The word “incredible” means “impossible to believe, difficult 
to believe, extraordinary.” It is not uncommon for us to describe 
something that is extremely out of the ordinary as “unbelievable” 
or “incredible.” Sometimes we will say “You are not going to 
believe this…” right before we tell what seems like a far-fetched 
story. But then there are times that we know that someone is 
skeptical, so before we tell them something we say, “I know
 you may not believe this, but…” 

The Prophet Isaiah was called by God to prophesy to the
 Israelites at a time in their history when many people did 
not believe God’s word. They were skeptical of its truth. 
Perhaps they thought it was too far-fetched. Maybe they
 just thought it was irrelevant or perhaps they thought that 
it was all a bunch of nonsense. Because of this attitude 
toward God’s word, much of what Isaiah said fell on 
deaf ears.

It is no wonder then that Isaiah 53 begins with the 
question, “Who hath believed our report?” What
 follows that rhetorical question is one of the most 
detailed descriptions of the Messiah’s suffering for 
the sins of the world in all of the Old Testament. As 
we read through the chapter, there are more than a 
few statements that might lead us to exclaim, “That’s 
incredible!” When the Messiah comes, He will have 
“no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, 
there is no beauty that we should desire him”? That’s 
incredible! The coming Savior will be “despised and 
rejected of men”? Unbelievable! “It pleased the LORD 
to bruise him; he hath put him to grief”? That’s hard to believe!

While it may be hard for many to believe, the fact is
 that God the Son came to earth, suffered in the flesh 
for our sin, died and rose again to satisfy God’s holiness 
and justice and make a way for us to be saved from our sin. 
The Gospel is incredible, but we must believe it, and when
 we do, God will save us from our sins.