Isaiah 53:1. Who hath believed our report?
All the prophets reported that which had been revealed to them concerning Christ, they testified what they knew with regard to Jesus of Nazareth, the suffering Saviour; yet how few, comparatively, of the Jewish people, -how few, indeed, of any people, compared with the great mass of mankind, accepted their testimony, and believed their report? No blessing can come through that report if it be not believed, and this is the sorrow of the Lord’s servants in every age, that so many refuse to believe it. "Who hath believed our report?"
Isaiah 53:1. And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For God’s power both produces and accompanies faith. No man believes in Christ except as the arm of the Lord is revealed, or made bare, so as to work faith in him. This is the great grief of God’s ministers today, that so often we have to go back to our homes, and cry, "Who hath believed our report?" It is not a doubtful report, it is not an incredible message, it is not a matter of indifference to our hearers; but it is an all-important declaration the accuracy of which is guaranteed by the God of truth, yet who hath believed it? Oh, that the arm of the Lord were made bare in the hearts of multitudes of men! What was the reason of this unbelief in the case of the Jews to whom the prophet spoke, and of those to whom the Messiah afterwards came? It was the lowly estate of Christ that caused them to stumble, and they asked, in contempt, "Is not this the carpenter’s son?" They looked for external pomp and martial prowess, so they could not perceive the internal beauty and majestic holiness of the Lord Jesus.
Isaiah 53:1. Who hath believed our report?
All the prophets reported that which had been revealed to them concerning Christ, they testified what they knew with regard to Jesus of Nazareth, the suffering Saviour; yet how few, comparatively, of the Jewish people, -how few, indeed, of any people, compared with the great mass of mankind, accepted their testimony, and believed their report? No blessing can come through that report if it be not believed, and this is the sorrow of the Lord’s servants in every age, that so many refuse to believe it. "Who hath believed our report?"
Isaiah 53:1. And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For God’s power both produces and accompanies faith. No man believes in Christ except as the arm of the Lord is revealed, or made bare, so as to work faith in him. This is the great grief of God’s ministers today, that so often we have to go back to our homes, and cry, "Who hath believed our report?" It is not a doubtful report, it is not an incredible message, it is not a matter of indifference to our hearers; but it is an all-important declaration the accuracy of which is guaranteed by the God of truth, yet who hath believed it? Oh, that the arm of the Lord were made bare in the hearts of multitudes of men! What was the reason of this unbelief in the case of the Jews to whom the prophet spoke, and of those to whom the Messiah afterwards came? It was the lowly estate of Christ that caused them to stumble, and they asked, in contempt, "Is not this the carpenter’s son?" They looked for external pomp and martial prowess, so they could not perceive the internal beauty and majestic holiness of the Lord Jesus.