Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: These oftentimes prophecies are speaking over Israel in the general sense, but what Israel as a nation did not fulfill, King Jesus, the head of Israel, did fulfill.

Father, we ask you to come inside and fire our hearts, Father God, with a new love for you as we dig deeper into your words in Jesus' name and for Yeshua's fame. Amen. You know, sometimes people today are really confused as to whether Christianity can really be trusted. We're so bombarded in this country and all over the earth with messages from different world religions, and many today that at one time in their life believed that Jesus was the only way have begun to wonder: is he really the only way?

What about all these other people that seem so sincere about what they believe, even though they don't believe in Jesus? And so many people that at one time considered themselves to be strong Christians today are really very lukewarm, wondering, and confused. But I'm convinced that through today's broadcast, the roots of your faith in Christ Jesus are going to become more firmly grounded.

Because when you understand, beloved one, how Jesus is revealed first of all in the Hebrew Scriptures, it will strengthen your faith and give you the understanding that you need to boldly declare in your heart and with your mouth that truly King Jesus is God's only son and the only way to heaven. We're in the midst of a series that I'm calling Isaiah and Messianic Prophecy.

Now, in this series, what we've been doing is showing how clearly God revealed Jesus to us, how he revealed the Messiah to us. Specifically, we've been looking into the book of Isaiah. Consider with me, just by way of review, some of the prophecies that Isaiah gave in the first half of his book regarding the Messiah. For example, I'm looking now in the book of Isaiah, chapter seven, verse number 14. We hear this: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel."

Matthew quoted this scripture in the first chapter of his book, saying that Jesus is the one that Isaiah was prophesying about. The thing that's so incredibly great about this is that what we actually have here is the prophecy of the virgin birth. A virgin will conceive, Isaiah told us, and that will be the sign by which you'll know that he is the Messiah.

We continue through the book of Messiah, other incredible prophecies. For example, in the ninth chapter, we read that Messiah would minister primarily in the Galilean region. As we continue in this same chapter of scripture, we have these verses that many of you are familiar with in Isaiah chapter nine, verses six and seven. We read these words: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." That's Isaiah 9:6. And then it continues on to speak about the reign of the Messiah.

The point is, I want you to understand that the Jesus that you believe in was not first revealed in the New Testament, but the Yeshua, beloved ones, that we've placed our faith in was first revealed to ancient prophets that existed thousands of years ago in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Jewish people are credited with introducing monotheism to the world. Jewish people worship the one true God, the God of Israel. Jesus himself told us that the God of Israel was his Father.

And what we find is the revelation that the God of Israel first gave us revealed King Jesus to us. So that when we put our faith in Messiah in the Hebrew Bible, in other words, the scriptures are what ground our faith in truth. When we recognize that our grounding in the truth of what we believe goes all the way back to the ancient prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, it will cause something in you, beloved ones, to be strengthened. Now, what I've been doing over the last several broadcasts is to show you some of these prophecies.

I pointed out on last week's broadcast that theologians have discovered, in addition to the prophecies that I've already covered today, theologians have discovered what we're calling four servant songs—four portions of scripture in the second half of the book of Isaiah that we're calling songs that show us the type of character that Messiah has: how he would come, what he would look like, what he would accomplish.

On the previous broadcast, I talked about the first two of these servant songs. The third of the servant songs is revealed in Isaiah chapter 50, verses number four through 11. Isaiah 50:4-11 is the third servant song in the book of Isaiah that reveals Messiah to us. But today, what I'm going to do is I'm going to fast forward, and we're going to be looking specifically today at the fourth servant song.

The servant song that we're going to be looking at—this portion of scripture in the book of Isaiah that we'll be examining together, beloved ones, listen to me—is the most profound and intense messianic prophecy in the entire Hebrew Bible, in the entire Old Testament. I'm going to be pointing out to you today scriptures that are so profound, so impactful, so incredible that many, many Jewish people, when they've been confronted with them, have put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

So with that said, we're going to go right now to this fourth servant song, this most incredible messianic prophecy in the Hebrew Bible. It actually begins in Isaiah 52. It covers all of Isaiah 53, but it begins, beloved one, with the last two verses of Isaiah 52. I want you to hear for a second. It seems kind of strange that we're cutting up God's word and we're saying, "Well, this particular messianic prophecy begins with the last two verses of Isaiah 52 and then it goes through all of Isaiah 53." And it's kind of like, "Well, why are we cutting it up like that? Why isn't it all just one chapter?"

Well, here's what I want you to understand, and many of you know this already. But the chapter and verse designations that we have in our Bibles today that we carry—they were not part of the original manuscript. In other words, when Isaiah wrote his book, when the scroll of Isaiah was written, he didn't say, "Okay, this is chapter number 53 and this is verse number one." But rather, it was all one scroll. And so it was with all the scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments.

We didn't receive these original manuscripts with chapter and verse designations, but later, as these manuscripts were copied down, those that copied them then began to put designations in there so that people could easily find their place. So when we're beginning today with these last two verses of Isaiah 52, it's not that we're beginning out of place, because as I mentioned, the whole thing was originally one book.

So we're going to go now, Isaiah chapter 52, and we're going to look at these last verses, verses number 13 through 15. Hear the word of God: "Behold," the Lord says, "my servant will prosper." Remember, I said that there are four servant songs in the book of Isaiah. And you'll notice here that this servant song begins with these words: "Behold, my servant." That's why they're called the servant songs. If you remember, Jesus's whole mind when he came to earth was to do the will of the Father.

This is, I think, really important, and it has application for you and I. Because the scripture tells us that now that we've been purchased for the Father by the blood of Jesus—listen now—we no longer belong to ourselves. We belong rather to the one that lived and died on our behalf and purchased us for the Father with his own blood. And so we should have that same attitude that Jesus had.

He's the servant of the Father. Remember, Jesus said, "I have not come to do my own will. I've come to do the will of him who sent me." And he said, "And I do always those things that are pleasing to him." And so Father God begins this servant song. He says, "Behold, my servant." But I want to ask you a question. In your heart, are you a servant to the Father, or are you mostly, beloved ones, living life for yourself?

Do you mostly wake up each day and think about how you can become satisfied, how you can become gratified? Or do you wake up in the morning, consecrating yourself to God? I remember at Bible school, the president of the Bible school I attended, he said every morning he woke up and he lifted his hands to the Lord. And he said, "Father, I give you my hands today." And then he'd say, "Father, I give you my mouth today. Father, I give you my head today." And he would go through his entire body, dedicating his entire vessel to the Lord.

Paul tells us in the book of Romans, chapter 12, the reasonable thing for you and I to do is to offer ourselves to him in sacrifice. And so Jesus had this attitude within himself. He came to do the will of the Father. He's a servant. And beloved, Father God is wanting to put this same attitude in your life and in my life. I just want to pray for us right now.

Father God, we're all guilty. All of us, Father God, are mixed. On the one hand, Father, we want to serve you, and we do serve you. But Father, on the other hand, many times our thoughts wander, our mind wanders, and Father, our affections go after other things. Father, oftentimes we find that we're living lives for ourselves. But Father today, we come before you.

Father, our desire is that we want to look like Jesus. Father, you chose us in Jesus that we would be conformed to his image. So Father God, I pray right now—Father, that you would conform us to the image of your son. Father, I ask you to circumcise our hearts that we would walk as Jesus walked on this earth—Father, as those that are your servants that are here to do your will. Father, we ask this in Jesus' name and for Jesus' fame.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he'll be right back. And I want to share with you that in the rush of everyday life, sometimes it's a challenge to connect with God. And that's why Rabbi Schneider launched a one-minute audio devotional that's here to help you. You can start each morning with a powerful message, and I believe it'll give you spiritual insight and strength for your day ahead. Just search for "A Minute with Rabbi" on your favorite podcasting platform or visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com.

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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Let's continue on. Again, we're in Isaiah chapter number 52, verse 13: "Behold, my servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted." I mean, I just think about all the incredible worship songs that we sing, lifting high the name of Jesus. This is what the Lord is telling us here, that his servant's going to come. This one that's going to come to do his will, he's going to end up, Father says, high, exalted, and lifted up.

And we go on in verse number 14. It says, "Just as many were astonished at you." He's speaking now to his servant. He says, "Just as many were astonished at you, my people, so his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." Now, I'm going to say something here. I don't want to lose you. It's a bit technical and complicated. Many of these messianic prophecies have a twofold application. In a general sense, the Lord is speaking to Israel as a nation. But Israel as a nation did not fulfill God's ultimate purpose.

And so these oftentimes prophecies are speaking over Israel in the general sense, but what Israel did not complete, Messiah Jesus, who's the head of Israel, who died with the sign above his head on the cross that said "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"—what Israel as a nation did not fulfill, their Messiah King Jesus, the head of Israel, did fulfill. So with that in mind, listen again: "Just as many were astonished at you, my people," and then we hear specifically to the Messiah, "so his appearance," speaking of Jesus, "was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men."

I want you to think with me for a second. What's God saying? He's saying, "My servant's appearance," the Father says here, "was marred more than any man." In other words, the Lord says physically his appearance became so marred, so deformed looking, so unnatural looking, so scarred that it was more than any other man. Now, we know that Jesus was crucified. They put nails through his hands. They put nails through his feet. We know that they plucked out his beard. We know that they put a spear in his side. We know that they whipped him.

We know that he was absolutely very physically compromised. But was his appearance just from the nails in his hand and the spears in his feet and the spear in his side and the whiplashes—was his physical appearance marred more than any man? I don't think so, because you think about people, for example, that have been burned to death in fires. Wasn't their appearance because of the fire more marred than Jesus's physical appearance being crucified?

And what about people that have been in car wrecks? Isn't their appearance sometimes more marred physically than the Messiah's appearance here? Yes. So what's God saying here? How could his appearance have been marred more than any other man? The reason is, beloved ones, listen now. When Jesus died on the cross, he took all your sin and all your disease—the sin and disease he took of the whole world into his own body on the tree.

Paul tells us in the book of Corinthians that Father God made his son Jesus, whom we're reading about here, who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we would become the righteousness of God. Our sin and our sickness was transferred into his body, and this is why, beloved ones, he was marred more than any other man. He took our sickness, our sin, into himself.

Let's continue on here. Thus in verse number 15: "He will sprinkle many nations." And again, because he took the sin of people into his own body, through his blood now, he's going to sprinkle many nations. "Kings will shut their mouths on account of him. For what had not been told them, they will see, and what they had not heard, they will understand." Isaiah once again, chapter 52, verse 13 and 15, the first three verses of the first servant song here.

This is just an incredible picture of the substitutionary death of Messiah for you and I. Let's continue on. As I indicated here, we're not stopping at the end of Isaiah 52. Originally it was all one scroll, and it actually naturally continues into Isaiah 53, the most well-known messianic prophecy in the Old Testament, in the entire word of God. Hear the word of God.

Isaiah starts by saying this: "Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" What is Isaiah saying here? He's saying that someone was going to come. The arm of the Lord was going to be revealed, and yet Isaiah's saying, "Who's going to believe it?" The point being is that when the Messiah comes—this one that was marred more than any other man, the one that sprinkled the nations, the one whom the arm of the Lord was revealed through—Isaiah's saying, "When he comes, who's going to believe it?"

Isaiah says here once again, Isaiah chapter 53, verse 1, "Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" John tells us in his Gospel, John chapter one, it says, "Jesus came unto his own, but his own received him not." They were fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy that Jesus came, but people didn't believe it. They couldn't relate to it. They couldn't perceive that he was who the scriptures says that he is.

We continue here, looking in the 12th chapter of John's Gospel. But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. Now get this. This is exciting. Get this. So John is saying, John 12:37 and 38, "But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him." Now hear this as we close today: "This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

I'm trying to help us understand how firmly the New Testament is laid upon the book of Isaiah. Beloved, as the word of God continues to circumcise our heart, as it continues to penetrate us, your faith will be strengthened because the scripture says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. You know, the Bible tells us that we should study the scriptures to show ourself approved. So I want to thank you today for your love for God, for your hunger to stay with doctrinal teaching and doctrinal preaching, and I want to thank you today, beloved ones, for your prayers and your financial support.

The truth is, in this age that we're living in, there aren't that many teachers and preachers that are simply teaching pure doctrine. So many of the messages that come today over the different spectrums are just about how people's needs can be fulfilled, how can people become more happy, more healthy—all these things. But we need to get back, beloved ones, to the basics of the word of God because the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord abides forever.

I'm reading from the book of Mark, chapter 12, verse 41: "And he," speaking of Jesus, "sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury." It's interesting to note here that God in the flesh was actually watching how people were responding to his love with their finances. And you know what? He's doing the same with you and I today.

We need to honor the Lord appropriately with our wealth. If he is using Discovering The Jewish Jesus to feed you and bless you, beloved, it's biblical to honor God through Discovering The Jewish Jesus with your finances. I want to simply ask you to do this: if the Holy Spirit is nudging you now, kind of knocking at your heart to honor God with your financial gift through Discovering The Jewish Jesus, beloved, just be obedient. I'm promising you there's always a blessing for obedience.

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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers, chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.

(Sings Aaronic blessing in Hebrew)

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.

Guest (Male): This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and I'm your host Dustin Roberts. Join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider continues this study on Isaiah and Messianic Prophecy. That's Thursday on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.