(no subject)
this was written over 700 years before Christ by the prophet Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned-every one-to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Jews failed to see that the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, and the Coming King and Messiah were one in the same. They were looking for a political ruler, not a man from Nazareth who dwelled amongst fisherman, sinners, and tax collectors.
This was predicted though, look again at verses 2 and 3.
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Christ was CRUSHED by God for our sins. Why? Verse 11 says to "make many to be accounted righteous."
Furthermore,
Verse 10 says "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief."
Acts 2:23 says "this Jesus, delivered up according to the DEFINITE PLAN AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
Don't you see? Marvel at this truth. It was the will of the Lord to send Christ for us and CRUSH him on the cross for our sins so that we may be counted RIGHTEOUS before him.
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"But God,[not us, but God]
being rich in mercy,
because of the great love with which he [God] loved us, [his love for us, not our love for him]
even when we were dead in our trespasses, [even though we hated God and don't want to obey to him and push him out of our lives]
made us alive together with Christ--
by grace [what's grace? a free gift...undeserved favor from God towards people who deserve only judgment]
you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Why did he do all this? "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned-every one-to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Jews failed to see that the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, and the Coming King and Messiah were one in the same. They were looking for a political ruler, not a man from Nazareth who dwelled amongst fisherman, sinners, and tax collectors.
This was predicted though, look again at verses 2 and 3.
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Christ was CRUSHED by God for our sins. Why? Verse 11 says to "make many to be accounted righteous."
Furthermore,
Verse 10 says "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief."
Acts 2:23 says "this Jesus, delivered up according to the DEFINITE PLAN AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
Don't you see? Marvel at this truth. It was the will of the Lord to send Christ for us and CRUSH him on the cross for our sins so that we may be counted RIGHTEOUS before him.
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"But God,[not us, but God]
being rich in mercy,
because of the great love with which he [God] loved us, [his love for us, not our love for him]
even when we were dead in our trespasses, [even though we hated God and don't want to obey to him and push him out of our lives]
made us alive together with Christ--
by grace [what's grace? a free gift...undeserved favor from God towards people who deserve only judgment]
you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Why did he do all this? "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."