isaiah 53 | Paul the Poke

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Good News from Cover to Cover

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Prophecy with tags Easter, good news, isaiah 53, Jesus Christ, Messiah, Resurrection on April 3, 2021 by paulthepoke

So, what if Jesus was not raised from the dead? What’s the big deal about the resurrection? Who cares? We are wasting our time with Christianity and the Bible if the resurrection is not true. Without the resurrection, we physically die and our bodies are eternally buried. Death wins. We are dirt and worm food. Our bodies become the byproduct of worm digestion…

Job 21:26 Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them.

The gospel is not a New Testament phenomenon as some critics would have us believe. How many times have we heard, “The God of the Old Testament is a mean, cruel killer!” God is not an oppressive ogre who wants to crush you with His thumb. He has always been merciful, gracious, and forgiving. Honestly, if God smashed us like a bug any time we screwed up…would there be any humanity left? The good news has always been there. His redemption for humanity was promised from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. God delivered the “good news” to Satan.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the message of a sacrificial death for sin rings loud and clear in the Old Testament. The best example of the gospel in the Old Testament comes from the Prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus Christ walked the earth. Look at the detail of these verses. It reads as a narrative of the events along with the accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Isaiah 53:3-12 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

This book the Bible, says His Son, Jesus Christ, is physically coming back in the clouds to get His people the church, at the resurrection and the rapture. Then, He will return later to establish His kingdom on earth.

And that is good news. Jesus is the Messiah, just believe it.

John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

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I Am the Bread of Life… Jesus

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags 1 Corinthians 5, Afikomen, bread of life, isaiah 53, Jesus Christ, leaven, Matzah, Passover, Seder, Suffering Servant, yeast on March 21, 2021 by paulthepoke

John 6:48 I am the bread of life.

Yeast is a leavening agent. In the Bible, leaven is equated with sin. The Hebrew word for leaven is chometz. The word means sour or bitter. This is what sin does to people. It makes them sour or bitter. Sin causes people to ferment or swell. Individuals see themselves as larger than what they actually are, that is, pride.

Bread without yeast is matzah. This term means sweetness without sourness. Matzah, the sweet taste of bread without sin.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for leaven is ζύμη/zumé. This is the same concept as noted in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. HELPS Word Studies states: Leaven is generally a symbol of the spreading nature of evil.

Jesus Christ is the body without sin. He is sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Jesus Christ is the prophetic matzah that Isaiah spoke of. Like the matzah, Jesus was striped, flogged, and scourged before He went to the cross.

Christ’s head was pierced with a crown of thorns. His feet and hands were nailed to the cross. A spear was thrust into His side to assure His death.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.

Just like the broken Afikomen of a Passover Seder, the bread or body of Jesus Christ was broken for us. In Isaiah 53:5 alone, there are 4 examples of what He did for us.

…pierced for our transgressions…
…crushed for our iniquities…
…chastisement that brought us peace…
…His wounds we are healed…

Roughly 700 years before the Suffering Servant would emerge on to the scene, Isaiah prophesied a Messiah would come as a Savior on behalf of humanity. Look at the examples in Isaiah 53. Jesus Christ died for us.

Isaiah 53:4a Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried…
Isaiah 53:6b …but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:8b …and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people…
Isaiah 53:10a But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering…
Isaiah 53:11b By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:12b …because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Because of the broken body of Christ, believers in Him are redeemed.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

Unleavened Bread: Matzah

Unleavened Bread: Broken & Hidden Matzah

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Trend Update: Isaiah 53

Posted in Gospel, Isaiah, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags Gospel, isaiah 53, Israel, Jews for Jesus on May 13, 2016 by paulthepoke

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Unleavened Bread: Matzah

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags 1 Peter 2, bread of life, Chag haMatazt, isaiah 53, Jesus Christ, John 6, leaven, Matzah, matzo, sin, Unleavened Bread, yeast on April 10, 2016 by paulthepoke

The second of God’s holidays is Unleavened Bread or Chag haMatazt in the Hebrew. The holiday begins on the 15^th of Nisan and runs for seven days.

The directions for Unleavened Bread are noted in Exodus 12:18-20. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.

The focus of the week is to live a life without leaven, the symbol for sin. Leaven is not to be in the house. Leaven products are not to be consumed. Bread without yeast, matzah, is to be eaten.

What does the matzah look like? In the most fundamental Judaism homes, matzah is an irregular, round shaped piece of bread. It resembles a cracker or wafer in thickness. There are even rows of tiny holes on the wafer bread. The cracker-like bread appears to be striped.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Peter is quoting Isaiah 53.

Jesus is the unleavened bread. He is the bread of life. John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

John 6:48 I am the bread of life.

John 6:50-51 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

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Isaiah 6:6-7 Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness, the Old Testament

Posted in Isaiah with tags Angels, forgiveness of sin, God, Gospel, Grace, isaiah 53, Isaiah 6, Jesus, mercy, Old Testament, Psalm 32, Psalm 51, salvation, seraphim on November 25, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 6:6-7 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

The events above are taking place in the presence of God in the throne room of Heaven. The concept of burning coal from the altar in front of God in Heaven is consistent with the Aaronic ordinances given in Leviticus 16:12 “He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. What is done on earth is a picture of Heaven. This brings meaning to the phrase, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.

your iniquity is taken away… The Hebrew word for iniquity is ‘avon. As defined by Strong’s Concordance it means: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment/consequence of iniquity.

Burning coal is a symbol of cleansing. Fire purifies. Sin is taken away and removed in the presence of God. This is the Old Testament. Critics have often stated that removal and forgiveness of sin are New Testament ideas. Critics will say the God of the Old Testament is a mean ogre who is cruel and punishing, ready to crush with His thumb. There are many examples of mercy, grace, and forgiveness of sin in the Old Testament. These are Biblical concepts from beginning to end.

Psalm 32:1-2 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! These verses were written by David. He is clearly a man who had committed a transgression or two (murder, lust, adultery) in the events surrounding Bathsheba. He understood that God was merciful and gracious when it came to sin. In Psalm 32:5, David confessed his sins, and then You forgave my sins.

Psalm 51 is written with David’s adultery being at the forefront and focus of the Psalm. David knows he is guilty and he has sinned against God. David is in despair and desperate. Verse 1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. He also knows God can take care of his short comings. Verse 7,9 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. There is plea bargaining and begging. David is playing “Let’s Make a Deal”. Verse 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation…

Critics will argue Isaiah was written after Jesus’ death and resurrection to fit and fulfill prophecy and doctrine. Unfortunately for the critic, Isaiah was copied in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, approximately 330 years before the birth of Christ (Israel My Glory, November/December 2012, p. 8). Isaiah 53 foreshadows Jesus’ work on the cross. Verse 5-6, 11b, 12b But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

God has always been and will always be merciful, gracious, and forgiving.

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Isaiah 1:5-6 Picture of Sin

Posted in Isaiah with tags cross, Forgiveness, Gospel, isaiah 53, Jesus, sin on September 17, 2010 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 1:5-6 Why will you be stricken any more? Will you continue the revolt? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, no soundness is in it; only a wound and a strip and a fresh blow; they have not been closed, nor bound up; nor was it softened with oil.

Verse 5:God asks a rhetorical question. Why are you obsessed with sin? Why do you add to your lifestyle of sin? It is not enough to just sin a little and be content. You guys just keep adding and piling. The human condition is never satisfied and it has to have more and more. For example, the alcoholic can never just have one drink. We all have our shortcomings.

Here is the idea in the Hebrew language. The reference to the whole head and heart is to the chronic condition of the body. The result of sin is a sick body. It is a massive wound!

Verse 6: This condition is from head to toe. The sickness is complete. There is not one healthy part of the body. These are wounds that can not be healed. Welts and bruises have not been treated. The reference to oil is olive oil. Back in Isaiah’s time, olive oil was used for medicinal purposes. The injury is exposed and there are no bandages or medication. This body is just lying there and has not been sent to the emergency room for treatment. This is just a nasty, bloody mess.

That is what God thinks of sin. Who BECAME sin for us? Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

He is the Father and Him is the Son. The Son was sinless. The Son took our place on our behalf. That is communicated in the original Greek text with the preposition “huper”.

Jesus physically bore the brunt of sin on his body from head to toe. Jesus was blindfolded and beaten (Luke 22:64). He was scourged (Mark 15:15). People spit on Jesus (Mark 14:65). They hit Him in the head repeatedly with a reed (Mark 15:19). His head adorned a crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29). He had nails driven into his feet and hands (Matthew 27:35). His body was pierced with a spear (John 19:34).

The idea of a sacrificial death for sin is noted in both the Old and New Testament. Here are two of many references that communicate this point.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures …

So one man died for the sins of the world? When you read that, what do you do with that? Do you believe it? If you do, God says you have eternal life. If you believe that to be true, how do you respond to that in your personal life from day-to-day? What is your attitude toward Jesus?