700 years before

https://soundcloud.com/wkbode/consider-the-following-700
Isaiah the prophet wrote prophecies concerning Jesus 700 years before he was born in Bethlehem.

Listen to the prophet foretell of Jesus' suffering.

All passages quoted today are from the New Living Translation.

Isaiah 49:15-16 NLT

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

Isaiah 50:5-7 NLT

The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

Isaiah 52:13-14 NLT

See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.

Isaiah 53:2-12 NLT

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

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1 Peter 1:20
God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.

Ephesians 1:4
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Luke 24:25-27 NLT

Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.  Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”  Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

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Isaiah describes in detail the events around the crucifixion of Jesus. We should not be surprised at this because the Bible is clear that all along it has been God's plan for Jesus to die for our sins.
Jesus himself repeatedly tells his disciples he must suffer and die.

 (Matthew 16:21, 17:12, 20:22, Luke 9:22, 12:50, 17:25, 22:15,42, Mark 8:31, 9:12, 10:38, John 18:11)

Conclusions - -

• God keeps his promises.
• God's plan for Jesus is plan "A" not a plan "B".
• God wants his people to know what his plans are in advance.
• Jesus claimed to be the Messiah foretold by Isaiah's prophecies.
• Jesus is the focus of the Bible, the events of human history, and God's plans.
• Jesus asks us to follow him in being obedient to God's plans even in suffering. Jesus set the example to follow.
• Salvation and forgiveness for sin are found in Jesus.
• You can trust God's plans.
• You should read the Bible to understand God's plans.

Questions --

• Do you believe the Bible?
• Do you trust God to work out his sovereign plan in your life?
• Do you believe Jesus is the suffering servant foretold 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah?
• Do you trust Jesus as your saviour and the only one who can forgive your sin?
• How are you following Jesus? 
• What about your life shows you are suffering in obedience to the Father?
• Why would anyone think you are following Jesus?