What's The Report

The Prophet Isaiah brings us, most likely, the greatest revelation of Messiah prior to His advent. Although he is used of God to announce the purpose of Messiah, God knows the heart of man and begins one of the passages of scripture revealing the Messiah by asking a very important question, "Who has believed our report?" (Isaiah 53:1) Basically, the Holy Spirit, in speaking to Isaiah is saying, "What I AM saying and about to say, would scarcely be believed by anyone." Isaiah refers to the fact that his message and those of the other prophets, "our report" had been for the most part rejected. He groups himself with the other prophets, and says that the Word of the Lord which they had spoken concerning Messiah had been, for the most part, disregarded.

Interestingly enough, Isaiah's question appears two more times in scripture. Once in John 12:38 and again in Romans 10:16. This time, like in the past, it is focused around people not believing in, Messiah,  Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself faced unbelief mostly from the religious community, especially the religious leaders of the time. In the account in Romans 10, the Apostle Paul was also dealing with unbelief among the Jews concerning Christ. Unfortunately today, in many sectors of the church, unbelief has also infiltrated the ranks of church leaders who pass it along to the church. Sure most evangelicals believe that rebirth is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but what about healing of the body and mind or deliverance from being demonized. Why are these things pasted off as not Gods will for today when they are clearly as much of a part of redemption as rebirth?

The problem is revealed in the ministry of Jesus, "Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." (John 12:39-40) The writer of Hebrews also sheds some Light on this, "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." (Hebrews 4:2) The problem is a lack of faith. This same question is significant to us today if we are to see and experience Gods entire redemptive plan manifest on the earth. However, the only way that believers will see and experience Gods entire plan of redemption is to see it through the eyes of faith.

Isaiah tells us, "Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all...Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick..." (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10 AMP)

This passage reveals to us a good portion of God's brilliant, merciful, glorious plan of redemption. Although many today have limited redemption to only regeneration, the fact is, regeneration is only a small part of the total plan of redemption. The Hebrew words borne, griefs, carried, wounded, transgressions, bruised, iniquities, chastisement, stripes and healed opens a wonderful picture of what Messiah would come to earth to do. This was not simply for a season or for a particular dispensation, but for eternity. God's complete, comprehensive plan of Redemption, in which some things have been revealed by Isaiah, is eternal and available to all who put faith in Jesus Christ. The following is a compilation of the definitions of these words placed in sentence form.

Surely He has taken away, carried away, cast away, all of our anxieties, calamities, diseases and sicknesses (pains of the body). He has taken the burden of our pains of the mind, yet we esteemed Him stricken by Gods divine judgment and afflicted as though He had sinned. His skin was breached by violence because of our rebellion, sin and trespasses. He was beaten to pieces because of our perversity, evil and sin. Discipline and correction was brought upon Him so that Gods peace and favor would be upon us, and by His bruises, hurts and wounds we are cured, repaired and thoroughly made whole. This is the report and it is as true and available today as it was when it was spoken by Isaiah. PTL

So, let us all, every believer, come to the place where faith in God's Word is above all reasoning, intellectualism and logic and simply "Believe God's Report!"