Isaiah 53: Rebels to Sons

Greeting:

Good morning Melville, it is a blessing and honor to be here this week, this is now week 5, which is really crazy that we are about to celebrating 4th of July on Saturday, this summer has just flown by. As always though I am grateful to serve y’all again this week. So today we will be in Isaiah 53. This will be our last week in the Old Testament looking forward to promised redemption in Christ, and then we will spend the next four weeks looking at New Testament passages that reflect back on the promises of the OT. Before we start looking at Isaiah 53 lets recap where we have gone this is incredibly important especially today that we retrace our steps.

Recap:

IN the first week, we looked at Genesis 3, and we said that the promise of Satans head being crushed happens through Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection as he defeats sin and death. In Week 2, we looked at the sacrifice Isaac we said Isaac is not the true sacrifice he needed a substitute lamb, and the Lord provided in the same way like Isaac we need a perfect substitute lamb that can atone for our sins, and that is Jesus. In week 3, we looked at the Passover, we saw that the blood applied to the houses saved the firstborn sons of Israel, the way they were saved was by the sacrifice of a spotless substitute lamb, that if they applied the blood from the lamb to their house the firstborn son would be saved from the wrath of God. In the same way Jesus is our perfect spotless substitute lamb when we repent and believe in Christ, the blood of Christ is applied to our lives, and then we are saved like the firstborn sons of Israel from the wrath of God. Last week, we looked at the promised son, and how he will come from the line of David, he will be fully God fully man, son of David, son of God, and what we learned is that God promises are for his glory and our good. So this brings us today Isaiah 53, again skipping quite a few ways into scripture from last week, but this is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture, and Christ is in all of this scripture, this is the most direct promise of the sacrifice of Christ for us. Now we will ready Isaiah 53 all the way through.

Isaiah 53 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. 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. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

Context:

We have moved quite a few ways from last week. When David was king, Israel was doing quite well, but then David sinned, and his sin affected Solomon the next king. Solomon third king of Israel started out as a really good king, but when he started allowing foreign women to come to house, he ended up having 700 wives, man I can get amen from the men in the room is not one wife expensive enough? 700 obviously we know Solomon was quite wealthy. Now I do want to note something what I mean by foreign women is not women from other countries/ethnicities this is referring to women outside of the covenant of Israel, women that do not believe in God. Solomon betrayed God, and caused the nation of Israel to divide into the northern kingdom and southern kingdom. Where we are at right now at this moment, the kingdoms are divided and Israel has been put into captivity from the Assyrians because they rejected God. The kingdom of Judah was still standing at this time but they would eventually also be put into captivity but by the Babylons because they rebelled against God. Here in Isaiah 53, Isaiah is receiving this prophecy from the Lord about this perfect man who will come take on the sins of man, bear the wrath of God, and bring salvation to his people. What we see in Isaiah 53 today is the good news of the Gospel.

Main Idea:

From rebels to sons.

1. The Description of the Man. v.1-3

The first thing we will look at today is the description of the man.

In verse 1, Isaiah starts by asking the question who has believed what they have heard, and who is this that is going to be the arm of the Lord, in other words who is this man that is going to turn rebels into sons.

In verses 2-3, we see the description of the man, as he is not impressive, not desirable, he will rejected by man, suffer, be despised and not valued.

What we see here in this is a direct promise of Jesus, as Jesus came not in impressive form, he is rejected by man, suffers on the cross, is despised and not valued, even though he was rejected praise the Lord that he is faithful to fulfill his promise he made here. For example lets look at the passage in Luke 23:18-23 which shows man utter rejection of Jesus, as he was despised and shamed beaten to death, punished for the sins of man.

Luke 23:18–23 “But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.”

The crowd wanted a criminal to be released over Jesus, the crowd of men wanted Jesus a perfectly innocent man dead over a man that deserved death. This picture is one of the most beautiful pictures of the Gospel in the same way Barabbas deserved death because of his wrongdoing he is freed because the crowd wants Jesus instead, we too are like Barabbas, we deserve death and to face the wrath of God, however we are freed because Christ took the place we deserve, he suffered the way we should suffer, he was despised the way we should have been.

2. The Sacrifice of the Perfect Man. v.4-9

This second thing we will look at today is the sacrifice of the perfect man.

In verse 4, we see that this man himself will bear all our sickness and our pain, however men will view him as stricken down by God, and afflicted. This man experienced all the hardships of this life, so that he can relate to us, this perfect man suffered more than any of us.

In verse 5, one of the greatest promises in all scripture of what this perfect man will do. He will be killed, brutally murdered/crushed for our sin. By his sacrifice, we will have peace, healing, forgiveness of sins. By this perfect man’s sacrifice, we go from being rebels to sons.

In verse 6, we see that the reason this sacrifice had to happen is because we all have went astray like sheep, we have since the fall all been born in sin, the Lord’s punishment of this perfect man was planned so that many people could turn from being rebels going astray like sheep into beloved sons. We are all sinners, once rebels to God because of the fall we need a way back to right relationship with God, animal sacrifice are not enough to atone for our brokenness we need a real sacrifice that would once and for all cleanse us from our sins, Jesus provides us the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.

In verse 7, we see how Jesus was while he was being brutually murdered for us, we know that Jesus was oppressed, afflicted, cut off, and this was because of our rebellion. Because of our depraved nature we needed a perfect sacrifice, in this verse he is compared to like a lamb led to slaughter, he didn’t open his mouth.

Matthew 26:62–64 “And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”” “But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.””

Acts 8:32–35 “Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.”

In verse 8, we see once again the reason that Jesus was struck and that was because of the rebellion of man, and God has always desired man to live in right relationship with him.

In verse 9, we see that Jesus was struck down however the question is why? He did no violence and never spoke deceitfully, Jesus is perfect so why did God sacrifice this perfect man when he deserved nothing he got? What did Jesus the perfect son of God do to deserve this death, and the answer is nothing he did nothing to deserve this death, what we do know is that God will by no means clear the guilty Exodus 34:7 “keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”” If we are all guilty then how can we have our guilt cleared, and be saved from the wrath of God, it is only because God gave his only son which is himself to be the perfect sacrifice to clear the guilty and save men from the wrath of God, taking rebels and making them into sons.

3. God’s Wrath Satisfied by the Perfect Man’s Sacrifice. v.10-12

The third thing we will look at is God’s Wrath is satisfied by the Perfect Man’s Sacrifice.

In verse 10, we see that the Lord was pleased to crush him severely, through him crushing him, he is offering him as a guilt offering, again why is the Lord pleased to crush his son, why is the Lord pleased to crush his only son, as John Piper says, “He put forward his Son, Jesus Christ, that through death, he might demonstrate that God is righteous. The death of the Son of God is a declaration of the value that God places upon his glory, and the hatred that he has for sin, and the love that he has for sinners. You see the only way the wrath of God could be satisfied is by him putting forth his son Jesus, perfect and spotless man. Jesus is the only true sacrifice taht can satisfy the wrath of God, we see this Romans 3:25 as Paul says, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” What we also see in this verse is that this man will be crushed, but the Lord will not leave his only son, this looks back at the promise of Genesis 3:15 where we know that he will bruise his heel, the grusome death of the cross, and Jesus rising from the dead is where Christ defeats and crushes the head of satan. What see here is that God hates our sin, and wants sin to be removed in order to be back into relationship with man again so it pleases him to crush his son, so that he can turn many rebels into sons. The Lord’s pleasure is the promise of Genesis 3:15 to crush the head of satan, and defeat sin and death.

In verse 11, we see that after this man’s anguish, he will see light and be satisfied, showing that after this great sacrifice, there will be a glorious resurrection, by his resurrection many will be justified, because he took on our sin on the cross, he now carries our iniquities interceding for us, and allowing us to now life in right relationship with God.

In verse 12, we see that by his perfect sacrifice, many will be saved, healed, and the good news is that now Jesus sits at the right hand of the throne of God interceding for us. In order for right relationship with God to exist again, the right perfect substitute sacrifice was needed, this sacrifice was much greater than the sacrifice of Isaac, much greater than God saving the firstborn sons of Israel, this sacrifice was meant to bring many rebels and make them into sons.

Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

1 Peter 2:23–24 “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

By his wounds we have been healed today praise the Lord.

Applications:

Maybe today you feel lonely, you feel despised, rejected, and shamed. Can I encourage you our great Savior Jesus has experienced all of these things.

Jesus our perfect sacrifice, as he takes our place, bears our sins, takes on the wrath of God on the cross, through his sacrifice the opportunity to become back into right relationship with God, reversing the curse of the fall, is now available to those who repent and believe in the Gospel of Christ.

Isaiah 53 is entirely focused on the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement. We have talked about this before but it is very evident in our passage today, and it is that Jesus takes our place, bears our sins, he does this because he is the only one who can satisfy the wrath of God. He takes on the wrath of God, because he is the only one who can appease his wrath.

Praise God today for his promising this great man sacrifice and fulfilling this promise in Christ today. Praise God today that since the beginning of time God has desired to live in right relationship with man.

I want to end today with a modern hymn that is called How Deep the Fathers Love for us:

“How deep the fathers love for us how vast beyond all measure that he would give his only son to make a wretch his treasure, how great the pain of searing loss his father turns his face away as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer but this i know with all my heart, his wounds have paid my ransom.”

Benediction: The Lord Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us today our daily bread, forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever amen.