I really just want to know one thing. Why would a Jew (allegedly 700 BC), in exile (which even if it isn't 700 BC, the Jews were a despised nation basically since their exile), why would he write of a Messiah in this way (and if you will read Isaiah 40-65, it is very clear he is speaking of the Messiah. Why would a despised and rejected nation want a Messiah like this? What is the point of this?
Isaiah 53
1 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 men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression [1] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [2]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [3] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life [4] and be satisfied [5] ;
by his knowledge [6] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [7]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [8]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Why, unless of course they were looking for THE MESSIAH, not just the messiah of Israel, but the Messiah of the world. This is where Jews fail today, they think that the Messiah is their Messiah, and then the worlds, but really, he is the Messiah of us all.
Did god not say to Abraham, "You will be the father of many nations?"
What nations could he be speaking of besides Israel if he is not speaking of the world?
Really, I don't think you have any true arguement against Christianity unless you have read and studied the vast majority of the Bible yourself. If you haven't you don't know the context of it, and you don't understand it. So please, if you really want to know for yourself if its right or wrong, please read it for yourself and quit listening to what people who are straight out biased against it have to say.
A great example is Sir William Ramsey who lived in the 19th century. He was a famous archaelogist intent on using the Book of Acts as a guidebook to excavating and to proving that it was false. He returned home 20 years later, a Christian, and in reference to the author of Acts (Luke), he had this to say, "he was a historian of the highest rank".
A man intent to disprove the Bible by what it actually said (instead of what others said), ended up finding out that the evidence for it actually backed it up to a T and he ended up becoming a Christian himself.
Stop just saying things and actually read the Bible. You will then know if its got truth behind it or not.......................
In reference to someone else's question, why haven't I tried out other religions? Why should I? After me being an agnostic and not really knowing of a certain God existing or not, and after doing some hardcore studying and seeing how much Christianity was validated by history and archaelogy and after seeing these amazing prophecies and on top of that after seeing actual events in my life that were straight up near impossible, why would I try and other religion? Can you show me something more real than that? No, you can't, and until you've humbled yourself before the creator of the universe (whoever he is), you'll never know for yourself.
I'd rather spend a few weeks of my life trying to honestly and actually determine if it was true than to spend an eternity in somewhere I don't want to be just because I was lazy or I thought I knew everything......
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Topic: A Little Bit About Me (Read 643 times)