He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3 NASB)
The 1985 movie, Back to the Future tells the story of a young man accidently sent back 30 years in time. He noticed his presence in the past interfering with what was to take place in the future which was already the present from which he had come. So he had to fix the damages to history while finding a way to get back to his future. Isaiah 53 is a prophetic word of Christ’s reception into this world told as from the future looking back to the past. Note the person(s) through whom the Lord chose to tell this…we. Much of Isaiah 53 reads like witnesses testifying on the witness stand of a courtroom where all humanity is on trial for a hate crime. The witnesses’ are in agreement because all are guilty. Their manner of speaking is an ‘after the fact’ realization of the truth of the past.
God’s Word is the truth. I am bothered by the truth of the life my Jesus experienced during His stay on earth. Our ancestors were a tough crowd, whether Jewish or Gentile. His adult life was one of being treated with contempt and as someone beneath any respect from society. He was cast aside as useless, never mind not needed. He was not wanted and abandoned like garbage. Never mind not being revered as God, even by standards afforded man, He was treated as subhuman. We have an idea what that is like when taken for granted of at work, at home, or in the church. To coin a popular phrase, welcome to Jesus’ life.
His life characterized Him as a man of sorrows well experienced in the school of grief. The Son of Man was not afforded any relief or privilege that even some of us are granted when sick or weighted down under life’s burdens. The witnesses confess, “We blew it.” With good intent we might want to change that if we could.
If able, we would be willing to go back from today to correct this travesty of history. I thank God we cannot. This is history that must not be changed, even though unbelieving revisionists try otherwise. To change the people’s reception of Jesus, would do us harm by interfering with God’s plan for our redemption. Jesus has come to give us a future in spite of our past. The nature of His Person, His reception by His fellow humanity and His work were all God’s plan to take us to the cross where our redemption was purchased. We look upon Jesus’ life and we see two things, our horrible sinful nature and His unwavering faithfulness to a world that did not ask for Him, want Him or believe Him. He has come for everyone of us who has blown our past also. Because of that, by faith in Him I have been given a future, an eternal one, and a hope for today.
Lord while my heart breaks from hearing of Your past on earth, it makes me all the more want to worship and serve You. Thank You for believing I was worth it all. May I not ever treat You again as I too once did in my unbelieving past.
