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The Messiah of Isaiah 53
by Michael Stevenson |
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The Messiah of Isaiah 53
by Michael Stevenson |
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PART 1. SHEMA
Isaiah- the prophet of GOD, wrote a report for our benefit; Have you read this report?
Isaiah 53:1
Who hath believed our report? and to
whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
As we look at this report that is the 53rd chapter
ofIsaiah, we see Isaiah ask an awesome question. The
staggering truth found in this prophet's report, is
Israel's salvation from sin by the shed blood of the
LAMB of God, Yeshua of Nazareth. This truth is
revealed to an individual's heart only by the Spirit
of GOD. It is only by His mercy and grace, that the
blindness that affected us all is healed-
"For by grace ye have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:8).
Of this salvation, Isaiah writes,
Isaiah 53:2
For he shall grow up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a
dry ground: he hath no form nor
comeliness; and when we shall see
him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him.
Yeshua of Nazareth came to the world during a time
when Israel was occupied by a Roman governor, backed
by his vast army. Israel under occupation, was no
longer the mighty nation which King David had led,
and which GOD had fought with against its enemies.
Instead, it was suppressed and captive as ‘dry ground'
by this often cruel occupying force.
In the midst of this dryness, the Word of GOD became
flesh by a miraculous virgin birth (Matthew 1:20-25),
and came out of such dry ground and dry times as a
‘tender plant' both full of life, and indeed, He would
prove to be the giver of life. Describing the essence
of who Yeshua was, the Apostle John writes under the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost;
John 1:1
1 IN the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
2 The same was in the
beginning with God.
3 All things
were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was
the light of men.
In this stunning revelation of who Yeshua of Nazareth
is we see the Shema (a confession of faith based on
Deuteronomy 6:4) remain fully in tact. The Spirit
that indwell the man- Yeshua was the one and only
*Spirit of GOD. GOD is one and He can only exist in one
Spirit. In one of the most astounding statements ever
made about Yeshua of Nazareth, we read in Colossians;
Colossians 2:9
For in him dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily.
The presence of the Spirit of GOD in Yeshua was
not ‘a part' of God, nor was He ‘one third' of God,
but rather as these scripture teaches ‘all the fulness'
of the Godhead was present in Messiah. The Shema
remains steadfast in its eternal truth. Hallelujah,and
Amen! GOD is Spirit, and there is but one (1Cor.12:13).
It was this Spirit of GOD, which indwelt the man,
Yeshua.
So then, as Isaiah files his Isaiah 53 report to us,
about the coming of Messiah we begin to realize the
essence of who Yeshua was- that man of Nazareth who
walked among us full of grace and truth, and with
immeasurable love (for you). Yet, as we read above in;
Isaiah 53:2
For he shall grow up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a
dry ground: he hath no form nor
comeliness; and when we shall see
him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him.
There was no worldliness, no glamour, no splendor,
or earthly beauty that the world often seeks for,
"that we should desire him." No, not for those worldly
attributes, but rather for His love, in that He would
give Himself for our redemption, is Yeshua known. Yeshua
of Nazareth considered it the meat of His life to do the
Father's will (John 10) and that will was providing for
our salvation. Messiah's overcoming of sin, death, and
the grave (He rose victoriously over them all-) provides
for those who believe in Him in their hearts by faith,
the way that leads to eternal life.
Part 2. GRIEF
It is reported in Isaiah's prophecy- chapter 53
that the love that our Heavenly Father has for us is
revealed in the grif that Yeshua's bore for us.
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces
from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted.
This description of Yeshua's travail while He
walked among us, is even more greatly appreciated
as we realize His first estate. We remember again,
John 1:1
IN the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
Yeshua was and is this Word of God. He is the Creator
of the whole earth and everything that we see above the
earth and in the great depths of the waters, as it is
a fact that "...and without him was not any thing made
that was made." The point here, is that the Word of
GOD, in His great love for us reduced Himself to
the limitations of the flesh;
John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth.
...and relative to this;
Hebrews 2:7
Thou madest him a little lower than
the angels; thou crownedst him with
glory and honour, and didst set him
over the works of thy hands:
This new estate would certainly result in His
knowing sorrow, and being "acquainted with grief".
On more than one occasion, men picked up stones to slay
Him. He was spat upon. This is because the Spirit of
GOD which was in Him declared the absolute truth of
each matter He taught of. He exposed man's condition
of sin and the path to the kingdom of heaven. These
truths are often against the will our corrupted flesh.
These persecutions of Yeshua HaMashiach also came
as a result of His declaring exactly who He was. It was
Yeshua's practice to attend temple on Shabbat. It is
recorded in the Apostle Luke's gospel that once when He
"stood up for to read" (Luke 4:16), the book of Isaiah
was given to Him. Yeshua chose to read from chapter 61
[as presented here in Luke:]
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent
me to heal the brokenhearted,to
preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are
bruised,
Yeshua of Nazareth did *all of these things for you
and for me and for all who turn to Him in faith and in
repentance! And then as He continued to read, the
congregation was shocked as He said;
Luke 4:19
To preach the acceptable year of the
Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and
he gave it again to the minister, and
sat down. And the eyes of all them
that were in the synagogue were
fastened on him.
21 And he began to
say unto them, This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22 And all bare him witness, and
wondered at the gracious words which
proceeded out of his mouth. And they
said, Is not this Joseph's son?
Every eye in that congregation was fastened on Yeshua
as they heard the bold words declaring that He, himself
was this Messiah. Shortly after this event, there was
an attempt to kill Him. But He continued to teach on the
Sabbaths and Luke describes such teaching this way -
"And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word
was with power."
Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces
from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath
borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
Though the very Spirit of GOD in all of His fulness
indwelt Yeshua (Colossians 2:9), it was as a man that
He overcame the world. He wore human flesh and knew
the sufferings of it. He did know rejection, and the
aching heart that accompanies anyone who knows
rejection. But it was His love for *you,that caused
Him to continue, faithful and true, and obedient to
the Father even unto death, for our salvation.
Yeshua was falsely accused as He was called a
drunkard (Matthew 11:19). He was scorned as He
associated Himself with known sinners (Luke 7:39).
Often during His preachings, when the truths He taught
were heard by the multitudes, many would depart from
Him and no longer follow. We too, will know such
sufferings and persecutions (2Tim 3:12), but we can
count it all joy that by His grace we have been
counted worthy to partake in the sharing of the gospel,
to the salvation of souls, Hallelujah!
Part 3. THE PASSOVER LAMB
Continuing in Isaiah's report- the 53rd chapter, we
learn more about Yeshua, who is our Passover LAMB that
gave His very own life for us, so that we might live.
In the mid 1960's, George Stevens produced a major
motion picture- "The Greatest Story Ever Told,"
starring Max Von Sydow. It depicted the life of
Jesus of Nazareth, with a special reverence and is a
highly recommended film. Once while discussing the
film with a brother in a local fellowship, though we
both agreed that this was a fine film Brother Senn
said that the one thing the film did *not depict, was
the horrible suffering that Yeshua bore at the time
of His arrest and crucifixion. This brother was right!
Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.
Prior to His crucifixion at Calvary, Yeshua was
arrested and imprisoned for many hours, being as He
was transferred repeatedly to attend several hearings
before his trial by Pontius Pilate. During this time
of imprisonment, Yeshua was repeatedly beaten by Roman
guards and spat upon;
Matthew 26:67
Then did they spit in his face, and
buffeted him; and others smote him
with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou
Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Yeshua's hands were bound as men who surrounded Him,
spit in his face and spontaneously hauled off and
struck Him. After after several blows had landed He
would not be able to tell from where the punches were
coming. Then, another blow would land. This was all
while He was under arrest and in official custody. His
face would have been bruised, swollen, and bleeding.
Stripped Naked, A Crown of Thorns, Beaten Again
Matthew 27:27
Then the soldiers of the governor took
Jesus into the common hall,
and gathered unto him the whole band
of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him,
and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And
when they had platted a crown of
thorns, they put it upon his head,
and a reed in his right hand: and
they bowed the knee before him, and
mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the
Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and
took the reed, and smote him on the
head.
As is clearly recorded in Matthew's gospel, Yeshua
was stripped of His clothing and then mocked after a
scarlet robe was placed on Him. He was laughed at and
scorned. Then strong, muscular Roman guards jammed an
array of thorns, made like a crown down *into His head.
At this point Yeshua would begin to bleed severely.
During my time on active duty in the military, I was
on liberty at one of the Virgin Islands. During a
swimming event, I swam out into the bay about 1/4 of a
mile and began shallow diving. When it came time to
return to the port area, I elected to walk back part of
the way across a totally un-inhabited and small island.
Because it was uninhabited, the island was completely
overgrown with wild vegetation and existed without paths
or walkways of any kind.
One would almost have to see it to realize such a
place where no provision for walkway, or roads had been
made, or even the existence of a trail of any kind.
Wild growth of vegetation was everywhere. While
crossing over the top of a hill, I lost my balance and
as I was falling, I reached out to catch myself. As I
did- my hand went directly down on top of a large thorn.
The pain from this single thorn was so intense that I
could not even holler out, but first reached to pull it
out of my hand. Instantly blood came out of this open
'portal'. This was a single thorn, and the result of a
mere accident.
But in Yeshua's case, these guards actually gathered a
vine of such material and wound it into a circular shape
to make a ‘crown' of thorns. *Many of these thorns were
jammed into Yeshua's scalp, at which time He would have
been bleeding profusely from the head. In continuing a
study of His suffering, we read that-
Matthew 27:30
And they spit upon him, and took the
reed, and smote him on the head.
This blow would have been a direct head strike with a
narrow rod like object, and since it was flexible would
have had a whipping action comparble to caning. Just
prior to the Isaiah 53 account there is a prophecy in
chapter 52 which also gives an idea of the degree of
suffering Messiah Yeshua encountered while under arrest,
as it reads;
Isaiah 52:4
As many were astonied at thee; his
visage was so marred more than any
man, and his form more than the sons
of men:
Yeshua's suffering is not yet over. The fulfillment
these scriptures in Isaiah's report is still to come
at His crucifixion.
Part 4. The Passover LAMB (Part 2)
Isaiah's prophecy of chapter 53, shows us the actual sacrifice that Messiah, our Passover LAMB, made;
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth: he is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers
is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Our Lord Yeshua did not struggle against His
oppressors in any way, as it was His purpose from
the beginning to give His life to save a remnant
of believers. Often under arrest and undergoing
questioning Yeshua gave no response to His captors;
John 19:9
And went again into the judgment hall,
and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou?
But Jesus gave him no answer.
It is important to realize that Yeshua would
have no reason to contest these men. Yeshua
pointed out clearly that no man was taking His life
by force, but that He was willingly laying it down
to be an atonement for the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. Yeshua said;
John 10:18
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it
down of myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it
again. This commandment have I
received of my Father.
As a matter of fact, during the event of His
arrest, Yeshua advised one of His disciples;
Matthew 26:53
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray
to my Father, and he shall presently
give me more than twelve legions of
angels? 54 But how then shall the
scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it
must be?
There is a gospel song in which the lyrics say
that it was not the nails that held Him to His
cross, but rather His love. That is exactly so. Even
though the horrible aspect of the pain and suffering
involved in the crucifixion was well known to Him,
He was obedient to His Father unto death, for our
salvation.
Soon after this, Yeshua the LAMB of GOD, and the
perfect sacrifice for our redemption, faced the
torment of being whipped. There are some in-depth
studies on this issue, but what we can gather
immediately is that the already beaten, bruised and
bleeding LAMB of GOD, was now tied to a post and
whipped with a "cat-o'nine" tails. From the studies
I have encountered, pieces of bone or other sharp
objects were imbedded into the material forming the
whip. As the leather whip struck it's victim, the
sharp objects contained within would actually rip
away flesh from His body. When this horrible
punishment was over, the victim was severely
wounded and bleeding profusely.
Isaiah 53:8
He was taken from prison and from
judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off out of
the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he
stricken.
This scripture which mentions that Yeshua was
taken from prison and from "judgment", yields one
of the most important truths of the Gospel message.
After Yeshua was whipped, he once again was brought
before Pilate's Judgment Hall.
John 19:13
When Pilate therefore heard that
saying, he brought Jesus forth, and
sat down in the judgment seat in a
place that is called the Pavement,
but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
Look at what was occurring, symbolically! Yeshua
was standing in judgment in *our place and was found
guilty! Remember how we read in Revelation 20 about
the final judgment seat of Christ, where those
outside of grace, stand guilty before the GOD's
throne? Their lives are compared against the
holiness of GOD's law, and therefore *His holiness.
So then they are found guilty and condemned to the
same lake of fire and brimstone prepare for the
devil and his angels. Reason? But the works of the
law, no flesh shall be justified [Galatians 2:16].
Isaiah 53:8
He was taken from prison and from
judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off out of
the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he
stricken.
And now, in the report of Isaiah, we see that
Messiah Yeshua is standing in judgment, symbolically
in our place, and though He committed no sin was
found guilty for which cause He would die. Yeshua
*gave Himself for us, suffering all the pain and
punishment that you and I *would have suffered,
had we stood guilty before Him on the last day.
We have been saved, *wonderfully saved by the grace
and the love of GOD our Saviour. The wages of sin
which is death, (Romans 6:23) has already been
*paid, by the shed blood of Yeshua HaMashiach.
Yeshua of Nazareth, is our Passover LAMB. On that
day when you stand before GOD, He will see the blood
of the Saviour covering you, and will pass over you.
Yeshua is the fulfillment of the Passover. In
receiving Him, you know the fulfillment of what the
Passover Feast means.
Part 5. YOM KIPPUR
In Isaiah's prophecy- chapter 53, which outlines
the life of Messiah, we see that ultimately, He gives
His life for us in ATONEMENT;
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death;
because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of the LORD shall prosper
in his hand.
Yeshua died at Golgotha, a criminal's death, though
He was innocent of any wrongdoing. He was the pure,
unblemished, LAMB of GOD. Because He was sinless, a
life was taken that day, to which death did not apply.
("For the wages of sin is death..." [Rom.6:23]). The
death of this innocent man now pays the redemptive
price for sinners who by faith and in repentance
believe on Yeshua as Messiah. This is absolute, once-
and-for-all, "ATONEMENT." At a crucial moment,
Yeshua uttered from His cross-
Matthew 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani? that is to say,
My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?
This is the point of atonement. At that moment, the
sins of the entire world, were on Him, as He bore them
for us. Therefore, at this moment, Yeshua was
separated from His Father- a thought (in light of
John 1:1) that is unimaginable! This is the tremendous
price that He paid, along with His shed blood for those
who would be saved.
Colossians 2:13
And you, being dead in your sins and
the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath
he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which
was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a shew of them
openly, triumphing over them in it.
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death;
because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand.
YOM KIPPUR, is GOD's day of ATONEMENT, where under
the Old Covenant all sins are done away with. This
day which He commanded Israel to honor, was like the
PASSOVER, a symbol of the final atonement that Yeshua
would make for the sins of the whole world. What
Yeshua did that day,is the fulfillment of YOM KIPPUR.
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by
his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many; for he shall
bear their iniquities.
As you turn to Messiah Yeshua in faith you will
know, particularly as a Jewish believer, the
*fulfillment of YOM KIPPUR. This wonderful
realization ofthe spiritual meaning of that day is
magnified as we realize Yeshua's victory over death
and the grave, as He rose again in three days, as
He said he would. He's alive!
I Corinthians 15:55
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? 56 The sting of
death is sin; and the strength of sin is
the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The *mercy Israel experienced at PASSOVER, and the
*forgiveness of YOM KIPPUR, and the joy of ETERNAL
LIFE are *yours! This- a gift from GOD who planned
this all from before the foundations of the world.
Hallelujah!
Part 6. Feast of Tabernacles
We have true joy in the knowledge of the
resurrection of Messiah, who overcame the world,
death, and the grave to ascend triumphantly to His
Father in heaven, where He will live and reign
forever. This *joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
and our "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) in that He
shall return to gather us unto Himself! At the
conclusion of Isaiah's report- chapter 53, we see
this victory of Yeshua declared;
Isaiah 53:11
He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong;
because he hath poured out his soul
unto death: and he was numbered with
the transgressors; and he bare the sin
of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.
Yeshua shall surely see the travail of his soul
as we who love and adore Him, will give thanks to
Him throughout eternity. We will be joined to Him
in the coming wedding feast, and to meet Him in the
clouds of glory (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). In this
following prophetic scene from the Revelation of
John we see the LAMB of GOD being eternally
glorified by all the company of heaven!
Revelation 5:11
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of
many angels round about the throne and
the beasts and the elders: and the
number of them was ten thousand times
ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands;
12 Saying with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honour, and glory,
and blessing.
13 And every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and
all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever
and ever.
14 And the four beasts said,
Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that
liveth for ever and ever.
The Fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles
This GOD ordained holy season represents a
celebration of GOD dwelling with Israel in the
tents during their sojourns. As with the *mercy
demonstrated by Passover, and the *salvation
demonstrated by Yom Kippur, so the Feast of
Tabernacles is representative of God once again
dwelling with His creation. And that- *forever,
in a restored relationship of love and peace.
Again, in Yeshua, we find the fulfillment of
the Feast of Tabernacles, as this scriptural
scene of His ultimate return depicts.
1 Thessalonians 4:15
For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first:
17 Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
A comfort indeed! Again you will know the
absolute fulfillment of Jewishness, indeed- the
reality of the same, as once again redeemed,
sanctified, man is TABERNACLED with Almighty GOD.
This will be the culmination of His love for you-
planned from before the foundation of the world.
Praise Yeshua Ha Mashiach!
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