Christ’s Sufferings Foretold

Background Scripture: Psalm 22:6-21; Isaiah 50:6-7; 52:13-15; Zechariah 11:10-13; 12:10-11; 13:6-7
Lesson Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

Introduction

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1-2). A careful study of the Old Testament prophecies and their precise fulfillment in the New Testament provides the honest seeker solid evidence of the Bible’s divine origin. Though the Bible says it is true, it may be difficult to perceive God’s love in times of adversity. However, we believe that God will never leave us nor forsake us—his promises of our care are just as true as fulfilled prophecy. May this lesson strengthen our faith in the authenticity of God’s Word.

Key Verse

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Matt. 5:18).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The prophet Isaiah lived and prophesied about seven hundred years before the time of Christ. It is interesting to note the clarity and detail in Isaiah’s prophesies about Christ. He described Christ’s physical characteristics, his mission, and the reactions of those to whom He would minister.

Let us examine a few of the prophecies contained in today’s text and their corresponding fulfillments.

Verse 3 foretells Christ’s rejection by men. John 1:11 says, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Verse 4 tells how He would bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. Matthew 8:16-17 tells us, “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

Verse 5 enumerates his wounds, bruises, stripes and suffering. Matthew 27:26, 29 records the account of his suffering: “And when he [Pilate] had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. . . . And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!”

Verse 7 speaks of his silence before his oppressors. Again, Matthew tells us that “the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace” (Matt. 26:62-63).

Verse 9 tells us, “He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.” The New Testament record of his death and burial states, “Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left” (Matt. 27:38). “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock” (Matt. 27:57-60)

The precision and detail with which these and many more prophecies were fulfilled serves as evidence of the divine inspiration that moved upon the minds and hearts of humble men who yielded themselves to God’s service and wrote as they were moved by his Spirit.

Isaiah’s understanding of the plan of salvation was remarkable, considering its fulfillment was centuries in the future. He grasped the fact that God’s righteousness called for a payment for sin to satisfy the law so that people could be restored to fellowship with their Creator.

Practical Truths for Today

To appreciate the lesson today, it will be helpful to look at the Bible as a whole, beginning in Genesis. Consider man’s fall in the garden and the resulting suffering it brought upon all humankind. Follow the patriarchs and the Israelite nation as they lived under the law, sacrificing animals in the hope that someday the Messiah would come. Consider the faithfulness of the prophets who, often at risk of their lives, held forth the truth and proclaimed the promises of the coming Redeemer. Journey to Bethlehem where the Lord made his appearance as a tiny baby after four hundred years without a prophet in Israel. Follow Jesus through his childhood and youth, and then review his three, short years of ministry. Pause a moment at the foot of the cross to observe the culmination of these centuries of hope, despair, expectation, disappointment, searching, and yearning. Can we do less than to say with the centurion, “Truly this was the Son of God”?

Isaiah asks the question, “Who hath believed?” That question reverberates down the annals of time, through the seven hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecies until Christ came; that question fits the time Jesus spent on earth and echoes through two thousand years of Christian church history. The question is just as pertinent today as it was then. Who will believe?

Believing is a personal choice and requires an act of the will. The Bible clearly teaches that we can be lost because of unbelief. Since God gives the choice to everyone to be saved (Acts 17:30-31), it remains that believing is accomplished by the voluntary action of each person.

How do we feel about suffering today? Followers of Jesus must be willing to suffer if they hope to enjoy the bliss of Heaven with Him someday. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us” (2 Tim. 2:12). “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

When we repent and accept the atonement made for us on Calvary, the Holy Spirit empowers us to deny our flesh in our daily lives. To suffer in the flesh draws us close to God. There we can better comprehend that our sinful flesh deserves death. The beauty that radiates from a child of God who accepts pain and suffering without becoming bitter is a fruit of redemption; it is a testimony of Jesus dwelling in the heart.

As we consider our suffering Savior during this season, may the fulfillment of prophecy strengthen our faith that this was the design of God, established from the foundation of the world.

Questions

1. Jesus’s death was set in motion by divine plan. What light does that cast on the conduct of those who mistreated and crucified Him?
2. We marvel that the people of Jesus’s time did not understand the fulfillment of prophecy better than they did. Do we have sufficient understanding of prophecy for our time?
3. How does understanding the fulfillment of prophecy deepen our Christian life?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).