Have You Heard?

O. T. #1674  "Have You Heard?"
April 23, 2020
Isaiah 53
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? (verse 1)

LET IT GLOW

Have you heard yet? Have you heard that on such and such date we are released from our home quarantine? Do you believe it? That is what we are all waiting for, I am sure. Our governor says May 4, but others are concerned that if we release into society too soon that a second round of the coronavirus will show up. That is not what today's verse refers to, friend.

I grew up attending a Baptist church and Sunday School. I heard about a Savior who came for me and loves me. Yet, it took the death of a classmate and friend in order for me to take the report seriously. I saw that death can come at any age, for he was 16. I knew that I could die any time and was not ready to meet God. I believed that there was a God who created things on earth, hearing about it at church and growing up on a farm, but I didn't know Him personally. Using desperate words and not a specific prayer, Jesus came into my heart because I believed in Him and desired Him to be my Savior. How about you, friend, do you know Jesus as your Savior?

This is the last and most memorable of the four Messiah/Servant Songs (42:1-9; 49:1-13; 49:1-13; 50:4-11) God is the author of this chapter and Jesus fulfilled this messianic prophecy. We know that only a few recognized the Servant when He appeared. Israel didn't welcome Christ at His first coming, nor did they recognize the mighty, incarnate power of God in the person of Jesus, their deliverer. (John MacArthur)

Since this whole chapter is a prophecy about Jesus, the Messiah, we will be taking each verse and looking deeply into it.

The first question in our key verse is actually an explanation. It calls attention to the lack of faith in the world in general. Only a remnant of Israel would come to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah; few would believe and recognized Him, much less regard Jesus as a person of importance or the Son of God. Keep inn mind, 400 years passed after the end of the Old Testament, and 750 years passed by after Isaiah's prophecies. However, God preserved this book of prophecies for us. It is a confirmation that Jesus is who He said He was, as well as who the New Testament said He was.
Because other prophets declared Christ would suffer for the sins of people and would be glorified, the people down through the ages have no excuse in not believing.

The word report, in the Hebrew language, means something heard; an announcement; news; famed; mentioned; doctrine.

The Apostles and Paul carried this report into the world, but few professed to believe this report-Jesus Christ is the expected Messiah, who died on the cross to forgive sin, then arose from the dead to provide eternal life in heaven.

MacRae translates the question like this, "Who would have believed what we have heard?"

Bring it down to our present world. Only a few has and will believe in Jesus as their Savior, in comparison to the population. How sad it is. But then, when you think about it, in order for a person to be saved from the punishment of their sins, they must believe in Someone who is talked about in a Book, Who is not visible. Also, they must admit their good works cannot get them to heaven. What they must do is admit they are a sinner and can never meet the standards required for the forgiveness of sin. Considering those things, I guess it is understandable that only a small amount of people will be saved. That is why it is so very important that we share the good news with our family, the next generation, and those in our little world.

Matthew Henry said it this way, "What a pity is it that such rich grace should be received in vain, that precious souls should perish at the pool's side, because they will not step in and be healed!"

LET IT GROW

The second question is, "To whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?"

The praise, "the arm of the LORD" is the emblem of divine power which has already been referred to in 51:9 and 52:10. It is used for the Lord's strength in Jeremiah 17:5. To have believed the report of the prophets and have been the recipient of the revelation of the arm of God is to have surrendered one's self by faith to the person and authority of the Lord God.  (Liberty Bible Commentary)

God rolled up His sleeve in order to deliver Israel from slavery of other nations. His work was powerful, merciful, and gracious.


John quotes this verse 1 in John 12:38. He speaks of the people's doom being sealed because (Isa.6:9) their eyes were blinded and their heart was hardened.

Wiersbe said, "The unbelief of Israel is now announced: they saw Him, heard Him, but would not trust Him (Jesus Christ). There was a three-fold rejection:

1. They rejected His words, report.
2. They rejected His works, the arm of the Lord.
3. They rejected His person (verse 2)."

Jesus was not born in a palace, but in a Bethlehem stable. He grew up in a despised town of Nazareth.
He did not come to be a king in order to overthrow the Roman government. He grew up in the home of a carpenter, not in a royal family. Yet it because of the humble up bringing that Jesus had compassion of the simple folks, the suffering, and can relate to us today in our sorrows and sufferings. What a Savior!

LET IT GO
Pray for those around us who have not heard the good news and those who have rejected Jesus.