Isa 50

Devotion 1 of 1: Isa 50

This chapter continues to prophesy about the Messiah. Let’s look at 3 Messianic prophecies.
1) v.2. “Why, when I came, was there no man?” This prophecy indicates the Jews would reject Jesus as their Messiah. John 1:11 verifies that: “(Jesus) came to his own, and his own did not receive him.”
2) v.4. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned…” This shows it was Father God who educated Jesus in the Scriptures and literature! John 7:15 backs this up: ‘And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” ‘
3) v.6. “I gave my back to those who struck me…” This speaks of Jesus being whipped to provide forgiveness for our sins and healing for our sicknesses! Matt 27:26 records that Jesus was scourged (whipped) by Pilate’s soldiers, and 1 Pet 2:24 teaches that Jesus’ stripes (wounds) were for our healing!
Let’s thank God for such a great Messiah who provided such a wonderful salvation for mankind!

PHILI 1: Free sharing!
Paul wrote amazing things in v.20-24, like: “To live is Christ and to die is gain; I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better than to be alive; but to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.” I believe Paul wrote this because he knew what dying was like as he had experienced it before! In Acts 14:19-20, Paul was stoned at Lystra (14:8) by Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium who were vehemently opposed to his teaching that Gentiles could be saved without following the law. At that time, Paul died, but he was resurrected when his disciples prayed for him!
14 years later Paul finally wrote in 2 Cor 12:2-4 about the NDE (Near Death Experience) he went through. I think God didn’t allow him to talk about it in order to protect his reputation so that people wouldn’t think he was delusional or mentally unstable and reject his epistles. In total, Paul wrote about half of the books of the NT so it was important that he was highly respected as an authority on Scriptural truth.
I believe we should study Biblical NDEs because that will strengthen our faith about the afterlife and heaven! We will need that faith when we face AC’s threats to kill us!