Jesus Was Rejected by Many

The first three verses of Isaiah 53 give a brief summary of the Messiah's life during His first coming. Both His life and appearance are described, along with His ministry and the reaction men have toward Him, namely, their rejection of Him.

"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" (v. 1). The thought is that men did not believe the message. Despite the clear prophecy of Old Testament Scripture, they did not recognize the Messiah. The Old Testament clearly describes both the life of Jesus the Messiah and the purpose for which He came. But He is revealed to only a few. Most do not understand.

"For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground" (v. 2a). Take a look at Isaiah 11:1—"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." The term "Branch" refers to the growth that sprouts from the stump of a tree after it has been cut down or has died. We have all seen the shoots that grow from the stump of a fallen tree. The tree, which was cut down, often still has life in it. So although the house of David had been cut off, dead for centuries, just as was prophesied, the Messiah Jesus Christ came, being born a descendant of David.

"He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him" (v. 2b). This is a picture of how things were at the time of Jesus. It was a dark time in Israel. It was a dark time spiritually, as well as a dark time politically after centuries of foreign dominance and occupation. It was also a time of poverty. Israel was all but dead.

But then the Messiah came. Jesus was born in humble circumstances with no particular beauty or physical stature that would draw us to Him. He was born to a poor, working family and probably had an average appearance. There was nothing special about His circumstances or His appearance that would set Him apart as a leader people would follow. What was so compelling was His message.

So people failed to accept Him, but rather rejected Him. "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him" (v. 3). The Messiah Jesus Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of Israel. They accused Him falsely and cursed Him. They openly expressed their hatred of Him and they led the people astray, getting them to holler, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

He was widely rejected, leading to His crucifixion. Rejection gave way to His cruel, yet saving death on the cross. He was rejected by men in order to save you. Now each of us must either reject Him as they did, or accept Him by faith as our Lord and Savior. Which is it? You decide. Amen.

Jesus Shed His Blood for Us

In Isaiah 52:13-15 we find a summary of both the humiliation and the exaltation of the Servant, which is described in more detail in Isaiah 53:1-12. These verses cover the work of Christ in His substitutionary death, His burial, His resurrection, His saving grace, His intercession, and His kingdom.

"Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently" (v. 13a). This passage opens with the Lord calling special attention: "Behold" is used to draw our focus to something that is important. It means to look at, fix your eyes on, or observe with care and understanding. Make sure you understand what the Lord is saying and how He works.

"He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high" (v. 13b). This refers to both His first and second coming. He is exalted right now. After His resurrection and ascension, He is now at the right hand of the Father. At His second coming, He will be exalted in the sight of all the world, which He will rule.

"Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (v. 14). Nothing about His physical appearance when Jesus was on this earth would cause people to give Him honor. In fact, His appearance would be "marred" to such an extent that He would no longer be recognized by anyone. Literally, He would be "disfigured."

This description may refer to both His physical stature and His appearance, but it is probably simply a reference to His appearance when He was crucified. The last part of verse 14 says literally that the Lord's "form" was disfigured "more than the sons of men." In other words, He was so disfigured that people were astonished with His looks even more than they were with His teaching.

"So shall He sprinkle many nations" (v. 15a). This verse refers to salvation. It is the sprinkling or shedding of His blood that brings salvation to mankind. The reference to "sprinkling" may recall the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts and lintel of the houses on the night in Egypt when the Lord spared the firstborn of the Israelites (Exodus 12:7). It is the blood of Christ, His death on the cross in payment for our sin, that enables us to enter into fellowship with the Father.

There is one other similar biblical tradition to which this sprinkling may refer. Leviticus 14 describes the ceremonial cleansing of a person healed of infectious disease, a ceremony in which the priest sprinkles water and blood on the healed person to pronounce him or her clean.

His sprinkling many nations would then be consistent with both His first and second coming. At His first coming, His death atoned for our sin, making it possible for all who trust Him to be reconciled to the Father. At His second coming, He will rule the nations in righteousness and goodness.

"Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider" (v. 15b). When He is exalted at His second coming, leaders in the highest places will be speechless and in awe before the once-despised Servant. When He takes His throne, they will see His power and glory in a way they could never imagine. They will not resist. "Kings shall shut their mouths" and say nothing against Jesus because they will finally understand. "They shall see" things in a new light, things that "had not been told them." "They shall consider" things "they had not heard," and they will submit to His rule.

Paul applied this verse to his preaching the gospel where Christ was not yet known. In that way, people who had never heard the gospel of Jesus before, would hear and consider what Jesus had done for them. Consider Christ and His blood shed for you, and trust Him by faith for your salvation. Amen.

Obedient to the Will of God

Isaiah 50:7 says, "For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed." Jesus' face, though cruelly assaulted and badly scared, will not flinch before suffering. Flint is a hard, dense rock and very hard to break. The Servant would not be swayed from His purpose.

In the gospels, Jesus was never swayed from His purpose, either by hardship, opposition, or betrayal. He remained steadfast in purpose, always obedient to the will of God. He followed God's will at all cost.

"He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; The moth will eat them up" (vs. 8-9). God will help His Servant. Jesus was faithful to God's will at all times and without sin, and God raised Him from the dead. Who can contend with Him? Who can condemn Him? No one can!

The whole purpose for this study is to help us become more like our Savior. The purpose is for us to understand Him better and know His will, and do it. That means being obedient to the Word and staying on task with the message. It means remaining obedient even in the face of suffering. It means following and being obedient to the will of God at all times, no matter what. We must always be steadfast in purpose as we seek to live for Jesus. Amen.

God's Special Plan

I was asked to deliver the baccalaureate service message to the 2020 graduating class of Nodaway Valley High School here in Greenfield, Iowa. The service was canceled due to the pandemic. The ministerial group put together a special certificate for each graduate and asked me to prepare a short message from the Word of God that could be presented with it. Here is that message, which is good for all to hear:

A Special Word for the Graduates of 2020

Dear Graduate,

Proverbs 15:30 says: "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives life to the bones." In other words, when you look at other people with cheerfulness, it brings joy and life to their own spirits. They're lifted up and encouraged.

As graduates, all of you are at a point of decision. Many of you will go on to college. Some will find work. But all of you will continue to learn and grow no matter what direction you choose in life.

Even when things get a little tough, as we all have experienced first-hand over the last several weeks and months fighting the coronavirus pandemic, gladness and joy in the heart works wonders. Perhaps Jeremiah had this in mind when he penned the words of Jeremiah 29:11-13. He knew that life would not always go so well, so he told us to look up. Trust God and rejoice in all things because God has a special plan in mind just for you. "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'" (v. 11).

God has your back! Believe it or not, the Lord God has your best interest in mind. He has planned for your welfare. He has planned for you to succeed. He wants "to give you a future and a hope." Your future lies in Him. Do not leave God out of the picture. To do so opens you up to certain calamity. But God does not want that for you. He looks forward to your success and He looks forward to helping you make a difference in this world.

The Lord continues in verse 12: "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you." How do you find the plan God has for you and how do you gain that future? By calling upon Him. "Come and pray to Me," says the Lord. And what? "And I will listen to you." What a promise! Just ask, and He will listen and obviously, He will give you that future and hope—everything He has in store for you.

Again the Lord God continues in verse 13: "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." If you desire the plan God has for you, and I pray you do, then you will seek after God. You must! There is no other way to find God's perfect plan, that special plan He has just for you. If you want your life to make a difference in this world, then seek after God. And if you do, God says you will find Him!

But you must seek after the Lord "with all your heart" (v. 13b). The "heart" is the center of your emotions. You must want God with your whole being. With all you are, seek God. If you do, again, as God promised, you will find Him.

Keep safe and may God bless. Amen.

Obedient in Suffering

In Isaiah 50:5, though Israel be rebellious, Jesus responds in obedience to the Father, even when His destiny, according to the Word of God, is only suffering and shame: "The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (v. 5). As God's Servant, He does not draw back but offers His body to the slaughter. He is willing to suffer for you and me, which is clearly seen in verse 6: "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting."

That is the gospel of Christ. He suffered at the hands of cruel men and died on the cross for our sin. The pain and shame suffered by the Servant, even the disgrace suffered on the cross, must yield to a glorious vindication of the Savior. "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:8-11).

Jesus was sent not just to teach through His preaching and teaching, but also through His suffering and dying for our sins. He suffered in obedience. Again He said, "I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting" (v. 6).

This was first prophesied about 750 years before, yet it was fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ at the cross. We know from the gospels the truth of this prophecy. The Lord Jesus was "flogged" (Matt. 27:26, NIV). He was mocked and spat upon (Matt. 27:30). The phrase in verse 6, "plucked out the beard," means to bring shame on a man. It means to shame a man so much so as to take away any vestige of manhood. Even with His manhood challenged, the Servant suffered obediently. Oh that we would be obedient to the message, even in the face of great suffering for the name of Jesus. Amen.

Obedient to the Message

Isaiah 50:5 says, "The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away." Jesus listened to the Father and did not turn away from the Word. He always remained obedient to the message. Oh, that we too would open our ear and listened to what God is telling us. Oh, that we too would not turn away but would always remain obedient to the message.

This was completely contrary to the people of Isaiah's day. Their idea of God's power and care had to do with preserving the cultural status quo and enlarging the nation politically and militarily. It had little to do with accepting God's standards of justice and righteousness. We must be obedient to the message of righteousness and stay on track.

The Messiah, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ stayed on message. Again He said, "I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (v. 5b). The Messiah, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, when He walked this earth two thousand years ago, stayed on message. He did not waiver from the message the Father sent Him to deliver.

Listening to the Father and not turning away is also a contrast with the people of Israel in Isaiah's day, the people to whom he prophesied. The prophets had faithfully taught them God's truth, but they did not listen. Isaiah stated plainly: "Surely from long ago your ear was not opened" (Isa. 48:8). Like Jesus, we must have our ears open, listening to the Word of God and being obedient to the message. Amen.

Obedient to the Word

Isaiah 50:4a says, "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak." The Lord God gave Jesus what He was to speak to the people. He faithfully taught the Father's message.

Jesus clarified this in John 8:21-32 as He spoke with the Jewish leaders in the temple: "Jesus said to them again, 'I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.' So the Jews said, 'Will He kill Himself, because He says, "Where I go you cannot come?"' And He said to them, 'You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.' Then they said to Him, 'Who are You?' And Jesus said to them, 'Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.' They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.' As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"

The key thought is found in verses 26 and 28. Jesus said, "He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him" (v. 26b). "I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things" (v. 28b).

Jesus spoke what the Father gave Him. He faithfully preached the truth. "A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned" (Isa. 50:4b). But it was not always what the people wanted to hear. In John 6, Jesus told those who followed Him, that if they trusted in Him, they must willingly sacrifice as He did. They must show the same commitment as He did. Many responded, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" (v. 60). In other words, "who can accept it?" Jesus said plainly, "There are some of you who do not believe" (v. 64a). Then we read: "Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him" (v. 64b). So again He speaks plainly, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father" (v. 65). "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more" (v. 66).

The Word He spoke eventually led to His death. Knowing this, He still taught the truth faithfully, no matter the cost. Still He urged His disciples to trust in Him for their eternal life: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt. 10:37-39). Take up your cross every day and teach the Word of Truth faithfully, just as Jesus did. Amen.