Christian Writers Circle

Faithful Fulfillment
Jesus is the Christ
by Brenda D. Flowers

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 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. (Isaiah 53: 4-6, NKJV)

During my personal Bible study, I was led to read Isaiah Chapter 53, partially quoted above. I had read these prophetic words in past studies, but this was the first time I devoted time to read the words silently and then slowly aloud to myself, asking God to illuminate my understanding as I read.

God promises to answer the prayers of one who seeks Him.

In the Introduction to Isaiah in my Hebrew-Greek Key Word NKJV Study Bible (AMG International, Inc., 2015, pg.859),  I read how God called Isaiah to share prophetic words to His people in Judah under the reigns of four different kings. Many of Isaiah’s prophecies revealed truths about the future Messiah. I was surprised to learn that the book of Isaiah contains more prophecies about the Messiah than any other book in the Old Testament.

 It is interesting that even Isaiah’s name means “The LORD saves” or “the LORD is Savior.” God loved His people so much, He used prophets like Isaiah to urge them to trust Him and His plan for salvation. Messianic prophecies like Isaiah 53 were recorded to help future generations of people to recognize the Messiah when He came to rescue them.

If one has read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament) and then reads Isaiah 53, it is easy to see God’s faithful fulfillment of this Messianic prophecy in Jesus. What is truly amazing is recognizing that Isaiah proclaimed these words around 700 years before Jesus was born.

  There are many interesting on-line articles on this topic. One article I discovered was entitled, “The Messianic Prophecies of Jesus” (lwf.org) based on a sermon by Adrianne Rogers, “Magnifying Jesus Through Worship and the Word”.  I have listened to Pastor Rogers on Bott Radio for many years. He is now in heaven but his messages live on. I love the way Pastor Rogers introduced his sermon as summarized in the on-line article I read:

“If you read the Bible and don’t find Jesus, go back and reread. It is His story.”

I realized that when I had reread Isaiah 53, I had found even more clearly how the words Isaiah recorded did point to Jesus. I recommend you read this article describing in detail how Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies in Isaiah 53 and other Messianic prophecies.

The more I read the Bible the more I get to know Jesus.

God is opening the spiritual eyes of many today to see Truth. God is faithful to reveal Himself when we truly want to know Him. He did this for me and I trust He will do the same for you.

His Holy Spirit leads us to repentance.

This statement speaks volumes to me, “You cannot see what you will not look at.” (I found this quote on the site: rootedthinking.com)

I challenge myself and all those who are reading this post to look at the Bible daily with fresh unbiased eyes and read it aloud with listening ears. If you have doubts or questions, share them with God in your personal prayer time and ask God to help You understand His Word.

When we believe God can speak through the words of the Scriptures we are changed. We can see God’s faithfulness in the fulfillment of prophecies just like Isaiah 53.