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Sermon Title: The Champion of Love is Reported to be the Suffering Servant
Text: Isaiah 53:1-12
Date: 03-21-21
Attention: When Suffering, Find Empathy in the Cross
This does not mean that we always get a simple, satisfying answer to all of our questions about suffering. In a 2014 testimony about his experience with a debilitating disease, former Wheaton College Provost Stan Jones provided a helpful perspective on all the questions about our suffering that we find it difficult or even impossible to answer. He said:
Long ago, I read a book about suffering, and the author made a point that I have had to return to time and time again. He said most of our why questions about suffering are ultimately unanswerable. God does not seem to be in the business of answering the why questions, and most of our philosophical responses to the question of suffering amount to various forms of taking God off the hook for the problem of suffering. But this author pointed out that God doesn't seem to be interested in getting off the hook. In fact, the answer of God in Jesus Christ to the problem of suffering is not to get off the hook at all, but rather to impale himself on the hook of human suffering with us in the very midst of our suffering.
When trouble comes and places a giant question mark over our existence, we should remember Jesus and the empathy of the Cross. Philip Ryken, When Trouble Comes, When Trouble Comes (Crossway, 2016), pages 95-96
Need: Isaiah reveals Jesus as the Suffering Servant.
Textual Idea: Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant who bore the shame for our sins.
Sermon Idea: Isaiah's report of the Suffering Servant as the Champion of Love.
Interrogative: What does Isaiah tell us about this Suffering Servant? In what ways is he reported to be the Suffering Servant?
Transition: Wiersbe wrote, “This chapter is the very heart of Isa. 40–66, and it takes us to the cross. That these verses apply to Jesus Christ is proved by John 12:37-41 “37But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”* 39Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”*
41These things Isaiah said when* he saw His glory and spoke of Him.,
Matt. 8:1717that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”*,
Acts 8:32–35 32The 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.33In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”* 34So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
Mark 15:28 28So the Scripture was fulfilled* which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”,
Luke 22:37 37“For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’* For the things concerning Me have an end.”,
Rom. 10:1616But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”* ,
and 1 Peter 2:24 24who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. . Isaiah 53 is quoted or referred to at least eighty-five times in the NT.
The prophecy begins with 52:13–15. Verse 13 tells of Christ’s exaltation, and the rest of the section deals with His humiliation. It is this strange “contradiction” that perplexed the OT prophets, as 1 Peter 1:10–11 informs us (.10Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.). They did not realize that there would be a long period between Messiah’s coming as the Suffering Servant to die and then returning as the Exalted Sovereign to reign. Verse 14 informs us that Christ’s physical sufferings made Him look inhuman, so much so that men were astonished at Him.
But when He returns the second time (v. 15), the whole world will be “startled, shocked” (the word should not be translated “sprinkle” but “startle”). See Zech. 12:9–10 and Rev. 1:7. The first time He came, He astonished a few people in Palestine; the next time He comes, He will startle the whole world. Now for the chapter before us. It traces the life and ministry of Christ.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Is 53). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Let’s stand together as we read the entirety of Isaiah 53 and discover how the Champion of Love is Reported to be the Suffering Servant! Let’s pray!
Division Statement #1: First, the suffering servant is reported in His rejection (vv.1-3).
Explanation: MacDonald wrote, “53:1 The repentant remnant of Israel recalls that when the report of the Messiah’s First Advent went forth, not many believed. And consequently, the saving power of the LORD was not revealed to many either.
53:2 The Lord Jesus grew up before the delighted gaze of Jehovah like an exotic, tender plant in this world of sin. He was like a root out of dry ground. Israel was the dry ground, a most unlikely soil. The nation of Israel could see no beauty in Him, nothing in His appearance to attract them.
F. B. Meyer describes the mystery of His humiliation: The tender plant; the sucker painfully pushing its way through the crust of the caked ground; the absence of natural attractiveness. Such imagery awaits and receives its full interpretation from the New Testament, with its story of Christ’s peasant parentage, his manger-bed, and lowly circumstances—fisherfolk his choice disciples; poverty his constant lot; the common people his devoted admirers.
thieves and malefactors on either side of his cross; the lowly and poor the constituents of his Church. This were humiliation indeed, though the irregularities of human lot are scarce distinguishable from the heights whence He came.62
53:3 Despised and rejected; He was a Man of sorrows who knew what grief was. To men He was repulsive; even by Israel He was not appreciated.
“Man of Sorrows,” what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood;
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!-Philip P. Bliss
MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 979). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Illustration: Christ Became One of Us
Tom Moorhouse, Roy, Utah. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2 informed us, “John Howard Griffin was a white man who believed he could never understand the plight of African-Americans unless he became like one. In 1959, he darkened his skin with medication, sun lamps, and stains, then traveled throughout the South. His book, Black Like Me, helped whites better understand the humiliation and discrimination faced daily by people of color.
Jesus Christ became like us; the Incarnation is evidence that God understands our plight. "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering" (Isaiah 53:3).
Application: The Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His rejection by the nation of Israel and the human race! Have you rejected this suffering servant?
Transition to Division Statement #2: First, the suffering servant is reported in His rejection, but then...
Division Statement #2: Second, the Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His redemption (vv.4-6).
Explanation: MacDonald again wrote, “53:4–6 The remnant now knows and acknowledges the truth about Him. They confess: “It was our griefs He bore, our sorrows He carried, yet as we saw Him on the cross, we thought He was being punished by God for His own sins. But no! It was for our transgressions, for our iniquities, and in order that we might have peace, in order that we might be healed. The truth is that we were the ones who went astray and who walked in self-will, and Jehovah placed our iniquity on Him, the sinless Substitute.”
Until that time when the remnant acknowledges Him, we who are Christians can confess:
He was wounded for our transgressions,
He bore our sins in His body on the tree;
For our guilt He gave us peace,
From our bondage gave release,
And with His stripes, and with His stripes,
And with His stripes our souls are healed.
He was numbered among transgressors,
We did esteem Him forsaken by His God;
As our sacrifice He died,
That the law be satisfied,
And all our sin, and all our sin,
And all our sin was laid on Him.
We had wandered, we all had wandered,
Far from the fold of “the Shepherd of the sheep”;
But He sought us where we were,
On the mountain’s bleak and bare,
And brought us home, and brought us home,
And brought us safely home to God.
—Thomas O. Chisholm
Our Lord Jesus suffered all five kinds of wounds known to medical science: contusions—blows by a rod; lacerations—scourging; penetrating wounds—crown of thorns; perforating wounds—nails; incised wounds—the spear. MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (pp. 979–980). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Illustration: God's Son Punished for Our Sin
Bryan Chapell, The Wonder of It All (Crossway, 1999); quoted in Men of Integrity (March/April 2001) says, “A distressed father sat at the bedside of his comatose son, hurt playing basketball. At a crucial point in the game, the 16-year-old lunged for an errant pass going out of bounds. As he toppled over a spectator's chair, one of its legs caught him in the stomach and damaged vital organs. Because he felt little pain, the teen continued to play the game's final minutes while he hemorrhaged internally. By the time the pain grew enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, it was almost too late. The doctors worked frantically to save him, but the outcome was uncertain.
Though the son eventually recovered, those awful hours of waiting for the slightest signs of recovery forced family members to ask questions they'd never before faced.
The father was alone on his bedside shift one evening when the pastor visited. Trembling with emotion, the father asked, "Will God kill my son to punish my sin?"
"No," said the young minister, searching for words that would comfort and grant renewed trust in the God this father now so desperately needed. "The Lord's not punishing your son for your sin. He couldn't, because God punished his son for your sin."
Application: The Champion of Love is reported to be the suffering servant in His redemption! Again, have you accepted the sacrifice He has made for you through His suffering on the cross for your sins?
Transition to Division Statement #3: The suffering servant is reported in His rejection, and in His redemption but then….
Division Statement # 3: Third, the Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His reservation (vv.7-9).
Explanation: Wiersbe wrote, “He was not treated justly; He was oppressed, harassed, treated roughly. Yet He did not complain or cry out. They mocked Him and pushed Him from one place to another, yet He was silent and meek as a lamb. He was the “Lamb of God” who came to take away the world’s sins (John 1:29). Verse 8 suggests that He was taken violently from prison and was not permitted to have justice. See Acts 8:33 and Matt. 27:22–31. The trial was “rigged” and the whole thing was illegal. Yet His “generation” did not protest; His disciples had forsaken Him and fled. And His death was not a glorious one; He was “cut off” like an unclean leper cast out of the city. In spite of this illegal and inhuman treatment, Jesus Christ did not protest or argue. Why? Because He had come to die for the sins of the people. Barabbas the criminal was treated with more kindness than was Jesus the Son of God.
Verse 9 should read: “And they appointed His grave with the wicked, yet He was with a rich man in His death.” Were it not for Nicodemus and Joseph, the body of Jesus would have been buried in a “potter’s field” or thrown on a garbage heap (John 19:38–42)? God had promised His Son a “grave in the garden,” and this was fulfilled. “He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.” Men were unjust, but God was just. What an example Christ is to us as He submitted completely to the will of God (1 Peter 2:18–25). When men treat us unjustly (as they will because we follow Christ), we must glorify Christ by being yielded to His will.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Is 53:7–9). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Application: The Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His reservation. He had every right to declare Himself as the Son of God yet He remained silent before His accusers!
Transition to Division Statement #4: The suffering servant is reported in His rejection, in His redemption in His reservation but finally...
Division Statement # 4: Fourth, the Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His reward (vv. 10-12).
Explanation: Wiersbe wrote, “All of this was planned by God and His plan was a complete success. See 52:13 and 42:1–4, where we see the success of the Savior’s work. These verses in chapter 53 show us the Godward side of the cross: His death “pleased the Lord.” Does this mean that the Father rejoiced in His Son’s suffering and death? No.
But it pleased Him to see the work of salvation completed, the sacrifice accepted, and sin atoned for. Now a holy God could, in His grace, save undeserving sinners. Though Christ was slain by the evil hands of men, their deeds were overruled to accomplish the purpose of God (Acts 2:22–24). Christ’s death was not a “moral example”; it was an offering for sin (v. 10). He died in our place.
What was Christ’s reward, apart from the joy of having done His Father’s will? He was raised from the dead (“He shall prolong His days”) and given a spiritual family (“He shall see His seed”). Verse 11 presents the picture of a spiritual family, for it describes the “travail” of His soul on the cross. See Ps. 22:30 and Heb. 2:13. In Isa. 9:6 Christ is called the “Everlasting Father” and this is the reason why: His death and travail on the cross have made possible God’s family of saved sinners. These are people whom He has justified, declared righteous through His grace.
Verse 12 presents another reward of the faithful Servant: an inheritance from the Father. He has conquered sin and Satan; now He divides the spoils (Eph. 4:8). When He was on earth, Christ was lightly esteemed, but now He is ranked with “the great.” Kings will bow to Him (52:13, 15; Ps. 72:8–11; Rev. 19:14ff). Psalm 2 describes how Christ will one day claim His inheritance.
The closing statements take us back to the cross. Christ was numbered with transgressors—He was crucified between two thieves and treated like a criminal (Matt. 27:38). He made intercession for the transgressors, praying for them (Luke 23:34, 43). He did not speak when men cruelly reviled Him, but He did speak for the sake of lost sinners. And today He is interceding for His own (Rom. 8:34). There is no judgment upon them because He bore it all Himself. Have you trusted Him as your own Savior? Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Is 53:10–12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Application: The Champion of Love is reported as the suffering servant in His reward. His greatest reward is you and me accepting His sacrifice for our sins! We will stand as trophies of His grace throughout eternity!
Transition to Conclusion: The Champion of Love is reported to be the Suffering Servant!
Visualization: COVID-19 and the Crown of Thorns
In his blog article, Dr. Timothy Tennent, the President of Asbury Theological Seminary, makes a fascinating connection between the Coronavirus and the season of Lent. The word 'Corona' has its origin in Latin and it means crown. So, the virus is called Corona because when viewed under a microscope it actually looks like a thorny crown.
When you read the Gospel accounts of the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, the Roman soldiers mockingly placed a thorny crown on Jesus because of the accusation that he claimed to be the King of the Jews! The thorny 'corona' on Jesus’ head was symbolic of his self-denial and sacrifice. It offers a dramatic picture of Jesus the true King who embraces our brokenness. While our world today is obsessed with the thorny crown virus, as Christians let us be obsessed with our Savior who wore a crown of thorns to give us eternal life! Adapted from Website - Dr. Timothy Tennent, “The ‘Crown’ in the Coronavirus: A Theological Reflection on the COVID-19 Pandemic,” TimothyTennent.Com (3-18-20)
Reiteration: The suffering servant is reported in His rejection, in His redemption, in His reservation and in His reward.
Action: Have you accepted this Champion as your Savior who became the Suffering Servant for you? He was rejected for you, redeemed you, remained silent before His accusers, but will one day be rewarded for His sacrifice! Let us pray!