CHRIST THE WORD FULFILLED

Isaiah 53
Hundreds of years before Christ's coming, his birth, death, and resurrection was foretold by the prophets. Jesus continually reminded his disciples that he came in fulfillment of the prophet's words, and he told them that it was this fact which proved he was who he said he was: the only begotten Son of God. The prophet Isaiah saw the glory of the Messiah and he recorded numerous prophecies concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Christ was rejected by men, slain as a criminal, buried in a rich man's tomb, and brought to life again: "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death . . . he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand." (vs. 9-10). A dead man isn't here to see his offspring, his days aren't prolonged, and he can do nothing for God from beyond the grave. God spoke here of a man who died, yet continued to live to do his will. Look at what is said prior to this: "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" (vs. 1). This prophecy stated that Christ's message would not be believed by all. Even Jesus' own disciples didn't believe him, when he told them he was going to rise from the dead. Would it have been any easier for the rest of the people to believe in him? Why were they so reluctant to believe in the resurrection? They found it difficult to believe in Jesus, because they failed to believe the scriptures which foretold of him.
When Isaiah wrote the words believes and reveals, he foretold that only to the believing ones, only to those who trusted in his message, would Christ be revealed. And Isaiah asks who, as if not everyone would believe the message. Is this not true today? Has Christ appeared to the world? Has he shown himself in the eyes of the nations? Have the nations crowned Christ as King? Have they all believed? No. Jesus is only revealed to those who believe. He is only the Messiah of those who believe his message. Christ is not visible to the world. The arm of the Lord is not revealed to all men. He works beyond the realm of sight. This is exactly what the prophet foretold would happen, and even in light of the fulfillment of these scriptures, people still refuse to believe the scriptures.
Christ appeared, not as an earthly King, but as a heavenly Redeemer. The scriptures plainly declared that Christ would not be revealed to all, nor would all believe in him. The Jews who were looking for an earthly king were following religious tradition, rather than the word of God, much like those today who reject Jesus because he doesn't fit their conception of divinity. Isaiah continues: "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." (vs. 2). Christ did not appear in splendor. Christ was born in a manger, the child of a humble carpenter and his wife. There was nothing regal and royal about his appearance which signified and proclaimed who he was. He was despised by the leaders of his day. They had no regard for him whatsoever, and they pierced his hands and feet on a cross: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities." (vs. 4-5). This is not the typical picture we have of an earthly king. This is a description of a sacrificial lamb: "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." (vs. 7). Yet, this was the Son of Almighty God. He willingly suffered, for it was the will of God that he do so. He could have called ten thousand angels to rescue him from the hands of evil men, but he didn't.
But this scripture also prophecies that the Messiah would be a conqueror: "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong." (vs. 12). He would be raised to a position of victory, of strength, of exaltation. Whom God has chosen he has raised up, and now Christ Jesus is seated next to the throne of God itself, ruling over the heavens and the earth, invisibly, through the hearts of those who believe. Yet we have not seen the completion of Christ's victory. Complete victory will come on the day when he appears in the clouds to make his followers kings over the earth. Many scriptures spoke of the Messiah reigning over the earth, and these are the scriptures the Jews of old hoped to see fulfilled. The children of God still wait for these prophecies to be fulfilled.
Isaiah also foretold of a complete and utter deliverance from the effects of sin through the suffering of the Christ: "by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." (vs. 11). Isaiah saw one who would come and save many people from the guilt of their sin. But this deliverance, this absolute redemption, would only come to the believers. The rest would be cut off. For Moses had spoken of another prophet, like himself, who would come and perform great wonders. Moses warned that whoever would not listen to this prophet would be cut off. Can God lie? Is he a man, that he should lie? Have some been cut off from God? Has the world embraced the knowledge of justification through Christ? God's word has come to pass. Those who believe, see the arm of the Lord revealed in Jesus. Those who don't believe, are cut off from God. This is the very reason why we believe. We don't want to be one of those who get cut off. His word is what gives us strength. He shall divide the spoil with the strong. Jesus is the living word. He makes us strong. He has given us the spoils of forgiveness, grace, faith, joy, and everlasting life.
Jesus became sin. He became sin on the cross. All the sins of all mankind he bore: "As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." (John 3:14). When Jesus spoke of being lifted up like the snake, he identified himself with our sin and the penalty for our sin--death. Yet the life he lived, the faith he displayed, the power he possessed, could not be overcome by our sin. He rose again, reborn with an immortal body: "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied." (vs. 11). By all rights, Jesus should never have died. He had never sinned, so death could not touch him. He would never have died, had he chosen not to. But if he hadn't taken our place, then we would still be under the penalty of our sin. Thus, he consented to die and take our place, and still death could not defeat him. He rose again by the power of God who gives life to all, and now Jesus offers his own life to all men. Love is stronger than death, stronger than the grave. All the sin of mankind could not overcome God's love. When we accept Christ, we have all we need to be totally victorious over death and sin. What Jesus did at Calvary was greater than what Adam did in the garden, when by Adam's disobedience death and sin entered the world. What Jesus did brought life and peace back to the world. Jesus provides hope to a dying world.
Jesus knew he had to die. He was a carpenter by trade. He spent his days hammering nails. He knew he would die by the emblems of his trade. Did Jesus ponder the agony he would endure, as he worked in his carpentry shop? Or did he keep his eyes on the prize awaiting him beyond the cross? Jesus was his own finished product, made perfect through the Spirit and the suffering he endured. The seed of grain died, and it became a stalk of wheat. Those seeds then died, and then many stalks were created. This continued until there was a vast field of wheat, all from the one seed which died. This wheat derived its' life from the soil, the rain, and the sun. Then the wheat was cut down, the grain was beaten and threshed, the wheat was ground into flour under the wheel of the mill. Then it was given water, and kneaded into dough. Finally, the yeast was added, and both the yeast and dough came to life. As the yeast multiplied in the dough, the bread rose to life. Now this bread gives food, strength, and life to man.
Jesus is the bread of life. This is his broken body. This is the communion of his flesh and blood, for as the seed of wheat gives its' life, so the grapes are crushed and drained of all their juice: "He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors." (vs. 12). The blood of the grapes is transformed into the finest of wines, which gives gladness to men's hearts. So Jesus gave his body and blood to give life and gladness to all, and what he gave is free to all who would drink and eat, and thereby live forever. And we are his Body, the grain which has multiplied from the seed of his death. We are all one Body in him, and of the life of Jesus do we all share. His Spirit is the yeast which gives life more abundantly, and in his Spirit we all grow together in love as one family--the Family of God.
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24-25). We must be broken for God to use us. Jesus was as ointment poured forth for the healing of the world. He was the seed planted in the earth for three days, and he has grown into a mighty vine to fill the earth with his branches. A seed has to have its' shell broken by the heat and moisture, and so we are nurtured by God to the point where we are willing to be broken. We have to be broken to bear fruit. A bud has to break open, to bring forth the fragrance of the flower. Accept your brokenness, so you may die to sin and live to God. He died for you and rose again, that you might die with him and rise again to new life.
Jesus became a part of the cross, by placing himself upon the very wood and stone he had once created. He died for nature, as well as for mankind. He died for the entire sum of fallen creation. There was nothing in all creation left untouched by his death on the cross. He became flesh, so he could represent mankind, but creation was represented by the wood which bore the nails that pierced his hands and feet. All creation groans and travails, awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God, and if he cares even for all of nature and longs to make it whole again, how much more does he care for our health and our wholeness? Not only did he bear our sins on that cross, but by his stripes we were healed, as Isaiah foresaw, "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." (vs. 4). Even if God's word didn't explicitly promise healing to us, wouldn't we know it was his will to heal us anyway, couldn't we deduce this for ourselves, simply because the word says that God is love, and so out of love, he would surely heal us if only we asked? Don't we know that God is a good God? And what earthly father would wish his child to be sick? Our Father said he would give us the desire of our heart. What if we desire to be healed? Isn't healing part of the promise? Why would God want us to be in pain?
He calls us his sheep, and he's the Good Shepherd. If a shepherd has a sick sheep, doesn't he at least bother to take care of it? Our heavenly Father wants to take good care of us. He wants to give us the Kingdom. Didn't Jesus say to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven"? Are there any sick people in Heaven? He wants us to rest in him, rely on him, and give ourselves up to his care. He wants to watch over us, feed us, and guide us. He longs to be close to us. He wants us to be acquainted with him, to know his voice and his tenderness. We mustn't accuse God of wanting to make people sick and afflicted. This shows that we really don't know who God is. Jesus showed us the Father. He was the will of God in action, and he healed all who came to him for healing. Never did he turn anyone away. Lord, let us be your gentle lambs in every way toward you, and not blame you when we're sick or troubled by sin, but trust you to heal and deliver us, and thus always believe in your goodness and mercy.
We are his sheep who had gone astray, and through Christ we are brought back to the fold: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (vs. 6). When Christ was born, the non-Jewish world worshipped demonic idols. They were not the people of God. Their ancestors didn't have a covenant with God. They were ignorant of the promises made to Abraham. The nations were living in darkness. But as Hosea prophesied, "In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" (Hosea 1:10). And thus the word of salvation in Christ appeared to all men, and his Kingdom was proclaimed to our forefathers.
But we can't rely on the faith of our forefathers. We have to have faith for ourselves. We have to believe for ourselves. For although the scriptures concerning Christ have come to pass, if we don't know or believe them, it doesn't matter whether there is a Savior or not. Without faith or knowledge of him, Christ wouldn't be our Savior. But we do believe. We do know the Savior. Therefore, we are a partaker of the riches of the resurrection of Christ. We have believed the message, and seen the arm of the Lord revealed, and we are witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, because he lives in our heart.
Do you believe? Or are you blinded to the truth? What will it take for you to believe? Will you wait until Jesus comes in the clouds and makes the earth his footstool, before you believe the scriptures? For as surely as the sufferings of Christ were fulfilled, so shall the scriptures concerning his Kingdom be fulfilled as well, and then every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and he shall separate the wheat from the chaff, and the chaff he will burn up with everlasting fire, but the wheat he will gather into his barn and preserve as his own forever. Sounds silly, huh? Blessed is he who has the last laugh, for he shall laugh forever. Woe to those who laugh and scoff now, for they shall weep and wail eternally.