WEBVTT 00:00:02.669 --> 00:00:04.389 If you've got your Bibles this morning and you 00:00:04.389 --> 00:00:06.549 want to turn along, we'll be in Isaiah chapter 00:00:06.549 --> 00:00:09.890 53. This is a book that right before Easter last 00:00:09.890 --> 00:00:11.910 year I got to preach from verses 6 to 12 and 00:00:11.910 --> 00:00:14.410 it made sense just to go back this year and get 00:00:14.410 --> 00:00:16.589 the first five verses. There certainly wasn't 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:19.870 time. There's so much packed in here. But Isaiah 00:00:19.870 --> 00:00:22.489 himself was a prophet who ministered at least 00:00:22.489 --> 00:00:25.859 40 years. He oversaw the reign of four different 00:00:25.859 --> 00:00:29.780 kings and was called by God in chapter 6 of this 00:00:29.780 --> 00:00:33.039 book. It would become the most prophetic book 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:35.179 in all the Old Testament, the most quoted of 00:00:35.179 --> 00:00:37.840 all the Old Testament books. And during the reign 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.619 of King Uzziah, to lay a little context, Israel 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:43.640 became very strong economically, militarily. 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:47.179 They had become very prosperous. But in the wake 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:50.259 of all this social status and uptick, they declined 00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:54.000 spiritually. Even King Uzziah, after a long kingship, 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:56.859 attempted to offer incense on the altar, a job 00:00:56.859 --> 00:00:59.119 reserved only for priests, and as a result, he 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:03.770 would be struck with leprosy and later die. Isaiah 00:01:03.770 --> 00:01:06.510 prophesied of some of the clearest references 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:10.189 in all of Scripture regarding Christ as the coming 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.709 Messiah. He's writing under inspiration of the 00:01:12.709 --> 00:01:15.810 Holy Spirit here hundreds of years before Christ's 00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:18.209 coming. With this idea, we begin looking forward 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:20.349 to Easter this week. We'll dig into Isaiah chapter 00:01:20.349 --> 00:01:23.609 53, probably one of the most well -known chapters 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:26.650 in the entire Old Testament. A coming servant 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:29.849 who would redeem God's people and become a light 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:34.659 to the nations. The promise, as we have seen, 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.200 a promise that will be fulfilled, has been fulfilled 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.840 in Jesus Christ. And here in this chapter, we 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.879 discover how He will redeem and suffer for His 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.799 people. The first thing we see is the suffering 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:49.340 of the servant. Verse 1, Isaiah writing, Who 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.019 has believed our report? And to whom has the 00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:54.879 arm of the Lord been revealed? Now verse 1 begins 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.219 with two questions. And to understand the immediate 00:01:57.219 --> 00:01:59.900 context, we need to back up to chapter 52. No 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.640 chapter divisions existed in the original text. 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:05.340 Isaiah writing, Behold, my servant shall deal 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:08.960 prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled to 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.240 be very high. Just as many were astonished at 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:16.460 you, so his visage was marred more than any man, 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:21.240 his form more than the sons of men. So he shall 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.020 sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:28.139 mouths at him, for what had not been told to 00:02:28.139 --> 00:02:31.039 them they shall see, and what had not been heard 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.819 they shall consider. Now, in many earlier chapters 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:38.000 in Isaiah up until this point, Isaiah has pointed 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:39.699 out that the Israelites had been spiritually 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:43.500 deaf, spiritually blind. and failed to believe 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:47.120 what God had said to His people speaking through 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.099 the prophets. They had been spiritually blinded. 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:52.240 But the Lord promises here in the future that 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.659 He would remove their blindness and that they 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:57.180 would trust Him. And as we begin to consider 00:02:57.180 --> 00:02:59.840 foremost Christ, but specifically in context 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.680 of Isaiah 53 this morning, where He is known 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.580 as a suffering servant, we must realize that 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:08.659 belief and trust are always at the heart of every 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:12.280 person's relationship to Christ. There are times 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:16.080 where God reveals particular things within Scripture 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:18.699 that are hard for us to understand and they are 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:21.060 hard for us to accept. And for Isaiah's original 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:23.919 audience, Isaiah 53 was certainly one of those 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:27.080 hard texts for them to comprehend. We'll get 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:30.240 into why that is. God's purposes have never been, 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:33.460 nor will they ever be, thwarted by humanity. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.659 Isaiah quickly here references the arm of the 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:40.539 Lord. Now, as you hear that term, the arm of 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:43.840 the Lord, Many images may be flooding your mind 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.680 with many Old Testament scenes. That is specific 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:53.020 language that was used to express God's display 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:56.139 of His power. in the Old Testament. The arm of 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.300 the Lord brought deliverance to the Israelites 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:01.780 at the time of the exodus from Egypt. It mightily 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.240 brought the ultimate defeat of the nation Babylon. 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:08.319 God powerfully, using that arm of the Lord, functions 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:10.240 positively to rule the earth when He comes to 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.759 reign, most triumphantly. It will bring forth 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:17.480 God's salvation to His people, Jew or Gentile. 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:20.639 The triune Godhead orchestrated the plan of salvation, 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:23.899 the rescue mission where Christ would embark 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:27.540 before the foundation of the world as a means 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.779 that a holy God could be reconciled to fallen 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:36.300 mankind. Verse 2. For he shall grow up before 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:38.860 him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:42.939 ground. He has no form or comeliness, and when 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:44.920 we see him there is no beauty that we should 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:49.750 desire him. Now, the servant... was not the Savior 00:04:49.750 --> 00:04:51.870 that they were looking for. He would not be that. 00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:55.329 He was not what they had in mind. He was not 00:04:55.329 --> 00:04:57.509 going to ride in on a war horse and overthrow 00:04:57.509 --> 00:04:59.949 the Roman government. He was going to hang on 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:04.000 a cross. And this was absolutely the last thing 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.959 they would have expected from a deliverer, from 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.439 a Messiah. Building on the question from verse 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:13.220 1, who has believed our report? Isaiah begins 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:16.160 to speak of the servant here by referencing his 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.720 origin and his appearance. But Isaiah uses poetic 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:21.959 language when he says he was a tender plant. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.860 He was a root out of dry ground. Now that root 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:26.980 coming up out of dry ground, that is a metaphor. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:29.720 And it's intentional. It ties in with the later 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.500 part of this verse. One plays on the other. He's 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:35.259 pictured here as a tender plant, opposed to something 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.420 strong and independent as a standing oak. He's 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:40.959 referred to as a shoot, one coming up out of 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.779 the stump of Jesse, a keenly Davidic figure is 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:47.019 described, but all in dry ground. What's significant 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.439 there about that dry ground? First of all, dry 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:53.279 soil is not fertile. And a person usually does 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.759 not find lush plants growing in places where 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:59.199 there's no water. This imagery captures the lowly 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.699 background, not only of his parents, but also 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:05.639 the state of the nation when Jesus was born also. 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:07.959 You remember at his first advent, there was not 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.779 much fanfare. Certainly the angels appeared to 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:12.160 the shepherds, the shepherds came and viewed 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.540 him, but the whole city of Bethlehem was not. 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:16.660 you know, running around that the Savior had 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:18.040 been born. There was very little celebration 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:20.639 at that first advent. He was born in a place 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:23.819 where animals were kept. Not a palace, not a 00:06:23.819 --> 00:06:26.920 place of luxuries and royalties afforded to persons 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.879 of royal lineage where they would be born. But 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:32.180 in spite of these lowly images, Isaiah said the 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:35.339 servant grew up before him, before Almighty God. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:37.839 But he says there was no form, there was no beauty. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.360 There was no impressive form in the servant. 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.120 He did not have glorious looks of earthly kings. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.379 There was nothing in his physical appearance 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:49.480 that marked him out, that set him apart. And 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:51.620 when we speak of Christ's coming, we're talking 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:54.100 about the doctrine of incarnation. The scriptures 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:56.800 clearly tell us that Christ emptied himself, 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:58.660 and the Greek word for that would be kenosis, 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:01.420 a self -emptying, a theological term that we 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:04.420 use to describe Christ's self -emptying as he 00:07:04.420 --> 00:07:08.160 came in that incarnation. He became the God -man. 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:13.160 100 % God, 100 % man, two distinct natures, yet 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.980 without contradiction. And we say that very easily, 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:18.439 but the first four ecumenical church councils 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:21.139 wrestled over that very language that we can 00:07:21.139 --> 00:07:24.220 say so easily now and place our faith in. But 00:07:24.220 --> 00:07:26.120 when Christ came to earth, He did not cease to 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:27.620 be God. There's some things we need to nail down 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:32.060 here. He did not empty Himself of deity. It was 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:34.259 a self -renunciation in that He veiled His glory, 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:38.680 and He veiled that to take on human nature. But 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.259 it was much more than God just taking on humanity. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:42.980 And this is critical. He did not just take on 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:46.500 a human body. He also took on all our essential 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:50.500 attributes. Christ would feel hunger. He would 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:53.339 feel thirst. He would feel tired. Eventually, 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.579 he would even feel betrayal to the point that 00:07:56.579 --> 00:08:00.240 he could identify with all of our basic human 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.480 needs. He subjected himself to persecution and 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:06.500 suffering. He left heaven's glories to come here 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:09.540 on earth and be poor. where he owned very little. 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.220 And even though he had been eternally rich, he 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:15.040 humbles himself in the form of a servant who 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.959 would incur the wrath of God Almighty for the 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:20.899 sins of all who had come to him in true faith. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:24.540 Verse 3, Isaiah would say this, He is despised 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:28.459 and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted 00:08:28.459 --> 00:08:32.120 with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:37.340 from him. He was despised and we did not. We 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:39.919 see a title here, Man of Sorrows. We just sang 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:42.919 about it. But the description with the text builds, 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:46.820 who is acquainted with grief and we despised 00:08:46.820 --> 00:08:49.440 him. There was nothing, as I said just a moment 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.700 ago, in Jesus' physical appearance that marked 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.320 him out as Messiah. In fact, if you were to pass 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:56.519 him walking down the street, if you were there 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:58.799 in the first century, you would not have picked 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:02.379 him out. Why? Because, as Isaiah had said, through 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:05.720 the incarnation, Christ became a human being. 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.679 He took on humanity just as you and I are in 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:12.259 all respects, yet without sin. The key here is 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:15.960 in verse 3 that he was despised for it. The fact 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:18.299 that He identifies with us becomes the reason 00:09:18.299 --> 00:09:22.019 of which He is rejected. Humanity had contempt 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:25.159 for Christ. It was Jesus who was regularly oppressed 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:28.259 by the Pharisees, those who were concerned with 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:31.419 holding position, not losing control with the 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:35.259 people, and contempt ultimately led to the cross. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:38.220 As He would hang there, it was so appalling, 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:43.080 Isaiah said, we hid our faces from Him. As Christ 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.620 was on the cross, think of all the beatings that 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:47.720 he had already endured, all the scourgings, all 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:53.299 of the things. He went through so much severe 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:58.820 cruelty. His body, the text would say, did not 00:09:58.820 --> 00:10:01.960 even look like a human body any longer. As you 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:04.120 compare all of the writings, all from the gospel 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:08.600 authors, it was so marred. Humanity as a whole, 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:12.659 in general, still feels contempt. toward Christ. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:15.940 You say, how? Because each one of us is born 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:20.080 in sin with a sin nature. We inherited this from 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.960 our first parents, Adam and Eve. We would call 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:24.600 this the doctrine of original sin when we refer 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.419 to it. That through Adam's fall, all humanity 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.559 inherits both a sinful nature and guilt, leading 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:34.240 to every person being spiritually corrupt and 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:38.629 unable to turn to God apart from His grace. We 00:10:38.629 --> 00:10:41.169 were not born innocent. We were born in sin. 00:10:41.230 --> 00:10:44.049 And this is not to be quickly passed over. Because 00:10:44.049 --> 00:10:46.450 as we work that out a little bit, that means 00:10:46.450 --> 00:10:50.570 in our flesh, in our humanity, we love the darkness. 00:10:51.470 --> 00:10:54.309 We didn't just tolerate it. We didn't just exist 00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:58.029 in it. We loved it. And it was only through the 00:10:58.029 --> 00:11:02.289 mercy of God. that showed us our need of a Savior. 00:11:02.330 --> 00:11:05.570 Only through His mercy of drawing us toward Himself, 00:11:05.789 --> 00:11:09.190 exposing our sin, could we ever truly turn to 00:11:09.190 --> 00:11:11.870 Him and appreciate the grace that He has offered. 00:11:12.269 --> 00:11:14.669 Isaiah was pointing out that his hearers here 00:11:14.669 --> 00:11:16.769 would hear this message over and over again, 00:11:16.809 --> 00:11:19.269 but they would never actually get it. They would 00:11:19.269 --> 00:11:21.690 never fully comprehend it. Their eyes would be 00:11:21.690 --> 00:11:24.289 blind. Their ears would be deaf to the true grace 00:11:24.289 --> 00:11:28.179 of God. For the Romans, The act of crucifixion 00:11:28.179 --> 00:11:31.419 marked Christ out as the very worst sort of criminal. 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.200 In the eyes of the Jews, Jewish culture, crucifixion 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.899 was to be cursed. And it was hard for them to 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:40.059 imagine as they're reading this writing of Isaiah, 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:42.860 anything less likely to be the Son of God, anything 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:45.879 less likely to be the one -way Messiah than a 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.659 man hanging on a cross, especially in a culture 00:11:48.659 --> 00:11:52.580 where the cross was a symbol of shame. The question 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:56.090 loomed. How could someone condemned take away 00:11:56.090 --> 00:11:58.990 sin? The Apostle Paul wrote often of the cross. 00:11:59.090 --> 00:12:01.990 In Galatians 6 .14, Paul would say, But God forbid 00:12:01.990 --> 00:12:04.669 that I should boast, except in the cross of the 00:12:04.669 --> 00:12:07.409 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:11.090 crucified to me and I to the world. Now, Paul 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:13.090 could have very well boasted. He could have boasted 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:15.230 in his intellect. He could have boasted in his 00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:16.909 influence. He could have even boasted in his 00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:19.730 apostolic authority. But he absolutely refused 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:22.649 to take pride in any of the abilities, education, 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:27.029 or accomplishments that he had. Now this is contrary 00:12:27.029 --> 00:12:29.889 to our fallen nature, which constantly seeks 00:12:29.889 --> 00:12:32.690 grounds for boasting. We like to say good things 00:12:32.690 --> 00:12:34.990 about ourselves. It's in our flesh. It is our 00:12:34.990 --> 00:12:36.889 natural desire to brag and boast and build ourselves 00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:39.419 up. But Paul said he wouldn't do that. He said 00:12:39.419 --> 00:12:41.659 he was only going to boast in the cross of Jesus 00:12:41.659 --> 00:12:44.460 Christ and Him crucified. And in fact, Paul would 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:47.659 say it again and again in his New Testament letters. 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:49.299 I mean, if we just thought about them quickly, 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:51.299 he would say things like, I have been crucified 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:55.340 with Christ. We preach Christ crucified. I decide 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:57.919 to know nothing else amongst you except Jesus 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.019 Christ and Him crucified. And finally, he preached 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:02.659 about the wonder of the cross as we consider 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:05.740 those letters. Christ is the only one who we 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:08.419 can boast in church because He is the only one 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.779 who can take away our sin. We fall so short. 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:15.879 Our humanity, in every way we fall short. We 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:17.799 can build ourselves up. We can brag on ourselves. 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:20.299 We can build empires around ourselves. But they 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:23.090 are nothing. They will be reduced to nothing. 00:13:23.129 --> 00:13:25.110 When we leave this life, it will not matter. 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:28.909 Christ came as the second Adam, the last Adam, 00:13:28.929 --> 00:13:32.529 the true and better Adam to fulfill what the 00:13:32.529 --> 00:13:35.970 first never could. In every way that we fall 00:13:35.970 --> 00:13:40.509 short, our Savior never did. As we think about 00:13:40.509 --> 00:13:43.570 verses 4 and 5, we see the substitution and the 00:13:43.570 --> 00:13:47.110 work of the servant. We'll hold these two verses 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:51.139 together. Surely He has borne our griefs. and 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.399 carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:58.620 smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:03.779 for our transgressions, and He was bruised for 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:06.559 our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:11.320 was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:13.659 If you notice the text on the screen, you'll 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:18.700 see every our and every we is underlined. And 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:20.460 if we look at the text critically, we can make 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:24.299 a very easy summation. He was pierced for our 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:28.679 transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:32.720 Now, very quickly though, as we consider verse 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:36.320 4, Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:38.000 and afflicted. It would almost appear on the 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.340 surface that Jesus was somehow being punished 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:43.120 by God. But we deduct very quickly from verse 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:46.360 5 that it was not for any sins He had committed, 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:50.220 but for ours. Martin Luther would say, each time 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:53.679 the crime is ours, our pain, our suffering, our 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:56.440 transgressions, our iniquities, and each time 00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:00.080 the suffering is his. He took, he bore, he was 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.259 pierced, he was crushed. It was Christ who lived 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:08.039 a life free from sin. He was tempted in every 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:11.460 way, but without sin. Righteously angered to 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:13.080 the point that he turned over temple tables, 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:16.710 yet without sin. If we think about the Old Testament, 00:15:16.809 --> 00:15:19.929 there is shadow after shadow where God raised 00:15:19.929 --> 00:15:23.909 up a deliverer, delivered His people for a little 00:15:23.909 --> 00:15:26.529 while, and then more oppression would return. 00:15:26.789 --> 00:15:29.110 Chasing after false gods would come again. It 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:31.590 was only temporary and it pointed toward the 00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:34.190 need for a greater Savior, a greater deliverer 00:15:34.190 --> 00:15:37.289 who would not lead the nations in any false worship. 00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:39.870 In every way, none of those deliverers were enough, 00:15:39.909 --> 00:15:43.519 but Christ was more than enough. But as we consider 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:47.159 this text that we just read, it is He who was 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:52.500 smitten, stricken by God, and afflicted for no 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:55.240 transgression of His own. It was for our sin 00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:57.840 for which He died and it was for our salvation 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:00.919 that He secured. Christ was numbered among the 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:04.059 transgressors despite living a perfect life in 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:07.820 His humanity. God has a righteous anger towards 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:11.639 sin. It is detestable in His sight. Cannot even 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:15.019 look upon it. And satisfaction, atonement, had 00:16:15.019 --> 00:16:18.200 to be accomplished. It was Christ who drank redemption's 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.539 cup of wrath fully to the bitter bottom, and 00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:24.659 he did so on the cross. The central idea of verses 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:27.500 4 and 5 is substitution, specifically the idea 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:30.700 of penal substitution. Don't get caught up in 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:32.419 that. That just means that Christ took the legal 00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:35.139 penalty. He took the legal punishment. for our 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:38.460 sin, in the place of sinners, satisfying God's 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:42.399 holy justice. This is at the very heart of our 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:46.320 salvation. Christ is our substitute. He died 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:49.899 in our place. He died for our pain. He died for 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:52.279 our suffering. He died for our transgressions, 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:55.120 our iniquity, and our rebellion. Because of that, 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:59.440 He was crushed and He was pierced for us. But 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:01.720 it was not partial. And it was not temporary. 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.880 The writer of Hebrews would say, But Christ came 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:08.880 as a high priest of good things to come, with 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.480 the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.920 made with hands that is not of this creation, 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:17.000 not with the blood of goats and calves, but with 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.480 His own blood He entered the most holy place 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:25.599 once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.920 Praise be to God for the goodness of His Son. 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:33.039 Christ served as our head church. He was a representative. 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:35.920 To this day, He is still the head of the church. 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:38.940 His bride. The punishment that brought us peace 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:42.539 was placed upon Him. God had passed sentence 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:45.259 on sin. It had to be accounted for. It had to 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:47.940 be reckoned. And that sentence was born by Christ. 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:51.500 It was carried by Christ. He endured the judicial 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:56.349 wrath of God for you. for me, for all who would 00:17:56.349 --> 00:17:59.089 ever come to Him. And He offered His own blood 00:17:59.089 --> 00:18:02.869 as a payment for sins for all who would come 00:18:02.869 --> 00:18:05.049 to Him in faith. Tim Chester would put it this 00:18:05.049 --> 00:18:07.849 way so wonderfully. God's attributes cannot be 00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:10.730 played off one another. God does not stop being 00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:14.309 holy so He can show mercy. He does not suspend 00:18:14.309 --> 00:18:17.529 His justice to extend forgiveness. But through 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:21.589 the substitutionary death of His Son, He is true. 00:18:21.670 --> 00:18:24.069 God is true to every aspect of His character, 00:18:24.269 --> 00:18:28.829 showing mercy while remaining just. Paul would 00:18:28.829 --> 00:18:32.049 write in Romans 3, Christ, whom God set forth 00:18:32.049 --> 00:18:35.890 to be a propitiation by His blood through faith 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:39.009 to demonstrate His righteousness, because in 00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:42.329 His forbearance God had passed over sins that 00:18:42.329 --> 00:18:44.910 were previously committed to demonstrate at that 00:18:44.910 --> 00:18:48.420 present time His righteousness. that He might 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:52.359 be just and the justifier of the one who has 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.420 faith in Jesus. The substitute in this case is 00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:58.759 Christ. He bears the penalty while sinners may 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:02.220 receive pardon. Our pain, our suffering, our 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:05.420 transgression, our iniquities are imputed to 00:19:05.420 --> 00:19:08.380 Christ here. In exchange, we receive peace with 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:11.019 God and the adoption of sons. Isn't that amazing? 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:15.069 But this idea of substitution, it did not originate 00:19:15.069 --> 00:19:16.990 here in Isaiah 53. This wasn't something that 00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:19.509 was just revealed to him. The idea of substitution 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:24.309 is the centerpiece of the Bible and of our salvation. 00:19:24.309 --> 00:19:27.829 It had much precedent long before Isaiah 53. 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:29.710 This was not something he just came up with. 00:19:29.809 --> 00:19:32.490 The idea of substitution was all the way back 00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:35.460 in the beginning. in the garden. It was God who 00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:38.500 took innocent animals, slew them, took skins 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:41.160 and clothed Adam and Eve and shed blood for the 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:44.240 first time for sins that they had committed. 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:47.140 It was this idea of substitution that was very 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:50.259 present as Abraham held the knife over his son 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:52.660 Isaac as he was on the altar and the Lord cried 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:55.299 out and a ram was in the brush to be offered 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:57.960 in the place of his son. It was this idea of 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.559 substitution that was there in the Passover as 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.700 the death angel passed through the land of Egypt. 00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:05.089 that night every firstborn was struck dead but 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:07.609 yet in the land of Goshen where the Hebrew children 00:20:07.609 --> 00:20:10.970 were innocent lambs had been slain blood applied 00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:13.150 over the doorpost and if that blood was there 00:20:13.150 --> 00:20:15.250 that sign that they had trusted in God's words 00:20:15.250 --> 00:20:18.250 he passed over and an innocent animal died so 00:20:18.250 --> 00:20:20.990 that that firstborn could live it was there daily 00:20:20.990 --> 00:20:23.529 in the worship of Israel at the tabernacle as 00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:27.130 blood was shed daily to cover the sins of the 00:20:27.130 --> 00:20:29.730 people this idea of substitution had much precedent 00:20:29.730 --> 00:20:34.480 but it was all pointing to one who had shed His 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.920 blood one time for all, never to be offered again. 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.400 And church, at the end of that verse, by His 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:45.299 stripes, we are healed. What the Old Testament 00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:48.259 was in shadow, the New Testament is in substance. 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:51.619 Because of this great act of substitution, we 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:55.619 have reconciliation with God. And that is, it 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:57.579 rolls off the tongue so easily, but that is such 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:01.019 a deep... thought the servant Christ has suffered 00:21:01.019 --> 00:21:04.480 greatly and achieved peace. The cross brought 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:07.680 peace while sin is an act of rebellion and we 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:11.420 were rebels, everyone, by natural origin. We 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:14.799 were enemies of God. Christ has healed us. He 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.220 has reconciled fallen, broken humanity living 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:21.980 east of Eden, still to this day, to a holy, righteous 00:21:21.980 --> 00:21:25.869 God. You say, what about us? What about the church 00:21:25.869 --> 00:21:29.170 gathered here at Mamre today at Kitts Hill? Church, 00:21:29.329 --> 00:21:32.529 first of all, we must humble ourselves and confess 00:21:32.529 --> 00:21:34.950 that we've went astray, every one of us. We have 00:21:34.950 --> 00:21:37.309 deliberately turned aside. We have went our own 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:40.309 way. It was not accidental. We have not always 00:21:40.309 --> 00:21:42.690 loved God. We have not always loved His ways. 00:21:42.869 --> 00:21:46.349 We were born in sin, and we have transgressed. 00:21:46.369 --> 00:21:48.730 We have crossed lines that God said, do not cross. 00:21:50.890 --> 00:21:53.369 But we have to understand our fallen condition. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:56.539 We have to understand our true state of sinfulness 00:21:56.539 --> 00:22:00.099 before we can ever begin to truly value redemption 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:03.539 that is offered by God through His Son and appreciate 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:06.759 what took place on the cross because it was there 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:09.960 where atonement and full satisfaction was made. 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:12.859 The suffering of Christ was not by happenstance. 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:14.799 It was not by chance. It was not accidental. 00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:18.720 Nor was it merely a result of unjust human judgment. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:23.039 It was for us. As we read this text, every our 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:27.019 and every we in the passage presses a truth upon 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:31.640 us. That it was our sin that is the reason for 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:35.079 His wounds. And as we consider this text, it 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:37.480 doesn't allow us to remain neutral towards Christ 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:40.539 or His cross. There is no fence we can ride here. 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:43.359 We cannot do that. It brings us face to face 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.700 with the weight of our great need. And Isaiah 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:48.980 began with the question, who has believed our 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:52.880 report? It's not enough to just intellectually 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.700 know these truths about Christ. It's not just 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:58.319 enough to know all the things of the Bible and 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:00.380 have some sort of head knowledge. The call of 00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:03.500 the gospel is to believe, to turn from sin, to 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:07.339 repent, and rest completely in the finished work 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:10.819 of Jesus Christ. Church, He has borne our griefs. 00:23:10.819 --> 00:23:13.799 He has satisfied the wrath of God for all who 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:16.619 will call on the name of Jesus. The same cross 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:20.140 is so wonderful that exposes our sin. also provides 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:23.559 our salvation. It is in God's rich and abundant 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:27.400 mercy that the Spirit of God opens our hearts 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.480 and opens our eyes to see that the cross is no 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:33.819 longer a symbol of shame and judgment any longer, 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:37.660 but a symbol of true love. One where Christ offered 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:42.319 Himself for us, taking on our pain, bearing our 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:45.299 suffering, crushed on our behalf, so that by 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:48.940 His wounds, we might be healed. We might have 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:53.859 peace with the Holy God. Last word. By His stripes 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:58.119 we are healed. We're no longer enemies. We've 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:01.220 been reconciled. No longer are we under wrath, 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.599 but we are at peace with God if we are His children. 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:08.799 And as Easter approaches, we look toward it with 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.900 reverence. and awe of this servant, knowing that 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:16.079 while he suffered greatly, he now reigns and 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:21.099 serves as our Savior and King. All praise be 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:26.160 to his name, church. Powerful text this morning. 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:29.119 I pray that we let that set on us and we meditate 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:32.240 on it as we transition from this time of preaching 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.960 to come to the Lord's table. This is a specific 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:37.890 time we set aside every week. It's a very important 00:24:37.890 --> 00:24:40.549 time as we come to take these sacraments, one 00:24:40.549 --> 00:24:42.809 that we do not take lightly. If you're here this 00:24:42.809 --> 00:24:44.369 morning, we want to invite you to come to the 00:24:44.369 --> 00:24:47.470 table with us. We take this this morning not 00:24:47.470 --> 00:24:49.789 only as a memorial, but we do it as we engage 00:24:49.789 --> 00:24:51.829 in a common means of grace gathered together 00:24:51.829 --> 00:24:55.910 here as a church body where many become one at 00:24:55.910 --> 00:24:58.650 this table. It is a privilege of believers that 00:24:58.650 --> 00:25:01.390 as we finish the Word, we come and we hold the 00:25:01.390 --> 00:25:04.559 elements together. The Lord just gives a couple 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:07.160 qualifiers to take the supper. It is His. It 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:09.539 is not our table. It is the Lord's table. That 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.539 is that you have confessed Jesus Christ as Savior 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:13.900 and you have been scripturally baptized. And 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:15.319 if you have done those two things, we would invite 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:17.759 you to take that supper this morning. If you 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.339 have not, we're just asking you to pass the tray 00:25:19.339 --> 00:25:21.420 on. As the elements come and they're distributed, 00:25:21.619 --> 00:25:24.140 hold them. We'll pray together and then we will 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:26.359 take them together. Deacons, if you would come 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:27.839 and begin to pass out the elements.