I heard what he said, but I didn’t believe it. There’s no way that can be true! What do you think I am, gullible?
The great song of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 begins with a statement of unbelief. It says, “Who has believed our message?” The Apostle Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:16 to explain why the Gospel wasn’t received by everybody. He says, “However, they did not all heed the glad tidings: for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’”
The word “believed,” in Isaiah 53:1 is the Hebrew word ahman, and it means “to be firm; to hold fast by, to believe firmly, to trust.” It is not a word of mental assent and passing fancy. It is a word of commitment and firm belief – to latch hold of something and trust it completely.
Now Isaiah asks, “Who has done that?” And the Answer is, “Not many.” In Isaiah’s day the nation of Israel was corrupt, and the people were living self-indulgent lives. They weren’t interested in a message about someone dying for their sins.
In Jesus’ day it was no different: Who believed the message? Well, John the Baptist, Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon – 11 men and a handful of women. In the end there were only 120 people out of a nation of millions. Listen. The company of true believers has always been small in comparison to the millions in the world. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, “Enter by the narrow gate…for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” So, “Who has believed our message?” – Not many!
Say – there may not be many, but you can be one of the few, if you believe!