Did you know that those who practice Judaism, people who are traditionally, but not limited to, Jewish people who worship our God but reject Jesus as the Christ, completely avoid Isaiah chapter 53?
It shouldn’t be surprising, but I find it amazing that the chapter is skipped entirely in Judaism yearly reading programs. You don’t have to believe me; Just conduct an online search and you can easily verify this for yourself.
Why is it skipped? Those who practice Judaism can’t and won’t give you an answer, but upon reading Isaiah 53, it becomes painfully obvious why it is skipped. It is completely and undeniably all about the Jesus we worship and the Jesus they reject.
It is, overall, the greatest Old Testament prophecy about Jesus. Before reading this article further, I encourage you to stop and read Isaiah 53.
Let’s be fair. Consider for a moment that you have been taught one thing your whole life. Not only have you been taught this thing, but you have also been taught not to question its validity. Not only have you been taught this thing and taught not to question its validity, but on top of THAT, everyone that you know believes the same thing you believe AND you are also told that if you begin to believe something different, you will be exiled from everyone you know and love and the only life you’ve ever known.
It’s no excuse to not think for yourself, to question for yourself and to study the whole of the scriptures for yourself, but it does give us some perspective into the difficulty that some people have when it comes to believing in and following Jesus that others, with different cultural backgrounds, may not have.
Most of my family thought it was strange when I decided to follow Jesus, but they didn’t tell me I wasn’t welcome to come around anymore, so overall, it wasn’t too different for me, culturally speaking.
We observe the power of Isaiah 53 in Acts chapter 8. In Acts 8, we learn about a man from Ethiopia who was traveling home after having gone to Jerusalem to worship God. He was a non-Jew who practiced Judaism. Traveling back to his homeland, he was reading Isaiah 53, specifically, verses 7-8
Acts 8:32-33 – 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. 33 “In humiliation His judgment was taken away; Who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.”
Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading (vs 30) and he replied that he didn’t understand (vs 34). Then vs 35 tells us:
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.
In the next two verses, the man from Ethiopia confesses that he believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and Philip baptizes him. That is a perfect example of what can happen in a human heart when the Word of God is taught. But if it is not taught, there is no reaction to be had.
Isaiah chapter 53 is full of power if it is known, but unknown, unread, not taught, not preached, it does nothing. Let us share with who will listen while there is still time to share.
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
