Articles
The Rejected Savior
A prophetic picture of the Savior is given to us by God in Isaiah 53, a passage familiar to many believers. Those prophetic words were, of course, fulfilled in Jesus the Christ almost 600 years after Isaiah wrote those words, and about 2000 years ago. Not one prophetic word failed regarding the Savior, and those words still stand as a picture of the Savior we must not forget or deny. Consider…
No Beauty To Make Him Desirable. (Isa. 53:2) Mankind can be quite shallow, sometimes. It is the physically- and visually- attractive ones that seem to get the attention, and not just with television and big-screen movie stars or musical entertainers. It is said that Richard Nixon's desirability as a candidate for President in 1960 dropped considerably when he showed up on the televised debate with John Kennedy in poorly-applied makeup; his actual positions on issues and his experience suddenly became irrelevant. Such perceptions of political candidates are what drive campaigns nowadays but, as we see in this passage, it is nothing new. This man Jesus, who was visually nothing to look at, was “despised and rejected by men” (Isa. 53:3).
It is only when we look beneath the surface and the outward appearance of what Jesus may have been, and look into His words, His character, His power, His actions, and His claims that we will see Him for who He really is and who He can be for us: Savior.
Men Hide Their Faces From Him. (Isa. 53:3) When Isaiah wrote these words, he spoke of the outward appearance of the coming Savior and how He would not have such an appearance that would cause others to admire Him; in fact, they would hide their faces from Him!
Today, men still turn their faces away from Him, but not because they do not like His outward appearance; today, men turn their faces away from Jesus because they do not like what He says. Today, many people turn away from the words of Jesus that make them uncomfortable, the words that call their actions 'sin,' and the words that condemn them. As with those of the first century who turned away from Jesus, those who turn away from Him today will one day have to stand before Him and give an account for what they did (2 Cor. 5:10), and they will not have any choice but to look upon Him and receive His righteous judgment.
He Is Despised. (Isa. 53:3) When Jesus came to this earth. He was not the Christ and Savior many were expecting or hoping He would be. A serious study of the Gospels seems to point to an expectation that the Christ would come and evict the Roman government and restore Israel's glory as they once enjoyed during the reigns of David and Solomon. When Jesus came, and when He told the hearers that His kingdom would be different, that He did not come to destroy but to save, and when He exposed the religious rulers of the day as hypocrites (Matt. 23; Mark 12:12), they sought to destroy Him. It was this hatred of Jesus that drove some to kill Him.
Today, there are many who despise Jesus, and for the same reason the religious rulers of the first century hated Him: He exposes hypocrisy and condemns false righteousness. Today, the 'Jesus' that many love and claim to believe looks nothing like and teaches nothing like the Jesus of the Bible. Today, the most popular 'Jesus' is one who never condemns sin, accepts us as we are [in sin], and asks nothing of us. The Jesus of the Bible, though, is just as unwelcome and just as despised as He was 2000 years ago.
Only when we realize Jesus loves us in spite of our hatred for Him and His ways — loves us so much He was willing to die for us (Eph. 5:2) — that we will see that He is someone worth loving in return. And when we learn to love Him, we will then humbly submit and keep His word (John 14:15).
He Is Not Esteemed. (Isa. 53:3) When Jesus told the parable of the wicked vinedressers, He told of how the owner eventually sent his son, thinking, “They will respect my son” (Matt. 21:37). The owner represents God, who sent prophet after prophet to Israel with a desire to bless them, only to have them reject His messengers time and time again. Eventually, God sent His Son, Jesus, with the hope they would listen to Him. They did not, and they did not because, as Isaiah noted, they did not esteem Him; they showed Him no respect and, in fact, treated Him very poorly.
Today, it is evident that few men actually esteem Jesus. The vast majority of this world does not acknowledge Him as the only Savior and Son of God, and they do not hold Him in high regard at all. At most, they might say He 'was a good man,' but that ambiguous term means nothing because they do not heed His words. Many others in the world claim to be followers of Jesus, but they do not esteem Him as He deserves. How so? Consider…
How many denominational churches claim to be 'Christian,' yet follow the words of uninspired men written centuries after Jesus walked this earth? Will it not be the words of Jesus that will judge us in the end (John 12:47, 48), and not the creeds of mere men? How many denominational churches have established some mortal man or woman to be the head of its people? Is He not the sole head of the church, and isn't He the one who is to have preeminence in the church (Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18)? How many individuals who profess to love and honor Jesus reject His words when it is not what they want to hear or do, or when His words condemn one who is near and dear to them? No, Jesus is not esteemed by these things, and we are only fooling ourselves when we say we do. He is not fooled.
He Is Still The Only Savior. (Isa. 53:5) It would not matter if every individual on earth rejected Jesus except one; He would still be the only Savior. Hear the words of Isaiah again: “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.” You see, if we reject Jesus, we reject the only one whose death paid the price for our sins; we reject the only one whose sacrifice pleased God enough to forgive us of our sins; we reject the only one who could reconcile us to God; and we reject the only one who could bring spiritual healing to mankind.
When Peter and the apostles were brought before the religious council [the sanhedrin] and asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7), Peter would later tell them that it was by the name of Jesus the Christ — the one they knew well and the very one they had rejected — and added, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11, 12). Rejection of Jesus means we have rejected our only possibly of being forgiven and saved from eternal condemnation. There is no other Savior.
If you know anything about Jesus, you need to know that He is the only Savior, the only means to forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. If you do not desire Jesus, if you turn away from Him because His words are disagreeable, if you hate who He is and what He stands for, or if you would rather make your own rules and live your own life than honor Him and submit to His will, please understand you have rejected your only hope of salvation. He is Savior to those who will obey (Heb. 5:9). Will you?
—— Steven Harper
