There is a great passage of scripture which is found in the New Testament book of Acts that is very clear, regarding the prophecy from Isaiah Chapter 53, as it pertains to Jesus Christ. This would be a good passage of scripture to preach and expound on, at the annual CUFI (Christians United For Israel) conference, or perhaps at the Night to Honor Israel gatherings across the country. Here it is:
And the ANGEL of the LORD spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from JERUSALEM unto GAZA, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to JERUSALEM for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias (ISAIAH) the prophet. Then the SPIRIT said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8:26-29)
Please notice that this man had traveled a great distance to worship at the city of Jerusalem. This man is described as having great authority, but his heart was in the right place. This Ethiopian man had an insatiable desire to learn the truth, and the Lord saw that, and so he sent a saved man named Philip to help him understand.
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias (ISAIAH), and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the SCRIPTURE which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same SCRIPTURE, and preached unto him JESUS. (Acts 8:30-35)
I love this passage because I can truly see the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ in it. The Lord knows the heart of every person in the entire world, and he knew the heart of this Ethiopian man also. It is incredible that the Lord was well aware that the man was trying to understand Isaiah 53:7-8, which is a portion of scripture, from that awesome prophecy from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah 53 is a very clear prophecy which was prophesied approximately 700 years before the death of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to read that chapter for yourself to see how this all fits together. It is really exciting for me as a Christian to be able to pick up the Bible and read the same scriptures which the fathers of the faith and the disciples of Christ studied also. Now for the good part. The Ethiopian man read that portion of scripture (probably out loud) to Philip, and he wanted to know who it was speaking about. He wanted to know if the prophet was speaking about himself, or if he was he speaking about another (person). The Ethiopian man wanted to know who that person was, whose life was taken from the Earth! The scripture passage is clearly referring to a man who was killed. So WHO was it? The Bible tells us that at this point Philip began to preach Jesus (Christ) unto that man, and it is obvious that he explained the entire prophecy to him concerning Jesus who was crucified on the cross.
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I BELIEVE that JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:36-39)
This is totally awesome because this Ethiopian man got saved right then and there. The man wanted to testify of his belief in the Lord, by being baptized. Philip asked the man if he believed it with all his heart, and the man confessed his belief that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Then the two of them went into the water where this man was baptized. These two men were out in the middle of nowhere and yet the man got baptized in a place where there must have been a body of water. I love this because they did not have to get an approval from a group of board members or anything like that. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Any true born again Christian can bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to others, and even baptize them in water when a person truly gets saved! I am a firm believer that baptism does NOT save anyone. Philip made sure that this man was a true believer BEFORE he went into the water. I was baptized as a little infant child by a Roman Catholic priest, and I testify to you today that I was not a child of God until I was born again at the age of thirty six. I knew absolutely nothing about the real Jesus Christ until I got saved. After I got saved I was baptized with full immersion in a pool of water, and what a glorious day that was for me. I was overjoyed that Jesus Christ would save a hell deserving sinner like me!
It is plain and simple that this Ethiopian man was dramatically saved. People have gotten saved in all parts of the world since the beginning of real time. We are living in “New Covenant” times and the “New Covenant” is in the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way of salvation outside of Jesus Christ. (John 14:6, Acts 4:10-12) Either a person accepts Jesus Christ or they reject him. There is no in-between in this matter of salvation. The people over in Israel (Jewish/Gentile) need to get saved, even as that man from Ethiopia got saved. The Jewish people, of all people, will have absolutely NO excuse on the day of judgment because they have the scriptures, (including the entire book of Isaiah) but they REFUSE to acknowledge that it speaks of Jesus Christ. They need to be told that they will die in their sins without Jesus Christ, because that is what Jesus Christ told them! There are tons of “Political Pastors” who have soft-soaped the gospel, and who have coddled the people of Israel, BUT they have not warned them that they are DEAD in their sins without Jesus Christ. Not only that but those same Pastors have put millions of Christians in bondage by telling them that a curse is upon them if they do not “bless Israel.” Here is what Jesus preached to his own Jewish people!
And he said unto them, YE are from BENEATH; I AM from ABOVE: YE are of THIS WORLD; I AM NOT of THIS WORLD. I said therefore unto you, that YE shall DIE in YOUR SINS: for if ye BELIEVE NOT that I AM he, YE shall DIE in YOUR SINS. (John 8:23-24)
The Jewish people who reject Jesus Christ need to be told that the wrath of God is upon them, NOT his blessing, because that is what the Bible teaches! Here is what the Jewish apostle John preached to his own Jewish people!
He that BELIEVETH on the SON hath everlasting life: and he that BELIEVETH NOT the SON shall not see life; but the WRATH OF GOD abideth on him. (John 3:36)
The Jewish people who reject Jesus Christ need to be told that they are making God a LIAR because they do not believe HIS testimony regarding his Son Jesus Christ! Here is John again!
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a LIAR; because he believeth NOT the record that GOD gave of his SON. And this is the record, that GOD hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this LIFE is in HIS SON. He that hath the SON hath life; and he that hath NOT the SON OF GOD hath NOT life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the SON OF GOD; that ye may know that ye have ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the SON OF GOD. (1 John 5:10-13)
Israel needs to HONOR the Son of God even as the Father (God) is HONORED, and that same Son of God is going to judge them one day! Here is another ACTUAL quote from Jesus Christ to his OWN (John 1:11) Jewish people of Israel!
For the FATHER judgeth NO man, but hath committed ALL judgment unto the SON: That ALL men should honour the SON, even as they honour the FATHER. He that honoureth NOT the Son honoureth NOT the FATHER which hath SENT HIM. (John 5:22-23)
