As usual, Isaiah offers us a paradox when discussing the Messiah. On the one hand, we all know He inherits the very being of God Almighty. For this cause, some of the most majestic prose in Scripture confronts us here. At the same time, the description is of a man for whom it seems everyone feels compelled to reject His claims. It is the nature of ultimate Truth that only God can write it on your heart. There is no place in the brain to hold such a thing, because Truth is a Person, not simple objective knowledge. What really matters in all the Universe in which we exist is something no man can reach out and claim on his own. It can only come as a gift of God's grace.
Thus, the only way to answer the question -- "Who would believe our report?" -- is to answer the question to whom the Lord has revealed His power on the earth. Lots of people see the works of God and attribute them to other causes. Knowing the mechanics is not the same as knowing the real cause. Those who tend to see past the mechanics to the ultimate purpose of things will be the folks who believe the prophecies. So when He is born and grows up unknown, in humble circumstances, exhibits no particular charisma or handsome face, we should not be surprised when His own nation tries to ignore Him. And when His message intrudes on that, He would certainly garner violent rejection. Because of this, He surely knows what we suffer. But in our carnal ways, we don't want His solution, so we turn away from His message.
Though He came to bear away all sins, in the main, His nation considered Him a sinner, and all His suffering was because of His own sin. You can't claim God doesn't love enough simply because He allows us to choose sin and suffering. He was more than willing to bear the full price of sin in His flesh. For every judgment against sin, He also declared forgiveness through His willingness to pay the price Himself. Everything He suffered was for us. Yet, humanity continues to look for some other way, as if God were subject to the intellectual standards we can raise by our pitiful imaginations.
So how would He react to this abuse? We stand on the far side of the story today and would be hard pressed to claim He complained at all. It should be obvious why: It's the reason He was born. Not just suffering in the broad human sense, but totally without justice. He was arrested, set before a judge without crime, and sentenced to death. Yet it was not for His own crimes, but ours. He died with criminals, but was buried among the rich and powerful who persecuted Him most, God's way of noting He would be sinless.
Sounds insane? That's because humans can never quite understand God. While it was God's desire to make His Son suffer, it was His decision that was the only path to paying the price for our sins. Once the price was paid, He could found an Eternal Empire of souls. How do you describe the sense of accomplishment this would bring Jesus, as He looks back on His ministry? To know His purity is more communicable than sin, to know His poverty pointed out the immeasurable wealth of Truth, His death was the greatest victory, all because there was no one else to plead the case of fallen man before God.
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By Ed Hurst
08 July 2009
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)