Yesterday we read where Jesus came upon two men walking down the road about 7 miles away from Jerusalem. They were discussing the events that recently happened. Jesus baited them when He came up to them and asked them what things? After they basically let Jesus know that He couldn’t even be from the area if they didn’t know the events about what happened to Jesus, Jesus opened up and let them verbally have it.
Luke 24:25-26 – 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
Today I want to go over a few of those things that the prophets had to say or prophecies that were in the Psalms.
Let’s start with Isaiah 53. The whole chapter is about a suffering rejected Messiah.
Isaiah 53:1-6 – 1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 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.
3 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.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 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.
It starts out that the Messiah wasn’t born into earthly royalty or into a rich family that we should desire Him. It even prophesies that He would be rejected by men. The Messiah was going to take up our infirmities, which means help us with our imperfections and sorrows. Yet He seems to be stricken by God.
Then comes an incredible prophecy in verse 5. Why is it so incredible? When it was written crucifixion was not used yet. It says the Messiah was to be pierced for our transgressions. That’s exactly what happened and by His wounds we have been healed. Verse six states He didn’t just die for the Jews, but for us all.
We don’t have crucifixion anymore. In Daniels 70 weeks of years the Messiah was to be cut off after the 69th week. It is figured Jesus rode in on a donkey the very day the Messiah was supposed to. We’ll touch on that also in the next few days.
There were many literal prophetic writings of the Messiah’s first coming. They missed them. In the last days there are even more than the first coming. Yet the Bible prophecies that most will miss it again, even though it is literally written.
Tomorrow we will continue on “Did Not The Christ Have To Suffer These Things?”