I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.“For the Lord God will help Me;
Isaiah 50.6-7
Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore I have set My face like a flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
What does Isaiah 50 tell us about the suffering of the Jewish people and the suffering of the Messiah?
Isaiah 50 is part of the prophecy delivered to the Jews in captivity in Babylon, where they are asking the question why are we in this sad state? Has God divorced us / abandoned us? A question still asked by Jews and Gentiles today.
In this talk Tony Pearce recalls a visit to see the play ‘Rose’ by Martin Sherman which recounts Jewish suffering under the Nazis and the post war period over Israel. In the play Rose, who has lost faith in God, asks the question, ‘Why didn’t God show up when we needed Him?’
The Bible shows us that God is there, watching and weeping over the sufferings of His people, and waiting for us to turn to Him through the Messiah who has suffered for us in order to redeem us and bring us salvation. This talks shows how Yeshua / Jesus voluntarily gave Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, setting His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem to die in the right place (Jerusalem) at the right time (Passover) by the right means (crucifixion) in order to be the Saviour of the world, Jewish and Gentile. Many details of prophecy in the Hebrew prophets are fulfilled in the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the New Testament.