Day 3 Jesus Foretold in the Old Testament
When I lived in the UK, before I came to the Rwanda, I worked as a teacher and one of the techniques I used for my pupils to grasp a concept was Repetitive Learning- they went over a topic over and over again until they understood the topic. When teaching multiplication tables, I got the child to repeat the facts over and over again until it was engraved in their heads. After a while, it was imprinted in the child’s mind and they could recall the facts easily.
Now I haven’t checked this out, but scholars of the bible state that there are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that are fulfilled by Jesus Christ. I believe that for a similar reason there are so many prophecies of Jesus, so the message of a saviour coming to save his people is imprinted in his people’s minds.
Today I want us to focus on probably the most referred to prophecy of Jesus Christ, which comes from the book of Isaiah, Chapter 53
I found a link to a bible study on Isaiah 53 (I’ll leave a link below) which breaks down Isaiah 53 verse by verse. However, I want to us to focus on why Jesus is being prophesied in the Old Testament.
If you look at all the people in the bible, you realise they are broken people who do great things but also at the same time do evil things. It is a mirror of our lives, we have highs and lows. Times when we are full of hope and faith and other times sadness and depression. God saw that no matter how many laws he gives his people, the power of sin in their lives, the rebellious nature normally overcomes the human spirit. It’s like being a parent, sometimes no matter how many rules and sanctions you give your child, they end up doing what they desire to do anyway.
Just like before any treatment for Alcoholism, a person has to admit they have a problem and need help,
“…The first step toward recovery is to acknowledge that there is an alcohol dependency problem,”(www.medicalnewstoday.com).
God knows we need a saviour because from the beginning of time not one person has been able to overcome the power of sin by themselves. Our first step is to admit that we need help, we need a saviour because we have a problem with sin.
As we prepare for Easter, let us come to Jesus with the knowledge that we need saving and we are eternally grateful for him dying for us so that we would come alive in Him.
Prayer
Lord as I search for you daily for the next 40 days, allow me to find you, Help me to overcome my sinful nature and to enjoy living in your blessings In the Name of Jesus, Amen!
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
I like how you put it so perfectly, “from the beginning of time not one person has been able to overcome the power of sin by themselves.” And you are right Isaiah holds the messianic message that proves that God knew we needed a savior.
See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness— so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Isaiah 52:13-15 NIV
Amen🙏🏾🙏🏾
I think one of the most common challenges amongst Christians Christians consistent ,we allow the series of events in our lives to control our emotions and decency on God. We tend to forget the power and authority given to us by the Holy Spirit and through the favor of God ,instead of taking each issue to the cross in prayer and fasting we want to solve everything in our capacities. I pray we seek the encounter that will bring upon an anointing that consumes us with confidence in God to take control and humble ourselves to acknowledge our weaknesses
Exactly Pam, as 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
If we acknowledge our weakness, in Christ we are then made strong! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾