The Gospel of the Forty Days: A Suffering Messiah       We are continuing to identify what commands (Ac 1:2) and teachings (Ac 1:3) the resurrected Lord Jesus gave, or might have given, during the forty days before His ascension. Last week we looked at First Century Jewish messianic expectations in general, and one thing is immediately clear: no one expected a suffering Messiah.       As Christians, we think of the “Suffering Servant” prophecies of Isaiah (42:1-7; 49:1-9; 50; 53), but these were not applied to the Messiah in the First Century. Usually they were understood to refer to the sufferings of the people of Israel as a whole. Yet, a few of the “servant” references in Isaiah clearly indicate an individual. The “servant” in Isaiah 52:13, the Targum (later Jewish rabbinical writing reflecting First Century traditions) has inserted the term “Messiah” in place of the term “servant.” But this oracle refers to a King Messiah prospering and be...