First Rejected, Then Revealed

Consider this mystery - Isaiah described a Messiah who would suffer before he is recognized and honored.

Unless we take this into consideration, we will miss the one the prophets described.

Isaiah predicts that many will interpret Messiah’s death and Israel’s rejection of him as failure, when in reality, He was bearing our sin, sickness, and suffering.

“But he was wounded because of our sins, Crushed because of our iniquities. He bore the chastisement that made us whole, And by his bruises we were healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

The Torah teaches that Messiah will be the ultimate guilt offering - suffering not for His own sins, but for ours.

Our Rabbis have taught that a righteous one can atone for the sins of the guilty. This is why some Hasidic groups swing a chicken over their head on Yom Kippur and then put the chicken to death. The idea behind this is that their sins are transferred into the chicken, and the chicken then dies in their place. Compare this ritual (kapparot) to the words in Isaiah 53:5-6.

“We all went astray like sheep, Each going his own way; And the LORD visited upon him, The guilt of all of us.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Jacob gave him a beautiful multicolored garment, a sign of his affection. But that very favor stirred resentment in Joseph’s brothers. Their jealousy burned so fiercely that they plotted to get rid of him. At first, they considered killing him, but instead they sold him into slavery, and Joseph was taken down to Egypt.

Yet Joseph’s story did not end in tragedy. Though he was betrayed and abandoned by his own flesh-and-blood brothers, the blessing of God was powerfully upon him. Though he began as a slave, he kept rising until he ultimately became second in command over all Egypt.

In time, the very brothers who had rejected him came to Egypt seeking bread because there was a severe famine in the land of Israel (Canaan). By then, Joseph had been living in Egypt for many years, and as a result, he dressed and looked like an Egyptian. So much so that his own brothers did not recognize him.

Yeshua Hidden Among the Nations

In a similar way, many Jewish people today do not recognize Yeshua as one of our own. He has often been portrayed not as a Jew, but as a Gentile. For centuries, much of Western art has presented Jesus as fair-skinned and European, disconnected from the culture, bloodline, and traditions of the Jewish people. This has made it harder for many of our people to see Him for who He truly is: The Jewish Messiah.

Consider that the time came when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers.

As they stood before him seeking to buy food, Joseph appeared to them only as a powerful Egyptian ruler. Joseph’s brothers had no idea that this Egyptian-looking man was their brother whom they had betrayed.

Finally, in a very intense moment, Joseph revealed his true identity, saying, “I am Joseph.” His brothers were stunned and terrified because the one they rejected now stood before them, holding their fate in his hands. What did Joseph do? He saved and forgave them. He brought his brothers and father to Egypt and gave them the land of Goshen, where they multiplied and grew from one family into the Children of Israel.

Now consider the pattern that emerges from Joseph’s life.

• Joseph was rejected by his brothers.

• He suffered unjustly.

• He was hidden among the Gentiles in Egypt.

• His brothers did not recognize him at first.

• He was later revealed to them.

• The very one they rejected became the one who saved them.