Isaiah 53 is a prophesy in the Old Testament that was written about 700 years before Jesus was born that was fulfilled when Jesus lived out his earthly ministry. When you read Isaiah 53, one thing you will notice is how much the person it refers to, Jesus, is misunderstood.

But he lifted up our illnesses,

he carried our pain;

even though we thought he was being punished,

attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.

— Isaiah 53:4, NET

Then in the New Testament gospel accounts of Jesus life and ministry we see example after example of people not understanding Jesus. Jesus’ religious opponents, the Pharisees and Sadducees, did not understand him or believe in him. The regular people that heard Jesus often misunderstood what he was trying to say. Even John the Baptist and Jesus’ own disciples, who did believe in him, still misunderstood him quite a bit.

To be clear, Jesus was not misunderstood because he was a bad communicator …