Who has believed our message?
"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
Isa 53: 1
Welcome, I am going to do a series based on Isaiah 53, and today I will be concentrating on the first verse; "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" and concentrating on the first part; “Who has believed our message.” I hope that you will follow the complete series and you will be blessed by God’s message for you today.
Who has believed the message? Isn’t it incredible that Jesus fed 5000 men, so probably 15-20000 men, women and children were fed with only five loaves and two fish? On another occasion, he fed 4000 men so again probably 12-16000 men, women, and children were fed with only 7 loaves and a few fish. Everywhere he went he healed and made people whole. Even when he wasn’t doing the healing a person was healed. Jesus was in the middle of a throng of people. Everyone wanted to be near and hear Jesus. One woman, in particular, had a special need to be touched by Jesus. But Jesus wasn't looking at her so she took the initiative. She reached out in the hope that her hand could just simply touch one of Jesus' garments. She did it! Then all of a sudden Jesus stopped. He felt power leave his body. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. The disciples looked around and said to Jesus that everyone was touching him, they were being hemmed in by a mass of people. But no, someone deliberately touched him. The woman came forward and explained that she had been bleeding for 12 years and she had spent all her money on various cures. She was now penniless and was still bleeding. Jesus looked at her and said: "Woman your faith has made you well. Go in peace", She had been healed. Wherever Jesus went, people were being made whole physically and being brought back to God.
And yet, despite all this, some people still didn’t believe. They saw with their own eyes that the lame walked, the blind could see, and the demon-possessed were set free, but they couldn’t make that next step in faith, they still didn’t believe. When Jesus went back to his “hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.” The phrase by Geoffrey Chaucer written in the 1300’s is correct “Familiarity breeds contempt”. They had seen him grow up, and to them, he was no different than any other boy in the village, and so they didn't believe Him.
After Jesus fed the 5000, the disciples got into a boat and began to row to the other side of the lake. While they were doing that Jesus went up the mountain to pray to His Heavenly Father. When he was finished he miraculously walked on the water to reach the disciples' boat and they all got to the shore of the lake. The people who had been fed wanted to see Jesus again and they came to him. However, Jesus responded to the people by saying "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” The people didn’t believe in Jesus, they only wanted more bread. Here was an easy source of food, nothing more.
Of course, the religious leaders of the day didn't believe Jesus because he didn't fit into their view of things. Jesus didn’t care about the additional laws, the fence laws, that the leaders imposed on the people. On one Sabbath day, Jesus healed a man and told him to take up his mat and walk. The Pharisees were aghast at this "Take up your mat and walk!" How could a man of God say this? You can’t take up your mat because that is working on the Sabbath. Forgetting the fact that God had just healed the man! No, the religious leaders didn’t believe in Jesus.
Many didn’t believe in Jesus but many did. The Apostles did and we see the astounding results of their faith. On the day of Pentecost, one of Jesus’ closest companions, Peter, stood up and preached to a large crowd. The people who heard Peter’s message were cut to the heart. They cried out to Peter “What shall we do?”. Peter responded by saying “Repent and be baptised.” That day 3000 people came into a saving faith in Jesus Christ. 3000 people decided that day that they wanted God to forgive them for their wayward behaviour and made a determined effort to stop. Peter went on to heal a lame beggar, he was one of the apostles who healed many at Solomon’s Colonnade, and of course, he brought the Centurian Cornelius to faith. The Holy Spirit transformed Peter, a man who bumbled from one mistake to another into a powerful man of God.
In the UK, two men were arrested for preaching in the streets of Glastonbury. These men were John Dunn and Shaun O’Sullivan. Before Shaun became a Christian, he was a drug addict and it was the preaching of John Dunn that converted him to being a Christian. Shaun testified that he "saw the grace and the power of the cross, and it truly changed him.” Eventually, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges against John and Shaun, and they are now free to continue to preach the gospel.
And so today, we have the same Holy Spirit in us if we are Christians. Today, we can be like Peter, who was transformed into a dynamic servant of God. Jesus said that we would do greater works than Jesus. I must admit that is hard for me to comprehend, but I take His words at face value. As we step out in our faith we will come face to face who don’t believe in Jesus, just like the religious leader in Jesus time. But that should not stop us from bringing our friends, neighbours, and family into a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The questions I leave with you as I close are these. Are you willing to step out in faith and do greater works than Jesus? Are you willing to be a harvester for God? I will let you ponder on these questions. May God bless you this week, as you seek His face and His direction for your life.
