Isaiah 53:1 NKJV
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Who Has Believed?
MY NOTES
“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” — Isaiah 53:1 (NKJV)
Have you ever poured your heart out into something—a conversation, a prayer, an earnest piece of advice—only to be met with a blank stare or total indifference?
That is the heavy, aching sigh behind Isaiah’s opening question in chapter 53. Long before Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee, the prophet Isaiah looked down the halls of time and saw a heartbreaking mystery: the greatest news in human history was going to be announced, and most people simply wouldn’t care. He saw the coming Messiah. He saw Christ’s suffering, rejection, sacrifice, and ultimate victory. He saw the greatest message ever given to humanity. Yet standing in the shadow of that vision, Isaiah asks: “Who has believed our report?” In other words, how can such glorious news be ignored? How can people hear about God’s salvation and walk away unchanged?
This question was not only true in Isaiah’s day. It was true during the earthly ministry of Jesus. It remained true during the preaching of the apostles. Sadly, it is still true today.
Many hear the gospel. Few genuinely receive it.
Many admire Jesus. Few surrender to Him.
Many know about Christ. Far fewer truly know Him.
Isaiah reminds us that unbelief is not ultimately an intellectual problem. It is a spiritual one.
The Arm of the Lord
Isaiah follows his first question with another:
“And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Throughout Scripture, the “arm of the Lord” represents God’s power at work. It describes His power in creation; it reveals His power in deliverance; it demonstrates His power in salvation.
Remarkably, Isaiah connects believing with seeing God’s power. People do not believe merely because they hear facts. They believe because God opens their eyes. The gospel enters the ears, but only the Spirit can bring it into the heart. The arm of the Lord must be revealed.
A person can hear hundreds of sermons and never truly understand Christ. Another hears a simple gospel message and suddenly sees the beauty of Jesus, the seriousness of sin, and the wonder of grace. What makes the difference?
God’s gracious revelation.
This does not diminish human responsibility. Rather, it magnifies God’s mercy. Every genuine conversion is evidence that the arm of the Lord has been at work.
John and Paul both pointed back to this verse because they watched it happen in real time. Jesus performed sign after sign, and still many did not believe. The apostles preached Christ crucified and risen, and still many turned away. It wasn’t a surprise. Isaiah had already said it would be this way.
Why So Few Believe?
Isaiah’s lament has been repeated throughout history because the gospel confronts human pride.
People naturally prefer self-sufficiency. The gospel says we need a Savior.
People want to earn favor. The gospel says salvation is a gift.
People want to take credit. The gospel declares that all glory belongs to Christ.
The message seems too simple for some and too humbling for others.
As Paul later wrote:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”—1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
What appears weak to the world is actually God’s power unto salvation. What many dismiss as foolishness is heaven’s wisdom. The small number of those who believe doesn’t diminish the gospel; it simply shows how high the mystery is. It exceeds what the natural mind is willing to receive.
The Gospel’s Rejection Does Not Reduce Its Glory
One of the comforting truths in this passage is that the unbelief of many does not diminish the truthfulness of God’s Word. The rejection of Christ did not prove He was not the Messiah.
It proved Isaiah was right.
John specifically quoted this verse when many refused to believe in Jesus despite witnessing His miracles.
“But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: ‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’”—John 12:37–38 (NKJV)
Likewise, Paul quoted Isaiah when many rejected the gospel message preached by the apostles.
“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’”—Romans 10:16 (NKJV)
God was not surprised by humanity’s unbelief. Nothing unfolded outside His sovereign plan.
But here is the encouragement: the small number of believers doesn’t diminish the power of the message. Just because a crowd walks away from a feast doesn’t mean the food isn’t delicious. The gospel remains the power of God unto salvation, whether the whole world applauds it or laughs it off.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.(Romans 1:16)
We are accepted by God according to our faithfulness, not according to visible results. Still, no one who loves Christ can be content when the report is met with unbelief. We take it to the Lord the way Isaiah did. We ask Him to make bare His arm again, to open eyes that have stayed closed, and to make the same report effective in hearts that have heard it many times before.
Prayer
Abba, forgive me for the times I’ve looked at the world’s indifference and grown cynical or discouraged. Thank You for revealing Your arm to my stubborn heart—for breaking through my resistance and giving me eyes to see the beauty of Christ. When I feel like my voice is whispering into emptiness, remind me that Your word never returns void. Soften the hearts of those around me who are still standing at the pool’s side, refusing to step in. Give me boldness, patience, and a deep, unshakeable confidence in the good news of Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- The cry of Isaiah 53:1 is the honest experience of nearly every faithful messenger: the report is clear, yet few truly believe it.
- Belief is not produced by the strength of the presentation alone; the arm of the Lord must be revealed in the heart by the Spirit.
- The limited response does not weaken the gospel; it has been predicted from the beginning and has been the pattern ever since.
- Ministers and believers alike are called to be faithful in proclaiming the report, even when results seem small, and to keep asking God to make His power known.
- What looks like failure to us is often the same mystery Isaiah saw: a high and holy message meeting human resistance until God Himself opens the way.
Proverb for Today
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. Proverbs 5:1-2 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)
Nobody ever does believe either prophets or preachers except through the work of God’s Spirit and grace. The Lord’s arm must be revealed, or else the truth proclaimed by his servants will never be accepted. All the prophets speak in these words of Isaiah, as if they all stood together and lifted up this wail: Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
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Enduring Word
Who has believed our report? Prophetically, Isaiah anticipates at least two things here. First, he anticipates how strange and contradictory it seems that this suffering Messiah, whose visage is marred more than any man, is at the same time salvation and cleansing to the nations. Second, he anticipates the rejection of the Messiah, that many would not believe our report.
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? In this context of the Messiah’s suffering and agony, this line seems out of place. The arm of the LORD is a picture of His strength, power, and might. Yet we will see a Messiah weak and suffering. But the strength, power, and might of God will be expressed in the midst of this suffering, seemingly weak Messiah.
—David Guzik
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Albert Barnes
Who hath believed our report? — The main design of the prophet in all this portion of his prophecy is, undoubtedly, to state the fact that the Redeemer would be greatly exalted (see Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 53:12). But in order to furnish a fair view of his exaltation, it was necessary also to exhibit the depth of his humiliation, and the intensity of his sorrows, and also the fact that he would be rejected by those to whom he was sent. He, therefore, in this verse, to use the language of Calvin, breaks in abruptly upon the order of his discourse, and exclaims that what he had said, and what he was about to say, would be scarcely credited by anyone. Preliminary to his exaltation, and to the honors which would be conferred on him, he would be rejected and despised. The word ‘report’ (שׁמוּעה shemû‛âh) denotes properly that which is heard, tidings, message, news. Margin, ‘Hearing’ or ‘doctrine.’ The Septuagint renders it, Ἀκοή Akoē – ‘Rumour,’ ‘message.’ It refers to the annunciation, message, or communication which had been made respecting the Messiah. ‘The speaker here is Isaiah, and the word ‘our’ refers to the fact that the message of Isaiah and of the other prophets had been alike rejected. He groups himself with the other prophets, and says that the annunciation which they had made of the Redeemer had been disregarded The interrogative form is often assumed when it is designed to express a truth with emphasis; and the idea is, therefore, that the message in regard to the Messiah had been rejected, and that almost none had credited and embraced it.
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? — The arm is that by which we execute a purpose, and is often used as the emblem of power (see the notes at Isaiah 33:2; Isaiah 40:10). Here it denotes the omnipotence or power of God, which would be exhibited through the Messiah. ‘The sense is, ‘Who has perceived the power evinced in the work of the Redeemer? To whom is that power manifested which is to be put forth through him, and in connection with his work?’ It refers not so much, as it seems to me, to his power in working miracles, as to the omnipotence evinced in rescuing sinners from destruction. In the New Testament, the gospel is not infrequently called ‘the power of God’ Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18, for it is that by which God displays his power in saving people. The idea here is, that comparatively few would be brought under that power, and be benefited by it; that is, in the times, and under the preaching of the Messiah. It is to be remembered that the scene of this vision is laid in the midst of the work of the Redeemer. The prophet sees him a sufferer, despised and rejected. He sees that few come to him, and embrace him as their Savior. He recalls the ‘report’ and the announcement which he and other prophets had made respecting him; he remembers the record which had been made centuries before respecting the Messiah; and he asks with deep emotion, as if present when the Redeemer lived and preached, who had credited what he and the other prophets had said of him. The mass had rejected it all. The passage, therefore, had its fulfillment in the events connected with the ministry of the Redeemer, and in the fact that he was rejected by so many. The Redeemer was more successful in his work as a preacher than is commonly supposed, but still it is true that by the mass of the nation he was despised, and that the announcement which had been made of his true character and work was rejected.
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John Gill
Who hath believed our report?…. Or “hearing”. Not what we hear, but others hear from us; the doctrine of the Gospel, which is a report of the love, grace, and mercy of God in Christ; of Christ himself, his person, offices, obedience, sufferings, and death, and of free and full salvation by him: it is a good report, a true and faithful one, and to be believed, and yet there are always but few that give credit to it; there were but few in the times of the Prophet Isaiah that believed what he had before reported, or was about to report, concerning the Messiah; and but few in the times of Christ and his apostles, whom the prophet here represented; for to those times are the words applied, John 12:38, the Jews had the report first made unto them, and saw the facts that were done, and yet believed not; when Gentile kings, and their subjects, listened with the most profound silence, and heard with the greatest attention and reverence, as in the latter part of the preceding chapter, to which some think this is opposed; wherefore some begin the text with the adversative particle “but.” According to the Septuagint and Arabic versions, the words are directed to God the Father, for they render them, “Lord, who hath believed,” &c.; and so they are quoted in the above places in the New Testament:
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? meaning either the Gospel itself, the power of God unto salvation, hidden from the generality of men; for though externally, yet not internally revealed and made known; which to do is the Lord’s work, and is owing to his special grace: or Christ, who is the power of God, by whom all the works of creation, providence, grace, and salvation, are wrought; and by whom the blessings of grace are dispensed; and by whom the Lord upholds all things, and supports his people; and who was not revealed but to a very few, as the true Messiah, as God’s salvation, and in them the hope of glory: or else the powerful and efficacious grace of the Spirit, and the exertion and display of it, which is necessary to a true and spiritual believing the Gospel, and the report of it; which, unless it comes with the power and Spirit of God, is ineffectual.
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Matthew Henry
The prophet, in the close of the former chapter, had foreseen and foretold the kind reception which the gospel of Christ should find among the Gentiles, that nations and their kings should bid it welcome, that those who had not seen him should believe in him; and though they had not any prophecies among them of gospel grace, which might raise their expectations, and dispose them to entertain it, yet upon the first notice of it they should give it its due weight and consideration. Now here he foretells, with wonder, the unbelief of the Jews, notwithstanding the previous notices they had of the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament and the opportunity they had of being personally acquainted with him. Observe here,
The contempt they put upon the gospel of Christ, v. 1. The unbelief of the Jews in our Savior’s time is expressly said to be the fulfilling of this word, Jn. 12:38. And it is applied likewise to the little success which the apostles’ preaching met with among Jews and Gentiles, Rom. 10:16. Note,
1. Of the many that hear the report of the gospel there are few, very few, that believe it. It is reported openly and publicly, not whispered in a corner, or confined to the schools, but proclaimed to all; and it is so faithful a saying, and so well worthy of all acceptation, that one would think it should be universally received and believed. But it is quite otherwise; few believed the prophets who spoke before of Christ; when he came himself none of the rulers nor of the Pharisees followed him, and but here and there one of the common people; and, when the apostles carried this report all the world over, some in every place believed, but comparatively very few. To this day, of the many that profess to believe this report, there are few that cordially embrace it and submit to the power of it.
2. Therefore people believe not the report of the gospel, because the arm of the Lord is not revealed to them; they do not discern, nor will be brought to acknowledge, that divine power which goes along with the word. The arm of the Lord is made bare (as was said, ch. 52:10) in the miracles that were wrought to confirm Christ’s doctrine, in the wonderful success of it, and its energy upon the conscience; though it is a still voice, it is a strong one; but they do not perceive this, nor do they experience in themselves that working of the Spirit which makes the word effectual. They believe not the gospel because, by rebelling against the light they had, they had forfeited the grace of God, which therefore he justly denied them and withheld from them, and for want of that they believed not.
3. This is a thing we ought to be much affected with; it is to be wondered at, and greatly lamented, and ministers may go to God and complain of it to him, as the prophet here. What a pity is it that such rich grace should be received in vain, that precious souls should perish at the pool’s side, because they will not step in and be healed!
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Calvin’s Commentary
Here the Prophet pauses, as it were, in the middle of his discourse; for, having formerly said that the name of Christ would be everywhere proclaimed, and would be revealed to unknown nations, and yet would have so mean an aspect that it might appear as if these things were fabulous, he breaks off his discourse, and exclaims that “Nobody will believe those things.” At the same time, he describes his grief, that men are so unbelieving as to reject their salvation.
If cultivated ground is unfruitful, what shall we look for from a soil that is uncultivated and barren? And yet it does not detract anything from the Gospel of Christ, that there are few disciples who receive it; nor does the small number of believers lessen its authority or obscure its infinite glory; but, on the contrary, the loftiness of the mystery is a reason why it scarcely obtains credit in the world. It is reckoned to be folly, because it exceeds all human capacities.
This is a remarkable passage, and is quoted by John and Paul for that purpose. “Though Jesus,” said John, “had performed many miracles in their presence, they believed not in him, that the saying of Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake,
“Lord, who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
(John 12:37)
And Paul says, “But they do not all believe the Gospel; for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?“ (Romans 10:16) Both of them declare that there will be no reason to wonder, if that which was long ago foretold shall happen; and they do so for the purpose of removing offense which might have arisen from the revolt of that nation, which ought to have acknowledged Christ, but obstinately resisted him.
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