Prophecy & Passion of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh-Isaiah 53

In his readable & clarifying book THE MESSIAH: Revealed, Rejected, & Received, William Varner notes, "In August of each year, the synagogue Scripture reading from the prophets is taken from the book of Isaiah. On one Sabbath morning in August, the reading ends at Isaiah 52:12, just 3 verses before the end of that chapter. On the next Sabbath the reading picks up at Isaiah 54:1. Thus, Isa 52:13-53:12 is omitted from the readings of the prophets in the synagogue. That important passage is never read in the synagogue as part of the assigned Scripture readings. This table of Scripture readings has been well established since the early Middle Ages. Why is there this gap in the synagogue readings from Isaiah? The typical answer from rabbis is that not every chapter of any prophet's book is chosen to be part of the readings. But such an answer simply is not sufficient. Why is this particular passage omitted, and why in such an obvious way is it skipped over? Could it be that the rabbis simply do not want to expose their synagogue attendees to the contents of this chapter? Why would they be afraid of it? This chapter speaks in the clearest and most detailed way of the Messiah of Israel, called the "servant," who is rejected by Israel but approved in God's plan as the means of salvation, atonement, and forgiveness for Israel and the whole world. According to Isaiah 52:14-15, God's servant not only suffers for the people of Israel, but as a result of His suffering and death, His blood will 'sprinkle many nations.' Thus, this Servant will be the Savior of the Gentiles as well... God has used Isaiah 53 in amazing ways in history, beginning in Acts 8, where Philip led the Ethiopian eunuch to faith in Jesus through the words of this chapter...I can't think of any other passage than Isaiah 53 that has been cited more by Jewish believers as the means God used to bring them to faith in Jesus." So our prayer at GBC is that not only would you join us for worship this coming Resurrection Sunday, but that you too might come all the way to Jesus Messiah in saving faith, trusting His atoning work for your eternal salvation! Our study will be "Prophecy & Passion of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh" (Isa 52:13-53:12).