Looking at Isaiah

“See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.” – Isaiah 52:13-15

            These verses give us a glimpse of Jesus prior to his appearance on earth. He is “the Suffering Servant” from scripture, for he suffered greatly to fulfill God’s salvation plan, set in motion at the dawning of time. When you read these verses visualize what he must have looked like based on the description given. 

            It’s curious to me that most of the cinematic portrayals of Jesus of Nazareth were of a strikingly handsome man. They would cast white skinned British actors and the like to be Jesus and while the movies themselves were pretty good, Jesus physical appearance was flawed. I think the 2016 Christian movie “Risen” shows Jesus as he could have looked. He was nothing special to look at appearance wise. Very middle Eastern in skin tone and physical appearance. He blended into his surroundings physically, but was very different in his thoughts, words and actions. People were compelled to listen and follow him because he spoke of love, kindness, mercy and compassion to your fellow man. The Holy Spirit was working on people’s hearts. Jesus gave them hope for a better tomorrow, something the religious leaders of the day did not.

            The verses above refer to the time when Jesus was being beaten & tortured by the Roman soldiers. Rome was polytheistic society; therefore the soldiers would have believed in a multitude of gods, such as, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva or perhaps no god at all. It was part of their culture. The soldiers were brutes who enjoyed exerting their will against others, so beating Jesus was no doubt sport for them. When all was said and done, once Jesus hung on the cross and the sky turned black, all were left to wonder just who this man Jesus was. When a bolt of lightning cracked thru the sky causing the temple curtain to be torn from top to bottom, giving men open access to Almighty God, there was little question to many just who Jesus Christ truly was. His resurrection and the spreading of the gospel message shook the world at that time to its core. Was he the Son of God as it had been said? You bet he was and his sacrificial death bought all of us our freedom from the bondage of sin. We will move on to Chapter 53 next. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.