The Sacrificial Servant Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Chuck Musselwhite

Easter 2022 • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Prophecy Update

What role does the US play in end times prophecy

That is hard to tell because we don’t see any mention

That has led most scholars to say we will diminish as a nation

Interesting note is that you don’t see China playing a role either

What would be the cause of the two world super powers not being around

I want to suggest three options

It could be one of these options or a combination

Option #1 Financial Collapse

There could be a recession that happens that causes our financial markets to collapse much like the Great Depression

This country has so much debt and inflation is taking it’s toll

If the economy was to crater it would create a power vacumn that many nations would eagerly fill

If the Anti-Christ appeared and created a One-World order He would move the monetary system off of the dollar to something like the Euro and we would never recover

Option #2 Military Reduction

Another reason you might not see America in End Times prophecy is that we are no longer a military super power

We are really close to that point right now

The war in Iraq depleted our troops

Starting in 2008 there began a reduction in our military forces

New equipment wasn’t developed and old equipment wasn’t replaced

For the next 8 years, and yes you can tag it to a president, the budge was cut and forces were reduced.

Our military got to a level of unreadiness unseen under any other president

Four years under Trump weren’t enough to replenish and spending on COVID further shaved any money towards it

Now with our country sending military provisions to the Ukraine some senators are asking how we are going to replace the equipment

There are no plans to do that any time in the future

This could leave us vulnerable if we went to help an ally or worse yet be open to an attack

This is why you need to worry about China luring us in with an attack on Taiwan, North Korea shooting missiles at South Korea, or Russia attacking a NATO country

All of these would force our hand and could leave us vulnerable

Option #3 Rapture

The final option would be the USA isn’t mentioned because a good chunk of the country was raptured

There are 238 million Christians in the country

The last equipping dinner showed us that most of those were cultural

There are 367 million people in the USA

If 1/3 of Christians are raptured it’s gonna leave a hole

121 million people missing is going to take us out of the picture

Jerusalem is and will be the center of the universe

Those who hate Israel will gather to wipe it out

God will protect them in a divine way and will usher in the Tribulation

Read Isaiah 53:1-5

This passage is at the heart of chapters 49–57, and its message is at the heart of the Gospel.

Like Mt. Everest, Isaiah 53 stands out in beauty and grandeur, but only because it reveals Jesus Christ and takes us to Mt. Calvary.

Through the book of Isaiah, many have been called servants of the LORD in one way or another.

This includes Isaiah himself (Isaiah 20:3), Eliakim (Isaiah 22:20), David (Isaiah 37:35), and Israel (Isaiah 41:8-9).

But there is no doubt that the phrase is also used as a specific title for the Messiah, and this is what is in view here.

The messianic interpretation of Isaiah 53 was held by Jewish rabbis till the twelfth century.

After that, Jewish scholars started interpreting the passage as a description of the sufferings of the nation of Israel.

But how could Israel die for the sins of Israel? (v. 8)

And who declared that Israel was innocent of sin and therefore had suffered unjustly? (v. 9)

No, the prophet wrote about an innocent individual, not a guilty nation.

He made it crystal clear that this individual died for the sins of the guilty so that the guilty might go free.

The Servant that Isaiah describes is the Messiah; and the New Testament affirms that this Servant-Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God

Isaiah 53 is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more frequently than any other Old Testament chapter.

At least forty-one different citations

Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-5 and plainly says it is a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 12:16-21).

Additionally, in Matthew 8:16-17 the Bible takes this passage of Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 and says it specifically applies to Jesus.

Many are amazed that people – especially Jewish people – can read a chapter like this and miss Jesus.

But really it isn’t surprising. When we make up our minds about who Jesus is, it’s easy to become blind and deaf to the plain, simple message of the word of God.

Put away your pre-conceived notions and your cultural Jesus. Let the word of God tell you who He is.

The fifteen verses that comprise the fourth Servant Song fall into five stanzas of three verses each, and each of these stanzas reveals an important truth about the Servant and what He accomplished for us.

The Shocking Servant vs. 13-15

The Ethiopian in Acts 8:34 asked a question about Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12: Of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?

This question is still asked today, and the answer is extremely important.

vs. 13 He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high:

The first words of the LORD in the mouth of the prophet regarding His Servant declare His victory.

He shall be exalted and extolled means that the Messiah will triumph.

There is no doubt about it. Before any of His suffering is announced, His glorious triumph is assured.

vs. 14 His visage was marred more than any man:

This speaks of the cruel and vicious beating Jesus endured at the hands of His enemies.

Jesus was beaten so badly on His face that He hardly looked like a man.

The result was so shocking that many were astonished when they saw Jesus.

Luke 22:63–64 ESV

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

The astonishment mentioned may be subtly referred to in the New Testament.

On several occasions after His resurrection, the followers of Jesus were slow to recognize Him (Luke 24:16, John 20:14 and 21:4).

On one occasion, they even seem awkward about His appearance:

John 21:12 Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” – knowing that it was the Lord.

This may indicate that the marred visage of Jesus remained after His resurrection.

Vs. 15 So shall He sprinkle many nations:

Sprinkling is often associated with cleansing from sin in the Old Testament (Exodus 24:8, Leviticus 3:8, Numbers 19:21, Ezekiel 36:25).

Here, the promise is that the work of the Messiah will bring cleansing to many nations.

The Messiah is certainly Israel’s Messiah, yet He belongs to more than Israel.

His saving, cleansing work will extend far beyond Israel to many nations.

The Sorrowing Servant vs. 1-3

vs. 1 Who has believed our report?

Prophetically, Isaiah anticipates at least two things here.

First, he anticipates how strange and contradictory it seems that this suffering Messiah, whose visage is marred more than any man, is at the same time salvation and cleansing to the nations.

Second, he anticipates the rejection of the Messiah, that many would not believe our report.

vs. 1b To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

In this context of the Messiah’s suffering and agony, this line seems out of place.

The arm of the LORD is a picture of His strength, power, and might.

Yet we will see a Messiah weak and suffering.

But the strength, power, and might of God will be expressed in the midst of this suffering, seemingly weak Messiah.

vs. 2 He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant:

Jesus did grow up, as He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).

But all the while, He was as a tender plant – of seeming weakness and insignificance, not like a mighty tree.

vs. 2b As a root out of dry ground: Jesus grew up in the Galilee region of Roman occupied Palestine.

In respect to spiritual, political, and standard of living matters, it was indeed dry ground.

God can bring the most wonderful things out of dry ground.

vs. 2c He has no form or comeliness…no beauty that we should desire Him:

Prophetically, Isaiah gives a more compelling description of Jesus than we find anywhere in the gospel accounts.

Jesus was not a man of remarkable beauty or physical attractiveness (comeliness).

This doesn’t mean that Jesus was ugly, but it does mean that He did not have the “advantage” of good looks.

vs. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief:

Jesus was not a “life of the party” man. It would be wrong to think of Him as perpetually sad and morose; indeed, He certainly showed great joy (such as in Luke 10:21).

Yet He knew sorrow and grief so intimately that He could be called a Man of sorrows.

This, among other reasons, made Him despised and rejected by men.

vs. 3b And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him:

Because there was nothing outwardly beautiful or charismatic about the Messiah, mankind’s reaction was to withdraw from Him, to despise Him, and hold Him in low esteem.

This shows that men value physical beauty and charisma far more than God does, and when we don’t see it, we can reject the ones God accepts.

The Smitten Servant vs. 4-6

vs. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows:

At this point, the prophet does not have in mind the way the Messiah took our guilt and God’s wrath upon Himself.

Here, he has in view how the Messiah took our pain upon Himself.

He made our griefs His own, and our sorrows as if they were His.

The image is that He loaded them up and carried them on His back, so we wouldn’t have to.

How many people carry around pain – griefs and sorrows – that Jesus really carried for them?

He took them from us, but for it to do us any good, we must release them.

vs. 4b Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted:

Curiously, this estimation was accurate.

Certainly, the Messiah was stricken. He was smitten by God. He was afflicted.

The problem was not in seeing these things, but in only seeing these things.

Man saw the suffering Jesus but didn’t understand the reasons why.

vs. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him:

Yes, the Messiah was stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But now, the prophet explains why.

It was for us – for our transgressions…for our iniquities.

It was in our place that the Messiah suffered.

Wounded is literally “pierced through.”

And by His stripes we are healed: Here, the prophet sees through the centuries to know that the Messiah would be beaten with many stripes (Mark 15:15).

More so, the prophet announces that provision for healing is found in the suffering of Jesus, so by His stripes we are healed.

vs. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way:

Here the prophet describes our need for the Messiah’s atoning work.

Sheep are stupid, headstrong animals, and we, like they, have gone astray.

We have turned – against God’s way, every one, to his own way.

We all have our own way of sin.

The constant temptation is to condemn your way of sin, and to justify my way of sin. But each way that is our own way instead of the LORD’s way is a sinful, destructive, damned way.

vs. 6b And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all:

Here we see the partnership between the Father and the Son in the work on the cross. If the Messiah was wounded for our transgressions, then it was also the LORD who laid on Him the iniquity of us all. The Father judged our iniquity as it was laid on the Son.

The Silent Servant vs. 7-9

vs. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth:

Despite the pain and the suffering of the Messiah, He never opened…His mouth to defend Himself.

He was silent before His accusers (Mark 15:2-5), never speaking to defend Himself, only to glorify God.

vs. 7b He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth:

The prophet repeats His previous point, that the Messiah will suffer without speaking to defend Himself.

When Isaiah uses the phrase, He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, we should not take this as indicating that Jesus was a helpless victim of circumstances and was helpless as a lamb.

Quite the contrary; even in His suffering and death, Jesus was in control (John 10:18, 19:11 and 19:30). Isaiah’s point is that Jesus was silent, not helpless.

vs. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation?

This not only refers to the confinement of the Messiah before His crucifixion, but it also speaks of the fact that the Messiah died childless.

There was no one to declare His generation.

vs. 8b For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken:

This is the first indication in this passage that the suffering Servant of the LORD, the Messiah Himself, would die.

Up to this point, we might have thought He would only have been severely beaten.

But there is no mistaking the point: He is to be cut off from the land of the living.

vs. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked:

Jesus died in the company of the wicked (Luke 23:32-33), and it was the intention of those supervising His execution to cast Him into a common grave with the wicked.

But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth:

Despite the intention of others to make His grave with the wicked, God allowed the Messiah to be with the rich at His death, buried in the tomb of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea

The Satisfied Servant vs. 10-12

vs. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief:

The prophet gloriously, and emphatically, states that the suffering of the Servant of the LORD was ordained by the LORD, even for His pleasure!

This was God’s doing!He has put Him to grief!

Jesus was no victim of circumstance or at the mercy of political or military power.

It was the planned, ordained work of the LORD God, prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years before it happened. This was God’s victory, not Satan’s or man’s triumph.

vs. 10b When you make His soul an offering for sin:

The Hebrew speaks of a specific, sacrificial sin-offering as described in Leviticus chapter 5.

The idea of a substitutionary atonement for sin cannot be more specifically stated.

vs. 11 He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand:

The death, the burial, the offering of the Messiah does not end the story. He lives on!

He lives to see His seed, His spiritual descendants. He shall prolong His days, and not be under the curse of death.

And the life He lives after His death and burial is glorious; His life shall be lived prospering in the pleasure of the LORD.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied:

The Messiah will look upon His work – with full view of the travail of His soul – and in the end, He shall be satisfied.

The Messiah will have no regrets. Every bit of the suffering and agony was worth it and brought about a satisfactory result.

vs. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong:

The Messiah’s glorious work will be rewarded. With the image of dividing the spoil after a victorious battle, we see that the Messiah ultimately triumphs.

Paul described this ultimate triumph in Philippians 2:10-11: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. That is a glorious reward.

vs. 12b Because He poured out His soul unto death:

This speaks of the totality of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Poured out means that it was all gone. There was nothing left, nothing more He could give.

He was numbered with the transgressors:

Jesus could never become a sinner; He could never be a transgressor Himself.

Yet willingly, loving, He was numbered with the transgressors. Is there a rollcall taken for transgressors?

Jesus says, “Put My name down with them.”

He bore the sin of many:

Over and over again, the prophet emphasizes the point.

The Servant of the LORD, the Messiah, suffers on behalf of and in the place of guilty sinners.

And made intercession for the transgressors:

We know that presently, Jesus has a ministry of intercession (Hebrews 7:25).

But Hebrews 7:25 speaks of intercession for the saints.

This passage probably refers to Jesus’ prayers on the cross itself.

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