The Suffering Servant
Notes
Transcript
4th Sunday of Advent
4th Sunday of Advent
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
INTRO:
INTRO:
AG:
TS: This chapter contains the prophet’s message describing the suffering of Messiah. In this supremely important chapter, Isaiah describes in graphic detail the crucifixion of Christ nearly 800 years before it actually occurs!
RS:
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
I. The Overview (53:1–2)
I. The Overview (53:1–2)
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
A. Facts about Isaiah’s message(53:1):
Isaiah realizes his Calvary predictions are so amazing that few will believe him.
The people of Israel already had a Picture of the Messiah as a strong King who came conquering all her enemies and reigning supreme over all the Earth.
The picture painted here of the suffering servant had been foreshadowed many times, but is given in great detail here.
The dichotomy of the two views of the Messiah, led Israel’s scholars to often conclude the King image was the Messiah, and the suffering servant had to be Israel herself. But the details revealed in ch 53, makes it clear that is impossible.
The question asked, “Who has believed our message?” has the implied answer of not many.
Few would recognize Him when He appeared
This was literally fulfilled in Jesus’ 1st advent
John applies this to Israel this way.
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Paul applies this to the world at large:
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
B. Facts about Isaiah’s Messiah(53:2)
Though unrecognized by the world, God the Father was carefully observing
1. His background (53:2a):
Jesus grows up before HIM like a tender green shoot from a root in dry and sterile ground.
God planted Jesus in the right place at the right time.
Mary and Joseph chosen to be his earthly parents
A young couple betrothed to be married
A carpenter and his fiance. from Nazareth.
Nothing special in the place or the people
Not the palace of a King.
BUT GOD sent a new life!
A green shoot from a root in dry and sterile ground
God’s plan was perfect!
2. His beauty (53:2b):
There is nothing striking about his appearance—nothing to attract us to him.
Jesus grew up in lowly conditions without any of the trappings of power and prestige
Nothing about Him would draw followers to Him superficially.
Only those with the eyes of faith would recognize Him.
II. The Origin (53:4, 10a)
II. The Origin (53:4, 10a)
Who is responsible for the death of Christ?
A. The Messiah’s foes (53:4):
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
He dies for the sins of those who hate him, namely, all of us!
Isaiah declares Messiah would bear the consequences of our sins and its consequences the griefs and sorrows of life
At the same time, those watching assumed He was dying for His own sins.
Dying well
To die is indeed the lot of every human being and thus is a very mediocre art, but to be able to die well is indeed the highest wisdom of life. (TDIO, 76)
Soren Kierkegaard
Jesus truly died well! He died sacrificially for us!
B. The Messiah’s Father(53:10a):
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
Amazingly, it is God’s plan to bruise his own Son!
Jesus did NOT deserve to die!
But the Father in His perfect love for us developed a perfect plan to save us
He was pleased to bruise and put His own son to grief.
The Father punished the Son for sins He did not commit (cf. Isa. 53:10–12), so that sinners might be clothed with a righteousness they could never earn (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21)
John F. MacArthur
III. The Ordeal (53:3, 5–6, 8–9)
III. The Ordeal (53:3, 5–6, 8–9)
A. He is belittled in life (53:3):
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Christ is despised and rejected by Israel’s leaders.
They rejected Him and looked with disdain upon him.
As He was crucified, they wrote Him off as finished.
B. He is brutalized in death (53:5–6, 8–9).
1. He endures imprisonment and various unfair trials (53:8):
He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
While imprisoned and going through a sham trial:
They slapped Him
Put a crown of thorns upon Him
Mocked Him
Beat Him
They basically did everything they could to brutalize and abuse Him
They lead him from prison to trial to death.
2. He is wounded, beaten, and bruised (53:5–6):
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Notice “our”
This happens for our sins.
This happens for our iniquities
This happened for our peace
This happened for our healing!
There is no cure for the love of sin like the blood of Christ!
A Dire Disease Strangely Cured, Volume 50, Sermon #2887 - Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24
Charles Spurgeon
3. He is buried like a common criminal (53:9):
And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
They intended a criminals burial like other disgraced criminals
Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Instead He is put in a rich man’s grave.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
IV. The Obedience (53:7)
IV. The Obedience (53:7)
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
As a sheep awaiting shearing, the Messiah silently endures all his sufferings. He is led like a lamb to the slaughter.
It is Interesting to note that 7 & 8 the very passage the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading when Philip met him and explained the meaning.
The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
Jesus sacrifice was freely given without
V. The Outcome (53:10b–12)
V. The Outcome (53:10b–12)
A. His death assures spiritual life for countless multitudes (53:10b):
They will enjoy a long life and will prosper.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
Jesus was a guilt offering and it pleased the Lord
Christ is our Passover
“Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). It’s clear that the Apostolic community saw a link between the death of Christ and the Old Testament Passover celebration.
R. C. Sproul
B. He is raised again and enjoys the fruits of his sacrifice (53:11).
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
His sacrifice settled the sin issue!
He justifies many
6 I venture to say that a sinner justified by God stands on even a surer footing than a righteous man justified by his works, if such there be.
Charles Spurgeon
All of Grace (19th century)
Christ alone justifies all who call upon Him
C. He is honored for his greatness (53:12)
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
In the end, He will enjoy the rewards
Clearly even here we see that Christ would rise from the grave.
There would be no way to enjoy the spoil of the victory otherwise.
He will reign as King
Conclusion[1]
Conclusion[1]
Jesus is both the suffering servant and the King of Kings
He sacrificed Himself willingly for our salvation.
This week, we celebrate the first step on Earth for that process.
He took on flesh and displayed the Father for us.
[1] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Is 53.
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