THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES ARE REALIZED IN JESUS

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700 years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah pens inspired, amazing words of prophecy regarding the coming Messiah. Chapter 53 tells of the Suffering Servant who will bear the iniquities of all humanity. For He will come not to condemn but to save. His sacrificial act of salvation will culminate in His triumphal resurrection, atoning for all sin, conquering over death and evil. This is the Jesus we follow.

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” – Isaiah 53:1

This prophetic chapter begins with Isaiah’s lament. The prophets of old were rarely appreciated or believed. Their divine truths and revelations were often dismissed or rejected. Isaiah writes of God’s intervention in human history to bring about the most momentous and powerful work of redemption. Yet, he wonders who will believe?

“He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.” – v.2

Jesus steps out of glory into a dark and unbelieving world. His humble beginnings contradict the expectations of the Jewish people. Yet He is the prophesied shoot from the stump of Jesse, the Messiah from the line of David. He is deity incarnate… the sinless Lamb of God fulfilling the plan of the Master.

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” – v.2

Few believe Jesus’ true identity. His appearance does not betray His deity. He has not the grandeur of earthly royalty about Him, although He is a heavenly King. He is the gentle, compassionate, merciful Servant who has come not to be served but to serve… and to lay down His life for the ones He loves.

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” – v.3

Jesus encounters dishonor and contempt from His fellow Jews. For He is not who they expect the Messiah to be. He experiences hostility and cruelty at the hands of the Roman soldiers. The crowds are faithful one day and faithless the next. Even His closest disciples do not fully believe in Him. Ultimately, Jesus is rejected by the nation He longs to shepherd. He is sent to suffer and die in His innocence.

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” – v.5

Jesus willingly faces the cross out of His love for humanity. He endures the most intense of suffering, bearing all the sins of the ones He created. He is our substitutionary sacrifice, accepting God’s wrath on our behalf and satisfying divine justice. His perfect sin offering pays the ransom that reconciles us to God. The wounds Jesus suffers, He sustains for us… for our complete healing and redemption.

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” – v.6

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. He bears our sins in exchange for His righteousness. His sacrificial love leads Him to leave the 99 in search of the one who goes astray. He protects His own, promising that none will ever be lost, but that all will have eternal life.

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” – v.7

Jesus stands before His accusers without argument or defense. For He knows there is nothing He can say to change their treacherous mindsets and hardened hearts. The Lamb of God submits to His Father’s will in quiet resignation to His mission.

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” – v.9

Jesus is crucified at Calvary, outside the city gates of Jerusalem… a place of dishonor, for criminals and outcasts. It marks the final condemnation and rejection He receives. The spotless Lamb is crucified between two criminals. His burial is planned to be amongst the wicked. Yet by divine intervention, Joseph of Arimathea offers his unused tomb… giving Jesus the honorable burial He is due.

“Though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.” – v.10

The old sacrificial system was but a shadow of Christ. As the will of the Father unfolds, the sinless Lamb becomes the once for all sin offering, providing eternal redemption. His offspring are all who come to believe in Him… who inherit His righteousness… who become heirs of God with Him.

“After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many.” – v.11

Jesus’ role as the Suffering Servant ends in unrivaled victory. He is resurrected from death and rises triumphantly to glory… the glory He had with the Father from the beginning. He is enthroned in heaven to reign forever with all authority and dominion. In His perfect righteousness, He justifies, makes righteous all who believe. All receive the fullness of His grace.

“I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death.” – v.12

Jesus is the matchless conqueror, exalted as King over all. He is given the powerful name that is above all names. All knees will bow before Him. He shares the spoils of His conquest,… victory over sin, death and evil… with all who come to follow Him. For He has made the ultimate sacrifice… pouring out His life for us. This is the Jesus in whom we believe. His glorious victory has become our hope for eternity.

‡   Eternal Takeaway – Jesus is the prophesied Messiah who reigns in sovereign glory   ‡