One of the most remarkable books of the Bible in my eyes is written by the prophet Isaiah. Within his writing, we find one of the most remarkable chapters of all of the Bible, chapter 53. Written some 700 years prior to our Savior coming into the world, Isaiah prophesied of His life in its totality.
Within these inspired words, he wrote of…
- His life among men…53:1-3
- His death before men…53:4-8
- His burial with men…53:9-10
- His resurrection on behalf of men…53:11-12
Books have been written, words have been spoken, sermons have been preached, and bible classes have been taught of these wonderful words about our Lord. As I read through them each week, many times during the Lord’s Supper, I can’t help but think of the complete commitment that Jesus showed throughout His life for me.
The more I contemplate the words of this wonderful chapter, and of those about Jesus from the New Testament, one word comes to mind that touches my heart, speaks to my mind, and encourages my soul. It is the word “entrust.”
To begin to think about this idea, let’s read a passage from the Hebrew writer:
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”…Hebrews 12:1-3
For a moment, I would like us to think about a few words that the writer used to describe Jesus our Lord, “the author and perfected of faith.” When you think about Jesus, does His faith ever come to mind? Or is it something that we look past because He is God the Son and therefore has no need of faith? To me, this is a fascinating thought and concept. Could Jesus have faith? Was there a need for Him to have faith?
After all, He is God, so…
In my life I was never a good student when it came to books, reading, classes, etc… I did my best in school mainly because I knew that if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to play football or basketball, and that is something I didn’t want to miss out on. I never was a good reader, didn’t have the patience for it, and to be honest once I was done reading I couldn’t remember what I had read half of the time because my mind would wander like crazy, but being outside enjoying life, that is what I loved to do. It didn’t matter what I was doing, hauling hay, team roping, football, fishing, hunting, or a cookout, I was game. After high school, things didn’t change either. In college, I needed the grades to be able to play football, but in all reality, I had to work hard to get the grades needed to pass my classes, and the only A’s I got were the super easy ones that required me to show up.
I say all of that to say this, studying was never “my thing” in fact to sit and read was something I hated! It wasn’t until about 2006 that things began to change for me. I wasn’t getting better at studying or reading and was not thinking about doing more school or anything, but I found something that really interested me in ways that I couldn’t necessarily explain. I somehow developed a passion and desire that continued to draw me in and made me do things that I didn’t particularly care to do, like reading and studying.
It wasn’t textbooks or some college course that was interesting to me, it was simply my Bible. I can tell you that over the years, as I have devoted many hours of study and reading of the text, I am completely amazed at all the Bible holds. In particular, about Jesus. The more I study about Jesus the more insight I gain, and the more in awe I become of Him.
In my study, and contemplation of Jesus Himself, the word “entrust” encompasses a particular aspect of His life that at least in my experience has been overlooked. Not on purpose by any means, but it seems that I fell into the category of people who never thought faith was something He needed without even knowing it.
However, when one comes to this text, we find that Jesus is in fact, “the author and perfecter of faith.” What does this mean? Well, when looking into the original Greek language we find the words,
- ἀρχηγὸν (archegon) which translates the word author, and means, “originator” or “founder” and is singular in nature
- τελειωτὴν (teleioten) which translates the word perfecter, which means, “a completer” or “perfecter” and is also singular
What this means is that Jesus is the founder of faith and a complete package of faith. Which means that Jesus had faith! What an amazing thought that begins to make so much sense when applied to scripture.
If we look at Jesus’ life from Isaiah’s perspective of prophecy, we can note the following…
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth”…Isaiah 53:7
When applied to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, this statement is undoubtedly true (Mt. 26:47-27:56; Mk. 14:43-15:41; Lk. 22:54-23:49; Jn. 18:1-19:30) as we can see in every scene of His time leading up to death.
For example, we can note Jesus’ response to Peter after swinging his sword in the garden…
Matthew records,
“Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”…26:52-54
Luke records,
“Stop!, No more of this.”…22:51
John records,
“So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”…18:11
In Matthews’s account, Jesus shows not only Peter, but also us, as we read that He could have not only gotten out of the situation at any time and could have taken over the situation by force at any time, but His faith and understanding of the things that must be fulfilled were more important than Himself.
In Luke’s account, Jesus puts a stop to the idea that the Kingdom will be taken over by way of force or war. The Kingdom was not about war, it was about peace, and the Prince of Peace was to bring the Kingdom by way of Life through His death, rather than by the death of all who would be against Him. His goal was to save His enemy, not defeat them.
In John’s account, His powerful and meaningful question helps us to understand that Jesus believed in His purpose. Was it a question to be answered? Well, even Peter doesn’t try and answer that question, so it was surely meant to be a powerful statement in the form of a rhetorical question. I’m sure Peter or rather “Simon” wasn’t feeling the greatest after being called out in front of everyone. But Jesus meant business and was there to accomplish His purpose.
Peter would later record in his first epistle as a result of both inspiration and remembrance the following words.
“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls”…1 Peter 2:18-25
While reading this passage, both the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Peter collide in their view of Jesus. One 700 years before His life and the other approx. 30 years after, both are saying the same thing. However, Peter gives us insight as to the reason why.
“But kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously”
It was Jesus’ faith in God’s righteousness that led Him to do what He did on behalf of the sinner. It led Him to accept His fate and purpose. It gave Him the strength to stay quiet and remain in submission. It gave Him courage as He took every step toward the place of His death. It gave Him hope as He understood that there was nothing that could be done to Him physically that would disconnect Him from God and nothing that would lead Him away from His seat on the throne. His faith in what was to be accomplished was far greater than the persecution of those who hated Him. Faith is what accomplished this. That is why He is the author and perfecter.
As He “entrusted” Himself to God to accomplish the task at hand, He placed Himself fully into the hands of God to use Him how He needed and trusted that the results of what was to come were in fact what God said they would be.
To entrust ourselves to God the way Jesus did is too…
- Have COMPLETE reliance upon God and His Word knowing that no matter what happens to us, in the hands of God, we will conquer in the end “in Christ”
- Understand that there needs to truly be LESS OF ME and MORE OF HIM in every aspect of my life because His Will is what truly matters not only in my life but in all the world.
- Develop the knowledge that ultimately He has FULL and TOTAL control over everything and I do not. This means that I need to find HOPE in His wisdom, authority, and power!
As a Christian I must entrust my heart, soul, and mind to God just like Jesus because He is and will always remain victorious in all of His glory because His plan is perfect, His love is pure, and His way is the truth! Entrust yourself in the hands of the Lord and all the hope in the world will be in the palm of your hands.
