Class Lesson July 28, 2013

Hey Gang,

This Sunday we continue in our series on God's Story with the Promise of the Messiah found in Isaiah 53. Who is this Messiah we read about in Isaiah? If you ask many of the Jews this question they will tell you that the Messiah is not who you might think He is. What else does God's promise of a Messiah reveal to us? Does God really have a plan to fix what is so wrong with this world? Can Christians really say that faith in Jesus is the only way to be forgiven and have eternal life? Why would God come to earth to live with us? How can I get rid of this load of guilt and experience peace with God instead?
 
The culmination of everything we have looked at to this point is wrapped up in the coming Messiah: the One who fulfills the law for us, the One who reigns over God’s eternal kingdom, the One who restores us and makes us His own.


The lessons in this series are:

1. June 2 - God Begins the Story
2. June 9 - God Chooses a People
3. June 16 - God Delivers His People
4. June 23 - God Instructs His People
5. June 30 - God Dwells Among His People
6. July 7 - God Establishes a Kingdom for His People
7. July 14 - God Disciplines His People
8. July 21 - God Restores His People
9. July 28 - God Promises the Messiah
10. August 4 - God Sends His Son
11. August 11 - Jesus Is Crucified and Raised
12. August 18 - Jesus Commissions His Church
13. August 25 - God Completes the Story

 
“People suffer for many reasons – sometimes it’s because of bad choices other people make, sometimes it’s just because we live in a fallen world, and other times it’s because we choose, like sheep, to wander off onto paths of danger.” 


The culmination of everything we have looked at to this point is wrapped up in the coming Messiah:

• One who fulfills the law for us
• One who reigns over God’s eternal kingdom
• One who restores us and makes us His own

The term Messiah means “anointed.” He would be both a servant and king. 





 

Life Goal

Live and speak confidently about Jesus as God’s promised Messiah.

What is the central message of the Old Testament?

Opening line introduces the hero, God. Throughout the pages of the Old Testament God is revealed. In the closing line of the New Testament Scriptures we’re reminded that God who is the hero of the whole story is embodied in Jesus. Thus, Jesus Christ is the true hero of the entire Bible.

Jesus Himself taught us that the Old Testament was primarily about Him (John 5:37-39). 37 The Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have not heard His voice at any time, and you haven’t seen His form. 38 You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent. 39 You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me.

Following His resurrection, Jesus opened the OT to teach others about Himself (Luke 24:27, 44-45). 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 44 Then He told them, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Jesus’ own words about Himself as the central message of the OT are pointedly clear (Matthew 5:17-18). Christ Fulfills the Law: 17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.

Jesus was completely aware He was fulfilling the promises of the OT. Luke 4:20-21 20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

Taught about His death from Isaiah 53:12 in Luke 22:37 (12 Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.) (37 For I tell you, what is written must be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted among the outlaws. Yes, what is written about Me is coming to its fulfillment.”)

Betrayal by Judas was predicted – Matthew 26:56

Simply put, when the OT is correctly interpreted you will find it’s about Jesus as God, our Savior, the object of our faith, forgiver of our sins, and giver of eternal life. To correctly interpret the OT you will need to connect its verses, concepts, and events to Jesus.





The Old Testament Foreshadows the Coming of Jesus

Representative figures, institutions, or events that foreshadow Jesus. Examples include:

• Adam who foreshadows Jesus as the second Adam
• The priesthood which prefigures Jesus as our High Priest
• David and other kings who prefigure Jesus as the King of kings.
• Moses and prophets who prefigure Jesus as our ultimate Prophet
• Animal sacrifices which prefigure Jesus as the sinless lamb of God slain for our sins
• The tabernacle and temple which prefigures God’s presence dwelling among us in Jesus
• Shepherds who care for their sheep which remind us we are as foolish and vulnerable as sheep, but Jesus is our Shepherd who cares for us and keeps constant watch over us
• Judges who foreshadow Jesus as the final judge of all people

We also see people in the OT who perform various kinds of service analogous to the service that Jesus performs perfectly.

• Unlike the first Adam, Jesus is the Last Adam who passed His test in the garden and in doing so imputed righteousness to us to overcome sin imputed to us through the first Adam.
• When Abraham left his father and home, he was doing the same thing Jesus would do when He left heaven.
• When Isaac carried his own wood and laid down his life to be sacrificed at the hand of his father Abraham, he was showing us what Jesus would later do.
• Jesus is the greater Jacob, who wrestled with God in Gethsemane and, though wounded and limping, walked away from his grave blessed.
• Jesus is the greater Joseph who serves at the right hand of God the King, extends forgiveness and provision to those of us who have betrayed Him, and uses His power to save us in loving reconciliation.
• Jesus is greater than Moses in that He stands as a mediator between God and us, bringing us the New Covenant.
• Like Job, innocent Jesus suffered and was tormented by the Devil so that God might be glorified, while his dumb friends were no help or encouragement.
• Jesus is a King greater than David, who has slain our giants of Satan, sin, and death, although in the eyes of the world he was certain to face a crushing defeat at their hands.
• Jesus is greater than Jonah in that he spent three days in the grave and not just a fish to save a multitude even greater than Nineveh.

How would you describe Jesus to someone who had heard His name but knew nothing personal about Him?

• This session is about Isaiah’s description of the nature and role of Jesus the coming Messiah.
• The plan of God is redemptive; Jesus brings us back to who we were designed to be and do.
• Old Testament prophets foretold Jesus.
• Some are surprised by the depth of Jesus’ love.
• Some are surprised that He gives demands as well as gifts.
• Some are surprised that Jesus cares personally for our needs.

There is no relationship in the world more fulfilling—or one that brings greater joy and satisfaction—than connection with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.



The purpose of Isaiah 53 is for you to discover a new relationship with the One who made you in His image and created you for this relationship. Not knowing God is like not knowing your mother or father; it leaves a hole in your soul that can only be filled by discovering where you have come from. Without knowing God, it is difficult to answer the fundamental questions of life: Why am I here? What is my purpose for living? How should I live my life in a way that gives me the most fulfillment and helps me to be a better person? These are the questions that either plague us or propel us into the arms of our Creator.



May the Lord enlighten your path and give you the insight to understand Isaiah chapter 53—and to find a new and personal relationship with the God who made you and loves you.

Yeshua

This  is the Hebrew name for the Lord. It means "Yahweh [the Lord] is Salvation." The English spelling of Yeshua is “Joshua.” However, when translated from Hebrew into the Greek language, the name Yeshua becomes Iēsous. The English spelling for Iēsous is “Jesus.”

Basically, what this means is Joshua and Jesus are the same name. One is translated from Hebrew into English, the other from Greek into English. It is also interesting to note, the names "Joshua" and "Isaiah" are essentially the same names as Yeshua in Hebrew. They mean "Savior" and "the salvation of the Lord."

I. MESSIAH BECAME ONE OF US – ISAIAH 53:2-3

2 He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.


Isaiah prophesied to the Southern Kingdom from 740-681 B.C. He’d seen Israel destroyed and Judah was headed down the same path. He accused of sin, called for repentance, and warned of judgment. He also emphasized God’s future hope of restoration. In what is known as a Servant Song (one of four), Isaiah prophesied that hope lay not in a king or warrior, but a Servant.



Does this passage really describe Jesus and did He really die for you?

• · Unbelieving Jews will tell you that the suffering servant refers to Israel and not Jesus.

How does this depiction of the Messiah help you live out life with Him as a guide?

• Because Jesus lived real life, experienced real rejection, suffering and sickness. He can help me through these circumstances. (See Heb. 2:18; 4:14-16)
• Jesus wasn’t attractive to the world when He lived in ancient Palestine. We must be prepared for the fact that people aren’t attracted to Jesus. They often despised Him!
• God chose to work through a Messiah who was ordinary. He had no special privileges.
• The messianic Suffering Servant was a human like us – and more.
• Nothing about the Suffering Servant appeared to qualify Him as the Messiah.
• Nothing physical would set apart this Man. Rather than arrive with great pageantry, He would grow quietly like a plant, a spindly shoot in arid ground. Despite living in the hostile environment of a Jewish religion in a mostly desert land ruled by foreign invaders, this Man would grow up before God, choosing to remain obedient and devoted to Him.
• There would be nothing impressive about the Servant’s physical appearance. That doesn’t mean Jesus was homely; it means He was human.
• God’s Servant, like all humans, would face hardship, Jesus chose suffering. Unlike brave souls such as Navy Seals who are admired for enduring hardship for the sake of others, Jesus was rejected as someone of no value.

Why do you suppose so many people failed then and now to recognize Jesus as God?



What do you do with the truth that Jesus “gets you?”

• Turn toward rather than away from Him, value Him, trust Him with your hardships.

II. MESSIAH SUFFERED FOR US – ISAIAH 53:4-9

4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of my people’s rebellion. 9 They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.


“People suffer for many reasons – sometimes it’s because of bad choices other people make, sometimes it’s just because we live in a fallen world, and other times it’s because we choose, like sheep, to wander off onto paths of danger.”

• Even though we didn’t value the Suffering Servant, He valued us enough to lift the load of sin off our backs and place it on His.
• He valued us enough to give us the peace with God we so desperately need.
• He valued us enough to love us in every way so He could heal every wound sin has inflicted on us.

After reading this passage, how would you describe the reason for Jesus’ death on the cross?

• All have sinned, forsaken the way of the Lord, in favor of their own way.
• God’s Servant suffered and died as a sacrifice for our sin.
• The Lord was at work through the substitutionary death of the Servant.

What are the implications of these verses for our life today?

• We must never take our sinfulness lightly.
• God worked in history to bring about a radical redemption, and He put Himself on the line to see humanity delivered from sin.
• Jesus paid a heavy price for sin, a price no human could ever dream of paying.
• The prophet’s description of Jesus’ death is historically accurate.

III. MESSIAH RESCUES US – ISAIAH 53:10-12

10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely. When You make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. 11 He will see it out of His anguish, and He will be satisfied with His knowledge. My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will carry their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels. 


How is redemption described in these verses of Isaiah 53 and how would you show someone the gospel through these verses?

• The Messiah’s suffering was not by accident. It was God’s plan for our reconciliation to Him.
• A restitution offering is an offering for sin. (See Lev. 5:14-6:7; 7:1-10 for a detailed explanation.
• Isaiah 53:10 describes the only time in all of Scripture where an individual person is offered as a restitution offering.
• Jesus would be the One who literally carries the sins of humanity (see 53:11).

1. The servant became a sin offering in compliance with the Father’s will to accomplish the Father’s purpose.
2. The righteous Servant bore the iniquities of the unrighteous that they might be justified.
3. The Lord exalted the Servant, who died for and intercedes on the behalf of transgressors.

The Lord promised a Servant who would be His Son. His Son would come to do the Father’s will and to give His own life for the sins of the world.


Don’t think that God’s heart was not shattered into pieces as He watched His Son’s anguish. He was not pleased Jesus was suffering. He was pleased because He knew what that submissive suffering would accomplish. Sin would be defeated. Through Christ we don’t have to give in to sin. We can embrace good and goodness.


If you have placed your faith in Christ, you are the reason and reward for Jesus’ suffering. That should fill you with gratitude, humility, and confidence. It also means you follow Jesus’ example so others can experience God’s peace, healing, and forgiveness.

The Messiah

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)


The coming of the Messiah is a fundamental belief of Judaism. Orthodox Jews pray every day for the coming of the Messiah. Most Jewish people believe that when the Messiah comes, there will be world peace. Fortunately, the Bible gives us much more detail about the coming of the Messiah and exactly what He will accomplish.



Thoughts for you to consider: Who is the Messiah within Judaism? The Hebrew word for “Messiah” comes from the root word which means “to anoint.” There are numerous “anointed” ones in Israel’s history. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. When Israel’s kings continued to fail, the people began to realize their need for (the) Messiah, supernaturally anointed by God. Psalm 2 speaks of the worldwide reign of the Lord’s anointed which was not fulfilled by King David, or King Solomon, or King Hezekiah or any other King.



The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah teaches: 

• The Messiah will be a great political leader and a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23:5).
• The Messiah will be well-versed in Jewish law and observe God’s commandments (Isaiah 11:1-5).
• The Messiah will be a great military leader (Jeremiah 33:15).

Perhaps you’re thinking that Yeshua could not be the Messiah because He didn’t fulfill any of the accomplishments noted above. In fact, you very well might be thinking that circumstances worsened for the Jewish people after Yeshua’s arrival.



Regarding this question, Who is the Messiah?, Scripture teaches us a few more details that you might have never read or heard: (Again, we ask that you might take some time and read all of the Scripture verses for yourself in your own Bible)

• The Messiah is the Son of God (Psalm 2:7).
• The Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
• The Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).
• The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).
• The Messiah would even be the LORD Himself (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

Thoughts for you to consider: What will the Messiah do? We will now focus on the activities of the Messiah, the Son of David. The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah teaches that: 

• He will be victorious over the enemies of Israel (Zechariah 14:3).
• He will reign as King of Israel in Jerusalem as its capital (Isaiah 2:2-3).
• He will bring the Jewish people back to Israel (Ezekiel 36:24).
• He will rebuild the Temple (Zechariah 6:13).
• He will come on the clouds of heaven and will then establish His Kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14).

Regarding this question, What will the Messiah do?, the traditional view focuses on the end of days when He ushers in a time of peace. We agree with the Rabbis that He will do so. However, the Scripture reveals another aspect of the work of the Messiah that you might find quite fascinating: 

• He will heal people (Isaiah 53:5-6).
• The Messiah would perform many miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6).
• He would ride into Jerusalem, hailed as a King by the people, yet riding humbly on the colt of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
• He must come before the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE (Daniel 9:26).
• He would die, having all His bones out of joint, and His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22).
• He would be the sin-bearer, the ultimate sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 53:4).
• He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10).

Thoughts for you to consider: Could Yeshua be this Messiah of Whom we read in the Jewish Bible? The Rabbis believe that when the Messiah comes, He will give us new insight into the Torah. When Yeshua came, He gave us new insights about the Messiah that were written centuries before in the Jewish Scriptures. Yeshua introduced us to the idea that there are two pictures painted of the Messiah in the Jewish Bible. The Rabbis focus on the victorious Son of David Messiah reigning in righteousness. Yeshua points us to the picture of a humble Messiah Who would die for the sins of humanity, commonly referred to as the Suffering Messiah. The New Testament is the book that paints this picture in vivid detail. It tells us that the Messiah would come first as a sacrifice for sin and then return as the reigning King.



Let’s look at how Yeshua fulfilled the prophecies we have already read in the Hebrew Scriptures: 

• Yeshua was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-23).
• Yeshua was from the lineage of David, from the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:1-2).
• Yeshua was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6; Luke 2:4-12).
• Yeshua performed miracles (Luke 4:16-21; Luke 7:17-23).
• Yeshua was declared the Son of God (Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 17:1-13).
• Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey while the people hailed Him as King (Matthew 21:6-9).
• Yeshua died (Matthew 27:35-50).
• Yeshua was born in the days of Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1) and died during the time that Caiaphas held the office of High Priest in Jerusalem (John 18:13-14, 24) before the second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE.
• Yeshua told the Jewish leaders, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).
• Yeshua is our sin-bearer, our ultimate sacrifice for sin (Matthew 8:17).
• Yeshua suffered and was resurrected (Luke 24:25-27, 44).
• Yeshua, our Passover, was sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7).
• Yeshua rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1-20; Luke 24:1-7; John 20:1-10).
• Yeshua will return on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:30).
• Yeshua will return to Jerusalem with His redeemed (Revelation 19:14).
• Yeshua will establish His eternal Kingdom in Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-2).

Why is it important that the Messiah would come first as a suffering Servant?



Do you believe Yeshua could indeed be the Messiah described in the Jewish Bible?




Question: "Should Christians support the nation of Israel?"

Answer: Christians should definitely support the nation of Israel. We must remember that Israel, the nation, is very special to God. We read in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 these words: "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

God's eternal purpose is to bless the world through Israel. Already He has done so in measure, for "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22), but the fullness of future blessing is indicated in the wondrous promise of Isaiah 27:6: "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."

The declaration that "salvation is from the Jews” suggests our immeasurable debt to Israel. All that we have worth having has come to us through the Jews. Our Bible is a Jewish Book, and our Savior is a Jewish Savior. Let us never forget to pray for God's chosen people. It is true that Israel, today, is in the place of rejection. The nation is a secular, unbelieving (as to the claims of Scripture and their Messiah, Jesus Christ) nation; but "…at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (Romans 11:5). Some Jews are being saved and are becoming members of the body of Christ through faith in their Messiah.

Jews are, biblically speaking, the "chosen people of God" and dearly loved by Him. Another reason for Christians to support the nation of Israel is because of the Abrahamic Covenant. We read of God’s promise in Genesis 12:2-3, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (see also Genesis 27:29; Numbers 24:9).

One of the United States’ most worthwhile accomplishments has been its consistent regard for the plight of the Jewish nation. No nation in the history of the world has a better record of treating individual Jews with respect than does America. The same can be said for our befriending Israel as a nation. America has committed many sins for which we may well deserve judgment, but as a nation, we have been a consistent friend of the Jews and the nation of Israel, as well as a benefactor. In 1948, President Harry Truman helped persuade the United Nations to recognize Israel as a nation. Since then, the United States has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Israel.

From the biblical declarations of God's love and care for His chosen people, the nation of Israel, and from the history of nations being destroyed because of their evil dealings with God's chosen people, the Jews, Christian believers should give support to the chosen people of God. This is not to say that we support necessarily the methods they use in their relationships with the Arab nations. The Bible warned that conflict would always characterize the relations between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael. Sadly, this conflict will continue until Jesus comes back to judge the nations and sets up His 1,000-year reign of peace on earth. We must look at the "big picture” with a biblical worldview. While we do not have to support everything Israel does as a nation, we most definitely should support Israel’s right to exist. God will fulfill His promises and covenants with Israel. God still has a plan for Israel. Woe to anyone who seeks to defeat that plan; “whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). 

Prayer of Commitment

Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, who suffered and died that I might be justified in Your sight. Amen. 

Hope to see you on Sunday!

In His Love,

 

David & Susan