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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(at)aol(dot)com
Website: www.shema.com
Nine
Reasons Why Isaiah 53 Refers to the Messiah -
Not the Jewish People
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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).
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