Jesus' History and Thoughts in Isaiah 52-53 and Psalm 22

Thank you, brethren. Many of you came up and mentioned how important that Passover service was and the deep meaning that it has. We only do it once a year. It's a reminder, but it's one of the ceremonies that since I came into the church, it made a tremendous impact, especially since I attended a former church where they took communion almost every day. They had just a regular routine, mechanical thing that you did.

And here I came, just recently baptized. I'm actually celebrating 50 years this March of having come into the church and being baptized of March of what was 1971. I'm also celebrating this month of March, 45 years in the ministry. In those five years, I went to Ambassador College here in Pasadena from a little town of Murphy, North Carolina.

And of course, we couldn't afford to fly. So basically, we drove first to Big Sandy for one year. I stayed there, and then the Spanish department moved to Pasadena the following year in 1972. And they asked me if I wanted to go. And I said, well, if this is what God wants, and the only talent that I knew I had was I was bilingual. I could speak Spanish and English. That was all I had. And so I went over here to Pasadena for my last three years. And then I was asked to be a ministerial assistant in 1975. And a year, a little bit over a year later, I was ordained as a minister in Mexico City and asked to take care of that Passover.

So I was ordained right before the Passover of that time. And so it's been 45 years, and this Passover always is a big impact. It's kind of a starting point spiritually. It's a time to renew ourselves. And today, it's still Passover Day. I don't know how many of you saw that bright, full moon last night? How many saw the moon? It's just beautiful out. So we know we're right here with a calendar. It's supposed to be that way.

And this Passover Day still should remind us of the meaning of what we did last night. And so I'd like to go over today two passages in the Old Testament that will impact you greatly. There are two places in the Old Testament.

One of them describes the history of the life of Jesus, and especially describes His death. And this was written by one of the prophets in the Old Testament around 750 years before that would happen. And I want you to look at this because we know this is authentic. We discovered in that sense, in this 20th century, back in 1948, when Israel began as a nation, they started excavating, and they discovered what are called the Dead Sea Scrolls.

And those scrolls were written by a group that they were called the Essenes that lived in those mountainous areas. And these scrolls were written during the time that they existed, which are approximately 300 years, from 200 B.C. to 100 B.C. And one of those scrolls that were found is called the Isaiah Scroll. And if you ever go to Jerusalem, they have this special museum. And it's dealing with the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they have that Isaiah Scroll around an area because it's many yards long, and you can actually see the Isaiah Scroll.

And one of those chapters describes the life and death of Jesus Christ. And so we're going to go over that chapter because the Bible tells us that we should grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven. And then the second chapter that we're going to go over is not the description of the life and death, but it is the thoughts of Jesus Christ that were written as He was dying on the cross.

And so as a prophecy, this was all prepared. And so He went through it, and we can actually read His feelings, His suffering, His crying out to God. And so I think it's very appropriate for us who participate of the Passover, those who are here as guests, we'll see because Isaiah 52 will begin with a little section that should begin actually the chapter 53, but it's the end of 52. The way they put chapter heading sometimes, they don't really synchronize.

They don't fit properly. But it's mostly Isaiah 53, which was written 750 years before. And like I said, the Isaiah scroll is probably 100 to 200 years before the birth of Christ. And so we know this was describing what Jesus Christ would go through. And then the second one is Psalm 22. This was written by another prophet. David was also a prophet, as it mentions in Acts 2, verses 29 through 31. It says, This is talking here, Peter, of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, So David is called a prophet, and of course Isaiah is known as a prophet throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. And so we're going to go over this. It's almost like a movie that you are going to see, but it was written down hundreds of years before the actual happening. And to consider that the Word who came down, he was the one that knew he would have to fulfill all of this.

Indeed, it tells us in Revelation 13.8 that Jesus Christ was slaying from the foundation of the earth. In other words, this was God's plan all along. And you can imagine the Word who was with God the Father, who had lived for an eternity, and he knew the time was coming when he would have to come down and take up the flesh, live as a human being, live sinlessly, and then die for us. And everything was carried out, just like the Scriptures said. So let's begin with Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 52 is where we want to... verse 13. And then we go to Isaiah 53. But we're going to go through this very carefully. Isaiah 52, verse 13 is where it starts describing the life of Jesus Christ. And to me, this is proof that the Bible is a supernatural book. It's a book not just written by human beings. It has inspiration and intervention by God himself. And notice what it says in Isaiah 52, verse 13. And God is talking here, God the Father, he says, Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extoiled and be very high, for just as many were astonished at you. So his visage was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.

In the New Living Translation it says, But many were amazed when they saw him, God's servant who came to the earth. His face was so disfigured, he seemed hardly human. This is the New Living Translation. And from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. That's how bad the whipping was. What they call the scourging, which the Romans carried out. In Luke 23, you can keep a finger here in Isaiah 52, Luke 23, verse 48 in the contemporary English version, it says, A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight, talking about the crucifixion. Then after they had seen it, they felt brokenhearted, and turned away, and went home.

So this was a terrible beating that Jesus Christ took, and this is here in Isaiah 52, around 750 years before the fulfillment of this prophecy. It goes on to say, verse 15, So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at him, for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.

So Jesus Christ did sprinkle many nations. With his sacrifice, all that blood sprinkled everywhere. And remember, in the Day of Atonement, the high priest had to sprinkle the blood on the people. And it was a symbol of forgiveness, of sins. I want to mention here what Bible Knowledge Commentary brings out. It says, This servant of God, who many have not considered important at all, will actually provide the most important thing for nations and their kings, namely, the cleansing from sin. That is why they will shut their mouths. They will be appalled that they had miscalculated the situation so badly. Realizing their great mistake, they will have nothing to say. Eventually, when they see him exalted in his second coming, they will finally understand and see clearly. Things that people mocked at, that they didn't believe, but they are destined to see that one day.

Going on, it says, For what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider. Then they will. All of these lofty men of history, and with power and governing nations, and when they see what the true servant of God was willing to do, they felt so little. They felt so tiny in comparison. And then they will consider who was the real servant of the people, who really was worth worshiping. Then we go to continuing on, because this is all one narrative in Isaiah 53, in verse 1. It says, In other words, this report on the death of the servant will be given to a repentant Israel after they realize the significance of his death. They don't believe that report now, that the Messiah came, died, and was resurrected according to the Scriptures. But they will believe that report one day.

They will realize that was the report for their forgiveness of sins as well. Like the nations, Israel will realize how badly they miscalculated the importance of this servant to them. In Zechariah 12, verse 10, this is a prophecy when Israel will again be able to recognize the Messiah, when they will have the opportunity to come to the knowledge of the truth. Notice in Zechariah 12, verse 10, it says, And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. Then they will look on me, whom they pierced. Because they were also responsible for the death of Christ, but it wasn't just them. Mankind is responsible for it. It says, Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. They're going to realize, here are all the Jews with all the knowledge that they have, and yet they miscalculated. They didn't realize who that Messiah truly was. To this day, they don't recognize what happened and how they misjudged what would happen. So now we go into the background of the life of Jesus Christ. Again, written 750 years before it actually happened. Notice verse 2 of chapter 53. It says, For he shall grow up before him, talking about before God the Father, as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. So he wasn't born into royalty, into riches or importance. No, it was just like the shoot that comes out of a branch that people don't regard very much. I know now in springtime you've got to be cutting all those shoots that weaken a tree. And he says he just came out that way. He was born in Bethlehem and then grew up in a small town called Nazareth. People didn't regard him very much at all. Like it says here, a root in dry ground, something that doesn't have much nourishment. And he didn't. He lived a life of toil.

He worked with his hands. And it says he has no form or calmliness. And when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. So he could have come as this very attractive and dynamic and scintillating and this powerful charismatic figure. He didn't take that on at all. If you looked at him, he looked like any common Jew. He did not take any advantage of his situation. And when you looked at him, you just saw one of the common people at that time.

That's why sometimes when they persecuted him, he could go into the crowds and lose himself. Imagine if he really looked like some of these portraits with long blondish hair and blue eyes and very European stock. They could have said, get the guy, the blonde that's running across here.

But no, that wasn't the case at all. He looked just like the typical Israelite. He goes on to say, verse 3, He is despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him.

He didn't have a big title. He didn't go to Jerusalem to become one of the leading scribes or scholars. No, he just humbled himself to be the common type of man. He worked with what is masonry and wood. Today we would call him a craftsman, because he not only worked with wood but with stone. But that's more of a blue collar type job. So people didn't regard him as somebody important, a teacher, somebody that could rule over Israel. No, nobody accepted that. It goes on to say in verse 4, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

So eventually he would take on our sins and be smitten by God. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. So we know very well. This is talking about the Messiah that would come, and that through his stripes that he took, we can be healed.

And that's part of the Passover ceremony that we took last night. It goes on to say, All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way. We're just following the world, following the crowd, and forgot what this life is all about. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. No exceptions. All of us deserve death, and Jesus Christ was willing to pay for our death.

He goes on to say, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep, before its shearers, is silent. So he opened not his mouth. And if you read the account of the judgment that they did him, where he didn't threaten them, he kept silent. He just let them insult him, spit upon him, do everything, because he was the perfect sacrifice.

He was like a lamb, as it says here. It says in verse 8, He was taken from prison, because he was placed there, after he was sentenced as guilty, and from judgment. So there was a trial that was carried out by the Sanhedrin, by Pontius Pilate, the Roman in charge. And who would declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. So cut off here means killed. So it wasn't just a beating that he took. He died. And again, this is all hundreds of years before it actually came to pass.

In verse 9 it says, And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. So after his death, the Romans planned to just throw him into a ditch, along with the two thieves, and just put him there as those that weren't worth anything. But God saw it too, that Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for his body, and it was granted.

And so he was buried in the tomb of the rich. So this is the way it was carried out. The intention was to just throw him into a hole, but that with the rich and the rich tomb, he was buried. It goes on to say, verse 10, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It meant that God saw fit to do so. It wasn't something that pleased God in the sense of getting any joy out of it, but it said it was needed. God allowed it to happen. I have here another scripture.

It says here in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, it says, The suffering and death of the servant was clearly the Lord's will. In that sense, he was slain from the creation of the world. Revelation 13a. When his body was made an offering for sin, he will see posterity. That is, all those who believe on him. So here it is talking about what God had to do, because Christ carried all those sins with him for that short amount of time. He had to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

That was the Lamb of God that would bring forgiveness. For me, again, being a young boy and learning about these things, I wanted my sins to be forgiven. I knew I had a human nature. I was a sinner before God, and I just wanted to receive that forgiveness.

I chased the minister for about two months, because in those days it was really tough to get baptized. I had to just be there until finally, because I was only 18. They usually didn't allow that unless you really were serious about it. It happened, but these scriptures came to mind at that time. It goes on to say, Yet if pleased the Lord to bruise him, he has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

So you see, he died, but he didn't stay that way. Three days and three nights later, he was victorious. He was resurrected. He rose up, he's in heaven right now, at the right hand of God the Father. So he will see many that are converted through what he did. It goes on to say, verse 11, He shall see the labor of his soul, the work of what he did, and be satisfied.

He carried it out. He fulfilled every prophecy. He fulfilled every part of this sacrifice. It says, By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many. So the knowledge of God, the knowledge of what he did, many will be forgiven. That's the term, justify. For he shall bear their iniquities. So that's part of having faith that God died for you and that you can receive forgiveness. Verse 12, it says, Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great. God the Father, talking now. The kingdom of God that's coming to this earth. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong. So he's coming as the victorious ruler of the world, and he will divide the spoils with all those that are part. Of his team, of his group.

Because he poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors. Talking about who died alongside of him. They were guilty and worthy of death, but not him. And he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. And so even there he asked, he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing. And now he is there also as our intercessor and intermediary that goes before God, helps us for our sins to be forgiven. So that is the first part of the scripture that is so important to remember during the Passover. And the description of everything that God is doing, the love of God for every one of us. This gives meaning to our life. We're not just some product of evolution, you know, from slime to man. This idea that this is just a purposeless universe, not at all. God is carrying it out. Everything is being fulfilled. So now let's go to Psalm 22. We read the description of the life of Jesus Christ. Now let's look at the thoughts of Jesus Christ. Isn't that incredible? That this is just like a recording that was taking place, and what he was feeling, and what he was thinking at that time. Psalm 22.

In verse 1, he starts out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning. And the word groaning actually means the shouting out because of the pain. It's a very strong word, like the roaring of a lion. This is the way he is talking about, and of course Jesus Christ said that. Jesus Christ, it took six hours for him to die. And it says that from the beginning of his torment there on the stake, for three hours they mocked him, and then the final three hours it says that the sun lost its power, and there was darkness upon the land for three whole hours. God the Father was so anguished, and he was going through so much, and there was darkness physically and spiritually in the sense of what God the Father and Jesus Christ were carrying out at that moment. And Jesus Christ felt that suffering, and so he said these words, and some consider it what is called a remes in the Hebrew, which means that the Hebrew people, the Israelites, knew so well the Scriptures that all you had to do was quote one part, and they knew the rest of the psalm. So actually he didn't have to read the whole thing. They knew it was Psalm 22. At the same time, as we can see here, these are Jesus Christ's thoughts and words that he is carrying it out.

The Scofield Bible has a comment on Psalm 22. It says, Psalm 22 is a graphic picture of death by crucifixion. That's what it's describing. In verse 14, it talks about the bones. He says that would refer to the hands, the arms, the shoulders, the pelvis are out of joint. Let's read it. Psalm 22, verse 14, it says, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. They're not broken. But of course, when you've been crucified in that way, your whole body is hanging in a very awkward position. And usually your wrists are out of joint, your shoulders, because you're hanging for such a long time. And of course, you're pulling them out of your sockets.

And also the legs, where they have been nailed. And so they're out of joint as well.

He says that I am poured out like water, the sense that the perspiration is so intense. He just sees this river of water coming down his body.

And also, his heart is affected. He says, my heart is like wax. It has melted within me. So again, just no power left. It's completely drained of energy.

Notice in verse 15, it says, my strength is dried up like a pot-shirt, which is a clay pot, or a piece of the pot which is dry. It doesn't have any type of humidity in it. And he says, and my tongue clings to my jaws. So when there's no saliva, your tongue gets stuck to the palate. You have brought me to the dust of the earth, just completely powerless. Notice verse 16. It says, for dogs have surrounded me. Usually, this is talking about those that are not part of Israel. And here you have all the Roman soldiers around them, unconverted, completely pagan-type people. Very cruel. They have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. Everybody is against him. They pierced my hands and my feet. So that actually happened. Christ said, while he was hanging there, I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me, at his humility and his humiliation. Watching everybody, looking at him, and he was only partially clothed.

And so it was very humiliating for him.

Then it says, verse 18, they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Exactly what happened during that time.

Also, let's go back a little bit in verse 6. This is how he felt. He says, but I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. That's how he felt. It's interesting that the Hebrew word for worm is actually this type of a... It's kind of like a beetle. It's a red beetle that they would use to crush the beetle up and make a red dye with it. It can mean the color, very intense red. Because of course he was there and he had been scourged, and all the blood was around his body. He was almost painted in red. Also, another way of saying it, because it talks about Israel being like a worm, which is something very useless, very humiliating. He says, verse 7, all those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him. This is from part of the Scriptures, Matthew 27, 43. You can read it later on. The high priests and the people said exactly that quote that I just read to you. We are listening to what Jesus Christ felt. This, again, was at the time of David, which is around 1000 B.C. or 1000 years before the coming of Christ. This had already been recorded in this way. Then there is a final section, which I will conclude with that.

The section is the next psalm, Psalm 23, which fits. There were actually three psalms that were usually read together. Psalm 22, Psalm 23, and Psalm 24.

This very well could have been Jesus Christ's last thoughts before he died in Psalm 23. It fits the narrative. Notice here in Psalm 22, talking about his resurrection, verse 30, it says, It says, Just like Jesus Christ said, it is finished. It is accomplished. Then, just think of Christ as he gave himself to the Father.

Psalm 23 could very well, we're not saying it is, but it could very well be, his final thoughts.

Certainly he was doing that at that time.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's what Jesus Christ is doing.

So, we should appreciate very much what this Passover sacrifice is all about. How costly it was for God the Father and Jesus Christ to pay. And that this wasn't done in the spur of the moment. This had been planned since the foundation of the world, and it has been carried out. To the letter, we have these two scriptures in the Old Testament, which give a witness that everything that was carried out by Jesus Christ was already prophesied such a long time ago.

Let's go to Hebrews as we begin to finish.

Hebrews 12.

Verse 1. It says, All of these that died in the faith, that remained obeying God to the very end, it says, Yes, we're about ready to begin these seven days of Unleavened Bread, because the sin that so easily ensnares us. We all have strengths. We all have weaknesses. We have certain things that take advantage of us. That we just have a weak spot, allow ourselves to contemplate, to go a little bit that way. And before you know it, sin has taken over. And so it says that we just have to lay aside that sin which easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race which is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Yeah, there are a lot of things that make us weary. They can discourage us, but look at all that he has done. Now, who are we to think we are going through something bigger than what God the Father and Jesus Christ had to go through? And they didn't even have to go through it. They did it voluntarily. Verse 4, it says, You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him, for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they, indeed, for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them. But he, talking about God, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. That's the purpose. He wants us to be in his kingdom. They paid a very high price. They don't want to lose the investment. That high calling, that supreme calling, and we can lose it. We can turn back. Then the final scripture here, it says, now no chastising seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. That's part of the lessons of these days of Unleavened Bread. We have to meditate on our paths. Are we making progress? Are we overcoming? Are we strengthening our relationship with God? After all they have done. Just one last scripture, which is in Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. I was reflecting on this scripture this morning. After all, Jesus Christ and God the Father have gone through to help us make it into the kingdom. He mentions in Luke chapter 17.

In verse 5, it says, The apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith. We all need it. So the Lord said, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, come at once and sit down to eat. But will he not rather say to him, prepare something for my supper and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink. Does he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. In other words, that was an obligation. So likewise, you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, everything that God asks us to do, keep the Passover, keep the Sabbath holy, keep the feast days, keep God's way of life. After all those things, should we boast and say, look at all we have done. Look at the sacrifices we have done. No? In comparison with what God the Father and Jesus Christ have done, rather we should say we are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do. In comparison to what they have done so little. And we should never think that we deserve praises and honor and glory from God at all. No? We're just servants. If we do a good job, that's what God expected us to do. And we should humbly carry things out without getting a swelled head or thinking we are so righteous or we are so good. No? We are just unprofitable servants. We just barely are making what is kind of the minimum of what we should be doing. I think that's a right attitude so that we don't get a spiritually swelled head and consider ourselves so righteous. If it wasn't for the mercy of God, none of us would be here. So, brethren, that's the message for today. And tomorrow we begin with the first day of Unleavened Bread. And that is another lesson that needs to be heard.