Real Heroes Wear Weakness

Introduction

I want to start our time with a little discussion question (in my day job, I’m a teacher; we call these “Think-Pair-Shares.” Here’s the question for you to consider, and then share with the person or people around you:

If you could design the ultimate action hero, what would he/she be like?

Give 2 minutes, then ask for feedback

We’ll come back to this in a bit.

We are continuing through our 365 series today: one year, 52 Sundays, of telling the whole biblical story from beginning to end, from aleph to tav, from alpha to omega, from creation to new creation, from The Genesis to The Revelation.

This story grounds us, sustains us, drives us, centers us. For the fearer of YHWH and the follower of Jesus, the Bible does not just tell the story of what was, but also of what is, right now, where you are, and of what will be, forever. It is not merely events of history; it is a memoir, a window into the character, motives, and deepest desires of its true author: the Almighty God of All Gods and King of All Kings—YHWH, the faithful one.

In our journey through the biblical story, we’ve witnessed how YHWH brought the world into existence, how he raised up a people to reflect his goodness and beauty in a world broken by the human race, how he rescued them and established them among the kingdoms of that broken world, and how he was continuously and unwaveringly faithful to them, even when they broke God’s trust, over and over again. And we come to know not just what God does, but who God is, and why he worth fearing and following with everything that we are and everything that we have.

Now, we come to the writings of the prophets.

Abraham Heschel, one of my favorite modern Jewish philosophers of the 20th century, wrote this about the Old Testament prophets:

Instead of showing us a way through the elegant mansions of the mind, the prophets take us to the slums…. The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words…. The prophet seldom tells a story, but casts events. He rarely sings, but castigates. He does more than translate reality into a poetic key: he is a preacher whose purpose is not self-expression or “the purgation of emotions,” but communication. His images must not shine, they must burn.

Here’s why the voice of a prophet is important: A prophet takes the human worldview, that lens through which we see everything, and overlays the divine worldview, a new lens that reveals a brighter, more colorful spiritual reality. It’s like giving a nearsighted person a pair of prescription glasses; the world didn’t suddenly change, but suddenly there is new definition, new clarity. A prophet shows us what the world is, not merely what we think it is. By revealing this reality, the hope of a prophet is that our own faulty human view will be nurtured and reconditioned to better reflect God’s view.

Each prophet in the Old Testament has something a bit different to say, but all hinge of the same big idea. The goal of each prophet is twofold:

Point people back to the promise that they made with God. God promised to remain faithful to his people, to keep them safe, and to bless them and give them prosperity. In turn, Israel promised to follow God’s commands, to be culturally and morally distinct from the rest of the world, and to remain devoted fully and completely to God. God said a long time ago (Exodus 19:3-8), when this promise (or covenant) was made, that God would uphold his end of the bargain as long as Israel kept hers. If not, no deal; Israel’s on her own.

Point people forward to a future hope in the midst of despair. Just because God removes his protection and provision for a season doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. He has a plan to fully restore his relationship with humanity, to be present with his people, and everything to be as it was originally intended before humans screwed it up. Only in utter darkness is the light most clearly seen.

Sometimes, God may lead you to read the prophets and see yourself in the prophet, as one called to speak the truth of a faithful God into a faithless people. Most of the time, we need to read the prophet’s message as if we are the faithless people. The message of the prophets was not given to those who do not fear YHWH, but for those who do. The message of the prophets is a message to the people of God, to you and me, because we, like Israel, have this tendency to let our pride take over, to turn inward upon ourselves and see the world and its solution through the eyes of the twisted human heart. And like Israel, this prideful turn can lead us to forget just who this faithful YHWH is.

That’s what going in here, that’s the reason for Isaiah’s prophetic message. Israel had become a prideful nation. A nation of YHWH, sure, but their God had become more of a talisman, a figurehead, a symbol of their power, but not the source. The source of their power was a great, strong, intimidating military might.

Israel had also become an unfaithful nation. A great bit of their strength came from their secured borders and treaties with other nations around them, which they got by letting in other deity worship and cultic practices that were way outside the directions and statutes of YHWH, their God.

So YHWH, through his prophet Isaiah, speaks to Israel. And he says to them, “if you want to establish and secure your kingdom without me, without trusting in me, fine. Relationship with me requires trust and surrender and faithfulness. I will be your God, you will be my people; but if you won’t be my people, I can’t be your God.”

So Israel is attacked by Assyria, and then conquered and taken into captivity by Babylon, where they are mistreated, and abused, and their identity as a nation and as a family and as people made in the image of God is lost and forgotten. This is what we call exile.

And so ends the first 39 chapters of Isaiah’s message. It’s rough. It’s not what you would call a happy message. That’s not the call of the prophets. They don’t speak ivory tower philosophies, or self-help promotions, or positive vibes. They get in the slums and speak out justice in the heart of injustice, how God will work to make things right in a world made so very wrong. And here, Israel, the people God had sent to show the world his goodness and beauty, and instead redefined those things for themselves and proclaimed to the world a very different God through their actions.

As the church today, we ought not to dismiss this. If you claim the name of Jesus and hold to terms like Christian, evangelical, born again, etc., then you bear his name on your life to the world; through you, the world will know him. And so you must ask yourself, through whom or what do I define goodness and beauty and justice, right and wrong? Whose character and nature do I show the world? If it we are honest, as the prophets urge us to be, I would guess there are times, maybe too many times, when the image we bear looks more like something found in the empires of this world than on the throne of heaven. I pray that we see this as a mirror and a warning to shift our perspectives today.

But lest you think this is a solely a word of condemnation today, do not despair. This is a message of hope. For as the pages turn, Isaiah has another message for Israel: One day, God will extend his arm of salvation and overturn Israel’s exile. He’s going to use a hero, who will take action and restore God’s people to himself.

However, this hero does not wear a cape. This hero wears weakness on his shoulders. He is ordinary. He is rejected. He is a servant. And yet this servant will save the world.

PRAY

The Servant Rejected (vv. 1–3)

Isaiah 53:1–3 CSB

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.

Now, this is fascinating to me. Isaiah, speaking on YHWH’s behalf, has been up to this point sharing a vision for a servant of the Lord who will restore the oppressed, heal the blind and sick, put an end to the reign of Babylon (and of human empires in general), and create a new society where there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more brokenness. The Servant will be a Spirit-filled liberator, crushing kingdoms and freeing captives.

So far so good good right? When you think of a hero like that, what comes to mind is probably a Marvel Hero or Superman or something like this; a muscle-bound, Adonis-like figure of strength and power, flying into save the day.

Then Isaiah describes his appears here.

He grew up like a root out of dry ground.

No impressive form or majesty, nothing worth looking at.

No desirable appearance.

He was despised and rejected

He was a man of suffering and sickness.

From a human scale: No value.

Imagine a man, fitting this description, walked through the doors today. He’s dirty, he’s plain, he’s roughened from work and hardship, he’s been run out of town after town. This man sits down next to you and smiles. Would you think, this is the type of person God uses to bring about his good world? I think if we’re honest, and the prophets urge us to, we would probably say no. And I know this because great large successful churches are not led by men or women who look like this. Not even the small ones. We value charisma, we value attractive features, we value reputation and success, just like Israel, just like her kings. It’s pretty easy to envision a mighty God using mighty people to do mighty things. We like hearing about a God that removes pain, that comes in strength and glory.

And yet, God sends a Servant who enters into pain. Who comes in weakness. Who blends into the background. I don’t think any of us are handing this guy the keys to the kingdom.

But this is exactly who God wants to send. But this is the kind of God that he is. Yes, our God is great and glorious, almighty and otherworldly. But this is not how he seeks to be known. He does not describe himself in this way. Instead, he uses words like compassionate, gracious, kind, faithful, forgiving. These do not sound like glorious words. These sound like others-centered, sacrificial, self-giving words. And so while everything in us—that desire to rule, to make ourselves more glorious, to make our lives more successful and important—leads us to reject a Servant like that whom God sends, he fits the bill.

He is not who we want. But he is who we need.

The Servant Exchanged (vv. 4–6a)

Isaiah 53:4–6 CSB

Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Now Isaiah us why this suffering servant is so important. Twist #2: the rejected man uses weakness to show God’s strength. This Servant bore sickness, carried pain (that word for “bore,” by the way, is the Hebrew nasa, which is the word Exodus 34 uses for God’s forgiveness). Now we are getting somewhere! Why does the servant enter into our pain and suffering? So he can carry it away! The Superhero returns!

But then what happens? We see this Servant carrying away our sickness, our pain, and we despise him for it. He literally takes our burdens, and then we judge him for having too many burdens. We say that God must be punishing him for his actions.

Hold the mirror up, please. This is not a story meant for others.

Now what happens to our hero? He does not carry all of this away. He is punished by it. He takes our rebellion (pesha) and is pierced by the spear. He takes our iniquities (avon) and is crushed.

Imagine your sins—your conscious rebellions against God, against your family, against your friends; your twisted sense of self, your addictions, all the things that make you less than truly human—are a little black box that you carry around. And that box means you are marked for death. Now imagine this plain, ordinary, nothing of a man walks up. He has no black box. But he takes that box from you. What does that mean for you?

It means you are now whole. You have can have peace. You are healed.

What does that mean for the man?

He is punished. He is pierced. He is slashed and wounded and crushed.

The man trades his good, free, beautiful life for your broken and doomed one. He takes your death that you fully deserve and gives you his life that you fully don’t.

This substitution is the heartbeat of salvation. Isaiah’s message is clear. It is my failures, my twisted sight, my pain and suffering that dooms me. Try as I might to defend my self and justify my actions and clear my name and become that all-important hero of my own story, I have failed. I have fallen short. I have dishonored the name of YHWH. And the hope that I have is not in some better version me and my ultimate picture of of hero, but in a no-name nothing of a man who enters into my brokenness and takes my death sentence as his own and gives me life. And that is devastating, and I am ashamed that my punishment should go somewhere else, and yet I am also, somehow, relieved, because God has now lifted up my face toward him and shown me his mercy and kindness through the ultimate sacrifice of another.

Isaiah closes this out to say that, while this Servant is reviled and rejected, while he is led like silent lamb to by slaughtered, it is not the end for him. The Servant will one day rule with YHWH from a new heaven and new earth, and a new Jerusalem, and all will see the glory of God shining forth for eternity, as man’s kingdoms fall and crumble.

The Servant Revealed

Isaiah’s message ends on this pretty glorious and spectacular note. It’s about as hopeful as you can get. Isaiah made it clear that God would send his Servant to be his yeshua, his salvation, to the ends of the earth.

And for the people of Israel, there next step was… to wait. To live out exile and hold out hope that someday this new and different hero would come to save them.

About 700 years later. These stories were told:

Matthew 8:16–17 CSB

He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick, so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: He himself took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.

John 1:29 CSB

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Acts 8:32–35 CSB

Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” Philip proceeded to tell him the good news.

1 Peter 2:24–25 CSB

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Romans 15:21 CSB

but, as it is written, Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

The writers of the New Testament saw the Servant with their own eyes. His name was Jesus—in Hebrew, his name was Yeshua, God Saves.

This Yeshua’s first sermon came from the scroll of Isaiah, chapter 61.

Luke 4:18–19 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

This man then rolled up the scroll, turned the crowd and said, today, the Scripture is fulfilled.

And this man, with the Spirit of God on him, simply went around and brought sight to the blind, healing to the sick, freedom from sin and demonic forces. He carried burdens, he humbled human authorities, he washed feet. He was despised, he was rejected, he was accused, he was abandoned, and he was crucified, pierced for our iniquities, punished for our peace.

And by his wounds, we are healed.

Gospel Invitation: Will You Let Him Heal You?

This is about more than physical sickness — it’s about your soul. You carry wounds: guilt that haunts you, shame that weighs you down, brokenness that leaks into your relationships, grief you don’t know how to process.

You’ve tried to fix it. Self-help. Distraction. Numbing yourself. Even religion. But the wound remains.

Jesus doesn’t stand far off shouting, “Do better.” He stepped into your pain and took it on himself. He carried your sickness, your shame, your sin, your sorrow. The place of your healing is the place of his wounding.

The gospel is not about trying harder — it’s about trusting the wounded Healer.

So here’s the question: Will you bring your wounds to him today?

Transformation: Following the Way of the Servant

The Servant doesn’t just heal you for eternity — he begins healing you now. He calls you to live as one who has been made whole.

Vision: Imagine your life healed — soft-hearted, responsive to God, walking in peace instead of guilt. Imagine your relationships touched by his mercy, your shame lifted, your burdens carried.

Intention: What griefs and sins are you still carrying instead of handing to Jesus? What wound are you keeping hidden? Will you trust him enough to lay it down today?

Means:

Read Isaiah 53 slowly this week. Wherever it says our or we, insert my. (“He bore my sickness… he was pierced for my rebellion… by his wounds I am healed.”)

Practice confession: name what you’ve carried that Jesus already bore. Let it go.

Bear someone else’s burden: come alongside a friend’s grief or pain this week. Not to play savior, but to point them to the Servant.

Conclusion: The Servant’s Love for You

The world wanted a warrior; God sent a servant. The world wanted strength; God gave weakness. The world rejected him; he bore your rejection.

And Isaiah’s words still ring out:

“We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.”

That’s the gospel. That’s the heart of God. The only question left is: Will you let the Servant heal you?

PRAY

DISCOVER

When you look at the world around you, what kind of people are usually seen as “heroes” or worth following? How does this reveal what our culture values — and how is that different from the way God brings salvation through His Servant?

NURTURE

What makes it hard for you to believe or accept that God’s Servant — ordinary, rejected, wounded — is the one who brings healing and life? Do you find yourself wanting a stronger, flashier, more “impressive” Savior, or struggling to trust that His wounds are really enough for your healing?

ACT

Since Jesus has carried your sin, shame, and grief, what would it look like to live differently this week as someone who has been healed by Him? What’s one specific way you can (1) confess and lay down a burden you’ve been carrying, and/or (2) bear someone else’s burden by walking with them and pointing them to the Servant?