Prophecy

This week, the Visual Commentary on Scripture takes the overarching theme of Prophecy, and in particular Chapter 53 of Isaiah, with its focus on the Suffering Servant.

Here is the introductory video from Ben Quash.

Each day I’ll post some verses of this chapter, some beautiful, some challenging. From a Christian perspective, we read Jesus into these words, although they were not written about Jesus. However, they were used by those who were eye-witnesses and early Jesus followers, to shape their understanding of Jesus, and to write their accounts of his life, death and resurrection. They delved deep into their tradition and the suffering servant motif resonated strongly.

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Here’s an image of an Isaiah Scroll, one of our sacred texts. As you reflect on the words written in faithful engagement with God, physically, carefully and prayerfully inscribed, listen to some peaceful music to take us to that zone of prayerful engagement with God.