeblood to the earth." The victory is total. The enemies of God are not merely defeated; they are crushed. To be made drunk in His wrath is to be rendered utterly confused, helpless, and staggering before His judgment. Their strength, their lifeblood, is poured out onto the ground, returning to the dust. This is the final end of all who set themselves against the Lord and His Anointed.

Application

First, we must recover a biblical understanding of our God. He is not a celestial guidance counselor, nor is He a divine butler. He is the sovereign warrior King who fights for His people. We should not be embarrassed by passages like this; we should glory in them. Our God is a God of justice who will not allow evil to stand forever.

Second, we must recognize that our salvation was purchased at a great cost. It was not a tidy, sterile transaction. It was accomplished through the bloody work of the cross, where Christ absorbed the full measure of the wrath we see depicted here. He drank the cup of God's fury so that we would not have to. The one who tramples His enemies in the winepress is the same one who allowed Himself to be crushed for our iniquities.

Finally, this passage gives us tremendous confidence for the future. We live in a world that is hostile to God, but the battle has already been won. The Divine Warrior has already trodden the winepress alone. His victory is assured. We are called to be faithful soldiers in His army, knowing that our Captain has already secured the decisive victory. We do not fight for victory, but from victory. And we look forward to the day when He will return, not as a suffering servant, but as the conquering King, to put all remaining enemies under His feet.