Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

The Forbidden Chapter Pt 7

by | Mon, Jun 20 2022

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The Mashiach has been probably the most important personality in Judaism since it’s beginning. The Jewish people have been looking for, waiting for, and longing for Mashiach throughout their entire history, and with good reason. They’ve been a very persecuted people. While Christians believe Jesus is their Mashiach, they do not and its for that reason that rabbis dropped Isaiah 53 and the last few verses of chapter 52 from synagogue reading, making it a forbidden chapter, because of the ruckus it always caused. We’ve been learning about Isaiah 53, verse by verse and doing a comparison of what this forbidden chapter says about Mashiach, and what actually happened to Jesus.

Isaiah 53:10, ‘But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He’ll see His offspring, He’ll prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.’

One of the most difficult concepts to understand about the death of Mashiach, is that it was sanctioned and even mandated by God Himself. In fact, this verse is unbelievably difficult because it actually says that the Lord was ‘pleased’ to crush Him. How is that even possible. The word ‘Lord’ in Hebrew is God’s actual name. Not Adonai, not El, but Yehovah. The name that religious Jews won’t utter because God’s actual name is so holy, they won’t risk defiling it be possibly mispronouncing it. Yehovah was actually pleased to crush Mashiach. That’s hard because we know that Yeshua is Yehovah’s Son. His only begotten Son! Again, how can that be?

Listen to this…

Hebrews 12:2 says, ‘Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’

We need to be clear about something, Jesus didn’t enjoy the torture He experienced. Yehovah didn’t enjoy seeing His son tortured and executed. That wasn’t a pleasurable experience for either of them. Both knew the stakes, they both understood the destination of humanity if a legitimate and perfect atonement for sin wasn’t found. Both understood that they alone could provide that atonement and were in complete harmony and agreement about it. The redemption of mankind was determined before God created a single human being.

1 Peter 1:20-21, ‘For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him, are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.’

God’s plan of redemption was set in stone before we existed.

The pleasure and joy that is expressed by the Father and the Son comes from knowing that the pain and sacrifice will result in life, redemption, joy, forgiveness and fellowship between them and their human creation. Out of death comes life. Out of darkness comes light. That’s redemption. This leads into the next line in verse 10.

‘He’ll see His offspring, He’ll prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.’

Mashiach may have suffered abuse, torture and rejection by His own, He may have been executed for sins He Himself had never committed, and He may have been despised, and He may have been buried after death, but He wasn’t going to remain dead. Life would be given back to Him.

‘He’ll see His offspring, He’ll prolong His days…’ This is talking about the resurrection. If Mashiach has just been executed for the sins of His people, how can He possibly see those who would become His offspring, those born as a result of His sacrifice? How could He prolong His days if He’s dead!

Romans 8:29 says, ‘For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He (Jesus) would be the firstborn among many brethren.’

From Jesus sacrifice and subsequent resurrection, would come many more children in the family of God, and this is because of the resurrection. If Jesus just died and remained in the grave, He’d be like every other human being who died, but He didn’t remain in the grave. He rose again, and still lives today and will live forever. Every man or woman who has come to faith in Jesus and what He achieved through His sacrifice will also know eternal life. That’s the amazing fruit of what Jesus did. The good pleasure of the Lord, prospering in His hand…yeah, God is well pleased with the lives saved, the fruit that has come from the willing sacrifice of His Son.

Next time we’ll look at verse 11.

Shalom

Mandy