Do You Believe?
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Isaiah 53:1
Have you ever wonder why you were born when you were born? I think about being born 200 years ago, and how different my life would be. I would have never seen an automobile, a telephone, a TV, or any of the modern conveniences that we have today. I wouldn’t have missed them since they didn’t exist in the late 1700’s. There is one thing, though, that has existed since the beginning of time, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And it’s not only that He exists, He has made Himself known to mankind since He walked on the earth nearly 2,000 years ago. Even before that, for thousands of years, His Father provided prophets to tell of His eventual coming as the Savior to save men and women from their sins.
The prophecy of the sufferings of Christ and the glory He received afterward are presented in Isaiah Chapter 53 as clearly as anywhere in the Old Testament. The words in this chapter are quoted in many passages in the New Testament referencing Christ and His mission on earth. The Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, suggested that Isaiah could have been called an evangelist rather than a prophet. In Chapter 52, Isaiah had given a picture of how the Gentiles and others who would be receptive and eager for the gospel would find Jesus to be much more than they ever imagined, but not so for the majority of Jews who had the written prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. Jesus did not fit their image of the Messiah, thus they rejected Him. They had Isaiah’s description of Him as a suffering servant, not really handsome, a Man of sorrows and grief. That’s not what they wanted even though that’s what the prophet had foretold. Apparently, they didn’t believe Isaiah.
Isaiah asked the question “Who has believed our report?” His question is more of a lament for all the people who did not believe, because their number far exceeded those who did believe. One would think that the message of the gospel of Christ, because it was such good news, would cause people everywhere to flock to Jesus to receive His forgiveness and the abundant life that He gives, but that’s not the case. Of all those who heard the gospel in ancient Israel, very few believed it. Sadly, it’s no different today.
Isaiah asked another question: “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” The Living Bible puts it like this: “To whom will God reveal His saving power?” The term “reveal” comes from the Latin “revelare” which means “to draw back from the veil”. Webster’s Dictionary states that “to reveal” implies “a making known of something hidden or secret, as if by drawing back a veil, for example, to reveal one’s identity”. This is exactly what God did in sending His only Begotten Son to earth, to reveal Him as the means of salvation and reconciliation back to God because man’s sin had separated him from his relationship to God. To whom did God reveal His Son? After Jesus began His earthly ministry, He presented Himself as the Son of God out in the open. He taught in the synagogues, He walked miles and miles to carry His message of forgiveness, and He healed many people in public. Those who didn’t actually see Him in person (like us), heard about Him and His message.
When Christ is revealed to anyone, that person must make a choice to believe the gospel message, repent, and place faith in Christ or reject the gospel. I am thankful that in August of 1965, God revealed to me that I was a sinner who needed to repent and trust Christ. I didn’t take a “do good” pill, as one of my former pastors used to describe folks who thought they could just be better people and please God. God did not send Jesus to make bad people good; He came to make those who are dead in trespasses and sins alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1).