Scripture Reading: Exodus 34:33–35
Introduction
A. When we look at what God revealed long before Jesus was born, it is surprising how few recognized Him when He came.
B. Let’s attempt to look at the Messianic prophecies through the eyes of the people to whom these writers originally preached.
Discussion
I. What did the Jews see of the Messiah when they read the OT?
A. They saw two images of Him which they often struggled to reconcile (Matthew 22:41–46; Psalms 45:6–7; Isaiah 9:6–7).
B. They saw the mighty warrior (Psalms 2:6–9; Daniel 7:13–14), but missed the suffering servant (Isaiah 53; cf. Luke 24).
C. They saw the eternal priest (Psalms 110:4), but didn’t see how He would be “cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8–12; cf. John 12:34).
D. They saw the anointed one (Psalms 45:6–7), but not the rejected one (Isaiah 53:3–4, 10; Psalms 118:22–23).
II. The Messiah confounded their vain hopes but fulfilled prophecy.
A. He seemed too ordinary (Matthew 13:54–57; John 7:52).
B. He seemed too weak (Matthew 26:52, 56; Mark 15:44).
C. He was forsaken by everyone (Matthew 26:56), even (or so it appeared) by God (Matthew 27:43; Isaiah 53:4; cf. Psalms 22:24).
D. They failed to see that Jesus’ kingdom would not be an earthly one (John 18:36; Luke 17:21; 22:24–30).
Conclusion
A. The Jews feared Jesus because He was so disruptive to the religious, social, and political order with which they were so comfortable.
B. Are there any veils on our hearts that keep us from seeing Jesus in all His beauty and becoming more like Him?