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Why Didn't the Apostles Link Isaiah 53 to Jesus?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by InTheLight, Feb 16, 2015.

  1. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Why didn't the apostles link Isaiah 53 to Jesus' crucifixion?

    Many times in the gospels Jesus tells the apostles that he must be scourged, killed and rise again in three days. But when he tells them this they don't believe him or are confused.

    Mark 9:31 He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

    [Luke 9:22, Luke 9:44-45, Matt 16:21-22, Mark 8:31]

    Surely Matthew knew the verses in Isaiah 53. Why did the apostle never linked that prophecy with Jesus? Just wondering.
     
  2. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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  3. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    I had forgotten about those verses. Good find.

    The last three verses you list are after the fact of the resurrection. By then they would have certainly realized the connection to Isaiah 53.

    The verse in Matthew is about Christ bearing our sicknesses; the verse in John is about the Jews not believing in miracle signs. The verse in Mark is about the crucifixion. BUT, all these verses could be looked upon in retrospect. The verses seem to be sort of an aside, a comment made after the fact, kind of like, "I see now that this is a fulfillment of Isaiah 53, so I'll include that in my gospel".

    When Jesus tells the disciples he's going to die, they don't make the connection. They never bring up the most relevant verses:

    5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
    the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

    6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
    and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

    7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
    he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.

    Is it because they were expecting a conquering King, and not someone that was going to die for their sins and be the sacrificial Lamb of God?
     
  4. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
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    Linkages between digital scrolls used at that time have degenerated. :smilewinkgrin:

    Rob
     
  5. JamesL

    JamesL Well-Known Member
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    In many regards, yes. Everyone has a paradigm, and anything outside of those parameters is almost impossible to understand
     
  6. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    That is the reason any of the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah did so as they were looking for God to come down in all His glory. Scripture is not absolutely clear as to why but I believe it is reasonable to try to look at it from even our perspective a bit just as humans and not as people in their time.

    Jesus told them "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken". What is the difficulty level of soaking in the fact that God was with them, they saw Him die, and now they were walking with Him again. the difficulty level of processing all of that would be tremendous even for us if we were not privy to living after the fact as they were not. They were right their and I imagine while they wanted to believe, seeing the scriptures come to life must have been quite a load to process.

    What kind of doubts must they have had. Even John the Baptist boldly proclaimed Christ at the river and then later had doubts from jail. Also, had they have grown up only looking for a majestic Messiah rather than a suffering Messiah, changing gears on that would have been quite a job as well.

    So, it would be fair to ask why did Jesus scold them in Luke 24. I posit the idea that He could have done so not because they were sinning but to assist them in their belief. He may have done so to create emphasis in order to express the reality of their situation. I suggest his words were more out of compassion than they were reproof.
     
  7. JamesL

    JamesL Well-Known Member
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    Absolutely.

    The Essenes thought there would be two Messiahs, because they could not fit together how One could die for sin, yet reign forever
     
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