Is there still hope for ethnic Israel?
How can it be when all is not well?
”By His knowledge”: the good news (Is 53:11)
that ”God reigns” in Isaiah 52, (Is 52:7)
ironically fulfilled in Isaiah 53-
”before honor comes humility.” (Prov 15:33; 18:14)
Through anguish He would see His seed (Is 53:10)
promised (in Him) in Genesis 3:15.
In order to raise them from the dust
His heel had to be crushed:
‘snapped at’ by that ugly serpent.
But ultimately it was YHWH who crushed His Servant! (Is 53:10)
Servant who? It says in the text-
Israel headed up by One for the rest. (Is 49:3 and 5)
One for ”the many” He bore the sin of, (Is 53:12)
One who either way is ”high and lifted up”. (Is 6:1; 52:13; 57:15)
This idea of corporate representation
is not new, like the king of a nation-
the key to Daniel 7 interpretation:
four beasts/kingdoms of the nations
subdued by a heavenly-Adam Son of Man. (Dan 7:13-14)
Who is this human, this Son of Man? Just one guy?
Yes…and ”the saints of the Most High”! (Dan 7:18)
And just like the Servant of the Lord,
before glory He would undergo ”war”. (Dan 7:21)
So when Yeshua or Jesus the Messiah came
the theologians of His day didn’t believe His claims.
They looked for glory but found none,
no appearance or form of a royal Son; (Is 53:2-3)
He made the unclean to be sanitary,
like the water from the new sanctuary, (Ez 47:8-9)
followed by uneducated fishermen (Acts 4:13)
He called to be “fishers of men.” (Ez 47:10; Matt 4:19)
This Son of Man had a retinue, yes…
but they were whores and tax collectors at best! (Luk 7:34; 19:10)
This Son of Man would subdue beasts, yes…
but He didn’t have so much as their bed! (Matt 8:20; Luk 9:58)
If that didn’t satisfy them nothing would be worse
than to think of the Christ becoming a curse! (1 Cor 1:23; Gal 3:13)
That the King of Israel would be pierced (Ps 22:16; Is 53:5)
would make a Pharisee get fierce (Acts 9:1; 22:3-6; 26:1-11).
But how could you not say, “Amen”,
when curses fall on lawless men? (Deut 27:26)
Well that’s what the Servant undergoes:
identifying, stepping into the place of His foes! (Is 53:4-9)
He was judged by men unjustly (Is 53:8)
but in God’s eye it was just-as-if-He
wore our sins so that He could justify
us justly, that is, just-as-if-I
kept the Torah without one sin to blame (Rom 3:19-28; 2 Cor 5:21)
so that IN HIM I can stand before the flame (Dan 7:10)
and receive IN HIM an everlasting kingdom! (Dan 7:14, 18)
This is hard to hear for those without circumcision. (Deut 30:7; Jer 4:4)
But He says “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise”. (Is 29:14)
The reason you can’t see is you need new eyes-
you’ve become what you worship, (Ps 115:4-8; Is 6:9-10)
stone cold, blind, deaf, and worthless. (Ez 36:25-27)
Only by the same Spirit who hovered over the deep (Gen 1:2; Ez 36-37)
can you be given ”ears to hear and eyes to see” (Matt 13; Mk 4)
the uncreated majesty of the One true King
who shows His glory in the depths of suffering,
and thus confirms every covenant (Is 54:1-55:5),
making us with Abraham blessed (Gen 15:6; Rom 4; Gal 3; Acts 3:25-26),
partakers of David’s hesed. (Is 55:3; Acts 13:16-52 esp v.34).
Is there still hope for ethnic Israel?
How can it be when all is not well?
He saves the crushed in spirit (Ps 34:17-22; Is 57:15; 66:1-2)
through His crushed Servant,
passing over us to kill His firstborn Son. (Ex 12; Gen 22; Matt 2:15; John 3:16)
Eat His flesh and blood (believe) and be one! (John 6 esp v.35)
You will be a co-heir with Christ in the kingdom come
already, but not yet fully- (Luke 17:20-37; 19:11-47)
we await the full display of His glory. (Rom 8:18-25)
~my Master’s greatest debtor
