In the 17th century, the Jewish historian explained why the Jews no longer read Isaiah 53 in synagogue. It was causing confusion and arguments for hundreds of years. The chapter clearly deals with Messiah. Everything that happens to the Messiah in Chapter 53 happened to Jesus. The Jews, still waiting for Messiah, had to question whether or not Messiah had already come in Jesus. Finally, the rabbis decided that the best way to handle this was to forbid the reading of Chapter 53 in synagogue. Even today, the chapter is not read.

    We, however, have looked at the Chapter 53 for the last three weeks. The rejection, the brutal violence, the killing, is all there. But that isn't all of the chapter. Now we will look at the last three verses.

Isaiah 53:10-12---¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
¹¹ Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

    Verse 10 indicates it was part of God's plan. Imagine that! God loves us so much that His plan was for His Son to meet a horrible sacrificial death for us. The Messiah made this offering FOR US, willingly, with love! We are God's offspring and Messiah is our brother! And because days have been prolonged, we are bearing witness.

    Verse 11 tells us of the anguish, but He was satisfied because others were coming to Him. He was pleased when Thomas believed and He was pleased when a headstrong high school athlete dropped to his knees by a tree at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes encampment at Dennison University in 1973. He rejoiced for me. An insignificant no one.  

    Verse 12 tells us that Messiah is making intercession for you and for me. He is pleading our case.

    You can see why the Jews do not want that chapter read, but what a price to pay to maintain one's way of life.

    Over 700 years before Jesus was killed, Isaiah wrote about the horror. Messianic Jews are Jewish Christians. They believe in Jesus as Messiah, just as we do. I once had a class that was predominantly attended by Messianic Jews. On a warm, sultry Florida night, the professor asked one of the men why he had left traditional Jewish faith. The man said that in his personal reading, he read Isaiah 53 one day. He had never heard it read. Suddenly, it all became clear to him. 

    So we see in the first nine verses the horrible treatment, and then in the last three verses we see the reason why and the outcome. Remember, it is not Easter Sunday. It is Resurrection!