Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant
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For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53
Introduction
Introduction
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
This passage in chapter 52 should really have been included with chapter 53
It is the introduction to ch 53, the summary of its content, and reveals the purpose of it all
BEHOLD - a word that tells us to sit up and take notice of what is about to be said
it goes before almost every other mention of the Messiah in the OT
My Servant will act wisely...
a statement that can also be translated as “my servant will prosper in what he has been sent to do”
He will accomplish his purpose in full
The same word is used in - that “David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that His name was highly esteemed” (see the rest of )
The same word is used in
- that “David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that His name was highly esteemed” (see the rest of
)
This was when Saul tried to get David killed, and offered him his daughter in marriage as a reward for 100 foreskins, thinking he would be killed. David brought 200 foreskins.
This was when Saul tried to get David killed, and offered him his daughter in marriage as a reward for 100 foreskins, thinking he would be killed. David brought 200 foreskins. When the Philistines came after David in battle, he defeated them every time.
When the Philistines came after David in battle, he defeated them every time.
The introduction gives the assurance that the Messiah will prosper and succeed in absolute fullness the purpose for which He is sent
The introduction gives assurance that the Messiah will prosper and succeed absolutely in what he will come to do.
The introduction gives assurance that the Messiah will prosper and succeed absolutely in what he will come to do.
And His name will be high and lifted up, He will be exalted, He will be praised, He will be worshipped, He will receive all glory
When he comes the first time, men will be astonished
That is in summary the message which Isaiah brings to us in chapter 53
That is the content of
Isaiah is pronouncing a revelation of the Messiah to Israel and telling them of the coming of a Suffering Servant
He is announcing good news - news that results in a song of praise and rejoicing in chapter 54
Good news that...
But it doesn’t begin they way
1. Unthinkable Suffering
1. Unthinkable Suffering
Hard to Believe
Hard to Believe
Is 53:1-
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Some have referred to Isaiah as the 5th gospel - and that’s because it carries so much resemblance to the gospel books
The book has 2 distinct parts
the first 39 chapters deal with the prophet’s revelations about God’s judgment on Israel for the wickedness of their kings and the rebellion of the people
He predicts that they will be taken into captivity and sure enough, around 70 years later they were taken by Babylon
Then chapters 40-66 show the prophet’s revelations of God’s grace, and the promise of a Messiah, a man who is referred to as the Servant of God
There is a definite shadow of the gospel present in Isaiah - the sin and rebellion of the people, the resulting wrath and judgement of God, and ultimately the Promise of God to redeem a people for his glory
The prophet begins to explain his revelation of the Servant that is coming here in ch 53 by asking 2 questions: “Who has believed what he has heard from us? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Who is going to believe this revelation?
More specifically… to whom will it be revealed?
Its like Isaiah expects that his revelation is so radical, so far fetched, so left field that he wonders who is ever going to believe it
In fact, its so radical that he expects that the only way that anybody will believe it, is if it is revealed to him
To believe this message is going to take more than logical thought, or an act of the will.
It has to be supernaturally revealed to him by the Lord… his eyes need to be opened so that he can see
In the first chapter of John, we are told that this is true of the gospel. It is not something that is accepted by human will but by the working of the Holy Spirit
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
In , Jesus is talking to the disciples and he asks them who the people say He is
drgr
They say, “Elijah… Jeremiah… one of the prophets...”
But Jesus asks them “who do you say that I am?”
and Simon Peter says “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Because its Radical
Because its Radical
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The gospel is a radical message that cannot be understood or believed by human intuition, but must be revealed by the Father.
We are reliant on the grace of God to open our blind eyes to it, and to change our stubborn hearts so that we will believe it.
Because it is a radical message. A shocking message.
If we look at the rest of the passage its not hard to see why
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Is 53:2
You will remember that God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation from his descendants, and that through that nation the whole world would be blessed
This comparably small and insignificant nation of Israel would be raised up by God to become the most important nation in the world
Samuel was the first prophet to speak of a coming Messiah
He said that this comparably small and insignificant nation of Israel would be raised up by God to become the most important nation in the world
That through Israel the whole world would be blessed
That a Messiah would be sent by God to lead Israel to the fulfillment of that promise
But as Isaiah begins to paint a picture of the Messiah, he begins to look the opposite of what Israel would expect of a victorious conqueror sent to redeem and raise them up as a mighty nation
He is described as a young plant out of dry ground
vulnerable, delicate, humble...
that doesn’t sound at all like the arrival of a victorious conqueror
And yet that is exactly how the Christ arrived...
Not on Chariots of Fire supported by armies of angels with Eye of the Tiger playing as a theme song…
But as a baby…
born to humble parents
in a stable reserved for the owners’ animals
sent by God to a nation that was as dry and unfruitful as a desert… it had been 400 years since Israel heard from God through any prophet
and yet in the middle of that spiritually dead ground… the Messiah was born
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
When Israel wanted a king, they chose Saul as their first king.
Why? Because he was the tallest. The most handsome. The most physically appealing
He was the very picture of what they thought a victorious Messiah should look like
But the true Messiah was nothing like that
In most paintings and artist impressions of Jesus, he is portrayed as a beautiful man
Long, beautiful hair ideal for Pantene shampoo adverts
Handsome and striking good looks and a perfectly trimmed beard
But Jesus was nothing like that
When he came, he was nothing special to look at
his physical form was not at all the sort of physique that would intimidate any man
For all we know, he might have been the last guy you would pick on your tug-of-war team
Not quite what Israel would expect from their victorious Messiah
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Insead of being the physically impressive and commanding figure that Israel would have expected…
a man who would have the unquestioning loyalty, respect, love and support of a whole nation
Jesus was hated, rejected, and a man who knew the deepest experience of suffering and grief
A man who instead of receiving the adoration of His people…
Was instead held in such low esteem that men would hide their faces from him
Like the 8th grade nerd who nobody likes, nobody talks to, and when he walks into the room everybody pretends he doesn’t exist and they turn their backs to him to talk to someone else…
hoping to avoid eye contact and avoid him approaching them
Is 53:
Many still treat him that way
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
As if his humble beginnings as a baby and his unimpressive physical appearance were not enough to turn off the most interested listener…
This is the final straw
A Messiah coming as baby?
A Messiah with an average physical appearance?
A Messiah who will be hated and rejected?
But most unthinkable than any of that…
A Messiah who would be struck down…
by none other than God Himself
No wonder that Isaiah asks… who will believe this message?
No wonder that Isaiah expects that nobody will believe it… unless God in His grace reveals it to him.
Transition
Transition
But even after it is revealed to us and we have received it, we still need to be constantly reminded of the gospel and immersed in it, don’t we?
Even after Peter had just declared that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus goes on in to tell the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and there he must suffer many things… and die.
And who is the first person to open his big mouth?
Peter
He takes Jesus aside and rebukes him
Far be it from you Lord
Peter believed Jesus is the Messiah, but he had a hard time accepting that the Messiah would be made to suffer like that
He had a hard time accepting that the Messiah would be a Suffering Servant
what good would that do?
What good could possibly come through his suffering?
What good could possibly come through his death?
Why would God allow such tragedy and suffering to happen to His servant?
We still have a hard time understanding suffering today, don’t we?
We aren’t much different from Peter
We can’t understand why God allows Christians to suffer
There are countless books and preachers telling us that if we believe in God then we won’t suffer
Have enough faith and you won’t be sick, and your wallets will be full
Victorious Christianity is misunderstood to be a life without suffering, without hardship, without tragedy
People have a hard time reconciling suffering with victory, and hardship with everlasting joy
But as the prophet reveals…
It was God’s sovereign plan and will to bring salvation and redemption through suffering - by means of suffering
Specifically… through the suffering of His own Son… the Suffering Servant
2. Purposeful Suffering
2. Purposeful Suffering
As Isaiah continues, he shows exactly that
That the suffering of God’s Servant is not in vain… that it is not irrational or without reason, but that actually, there is a divine purpose in His suffering...
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Is 53:5
He was pierced… why?
for our transgressions
He was crushed… why?
for our iniquity
That’s what the Father did to His Son on the cross
And this is what He achieved...
He was chastised / punished… why?
to bring us peace
He was wounded… why?
to heal us
That was the divine purpose of the Messiah - the very reason God sent Jesus in the first place
A man
And He achieved that purpose perfectly, to the praise of his glory and grace
Now there are people who are going to hear this and still not understand why it was necessary for God to bring such suffering and wrath on His own Son…
Why exactly did the Servant of God need to suffer this way? Wasn’t there another way for God to bring salvation to His people?
And questions like that are asked because we don’t really understand the reality of who we are
Lost Sheep
Lost Sheep
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Just take your highlighter or pen and highlight or circle those words… every one
Every one of us have sinned
In any given gathering - and I don’t think its any different here tonight...
there are people who have been raised in Christian families, have all the Sunday school attendance badges and all the pedigree of an honorary church member.
You might even have your name on a golden plaque somewhere in the church in recognition of your service
There are also people who have been or are addicts, abusers, pub crawlers, foul mouthed liars
But everybody has something in common
Every one of us have sinned
It goes all the way back to and The Fall
In that moment that Adam sinned, there was a separation between God and man and from that moment on, every human being, apart from Jesus, was and will be born a sinner
We saw it play out immediately didn’t we?
, Adam’s first born son Cain murders his brother Able
, God sees all mankind and says that every intention of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually
Destroyed the whole earth in a flood and redeemed a few to keep His promise
From the moment of the Fall, every one was born cursed and broken
We aren’t sinners because we transgressed God’s Law… we transgressed God’s Law because we were born sinners
Created for God’s glory, but born with a bent towards sin so that our default position is always to go in the opposite direction to God’s will
We have gone astray from God’s perfect and good will and design…
and have instead gone our own way and did whatever felt right to us
We have all believed the lie in our minds that we know better than God, and broken every one of his commandments and decided to live however we felt like instead
All the wrath and judgement of God on Israel that is prophecied by Isaiah in the first 39 chapters is nothing but a shadow compared to the wrath and judgement of God that will be brought to bear on every sinner who has transgressed / broken His Law
That is our estate - that is who we are, and exactly where would be headed… if not for the suffering of Jesus Christ
All because Jesus took our suffering upon Himself.
He was pierced for our transgressions… so that we wouldn’t be
This is the doctrine of
He was crushed for our iniquity… so that we wouldn’t be
The innocent Lamb, silent before the shearers, went without objection or complaint to the slaughter…
and suffered in our place
And notice that he didn’t just take away our transgressions… but He also gave us something...
He was chastised to bring us peace
He was wounded so that we would be healed
He didn’t just take away our sins - our sins are the symptom of the problem - not the problem
Imagine if you went to the doctor with huge gash in your forehead and the blood is gushing out…
… and you tell the doctor, “man, you gotta do something about this, I’m in a lot of pain”
… and the doctor gives you some Panado and says see me again tomorrow if the pain hasn’t subsided”
To redeem us, Jesus dealt with the root of our problem.
Our problem was our separation from God and the curse of a sin nature and inescapable death from God’s judgement
Our problem is God is holy and we are not
Our problem is God is coming in judgment
The curse is why we sin - we are born with a heart that is set against God
So you don’t deal with sin by just removing the sins that have been committed, because tomorrow we will sin again...
Because the root cause is still there
So Jesus didn’t just take away our sin… He took away our curse - in fact, he took that curse upon Himself.
He died at the hand of His Father
That is what is meant by Isaiah when he says “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Imagine if we went to a doctor
And instead of
Jesus took away our curse and our transgressions,
They were all laid on Him,
He had to do it - there was no other way
And He suffered at the hands of the Father
And the purpose of all that was to redeem us completely and to reconcile us to God
He took our sin and our chastisement
He gave us peace with God, healed our brokeness, restored us to God not only as servants but as adopted children.
That is why Jesus had to suffer, that is why Jesus had to die.
God is holy, so someone had to take the full weight of his justice
Jesus did so, and through His suffering, we have been restored
3. Prosperity Through Suffering
3. Prosperity Through Suffering
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
God is holy, and his justice requires payment in full for our transgression
Someone has to suffer
Were our sins taken away because of what the Jews or the Romans did to Jesus on the cross?
Absolutely not… they were just carrying out what God purposed before time
Our sins have been taken away and we have been restored to God because of what The Father did to His Son…
Praise God, Jesus took the suffering that we deserve, and He did it for every believer, and he accomplished in full exactly what God
Isaiah says it was the will of the LORD to crush Him
It was God’s good purpose and perfect will to send Jesus to suffer and to die, so that his holiness and justice would be satisfied
God’s holiness and justice required payment for our sin, and Jesus came to take the full weight of God’s justice on Himself
Jesus came to take the full weight of God’s justice on Himself
So
He gave himself as an offering to God for our guilt.
This can also be translated as “God took pleasure in crushing him”… or “It pleased the Lord to crush him” and actually that is how the KJV translates it
This doesn’t mean that The Father took some sort of cruel pleasure in watching His Son Suffer in the way that He did under His own arm...
What is meant is that God took pleasure in what he was achieving through it
God took pleasure in what His plan of redemption through Jesus would accomplish -
“he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand”
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
It pleased the Lord to give His Son to make atonement for our sin, so that His Son would be lifted up and exalted
It please the Lord to give His Son to make atonement for our sin, so that His Son would be lifted up and exalted
So that Jesus’ name would be glorified above all
And so that all for whom Jesus died would be redeemed and share in His prosperity
so
And so that all for whom Jesus died would prosper with Jesus
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
we should all be shouting praise to God at the top of our voices right now
we should all be shouting praise to God at the top of our voices right now
Jesus, the Son of God, was numbered with transgressors
and He bore our sin and curse and took it away
In its place, He gives us His righteousness so that we who believe are accounted as righteous
If there is any rational reason to see the gospel as radical, or far fetched…
it is because it is so amazing and unthinkable that the God of the universe would come to us…
sinners…
rebels…
haters…
And that while we were still shaking our fists at him in stubborn rebellion and hatred
He took our sin upon Himself
took our place under His wrath and judgement
made atonement and satisfaction for our sin
and restored us to God with new hearts to love Him and desire Him above all else
And when we falter, when we stumble and fall, we still have peace with God
Because the very one who died for us and achieved to the fullest extent our salvation…
… has made and is making intercession for us.
giving us new hearts to love God and desire Him
Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.