Christ’s
salvation for mankind has been taught through the prophets from the beginning
of time. This is called the Messianic Hope. And hope it certainly is…hope of
redemption from the fall, sanctification from sin, justification to reconcile
us with the Father. Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah in a dualistic manner which
the Jews either didn’t understand or they ignored because their ignorance
brought the Saviour to the cross.
Isaiah
prophesied of the ‘suffering servant’ in Isaiah 53 who would be a ‘man of
sorrows’ (v3); one who stands ‘as a sheep before her shearers’ (v7); and one
who takes our transgressions upon Himself. The ‘suffering servant’ foretells
the first advent and mortal life of Christ which was to offer spiritual
deliverance of His people.
The
other picture of the Messiah that Isaiah painted was the “King of Glory”. This
title promises physical deliverance, political power, and the destruction of
Israel’s enemies. The “King of Glory”
prophecies foretell His second coming when He will subdue all Israel’s enemies
under His feet; put down all kingdoms; will sit on the throne of David; and
‘the government shall be upon his shoulder’ (Isaiah 9:6).
The
Jewish nation missed the importance of these two time periods and here is why. As
Israel toiled under the oppression of different ruling powers such as
Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies and Seleucids from 586 B.C. until 70
A.D., they hungered for liberation and their hope of the Messiah gained
political overtones. They wanted a Moses and a David, both of whom had
delivered them from their enemies and thus they discounted the prophecies of
the ‘suffering servant’. When Jesus came they recognised Him as the rightful
heir of David’s throne due to His lineage, but when He refused to take up the
sword against the Roman Empire, they used His refusal as proof that He could
not be the promised Deliverer.
This
is what blows my mind: the mortal life of Jesus was prophesied in such detail
that it is hard to believe the Jews were so blinded that they ‘looked beyond
the mark’ (Jacob 4:14) awaiting another Messiah. Among many here are some details of His mortal
life contained in ancient prophecies: he would be born in Bethlehem; He would
be preceded by a forerunner; His ministry would begin in Galilee; He would
teach in parables; He would perform miracles; His message would be rejected; He
would enter Jerusalem in triumph on the back of an ass; He would be sold for
thirty pieces of silver; smitten, spat upon and rejected. And the details of
His crucifixion in ancient prophecies are staggering.
The
Saviour’s death is a complex necessity to contemplate. I read a comment the
other day on social media which was accusatory of the Jewish nation and which
said: Jesus didn’t want to die. He was only 33 years old!” I suppose there are people in the world who
view the Saviour’s death as an unjustified murder because of our modern-day
standards. And unjustified it was but yet the most sacred, dignified and
necessary death in the history of mankind. I wondered what the person who made
that comment would think of Isaiah saying that it ‘pleased God to bruise His
Son and put him to grief ’….(Isaiah 53:10). Maybe she would be horrified at
that and would miss the rest of the scripture that says ‘his soul was made an
offering for sin’.
Elder
Melvin J. Ballard explained that it was not a pleasure on the Father’s part but
a sacrifice like no other to allow the murder and death of His Beloved Son:
“In
that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon His
dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer, and like the
mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room,
so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in
some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he
had for his Son.
“Oh,
in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him
that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but
he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere and that his love
for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of His
Son and give him finally to us, as our Saviour and our Redeemer.
“Without
him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have
come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our
Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men.” (Bryant S. Hinkcley, Sermons
and Missionary Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard, 154-155)
I
carry my cross every day to the foot of Calvary
Where
You carried yours so valiantly to the top;
I
wait for You there to lift me
To
the foot of Your gilded throne.
-
Cathryne Allen
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