The Hope of Israel: Isaiah 53
As we pray for Israel and our Jewish friends all over the world, let us pray that their eyes will be opened to the love of God for them in the sending of their Messiah. There are over three-hundred prophetical references to the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. They are all powerful reminders that an omniscient God has not just sent a Savior into our world but that this Savior was foretold hundreds of years prior to his coming. One of the classic examples of clear testimony regarding the coming Savior is found in Isaiah 53. Living 750 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus by a virgin in Isa 7:14. In 9:6 he laid out His true identity as God who is the everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
However the most shocking and deeply perceptive prophecy of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 53. Here the prophet lays out in meticulous detail for the Jewish reader the reason the Messiah came into our world. Herein is a personal identification of the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief. Then as the prophet identifies the coming Savior, Isaiah sets forth the redemptive plan for His coming into our broken world to the people of Abraham.
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. (Isa 53:4-5)
However the most shocking and deeply perceptive prophecy of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 53. Here the prophet lays out in meticulous detail for the Jewish reader the reason the Messiah came into our world. Herein is a personal identification of the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief. Then as the prophet identifies the coming Savior, Isaiah sets forth the redemptive plan for His coming into our broken world to the people of Abraham.
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. (Isa 53:4-5)
Many of today's Jews have been taught that this passage is talking about the nation of Israel. However, when Isaiah said, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows...", he could not be saying the nation died for the nation or for itself! He was speaking directly of the Messiah's death for the nation and the world.
God has provided a powerful testimony in this great chapter directly to His earthly people. When Paul the apostle began his preaching career his motto was,
To the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Rom 1:16)
God's plan was always directed first to His chosen people because God's covenant with Abraham is the root of God's redemptive plan for the world. Everything that God did in the Old Covenant was in reference to the Jewish nation, and God promised them a glorious future which has yet to take place.
But secondly, the Jews were also the ones who both received and guarded the contents of the OT revelation. OT Scholars are quick to remind us today that no other ancient document is as well attested and preserved as the 39 books of the OT revelation. (22 in the Jewish canon). The Jews meticulously copied and preserved the OT Scriptures despite legendary efforts to destroy them. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948 gave us indisputable proof that our present day OT is identical with the earliest copies of the OT. One of the greatest finds of the Dead Seas Scrolls was an entire copy of Isaiah which we are talking about today! This copy was at least a thousand years older than any present mss at that time. It confirmed the historicity and the validity of the entire OT canon.
Finally, the Jews are first in priority because Jesus was a Jew, He came to His own nation, and according to Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus sent His disciples first to them with the gospel which Isaiah set forth in the above text.
When we read Isaiah's amazing prophecy we should be reminded that God has given us unmistakable revelation regarding the birth, identity, and mission of Jesus Christ the Messiah hundreds of years prior to His coming. Every honest Jewish inquirer can see in this passage that God has spoken to them and is reaching out to them with His love. God wants to open your eyes to the amazing truth of His love for you. You have one of three choices concerning Christ. Either Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or He was the Lord God in human flesh as the Scripture says. What you decide about Him will determine your eternal destiny.
Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, the Scripture tells us,
God has provided a powerful testimony in this great chapter directly to His earthly people. When Paul the apostle began his preaching career his motto was,
To the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Rom 1:16)
God's plan was always directed first to His chosen people because God's covenant with Abraham is the root of God's redemptive plan for the world. Everything that God did in the Old Covenant was in reference to the Jewish nation, and God promised them a glorious future which has yet to take place.
But secondly, the Jews were also the ones who both received and guarded the contents of the OT revelation. OT Scholars are quick to remind us today that no other ancient document is as well attested and preserved as the 39 books of the OT revelation. (22 in the Jewish canon). The Jews meticulously copied and preserved the OT Scriptures despite legendary efforts to destroy them. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948 gave us indisputable proof that our present day OT is identical with the earliest copies of the OT. One of the greatest finds of the Dead Seas Scrolls was an entire copy of Isaiah which we are talking about today! This copy was at least a thousand years older than any present mss at that time. It confirmed the historicity and the validity of the entire OT canon.
Finally, the Jews are first in priority because Jesus was a Jew, He came to His own nation, and according to Matthew 10:5-6, Jesus sent His disciples first to them with the gospel which Isaiah set forth in the above text.
When we read Isaiah's amazing prophecy we should be reminded that God has given us unmistakable revelation regarding the birth, identity, and mission of Jesus Christ the Messiah hundreds of years prior to His coming. Every honest Jewish inquirer can see in this passage that God has spoken to them and is reaching out to them with His love. God wants to open your eyes to the amazing truth of His love for you. You have one of three choices concerning Christ. Either Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or He was the Lord God in human flesh as the Scripture says. What you decide about Him will determine your eternal destiny.
Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, the Scripture tells us,
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Please consider that what Jesus endured on the cross was not a social or political travesty, it was God's plan for making it possible for you to spend eternity with Him. He was not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
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