Read 1 PETER 1:10–12

Mapmaking in the sixteenth century was a mix of information gathered by explorers and educated guesses about previously undocumented parts of the world. One persistent mystery for European mapmakers was what lay between the Americas and Asia—was it a land border? A vast body of water? Were the two continents connected? The Italian mapmaker Gastaldi is thought to be the first to draw a map of the Bering Strait in 1563, though his atlas was not published until it was discovered in a private collection of manuscripts in the 1920s.

Like those early mapmakers, the Old Testament prophets had some information about the coming of Jesus and the message of the gospel, but the Holy Spirit did not reveal the full details to them. They had to trust by faith that the message they were given would bless readers hundreds and even thousands of years later. As we look back at the Old Testament today, we see Christ revealed there.

For instance, Isaiah 53, from which our key verse today is taken, paints a powerful portrait of the Savior who died for sins on our behalf. This chapter predicts “the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow” (v. 11; Isa. 53:10–12). Our salvation rests on this gospel: that Jesus, the Son of God, willingly became human in order to die for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead. He promises eternal life in relationship with God to all who trust Him (vv. 3–5, 12).

Peter mentions the gospel here in part to encourage his readers to rejoice in their identity. Yes, they were suffering—but so had Jesus. And just as Jesus was raised to glory, so too would His followers be given a glorious inheritance of salvation that is worth more than gold.

APPLY THE WORD

Some think the Old Testament isn’t relevant for Christians or that it features an angry god who punishes people. Neither view is correct; 1 Peter says that it is filled with grace and points to Jesus. Read Isaiah 53, and follow Peter’s example by praising God that the gospel was made possible through the suffering and glory of Christ.

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