With Him (Jesus) In Baptism

Isaiah 53:1-12

If you were here Wed. night, bear with me. I am going to go back through Isaiah 53. It is a most powerful prophecy of Christ, because it is a prophecy of the Jews when they look back and realize that they have, for many years, rejected the true Messiah, Jesus Christ!

The reason I want to go back to this is that when we are baptized, it is an outward expression of our confession! Part of the Scripture I will read today before we baptize Lyla, tells us Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Buried with Him (Jesus).......when we come to this point of water baptism, the confession has already been made and at our confession we have immersed ourselves in Jesus Christ! Buried the old man.....Scripture tells us that in so doing we put the old man to death........In other words the old man, the fleshly, sinful man has no power to dictate our lives anymore, we come up alive in Christ......not by our power but by His power! Raised from the dead!

When that happens Scripture also tells us that it is no longer we that live but Christ lives in us!

I go back to the phrase in Romans 6:4 ............... “with Him”.

So, I just wanted to reinforce, enlighten, or just talk about who it is that Lyla is given her life to! That is important to know, because the supernatural event of confession is all about Jesus and none about us!

Isaiah 53........is a prophecy of the Jews (God’s people), it is a prophecy of the Jews as a nation (Israel) confessing Christ, during the Great Tribulation, after the church of Jesus Christ has been raptured and they look on Jesus, Who they rejected!

We have only 1 life to believe in Jesus Christ, we must not miss Christ! Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;”

They missed and when they realize it, this is their confession, you might can say their repentance!

Verse 1....Who has believed report? The strength of the Lord is revealed to all the world in Jesus Christ!

I told them Wed. night that “the Arm of the Lord” is a phrase the describes strength. It literally carries the meaning of rolling up your sleeve and showing your muscle!

What is the strength/power of the Lord......Paul said in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

The power of the Lord is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in Christ is revealed everything about God.......He said if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father!

Verses 2-3 explain how Jesus came........from a fleshly perspective it did not seem like power or strength! All of Jesus’ life on the earth, was lowly, humble means!

“A tender plant”.....throughout Jesus’ life God observed it all carefully and He ordered every circumstance of His life!

So, God was in control of His lowliness, His humble life here, where Jesus was had nothing in His appearance, nothing in His background that would say to us Messiah (Savior), and most definitely no circumstance that would say King of kings and Lord of lords!

Jesus was born in a manger, born into a poor family from Nazareth!

It was said in those times, that nothing good comes from Nazareth!

You get the idea, the Jews are looking back here and declared, in deep regret, that they saw nothing in the life of Christ that would say to them that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the Living God!

Except for every prophecy in the OT, declared these humble beginnings!

The only reason they rejected Him, is because it wasn’t how they wanted their Deliverer to come!

Next, throughout the ministry of Jesus, He was despised and rejected.........Jesus said this in John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”

Every part of Jesus’ life was sinless and in His living and from His words, He testified that our works, our lives were evil!

With the exception of a few, the world hated Him, those Jews rejected Him because they saw what they thought were lived out in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ!

Therefore, they saw Jesus as a man of sorrows, always experiencing grief!

So, the Jews hid their faces from Jesus, they rejected Him! In so doing they rejected the One they claimed they served God the Father!

Verse 4 tells us that the truth of Christ, no matter how you view Him, is that He borne or carried our griefs, He was acquainted with grief, because He was carrying our griefs and our sorrows because of our sinful life!

Stricken, Smitten, Afflicted.......they thought that God had done these things to Jesus, which He did, but not for the reason they thought!

They thought Jesus was wrong and a liar and that is why all of the bad things were happening to Him! But all of the grief, sorrow, affliction, and pain Jesus experienced was because of our sin!

Verse 5 they and I hope you see.....that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised (which really means crushed) for our iniquities.......

The chastisement for our peace was placed upon Jesus!

The only thing that would bring peace to us and God the Father is for the penalty of sin to be paid! That penalty is death.....death in the flesh as well as the soul......

Only God could take that and live forever, so Jesus was sent to do that for us!

Now, with Jesus dying on the cross, we are healed!

Healed? Physically? No, spiritually!

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

One more…Revelation 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”

Cleansed us, you could call it purging our sins by His death, now we can be presented to God as Ephesians 5:26-27 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

All of us are in this condition sinful......Gone to our way! That is truly what sin is, following the desires of our flesh, instead of following God’s way, which for us now is found in Jesus Christ!

However, because we ALL have not followed after God, He laid that iniquity on Jesus!

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For God hath made Jesus to be sin for us, Jesus Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus.”

The next few verses detail the brutal punishment and death of Christ. Even His burial!

The last 3 verses, gives us the coming up with Him part, being raised from the dead!

“But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.”

“When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.”

“I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

Throughout this chapter we read of what Jesus did for us.........yet the testimony of some is that this couldn’t be the Christ the Son of the living God, but they look back and see that they missed Him!

They saw the “Arm of the Lord” The strength and power of God in a physical way and never saw the spiritual, most importantly they never saw their sin that has so separated us from God!

But this chapter reveals to us that they look back and know Who their Christ is and they know He has made healed them from the sickness of sin and death and that is the strength of the Lord!

Turn with me to 1 Peter 1:18-21, just briefly.......

We are not redeemed with anything that this life has to offer.......if you have a good life here praise the Lord, but that is not a stamp of approval from God!

You are redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ......Jesus was given for us......

Throughout Isaiah 53 and here we read that Jesus came for us, He was punished for our sins, that wrath (chastisement) was on Him for our peace with God!

All for us!

Our faith in God is through Christ, believing in Christ is believing in the True God

God “Arm” is revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who will also raise us up also!

This is our faith and hope!

Lastly, turn with me to Colossians 3:1-4........and then verse 10.......

This to me is what baptism represents.......

Our affections are above where Christ sits

Here is the power of this chapter to me........You are dead...

You have put your desires to death, meaning that you have understood that your is death, so you believe that and your way has no power anymore because it is worthless and now everything that I am, everything that I do, and the offering for my sinful life is hid in Jesus Christ!

Verse 4, Paul clears it up..... “When Christ, Who is my life”......That is the confession of the believer....when Lyla comes up out of the water that is what her confession is......Christ is my life!

Now, when Christ shall appear, then I also will appear with Him in Glory!

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

Verse 10.........The new man is based on the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that created us!

Renewal is through Christ and our confession and submission to Him!