Some thoughts on the past

In the Bible, prophecies in history are nothing to be worried over; when one later came true, it simply confirmed what God had already said would happen.  Moreover, it confirms that God is Most High, completely powerful, and mighty to save.  It shows that He is Sovereign, able to use any and all good and evil to fulfill His purposes.  Therefore, saved or unsaved, you and I are useful to God and His plan to show Mankind His justice, lovingkindness, and faithfulness. 

Isaiah, often called the Fifth Gospel because of how often he speaks about the Messiah, presents a most illuminating passage on the pivotal role of the coming King.

Verse 2 mentions His looks and attractiveness; verse 3 says He would be hated by the world; verse 5 speaks about His beatings even before His getting hanged on a tree; verse 6 mentions our sick, selfish condition; verse 9 foretells the tomb He would inhabit upon His death; verse 12 speaks of the Atoning Sacrifice for the future believers.  

Today is Good Friday.  It is called Good only because we have looked backwards through the lens of prophetic fulfillment.  

John 16

²⁰I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 

²¹A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 

Isaiah 53

 ¹ Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
 ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 ³ He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
 ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.
 ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.
 ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.
 ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth.
 ⁸ By oppression ^[a] and judgment he was taken away.
       And who can speak of his descendants?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ^[b]
 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth.
 ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes ^[c] his life a guilt offering,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
 ¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
       he will see the light of life ^[d] and be satisfied ^[e] ;
       by his knowledge ^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities.
 ¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, ^[g]
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong, ^[h]
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.