Isaiah 53 verses 1-3 are filled with prophecies about the Messiah to come. Take a look:

Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? The Lord sent his messengers, the prophets, to lead the people back to Him. They had also foretold this ‘powerful arm of the Lord’ that was to come. This powerful arm was the Lord’s to reveal at the time He prepared. He chose the exact time in history for His son Jesus to come with His message. Paul mentions the fact that even God’s own Son was not believed in his letter to the Romans in Romans 10:16-17 “But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?”¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” The message of salvation was given but the people did not listen to the prophets.” Faith comes from listening to their message and believing them. In John 1:11, John confirms that even Jesus was not believed when he gave the message. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him. Christ, the Messiah, grew up in a humble village in Nazareth. He was of the house of David, the root of Jessie. He had none of the trappings of royalty or anything to distinguish him from others in his looks. However, we do know that his knowledge and wisdom set him apart from others even in his youth. Luke 2:41-50 recounts the story of ‘lost Jesus’ in the temple. “ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³ After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”^[f] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. He looked like a regular person even as a young boy, but He was indeed more than that!

³ He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care. This verse so describes Jesus as the suffering servant. In Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus describes what is about to take place. “Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Many references call Jesus the cornerstone of our faith. Acts 4:11 speaks of how he was rejected, “Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ We see the sorrow Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:37-39 “He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Going to the cross caused Jesus great anguish but He was obedient to the will of the Father, regardless of this personal cost. The attitude of the crowd shows their ‘we don’t care’ feelings towards Jesus and his innocence. Matthew 27:21-23 gives the scene as it unfolds;  “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

What have you done or are you doing with the message God sent in Jesus? Have you taken him into your heart? Have you accepted Him and asked His Holy Spirit to fill you? Do you seek to walk with Him day by day? The times have changed but the message has not. We still have to seek and listen to God. What will you do this week to show that you are NOT rejecting or despising Jesus and His work on the cross? That you are NOT rejecting His message of hope and redemption? Now is the right time to turn to Him and listen to His message of love. Focus on John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 5:8 “ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loves you and sent Christ to died for your sins and mine.

Thank you Jesus!

Linda