The Suffering Servant Isaiah 53:1-12

-Jesus suffered so we could experience the joy of the Lord

Some people think of joy as something we experience apart from suffering, some in spite of suffering, but there is a joy that comes through suffering.

In December of 1964, the Muppets were booked for a guest spot on The Jack Paar Program, a prime-time Friday night talk-variety hour. The Muppet team -- Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Don Sahlin and Jerry Juhl -- arrived at NBC Studios in Radio City for a 10am rehearsal, but they were informed that they weren't actually needed on stage until 4pm. With lots of time to kill, they opened a door in their dressing room and found that it was filled with dark, dusty pipes.

Juhl remembers, in a 1992 interview:

“We opened the door, expecting it to lead somewhere, but instead it was just this shallow closet with a maze of pipes... We had nothing to do, and Don had brought paints because we were performing something that needed touch-ups, so one thing led to another and we started decorating the pipes. It was Jim's idea -- a typical Jim idea -- and as the whole thing got more elaborate, one of us hopped in a cab and brought more material from the workshop.[1]”

The group decorated the pipes with paint and fake fur, giving the pipes monstrous eyes, goofy noses, and multi-colored faces. Henson later revealed that part of the brown fabric had come from the original Grover.[2] The team signed the artwork "with LOVE from the Muppets."

I. Through His Humble Incarnation vv. 1-3

In our passage this morning, we see a very different aspect of the ministry of Jesus

Two weeks ago, we saw Him as the Son of God who has come to reign over the people of God, bringing us hope

Last week, we saw Him as the Righteous Judge who will give us peace

Now, we see Him as the Suffering Servant who brings us joy

We see this first, through His humble incarnation.

Isaiah begins with a question: Who has believed this news?

There is something shocking happening here: the arm of the Lord, His action in the world has been revealed, but in the least likely of ways

The Son of God grows up before us, but there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly majestic about Him

He does not have any physical traits that might attract us to Him

He shows up on the human scene in humility

Further, His life is marked by participation in the human condition, not separation from it:

He is despised and rejected by people, rather than accepted

He is acquainted with grief and is a man of sorrow

He shares in all of the painful parts of humanity, accepting the price of full participation in the human experience

Hebrews 4:15–16

[15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)

II. Through His Sacrificial Suffering vv. 4-6

Isaiah goes on to give us a more explicit reason for all of this:

Jesus is going to bear our sorrows v. 4

He does not just share with us in our griefs; He carries the weight of them

When we see the affliction that Jesus endured, we frequently get it wrong:

Some people view it as His affliction, as though it was something that He deserved

Some people view it as an accident or an unfortunate injustice

Some people view it as the affliction of others

We must understand that it is our guilt that He suffered for!

His death was sacrificial and substitutionary

We were separated from God by sin, a pattern that we see established all the way back in Genesis

Through the sacrificial system, we saw God paint a picture where the punishment for sin was placed onto an innocent victim

All of this really pointed us forward to a far greater reality whereby God’s Son would take our place:

He died as we die

We will live as He lives!

We receive his righteousness when we trust in Him!

I have a pastor friend who received a very generous offer from a family in their church. This family was going to Disney World and they wanted to take my pastor friend and his family with them. In fact, they wanted to treat them to everything: hotel rooms, meals, tickets into the park, everything they could possibly need to enjoy this trip as much as the host family did.

The guy offering this trip told my friend that he had one condition and one condition only: If you pay for anything, you pay for everything. In other words, try to pull out your wallet to pay for anything, and you are going to owe for everything. He insisted it was to be entirely his treat or none of it would be his treat.

That had the effect of keeping my friend's wallet in his pocket! He never tried to pay for a thing!

III. Through His Patient Submission vv. 7-9

Third, we get another picture of Jesus when we see how He endured all of this: What was His attitude?

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet without opening His mouth

His is a patient endurance, as though He does not expect anything different

His gracious attitude does not change the fact that the whole thing is unjust

This is a very real oppression

It is the product of the worst kinds of injustice perpetrated against an innocent victim

Think about all that this costs Him, personally:

We already saw the physical suffering and the personal injustice

Now, we see that He is cut off from life; He experiences real human death

And, even in His death He is identified with the wicked

Everything about His death is painful and shameful, yet He quietly endures it all.

Why? It is because He is trusting in the wisdom of God!

Luke 22:41–42

[41] And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, [42] saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (ESV)

IV. Through His Faithful Obedience vv. 10-12

Finally, we see the plan of God unfolded here:

This was not merely an act of cruelty or human injustice

This was the will of God: He made Jesus a guilt offering for our sins

Jesus understood this and submitted Himself to it completely

Genesis 22:7–8

[7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” [8] Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. (ESV)

For family devotions, Martin Luther once read the account of Abraham offering Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His wife, Katie, said, "I do not believe it. God would not have treated his son like that!" "But, Katie," Luther replied, "He did." -Warren Wiersbe

In spite of the hardship, faithful obedience is fruitful:

The death of Christ creates offspring: We become sons and daughters of God through Jesus

His days are prolonged: He dies indeed, yet He is raised victorious over the grave and He lives forever; more than that He is exalted to the right hand of the Father!

Jesus could obey with joy because His sacrifice brought us:

A new righteousness, accounted to us by faith v. 11

An eternal reward, one that He shares with us v. 12a

A fresh relationship, as He makes intercession for us v. 12b

We now have a share in everything that is His, including His joy!

Hebrews 12:1–2

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (ESV)

-Some of us need to receive the joy that comes through God’s gift of grace

-Some of us need to remember the joy that comes through God’s gift of grace

Some of us need to share the joy that comes through God’s gift of grace