Studying the Bible is important, but collecting facts and information alone should never be the goal of our Bible study. There is only one reason to study the Bible—so that we can see God more and more clearly. And yet, most people forget to look for revelations of God in the Bible verses that they are studying. Unfortunately, we have both the natural inclination and training to look for facts and for life applications, but little knowledge of how to look for God. This is something that requires retraining in how to read the scriptures. That is the goal of this post–to teach you to look for revelations of God’s character throughout the Bible. It is easier to see God clearly in some passages than with others, so when you are first starting to train yourself to find revelations of God’s character in the Bible, you should begin with an easier passage.
In this post, we are going to look at a passage that reveals a lot about Jesus and the Father without the reader having to strain for ideas. For many people, it is surprising to learn that some of the clearest revelations of Jesus’ character are not in the four gospels. They are in the Old Testament. We will start with the Messianic prophet: Isaiah. Isaiah is known as the Messianic prophet because of his numerous references to Jesus’ incarnation and redemption of humanity. Today, we will look at Isaiah 53 to find revelations of God’s character through a prophecy about the Messiah.
The first step is to pray for guidance and clear vision to see God in His beauty. The next step is to read the whole passage to understand the themes and to gain context.
Let’s read all of Isaiah 53:1-12:
(1) Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (2) For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. (3) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (4) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (8) By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9) And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (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.
The third step is to look at each verse for a revelation of God. As you do, add any other related Bible texts that come to mind. Adding verse to verse is a way to get a fuller understanding of who God is.
My Example:
I am giving you a sample of my insights, but you might have had other, even more beautiful revelations of God as you went through these steps on your own.
(1) Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? God reveals His actions to people. He is a God of transparency, not confusion. When we are confused, it is because it is difficult to understand God, but not because He tries to hide what He is doing from us. This was Satan’s accusation to Eve, but in the Bible, we see again and again that this is not true.
(2) For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. Jesus did not come to overwhelm us with His beauty. If He wanted to, He could have us all on our knees by just letting us see a touch of His glory. Instead, Jesus wanted to draw us too Him with the revelation of His love. This verse also reminds me of the verse in Luke that speaks of Jesus’ growth as a child. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52
(3) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Jesus knew that He would be rejected and treated with contempt back when He revealed this prophecy to Isaiah. Even knowing this, He came anyway because He loves us so much that He will do everything possible to save us. God feels grief at the loss of even one sinner. How much more grief He must feel at the rejection of so many people who claimed to serve Him. We see this also in Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” and in Luke when Jesus was riding the donkey into the city of Jerusalem and all the people were shouting out Hosannas with joy, Jesus did something strange. “(41) And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, (42) saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. (43) For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side (44) and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44. Even though we esteemed Him not, He wept about our rejection rather than responding in anger.
(4) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. When Jesus carried our sins to the cross, this included our griefs and sorrows. Jesus sympathizes and empathizes with us because He has carried every hurt and pain that we humans have experienced. As He was bearing such pain for us, we looked at Him and judged Him to be cursed by the Father. At the cross, we revealed how despicable we humans are while Jesus revealed how merciful He was. “(25) And it was the third hour when they crucified him. (26) And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” (27) And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. (29) And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, (30) save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (31) So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. (32) Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.” Mark 15:25-32 (33) And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (34) And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.” Luke 23:33-34
(5) But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Jesus was innocent, but He chose to be punished as if He were guilty. He took our place. It says that Jesus was pierced, crushed, chastised, and wounded. Chastised means punished for doing something wrong. Jesus did not just suffer a little bit. He was crushed. Insult was piled upon injury. Satan threw everything at Jesus to get Him to leave us behind, but Jesus refused to leave us. He loved us to the end.
(6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. But the cross was not the beginning of being punished and crushed. It was in Gethsemane that the Father began laying our iniquity, our evil, onto Jesus. “(39) And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. (40) And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (41) And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, (42) saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (43) And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. (44) And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (45) And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, (46) and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Luke 22:39-46 Jesus knew this was going to happen, but He chose to go through with it anyway. “(1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (2) looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
(7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. On the day that Jesus was condemned to death, he faced many questions. In fact, He went through four different examinations. During this process, He was also beaten and humiliated. Through all the abuse, Jesus did not object to our treatment of Him. Yet, there were two times when Jesus opened His mouth that night. Once was to answer a question by the high priest. “(63) But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ (64) Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” Matthew 26:63-64. This answer was not to defend Himself. It was to make sure that Caiaphas, the high priest, understood exactly who he was fighting against. There would be no excuse of ignorance for the high priest’s actions that night. Caiaphas knew exactly who Jesus claimed to be, and Caiaphas was rejecting that claim regardless of all the evidence before him. The high priest was rejecting the very God that he claimed to serve. There was a second time that Jesus opened His mouth. This time it was to have a discussion with the Roman governor Pilate. This conversation was longer, but it was for the same reason. “(36) Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’ (37) Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’ (38) Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’ After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, ‘I find no guilt in him’ John 18:36-38. Again, Jesus was not trying to defend Himself. Instead, He was making sure that the Roman governor knew the clear choices that he was being given that day—to act with integrity or to compromise and condemn an innocent man to death. Jesus chose not to defend Himself so that we could live, but God is just and fair. He will not let anyone be lost without giving them all the knowledge that they need in order to choose life. Whether we have been educated well in the knowledge of God like Caiaphas or we have little knowledge about religion like Pilate, God makes sure that we understand the choices that we are faced with in life. The question for us today is “When God speaks to you and shows you your choice to act with integrity or compromise . . . to choose Him or to reject Him, what will you choose?”
(8) By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? Even when we do not understand why He is doing something, we can trust that God is acting for our best interests. The people who watched Jesus being arrested, tortured, and crucified had no idea that He was doing it for them. In the same way, most times we do not understand what God is doing in our lives, but if we look at the lessons of Isaiah, we can know that Jesus did not die so that He could be uncaring of us now. Whatever we are experiencing, we can know that Jesus cares deeply and passionately about what is happening to us. Even when we do not know why or how, we can know that we are loved and the center of God’s attention. We are not overlooked.
(9) And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Jesus did not deceive then and He will not deceive now. He did not meet violence with violence even though He could have. “(51) And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. (52) Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (53) Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (54) But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” Matthew 26:51-54. Jesus could have overwhelmed the soldiers, but instead, He refrained from using the power that He had because He was playing to win our hearts, not our fear.
(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. This was the will of the Father and the Son. We are loved by our God—Father, Son, and Spirit. We did not kill God on the cross. The sins laid upon Jesus by the Father killed Him. The Father loves the Son beyond measure, yet it was His choice for the Son to die, just as it was the Son’s choice to die. “(16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17
(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. This is why Jesus did not come down from the cross-no matter how we disappointed Him. The worse we acted, the more He knew that our only hope was for Him to follow through on the plan. Jesus is called the Father’s servant. This was always His attitude. It is still His attitude. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, but He has not changed who He is at heart. His future actions will reveal the same character as His past ones. From Gethsemane to the cross, Jesus was in anguish, yet Jesus was satisfied. His death cry was a shout of triumph. “(28) After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” (29) A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. (30) When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:28-30
(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. Jesus paid a horrific price for us, and He will not give us up. He will hold us tight. The only way He will give us up is if we choose Satan over Him. It is our choice, but as long as we want Him, He will do everything He can to keep us. “(27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (28) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (30) I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30. A lot of people think that Jesus stopped fighting for us at the cross. That His job was done then, but that is not what the Bible says. Isaiah makes the point that Jesus is still making intercession for us. Hebrews confirms this. “(14) Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16
Summary: This is just one passage of many that reveal God’s heart and actions to us. As you read the Bible, start noticing in every passage what it reveals to you about who God is.