|
It should be obvious that all is not
well on Planet Earth. God's supernatural communiqué, the
Bible, accurately analyzes the human dilemma and tells us the
solution. It contains prophecies about a special individual who will
come to Planet Earth to solve our problems. The prophets of Israel
call Him the Anointed One - the Messiah. One of the most detailed
descriptions about this unique individual is found in the 52nd and
53rd chapters of the prophet Isaiah.
13
Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be
exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
14 According as many were appalled at thee -
so marred was his visage unlike that of a man,
and his form unlike that of the sons of men
- 15 so shall he startle many nations, kings
shall shut their mouths because of him; for
that which had not been told them shall they
see, and that which they had not heard shall
they perceive. 1 Who would have believed our
report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord
been revealed? 2 For he shot up right forth
as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground;
he had no form nor comeliness, that we should
look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight
in him. 3 He was despised, and forsaken of men,
a man of pains, and acquainted with disease,
and as one from whom men hide their face: he
was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely
our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried;
whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded
because of our transgressions, he was crushed
because of our iniquities: the chastisement
of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes
we were healed. 6 All we like sheep did go astray.
We turned every one to his own way; and the
Lord hath made to light on him the iniquity
of us all. 7 He was oppressed, though he humbled
himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb
that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep
that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened
not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment
he was taken away, and with his generation who
did reason? For he was cut off out of the land
of the living, for the transgression of my people
to whom the stroke was due. 9 And they made
his grave with the wicked, and with the rich
his tomb; although he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet
it pleased the Lord to crush him by disease;
to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution,
that he might see his seed, prolong his days,
and that the purpose of the Lord might prosper
by his hand: 11 Of the travail of his soul he
shall see to the full, even My servant, who
by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One
to the many, and their iniquities he did bear.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion among
the great, and he shall divide the spoil with
the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors; yet
he bore the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors. (Isaiah 52:13-53:12,
translated from Hebrew in The Holy Scriptures,
by The Jewish Publication Society of America)
This amazing
prophecy, written approximately 700 BC by the
Jewish prophet Isaiah, describes an individual
specially empowered to serve God - the Messiah.
This Jewish man will be greatly exalted, but also
humiliated. He will not only make an impact on
Israel, but on the entire world. One day He will
break into history and startle the world's leaders,
who will shut their mouths in surprise as they
finally understand who He is.
The prediction
goes on to say that although sent by the God of
Israel, the majority of the Jewish people will
not initially believe in Him! Instead, God's Servant
will be despised and rejected. He will feel the
full weight of mankind's problems. His life will
be filled with suffering, pain, and grief. He
will be burdened with our burdens, and experience
our sufferings - both physical and spiritual.
We won't
understand what He is accomplishing and will not
value Him according to His true worth. We will
assume that God is punishing this man for His
own sins, but in reality, God's Servant did not
deserve any punishment of His own. But He will
be wounded for our transgressions, and suffer
because of our wrong-doings. He will die to atone
for the sins of the Jewish people and all the
nations of the world. All of us have wandered
away from God, and the Messiah will come to bring
us back home to our Heavenly Father.
Despite
being an honest, non-violent person, God's Servant
will be terribly mistreated. Instead of protesting
or complaining, He will accept injustice bravely
and quietly. Then He will be unjustly put to death,
and die in place of the nation of Israel. He will
die with wicked men, and be buried in a rich man's
tomb. Then He will be gloriously resurrected to
life! God permits His afflicted and ultimately
exalted Servant to endure suffering and death
in order to remove the sins of many, so that men
and women can have a right relationship with their
Creator. God's Servant will be greatly rewarded
for sacrificing Himself. He will be given a special
place of prominence, and will in turn reward those
human beings who believe in Him.
Do you
have any idea if anyone has fulfilled this amazing
prophecy, or has even come even close? History
tells us that only one man - Yeshua of Nazareth
(Jesus) - fulfilled this and many other incredible
prophecies found on the pages of the Jewish Bible.
He has impacted the world more than any other
person who has ever lived. He died and came back
to life, proving that He is the Jewish Messiah,
God's Servant that was sent into this world to
end man's alienation from God. Yeshua is the only
One who can reconcile us to our Creator, bring
peace, joy and meaning to our lives, and enable
us to live forever and ever.
You can
find out more about the implications of the life,
death and resurrection of this astonishing individual
on the pages of another Jewish book - the Brit
Chadasha (New Testament). For more information
about Messiah Yeshua and Messianic Judaism, you
can call, write or e-mail:
Congregation Shema
Yisrael
P.O. Box 804
Southfield, MI 48037
248-358-3850
E-mail: Shema777@aol.com
Website: www.shema.com
Nine Reasons Why Isaiah
53 Refers to the Messiah - Not the Jewish People
-
There is a clear distinction
in pronouns. Isaiah the prophet, a Jew, when
speaking of himself and his nation Israel,
uses the pronouns "we," "us" and "our." He
describes the Servant as someone other than
himself and his people by using the pronouns
"he," "him" and "his." Since the speakers
are clearly Isaiah's people Israel ("we"),
then the Servant whom they describe ("he")
must be Someone other than Israel. They cannot
both be Israel.
-
In verse 8, Isaiah declares
that the Servant was put to death "for the
transgression of my people." Who are "my people?"
Not the Gentiles, but Isaiah's people, the
Jewish people. If the Servant died for Israel,
the Servant cannot also be Israel. Therefore
the Servant is distinct from the Jewish people.
-
The passage repeatedly
claims the innocence of the Servant. Verses
4-6 say that His suffering would not be for
His own sin, but for the sin of others. None
of the prophets (including Isaiah), ever characterize
Israel or any other nation as perfectly innocent
(see Isaiah 1:1-31, 64:5). Since Isaiah affirms
the Servant's innocence while at the same
time affirming Israel's guilt, Israel cannot
be the Servant.
-
The Servant was to be a
voluntary and unresisting sufferer. He willingly
accepts His suffering, offering Himself as
a guilt offering, and pouring Himself out
to death. His suffering are voluntary, His
sufferings are intentional, His sufferings
are silent. Israel has indeed suffered, but
not willingly, intentionally, or silently.
The sufferings of the Servant are of a different
nature than the sufferings of the Jewish people.
-
In verses 8, 9, 10 and
12 the Servant dies a substitutionary death
on behalf of others. He is cut off out of
the land of the living, placed in a grave,
and sacrificed for the guilt of others. However,
the Bible declares that the nation of Israel
never has been and never can be killed (see
Jeremiah 31:34-36).
-
The Servant is described
as an individual person, not as a corporate
identity. The things that the Servant does
can only be done individually, not corporately.
-
The suffering and death
of the Servant brings righteousness and healing
to those who accept Him. While Israel has
suffered, our suffering have never brought
righteousness or healing to the Gentiles.
In fact, it brings judgement on the Gentiles
for their sin of anti-Semitism. Our suffering
has never brought healing to the anti-Semites
guilty of these things. The Jewish people
have suffered because of the Gentiles, but
never on behalf of the Gentiles.
-
Many of the ancient rabbis
understood this passage to refer to the individual
known as the Messiah. Rashi, who lived around
1050 AD, interpreted the Suffering Servant
of Isaiah 53 as the nation of Israel, suffering
for the Gentile nations. Eventually Rashi's
interpretation became the dominant Jewish
view, especially since the 1800's.
-
Other
passages in the book of Isaiah dealing with
God's Servant refer to an individual, and
not to the nation of Israel (see Isaiah 42:1-7,
49:1-13, especially 49:6).
|
