“Above all, the reason why I believed in Jesus is because He silenced the longings of my soul.”
Isaac, a Jewish boy, was brought up to read the Old Testament and to know God's law and His commandments and judgments. His life went smoothly except for one thing. He worried constantly because he knew that he was a sinner. He was anxious to get rid of his sins.
His teacher, a learned Rabbi, told him that his father would bear them for him until he was thirteen years old, and Isaac dreaded the thought of what would happen then. When that unhappy day arrived, he went to his father and said, "Father, won't you bear my sins a little longer, just a month more?"
But his father answered, "No, my son; you must bear them yourself now. I can do no more for you."
This was bad news to the boy. Hopelessly he went on reading the Old Testament, specially interested in forefather Abraham's history. He read how God had called him to leave his country and his people to go to a land which He would show him. The more Isaac thought about this, the more he felt sure that God was calling him in the same way. At last he made up his mind to leave home. His parents, seeing that his mind was made up, gave him their blessing and let him go.
First he went to Hamburg, then crossed to England, and finally settled in London. Here he met a German Jew, Rabbi Stern, who noticed his sad expression and said to him kindly, "Are you a Jew, my brother?"
This was asked so gently that Isaac opened his heart to him and told him his history and how he was burdened with the weight of his sins, which he had had to carry since he was thirteen years old.
Mr. Stern had himself left home and country to find rest for his soul, so he took the greatest interest in Isaac. He read to him the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and explained to him that the Messiah, as foretold in this and other prophecies, had come and suffered for the sins of the Jews and for all those who put their trust in Him.
Isaac listened intently as Mr. Stern read through this wonderful chapter: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.... The Lord hath laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.... For the transgression of My people was He stricken.... Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin.... He [Jesus] shall bear their iniquities.
Many times in the chapter the words sin, transgressions, iniquities, occur, and in each case they were borne by the Messiah, Jesus, of whom it was said: He shall save His people from their sins. (Matt. 1:2121And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21).)
Little by little the truth found its place in Isaac's heart. He believed the Scriptures and realized that Jesus, the Son of God, loved him, a lonely Jew, and had given Himself for him. His heart rested; the burden of his sins was gone, and he wrote home to tell his father what had happened.
His parents were very angry when they found that their son had become a Christian. They disowned him as a relative and refused to have anything to do with him. But Isaac was proving the goodness of God at every turn in his path, and now he learned the truth of a verse which he had read many times: When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. (Psa. 27:1010When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. (Psalm 27:10).)
His faith and hope increased as the years went on, and he said to his friends, "Above all, the reason why I believed in Jesus is because He silenced the longings of my soul." He meant that not only were his sins gone, but his heart was satisfied.
This is what God will do for every one who believes in Jesus. He will forgive their sins and fill their hearts with peace and joy in believing.
Many ask this question in their hearts. They do not doubt God's power, but they wonder, "Is He willing?" It is an important question, and only the Word of God can give the answer.
In the Bible in Luke chapter 5 we read of a leper who came to Christ. The one thought in his mind was, "Is He willing?" When he saw Jesus he fell on his face, saying, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."
The Lord Jesus responded at once. His tender, loving heart was touched by the man's misery and helplessness, and He stretched forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I WILL: be thou clean." Immediately the leprosy left him.
In His presence, and by His love and power, all need was met, whether it were a leper in his leprosy or a sinner in his sins. "I will: be thou clean" was spoken to the former, and "Thy sins are forgiven" to the latter. It is always so. Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37).)