The Beauty of the Cross

Reflections for Lent

by Tim Chester

Lent devotional in Isaiah 52 - 53 to help you delight in the beauty of Christ. Delight in the beauty of Christ afresh this Easter Some of the richest prophecies about the cross of Christ can be found in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 (the last of the ’Servant Songs’). Take time to go through these familiar yet extraordinary chapters in the run up to Easter with this Lent devotional by Tim Chester. You will be thrilled and challenged as you see how Jesus matched every part of every prophecy, and brought glory to his name through his beautiful sacrifice on the cross. Contains 47 days of short, stirring reflections as well as a link to an original song, See Jesus Stripped of Majesty.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Devotional

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Ruth Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez tengo más claro que un devocional que cubre más de una semana y se centra en un mismo pasaje (en este caso, Isaías 53) es normal que tenga ideas y conceptos que se repitan. Pero esa repetición era justo lo que yo necesitaba para esta Cuaresma.

No me ha resultado nada difícil seguir la lectura diaria: los capítulos son cortos, van al grano, y aun así el contenido es profundo. Muchas veces sentía que tenía algo que decirme de manera muy personal, incluso cuando ya conocía gran parte de lo que se explicaba. También me ha gustado que aporta datos nuevos sobre Isaías y que me ha ayudado a ver los capítulos 51–55 con una mirada nueva. Me ha traído esperanza.

Valoro mucho lo bíblico que es y el conocimiento sólido que transmite, pero siempre llevándolo a lo práctico. Y, sobre todo, me ha encantado el formato de los domingos: usar pequeñas porciones de los versículos de la semana como motivos de agradecimiento, confesión y petición a Dios me ha parecido especialmente bonito y útil. Quizá lo aplique a mi devocional diario.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and spending Lent in Isaiah. What a gift this book has been! If you're looking for a great Lent book or just want to dig deeper into the Servant's Song in Isaiah 52-53, I highly recommend this book. The song he includes at the end is also a great song to use to worship and reflect leading up to the resurrection. He Lives!!! He is making all things new!!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reflective devotional to take you through the powerful words of Isaiah 52 and 53 and

[Thomas Creedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has rubbished Lent in the past, and then worked for an Anglican rooted publisher (which publishes a number of Lent books each year, and sees it as a significant communications opportunity) I’ve gradually come to appreciate the role of these key notes in the symphony of the traditional church calendar. Thus, I’m glad to see that one of my favourite author/teachers, Tim Chester, has written a Lent book.

The introduction to this book sets the scene: “We often speak or sing about the cross. Of corse we do; it’s central to our faith. This section of Isaiah is an invitation to pause; to take it slow; to go down deep…”

My review continues at my blog: https://www.thomascreedy.co.uk/book-r...

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally do Lent (or Advent) devotionals, but I thought I would this year. I'm glad I did. Tim Chester is always worth reading, and in these reflections he offers a slow walk around the riches of the cross, based (though sometimes loosely) on the Servant Songs in Isaiah, especially chapter 53. Suitable for anybody who wants to get to know their Saviour better, whether in Lent or any other time of year.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful guide to focus on Lent, which I'm embarrassed to say I've never done before.
I will use it yearly

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good reminder of what the work of the cross means for Christians. My heart can grow numb to that, so it was a refreshing read to prepare for Easter.

[Gerald Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in a church that didn’t do Lent or follow any liturgy so the idea of daily devotions in the run up to Easter is new to me. I found this book by Tim Chester and, having read several of his books before, thought I would try this. I probably would have read a book of this length much more quickly if I wasn’t restricted to a daily reading of just a few pages. Would I try something similar in the future? I don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong with it but it’s not really for me. It’s based on Isaiah chapters 52&53 and has some good content, just a bit slow for me.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from friends from church in 2021. It's a book of readings throughout lent up to Easter Sunday. Each Sunday invites you to read through a passage and pray through it. Through the week, the passage is broken into smaller bits. Most days end with a poem, quote, or section of a song that relates to the passage.

I did well with the daily readings until a couple of days before Easter when I travelled. I remembered and finished this week.

I found it to be very well done. It was a book I'd like to make a practice of reading annually.

[Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isaiah 53. The gospel on full display. Terrific.

One note, and I'm NOT going to lower the rating over this (I get super annoyed when people give a book a 1-star rating on Amazon because the package it got delivered in got rained on), but the layout of this book isn't great. I love The Good Book Company, but they did a much better job with the layout, font, format, chapter divisions, etc. of Our Radiant Redeemer. I'd love to see them update the format of this book to match the flow and feel of Radiant.

[Laurence · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best devotional books of this nature that I've read in some time. Avoids focusing solely on sin and repentance. The cross is rightly central, but placed within the narrative of salvation history in an encouraging way. Just occasionally in weeks 4 and 5 of lent some of the material felt repeated, but much less so than in some other seasonal devotions I have read. This would be a very good choice for a lent book for an individual, small group or whole church.

[Kyle McFerren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've loved several of Tim Chester's commentaries, but wasn't crazy about this Lenten devotional. It's not that there was anything wrong with the information he presented; it just didn't feel much like a devotional - more like a commentary broken down for daily reading. It was also pretty repetitive after a while, and I felt he presented the atonement in kind of a one-dimensional way.

Overall, not terrible, but there are better books for Lent out there.

[Emma Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fab Easter devotional! I enjoyed the length and quality of each daily meditation on Isaiah 52-53. It was a helpful reflection tool over the Lent period, drawing my attention to all that it cost Jesus to die on the cross, but also all that his death, burial and resurrection achieved for those who believe in him. Would read again!

[Alan B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

An excellent Lent or year-round devotional. I need to be reminded daily that My salvation is 'Such a Great Salvation.'

[Julie Biles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful Lenten daily read.

[Alan Aspray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another valuable book of readings by Tim with fresh looks at familiar chapters of Isaiah.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. I enjoyed this devotional book tremendously. Review to come.

[Shakeel Nurmahi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy to follow and inspiring lent book. Much valued among church members as we looked at this together.

[Sharon Weinschreider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this as my devotional leading up to Easter.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book to soak up the word of God even more and further see the beauty of the Cross and what it means to us. Highly recommended.