Our Suffering Servant 3

Wounded For The Grace You Need

Text: Isaiah 53:4-6

Introduction

The heart of the entire book of Isaiah is this very chapter!

Interesting facts:

“Isaiah” = Salvation of the Lord

66 chapter divided the same way the Bible is divided.

Isaiah is the highest form of Hebrew poetry in the Old Testament.

Isaiah is the largest book of the prophets. It is larger than all of the minor prophets combined.

Scholars had said, “If all the New Testament had been lost, there would be enough explanation within of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ found in Isaiah to lead a lost sinner to salvation.

Holy of holies of the book of Isaiah. A revelation of an event 700 years before Jesus came.

Isaiah was truly the prophet of the Gospel.

Contextual Recap:

In many Jewish synagogues, this chapter is skipped in their reading of the Old Testament scriptures. Those who do read it, simply see this as a tribute to the suffering of Israel and God paying them a tribute in scripture as they bless the world.

However, it’s main purpose is to inform Israel that they will one day look back and see the gospel for what it is and who provided it and these words will be there lament.

Isreal is the only nation of which the Bible speaks about that will one day in the future turn in faith toward the Messiah Jesus Christ. That was God’s promise to them.

This chapter is written in the past tense even though it is telling of a future suffering of Jesus. This gives you the understanding that it is written from the vantage point of Israel laments and repents of their long rejection of Jesus Christ and sings this song.

Zechariah 12:10 “10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplications: And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

This chapter gives us the picture of an honest confession. Along with the past tense verbs, there are present tense plural pronouns; “we” and “our.” They are not blaming God for their rejection of the Messiah. They, at this future point is owning their sin and humbling themselves before God.

The tone that we will continue in is a very sad, somber, yet comforting.

These next three verses are considered by many theologian to be the greatest verses of scripture. If you are going to be born again, you must believe these three verses.

What have we already unpacked:

Jesus was someone who the Jews considered a nobody from nowhere. A common man, from a common family, who surrounded himself with very common people.

There was no beauty in who He declared Himself to be because they had their form of religion (a works based religion).

Jesus did not fit their expectations of the Messiah. They then despised and rejected Him.

1) Bearing our burden (vs 4)

A. “Surely”

This is a HUGE transition to perception!

The one they originally perceived to be crucified due to His own sins, they now see Him differently. He truly died for theirs!

They had said, “Give us Barrabass and crucify Jesus.”

He didn’t die because of all His claims in connection to the Father.

He didn’t die because He was a blasphemer.

He died because of our guilt.

These three verses speak to the issue of why they had previously rejected Jesus:

In verse 4, they had a wrong attitude.

In verse 5, they had a wrong behavior.

In verse 6, they followed their nature.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, (sicknesses, illnesses, sufferings; the outside griefs) and carried our sorrows:”

Matthew 4:24 “24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.”

Matthew 8:17 “17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

“bore” — It sort of gives you the image of Samson carry the gates of Gaza to the top of the mountain. However, Jesus is far stronger than Samson. Jesus carried our sins up Calvary’s mountain. Then from Calvary, into a inhabited desert — Leviticus 16:22 “22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”

Q — Where do all forms of griefs, sorrows, and sickness originate from? SIN!

What Jesus was doing was providing you and I final victory over the guilt of sin and a future hope of leaving the painful results of sin behind.

Now, I live every day with the confidence of my salvation being secure. However, that doesn’t mean I never sin. For the believer, we not only have had our guilt erased by the blood of Jesus, but we have entered in to an eternal covenant of grace that will one day take us up to where He is; a place where every systemic result of sin is not welcome.

“Griefs” speaks more to the outward pains produced by sin & “sorrows” speaks more to the inward pains produced by sin.

So, Jesus took your sin and EVERYTHING that sin produces and put in on Himself!!!

Gospel Hymn — (Ann Ross Cousin, “O Christ, What Burdens Bowed Thy Head,”) “O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head, Our load was laid on Thee, Thou stoodest in the sinner’s stead, Bore all my ill for Thee, A victim led, Thy blood was shed, Now cloudless peace for me!

That being said, the physical healing was not his main priority. It did however show forth the depth of Jesus’ desire to bring sinners the deepest of healings.

Contrary to “Word of Faith” movement, this prophecy about Jesus DOES NOT guarantee physical healing if we have a strong enough faith to believe it.

It truly would be a waste of suffering if Jesus only came to provide a temporary healing to a people who were going to die anyway.

1 Peter 2:24 “24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

“Smitten” = to be struck; killed; destroyed

“Afflicted” =

Jesus came to win the war on sin and provide eternal life where disease, despair, and death would be abolished forever!

Isaiah is saying Jesus came preaching, “Here, let me carry that for you!”

2) Bearing our blame (vs 5)

A. “wounded for our transgressions”

“wounded” = could be translated “tormented;” to be afflicted or pierced.

“Transgression” give the idea of being in a state of revolt against God.

The first Adam of defiance was completely offset by the second Adam of perfect obedience.

B. “bruised for our iniquities”

“bruised” = to be crushed (kept down) v. — to be kept down by unjust use of another’s authority or power.

“iniquities” = “perverseness; bent; crooked; to be off course”

Everyone of us today have been perverted, bent, crooked, and sent off course by the curse of sin.

Bring into view the joking and mocking around the cross!

The heal of Jesus was bruised and the head of the serpent was crushed!

The horror of darkness that developed on Calvary is something that cannot be grasped in fullness.

Gospel Hymn: (Katherine A. M. Kelly, “Oh Make Me Understand It,”) “Oh, make me understand it, Help me to take it in; What it meant for Thee, the Holy One, To take away our sin.”

Maybe as you get a little bit better glimpse of His suffering you come to understand a little bit better the words of Christ when He said, “take my yoke upon, for my yoke is easy and burden is light.”

To have His yoke, He had to yoke up to your sin pull it up Calvary’s mountain to bear it on the cross.

C. “our peace”

“chastisement” = discipline n. — the imposition of painful consequences or other disadvantages upon someone for their disobedience as part of a process of improving someone’s character or actions.

The was no improvement to be made on Jesus.

There was huge improvement needed in each of you!

Colossians 1:20 “20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

There was a span time in Christ’s suffering that peace was the farthest things from Him. He cried for it, but it was if peace was dead and never to return.

At Calvary where Jesus was stripped of peace, brought about a risen Savior who became the ultimate and eternal form of perfect peace.

Philippians 4:7 “7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Peace means “THE WAR IS OVER!”

D. “with his stripes we are healed”

Philippians 3:21 “21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

3) Beholding our problem (vs 6)

This is the exact picture of you God saw from Heaven. It is describing how God saw your problem.

“sheep” — Gives us a word picture of a tendency to always go astray. They are not strong or very smart. They have no internal mechanism to find their way home.

True Story — Moody preached on the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. At the conclusion of his message, he called on Mr. Sankey to sing. As he came forward Sankey suddenly remembered the poem in his pocket. The very thing! But it had no tune. So what? He’d make up a tune! And so he did. He propped the poem up on the portable organ he used and began to sing. The last verse drew attention to the result of Christ’s sufferings:

Up from the mountains thunder-riven

And up from the rocky steep,

There arose a cry to the gate of heaven,

“Rejoice, I have found my sheep!”

And the angels echoed around the throne,

“Rejoice for the Lord brings back His own.” (Elizabeth C. Clephane, “The Ninety and Nine,”)

John Phillips, The View from Mount Calvary: 24 Portraits of the Cross throughout Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2006), 120–121.

True Story — On another occasion, when the gospel crusade was over, Mr. Moody was leaning out of the window of the train saying farewell to his friends. A man came running down the platform just as the conductor was blowing his whistle and waving his flag. The train began to move. The man was alongside Mr. Moody now. “How can I be saved?” he cried. He had been to the crusade. He was under conviction. What can you possibly tell a man who is running ever harder to keep up to a train that is pulling away? Moody was up to the occasion. “Isaiah 53,” he called. “Verse 6. Go in at the first ‘all’ and come out at the second ‘all.’ ” John Phillips, The View from Mount Calvary: 24 Portraits of the Cross throughout Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2006), 121.

Conclusion

Isaiah is describing a Savior who had you in mind! He has provided eternal pardon of even the most wicked of deed in your life.

Hymn — “Man Of Sorrows, What A Name”

“Man of Sorrows,” what a name For the Son of God who came Ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! What a Savior! Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood; Sealed my pardon with His blood; Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile and helpless, we; Spotless Lamb of God was He; “Full atonement!” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior! Lifted up was He to die, “It is finished,” was His cry; Now in heaven exalted high; Hallelujah! What a Savior! —Philip P. Bliss (1838–1876)

Will you surrender a trusting faith to Christ today; the One who was wounded to give you the saving grace you desperately need?