Why is unbelief the dominant response to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why are so many people on the broad road to destruction, and so few, Jesus says, on the narrow way that leads to life? Today we are going to see what lies behind unbelief. And in seeing what lies behind unbelief, we’re going to discover what it is that can lead to faith. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. It’s good to have you with us today. Colin, there may be some listening today who are thinking, I don’t believe in Jesus, but I want to. I know people who do have belief, and I want that too, but I can’t seem to believe. How do I get from unbelief to belief? Yeah, it was so good that you would be listening to the program as we’re opening the Bible together today. You know, there are certain hurdles that we all have to get over in order to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re going to look at three of them in this verse. I mean, the first is that it’s so easy for us to be distracted by the wrong considerations. The second is that we get drawn to the wrong priorities. It’s very easy for that to happen. And the third is that we’re very often driven by the wrong desires. Now, all of these are actually identified in this one verse from Isaiah in chapter 53. So, we’re going to see what the hurdles are, and when we can identify them, that will help us to move forward in the journey to real faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that one verse is verse 2 of Isaiah 53. So, if you can, why don’t you join us there as we begin the message, Our Desire. Here’s Colin. We’re continuing our series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. And we’ve seen that this whole chapter is about the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us why we need him. It tells us what he has accomplished in his birth, in his life, in his death, and in his resurrection. And it tells us what can be ours in him. And the first six verses tell us why we need a Savior. And when you see your need of Jesus, well, then you will come to him and you will receive what he offers. That’s why Isaiah begins by showing us our need. And, you know, the first reason that we need a Savior is our own unbelief. We saw last time that the human heart is actually wired for unbelief. This is the first and the greatest effect of sin in us. And, you know, it’s helpful to remember that if you have loved ones who don’t believe, it is really easy to become frustrated with them. For you to say, well, why can’t you just believe? And here’s what we need to remember. The natural person, the Scripture says, does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Well, with that being the case, then the obvious question is, well, then what hope is there for the person who does not believe, the person who cannot understand the things of the Spirit and actually thinks that they are folly? Well, we saw the good news last time. The good news is that God saves. God saves by His strong arm, the arm of the Lord. And we saw that the arm of the Lord is a direct reference to our Lord Jesus Christ. And the first thing that God saves us from is the power of our own sinful unbelief. That’s where Isaiah begins. Who has believed what He has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Think about it. God sent His Son into the world. This is the greatest good news that this world has ever heard. And yet across the world in every culture, the good news of Jesus Christ has been met with overwhelming unbelief. Now, why is that? That’s the question that’s before us. Why is unbelief the dominant response to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why are so many people on the broad road to destruction and so few, Jesus says, on the narrow way that leads to life? Well, the answer to that very important question, why is there so much unbelief? It’s in verse 2, which is going to be our focus today. For He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground, He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. Today, we are going to see what lies behind unbelief. And in seeing what lies behind unbelief, we are going to discover what it is that can lead to faith. So then, what lies behind unbelief? Three things, and here’s the first. We are distracted by the wrong considerations. Look at what Isaiah says here. For He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground. Isaiah tells us that Jesus was like a root out of dry ground. In other words, there was nothing in the background of Jesus that would lead anyone to expect anything remarkable from Him. Think, for example, about Jesus’ home. Where was it? Nazareth. Well, of course, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And you remember that soon after Jesus’ birth, He became, as an infant, a refugee. He had to flee with His parents for His life to another country. And when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus back, it wasn’t to Jerusalem where He could have mixed with the elite and gone to some of the great schools of learning. No, it was back to their hometown, Nazareth. An obscure, unfashionable, somewhat backward town in the northern hill country. Our Lord was known, and has been known throughout history, as Jesus of Nazareth. And that is not a compliment. Nazareth was a despised place. And actually, the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was there was held up as a reason for unbelief. You have this in John, in chapter 1, when Philip, one of the first disciples, invited his friend Nathanael to meet Jesus. Nathanael said, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? You see, Nathanael dismissed Jesus because he lived in a run-down and unfashionable place. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? He was distracted by the wrong considerations. He was looking at the wrong things. And Philip had the right answer for his friend Nathanael. He said, Nathanael, why don’t you just come and see? Nathanael, don’t dismiss Jesus Christ so easily. Come and meet him. Learn about him for yourself. Now, some people dismiss Jesus because of his home. The Gospels make it very clear that other people dismiss Jesus because of his work. What was his work? He’s forever known as Jesus the carpenter. The family in which Jesus was raised would have got by on a very, very modest income. Joseph was a carpenter. And Jesus worked in the same trade. And this, too, was actually held up as a reason for not believing in Jesus. A reason for unbelief. The Scripture tells us that when Jesus taught in the synagogue of his hometown in Nazareth, the people of his hometown were astonished. And this is what they said, Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him. This man’s from an ordinary family. That’s what they’re saying. We know his brothers. We know his sisters. We know his mother. She’s the one that works with Joseph in that old carpenter’s shop. Why do people not believe? That’s the question that’s before us today from Isaiah chapter 53. What lies behind unbelief? And here’s the first answer. Many people are distracted by the wrong considerations. They’re looking at the wrong things. Some people dismiss Jesus because of his home. Some people dismiss Jesus because of his friends, his work. And some people dismiss Jesus because of his friends. Think about the disciples. The first to follow Jesus were hardly movers and shakers. They were fishermen. And then they were joined by a despised tax collector. The enemies of Jesus looked down on him because they said he eats with tax collectors and sinners. Look at the people who are drawn to him. We don’t like the company that he keeps. Now, John records a particular example of this prejudice against Jesus on the basis of his friends. The Pharisees, we’re told in John chapter 7, sent out officers to arrest Jesus. And when they heard him speak, they decided against it. And when the officers returned, the Pharisees obviously wanted to know, well, why didn’t you bring him in? And the officers said this, a remarkable testimony. They said, no one ever spoke like this man. And then John tells us, the Pharisees answered them, have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. Now, friends, that is pure prejudice. You see what they’re saying? We’re the elite. We’re the educated people around here. We’re the ones who know what we’re talking about, and you won’t find any believers among us. No, the only people who believe in him, well, they’re the wretched crowd out there. They’re unenlightened people. They don’t even know what they’re talking about. Now, we’re asking the question, and it’s a very important question, what lies behind unbelief? We’ll come back and look at that in just a moment. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and the message, Our Desire. It’s part of our series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. And remember, if you ever miss one of our broadcasts, you can always catch up or go back and listen again on our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. There you can stream any of our previous messages online. Our messages are also available now as a podcast, and you can find those on your favorite podcast site. Just go there and search for Open the Bible UK. Subscribe to get regular updates. Back to the message now, here’s Colin. Now, we’re asking the question, and it’s a very important question, what lies behind unbelief? And Isaiah is telling us quite clearly here that people don’t believe because Jesus was a root out of dry ground. And the Gospels show very clearly that again and again, people dismiss Jesus. Why? Because he lived in an unimpressive place, because he did unimpressive work, and because he hung out with unimpressive friends. Why is it so hard for us to believe? Well, one reason is because too often we are distracted by the wrong considerations. We’re looking at the wrong things. Scripture says, man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. So here’s the question. What then should we consider about the Lord Jesus Christ? And that, of course, is the focus of the whole of Isaiah 53. That’s why we’re spending these weeks in this marvelous and very important chapter. But I want you to notice where Isaiah begins. He begins with how Jesus grew up. Look at verse two again. For he grew up before him like a young plant. So here Isaiah is describing the early life of Jesus, how he grew up. He grew up, Isaiah says, like a young plant. Oh now, how does a young plant grow? Answer? You hardly notice it. You put it in a pot. You put the pot somewhere near the window and you leave it there and it grows without attracting much attention. Now, we live in a world of celebrity. And a celebrity, of course, by definition, is simply a person who attracts a great deal of attention. And do you see what Isaiah is saying here? There is nothing whatever like that in Jesus. With the single exception of an occasion when at the age of 12, he asked questions on a visit to the temple. The Bible records nothing remarkable with that single exception about the early life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did not grow up like a shooting star. Jesus, Isaiah says, grew up like a young plant. Now, I want to speak directly to all of our students today because there’s something very wonderful and I believe very liberating for all of you here. In a world of celebrity, you live under unrelenting pressure. How am I going to make a mark? How are you going to stand out from the crowd? How are you going to attract some attention? That pressure is on you all the time. And I have marvelously good news for you today. You don’t need to do that. Think about it. No one has ever made a greater impact on the world than Jesus Christ. And how did he grow up? He grew up like a young plant. The Bible records very simply that Jesus increased in wisdom and in strength and in favor with God and with man. Jesus grew in stature. That means that he grew physically. He became strong. He grew in wisdom. That means he gave himself to learning and he grew and developed intellectually. He grew in favor with men. That means that he made friends and he grew socially. He grew in favor with God. He walked with God. And he grew spiritually. Now, do you see here that the Lord Jesus Christ is the model for growing up? He grew up like a young plant. Here’s what you should pursue as you are growing up. Eat healthy food and get plenty of exercise. Growing in stature, in physical strength. Develop the capacity of your mind by studying hard. Make good friends and do it by being a good friend to other people. And get to know God and pursue what honors him. That’s what Jesus did. He grew physically. He grew intellectually. He grew socially. He grew spiritually. He grew up like a young plant. And that is precisely what God calls you to do. And then I want you to notice this, that Isaiah says that the Lord Jesus Christ grew up before him, that is, before God. In other words, we’re being told here that Jesus grew up with a profound awareness that the eye of Almighty God was on him in everything that he said and in everything that he did. Before a word is on my tongue, the psalmist says, you, O Lord, know it completely. And so the very first thing to consider as you are growing up is that the eye of God is on you. God knows everything about you. He knows what you say, everything you say. Even what you say in secret. He knows everything you think. He knows everything you post, every comment you ever make. He knows everything you have ever done. Hagar in the Old Testament said of God, you are the God who sees me. God sees you as no one else sees you. Now, people don’t believe because they are distracted by the wrong considerations. And I’m saying today that if you give weight to the fact that you’re growing up before God, that God sees everything that you think, that you say, that you do, if you give weight to that, you will soon see that you are a sinner who really does need a Savior. And when you see that, you will be well on your way to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What lies behind unbelief? Well, Isaiah is telling us the first thing is that we are distracted by the wrong considerations. That’s just one of the things that can lie behind unbelief and we’re going to look at a few more on our next broadcast. So I very much hope you’ll be able to join us for that. Don’t forget, if you can’t listen to a broadcast at the time, you can always go online and catch up or go back and listen again because all of our previous messages are available online. You can also find us as a podcast now. So go to your favorite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe for regular updates. On our website, you can also find Open the Bible Daily, which is a series of short two to three minute reflections, a new one every day, written by Pastor Colin Smith and read by Sue McLeish. Again, you can find those as a podcast as well as on our website, openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners. That’s people just like you. And this month, if you are able to begin a new donation to Open the Bible in the amount of £5 or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you a copy of a book. It’s called Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Colin, give us a taste of what’s in this book. Well, it’s really all about what God does in bringing people to faith in himself and what he calls us to do, the responsibility that he’s given to us. And these two things work together. One way that I find quite helpful to think about this is if you think of a surgeon and he’s performing an operation, there are certain tools that are in his hand. The instruments become the means by which the surgery is performed. But it’s the hand of the surgeon himself that uses these instruments and actually gets the work done. And God uses us as instruments, our praying, our sharing the gospel. That’s a trust that he’s given to us. And we are instruments in the Redeemer’s hand. And that’s a very wonderful privilege. But the really good news is that we are in the Redeemer’s hand, that it’s the Lord who actually does the work and by his grace. On the one hand, we learn that we have a great privilege and we have a great work that God has called us to do. And on the other hand, we learn that we have tremendous hope because it is God who’s actually doing the work in and through us. This book’s a wonderful encouragement. I’ve gone back to it year after year and just found it to be refreshing as a reminder to me that I have great privilege in being trusted with the word of the gospel as every believer is. And yet it is God who uses the word of the gospel to save people and he does it by his own power and by his marvellous grace. So this book is our gift to you if you’re able to begin a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 or more each month. It’s called Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and it’s by J.I. Packer. You can find full details of this offer and you can give online as well at our website that’s openthebible.org.uk For Open the Bible and for Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. If you’re going to believe in Jesus, you’re going to need to spend some time doing this. Find out what it is next time on Open the Bible.