The Suffering Messiah
John’s gospel (John 6:1-13) tells of the Miraculous feeding of the five thousand noting,
“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14.
John then notes,
“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15.
According to various commentators I’ve read, at the time Jesus fed the five thousand He was at the height of His popularity.
One commentator noting that the crowd might have thought that just as Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt so to would Jesus bring Israel out from under the oppression of the Romans.
The crowd however did not understand that Jesus was the suffering Messiah referred to in Isaiah 53 that states,
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” Isaiah 53:8-12.
Jesus never intended to lead an army. He never espoused violence in any way. He realized He was in this world to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him.
The apostle Paul telling us,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” Romans 5:6-11.
I know especially if someone is not a believer in Christ, this is something that is hard to understand. But our ways are not God’s ways.
It would have been easy for God to send Jesus in a miraculous fashion. To send Him as a conqueror.
To show His power by sending Jesus with legions of angels or in other miraculous ways would not have produced true followers. Many would have said they believe in Jesus because they feared what he could do to them. God did not want that.
In speaking to the Samaritan woman Jesus said,
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23,24.
God want’s people to believe in Him through faith.
Those who believe in something by faith are the truest of believers and will endure anything for that faith.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ” Ephesians 2:8.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind?
Please think about it.
John’s gospel (John 6:1-13) tells of the Miraculous feeding of the five thousand noting,
“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14.
John then notes,
“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15.
According to various commentators I’ve read, at the time Jesus fed the five thousand He was at the height of His popularity.
One commentator noting that the crowd might have thought that just as Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt so to would Jesus bring Israel out from under the oppression of the Romans.
The crowd however did not understand that Jesus was the suffering Messiah referred to in Isaiah 53 that states,
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” Isaiah 53:8-12.
Jesus never intended to lead an army. He never espoused violence in any way. He realized He was in this world to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him.
The apostle Paul telling us,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” Romans 5:6-11.
I know especially if someone is not a believer in Christ, this is something that is hard to understand. But our ways are not God’s ways.
It would have been easy for God to send Jesus in a miraculous fashion. To send Him as a conqueror.
To show His power by sending Jesus with legions of angels or in other miraculous ways would not have produced true followers. Many would have said they believe in Jesus because they feared what he could do to them. God did not want that.
In speaking to the Samaritan woman Jesus said,
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23,24.
God want’s people to believe in Him through faith.
Those who believe in something by faith are the truest of believers and will endure anything for that faith.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
The Apostle Paul writes,“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ” Ephesians 2:8.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind?
Please think about it.
