Isaiah 53 His Pain- In My Place! - Sun. 4-07-19
I'm going to go ahead and tell you where in Isaiah chapter 53 that is not Genesis. So it may take a little bit longer to find turn to Jen roces me turn to Psalms Psalms Proverbs, two more books Song of Solomon Isaiah. You reached Jeremiah at another big book of Isaiah. And Jeremiah are pretty big books like Psalms that we're going to Isaiah 53. Because beginning last week and for the coming two weeks, we're going to continue to examine this this idea this theological concept of The Great Exchange. Misunderstanding of of what Jesus has done for the follower of Christ to make you acceptable before a holy God. What's a which week we're going to take a different piece of that puzzle a different passage to address the formula that The Great Exchange for my Note takers. We said this last week, I'll say it again is his body his pain and His glory for me for you it is these things in our place. What's up with Genesis? 22. We began that talk last week. That was a his body in our place. Today is Isaiah 53 does his pain today for you? Is pain for me?
We jump from the historical Book of Genesis with prophetic revelation of the Cross to come to this week a book of Prophecy. This is the Wheelhouse of Isaiah is prophecy, but we're going to look towards a historic explanation of Jesus's finished work. Isaiah 53 if you're not familiar with it it will give us the most Vivid account of calvary. Even more so I think then the New Testament eyewitnesses that will get in just a few pages ahead. Particularly because this prophecy is from God. Isaiah that the mouthpiece of God was over five Jewish Kings of Judah and seven hundred years prior to the time of Christ we get this
this word before us Isaiah means Yahweh is salvation. And I think this is this is too cool not to show you. This is kind of a Bible study nerd thing, but the parts of Isaiah's name. Combined together towards a testimony of prophetic truth. The yeah sound everybody has said Isaiah. Yeah before that. Yeah is linked to Yahweh. The Covenant will name of God that the sign at the bottom line official name. This is how how God signs his promises. He caught. He told Moses I am this is Yahweh God And I won't we miss we missed because we don't have Hebrew ears. Yahweh is salvation is what Yahweh is what Isaiah means the word salvation if you had Hebrew ears, you would hear it. Yes. I yeah.
the word behind salvation Is Yeshua?
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts each time. We say Isaiah. Yeah.
Winchester Short actuant accentuation Change you are saying Jesus is God. And God is Jesus. It's no wonder that Isaiah gives us the most comprehensive look into the gospel from the Old Testament in prophetic direction. We're going to walk this morning. It is woven into his literal identity. Now, Isaiah is the first of the books that is classified by many as prophetic prophecy. He's one of the majors and that's not just because it's one of the longer books. Isaiah will balance judgment and salvation for Israel and 458 years. Isaiah pronounced God's blessing and his rebuke is correction. 58 years in a day that to be in the business of thus saith the Lord. You got it wrong. Death that's what's the penalty for the preacher. I am glad we are in New Testament settings because imperfection. it's my God's grace picks up from
Justin Martyr not the foxes book of Martyrs guy. That's a different. That's a different last name. Martyr. Justin Martyr was at a second century believer and apologist and a historian for the church. He recorded that Isaiah. Was sawn in half by Hezekiah son Manasseh.
He truly divided Israel. He pointed the people's sinful shortfall. And he pointed towards the long game of Christ and his salvation that God would provide for us restoration. We need this book in our diet. The most of us probably only know Isaiah for Advent reasons.
Waste we here at Christmastime. For unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and and then we get the familiar Christmas victory that comes with that that the government shall be upon his shoulders and we shall would calling him wonderful counselor, Mighty God Everlasting father Prince of Peace and of the increase of his Reign there shall be no end. It's also Isaiah in chapter 7 that we get behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call his name Emmanuel.
Now we certainly need the Virgin birth of Christ. But but more so we need the perfect sinless life of Christ. That I say is going to outline for us today in this passage for it is it is ultimately does not the pain that saves you it is not the literal Stripes that you are healed by it is his perfect sinless body and life before during and up to the Cross. Is that that allows for your healing by his substitution in your place?
the stripes heal because the savior is spotless. Jay Vernon McGee says he was the substitute. from the love of God provided for the Salvation of you and me.
Out of the Cross that's what the word excruciating means. We misuse it. I think to describe lesser play pains this this Roman Perfection of capital punishment stretched out the love of God from arm to arm. And in the midst of that pain that Good Friday Jesus remained, holy.
Consider that the next time that your mouth is unbridled after the hammer hits your thumbnail. The first of our passage today will ask two questions and where we're heading that direction. It will ask who has believed what he has heard from us. That's how Isaiah is starting this passage and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed.
Isaiah is speaking to a people expecting a conquering King. But the will of God would see that particular path traveled instead by a suffering servant.
Isaiah was speaking to Israel and they had ears. But not yours to hear. The prophets in advance is always harder to discern than the prophet in history.
We have before us today. Not just the arms of the Lord revealed. We have the bear arms of the Son of God before us they are exposed. They are bloody. They are suspended Between Heaven and Earth and they are fully sufficient and the only acceptable sacrifice. To atone for sin and to impute his righteousness to you. A righteousness that we could never learn and we certainly could never afford. Jesus would say in many of his teachings he who has ears to hear. Maybe you've heard that before he who has ears to hear Let Him hear.
So with looks like everybody brought him this morning that's good with your ears on this morning. I would ask you to lean in and was your understanding of history. And with your eyes I would ask you to focus and we can say that we we beg the spirit of God today to make these things plain and clear that this particular message of God's love for us that the image that we saw last week of Isaac and and Abraham and the only son that we would and should receive those things not just the picture and and assembles there but that we would receive the pain of God in both the father and in the Sun.
But he would both get his son for the Unworthy. That's you and I that the sun would obey the father for the unresponsive that has been all of us at one season or another and that the Lamb of God would truly come to take away the sin of the world for whosoever will receive him. That's good news. So what does attentive Q's I'd ask you to stand with me. 12 versus this morning Isaiah 53 you may know this.
But I would ask you to tone your ears. either way
Isaiah says whom has believed what he has heard from us. And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
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. He was despised and rejected by men. a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief How does one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet. We esteemed him stricken Smitten by God inflicted. Responsive, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities with his we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet. He opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like it a sheet that before its shearers is silence. So he opened not his mouth. My oppression and judgment was taken away. And ask for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living stricken for the transgression of my people and they made his grave with the Wicked with a rich man in his death. Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth verse 10 Yeah, 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. 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 a counted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities. 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. Yeah, he bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. Heavenly father. This is a longer passage with bigger words and more difficult concept. So we asked Lord that by your spirit that you you would be our wisdom. But you would be our treasure. that you would use this to impact our Are Monday morning and every day after to follow? Play we be conformed to this image of your son. It's in your name. We pray. Amen may be seated.
Isaiah's words fell on deaf ears. This is a proclamation of what Israel will say one day and and so as much as it was on deaf ears and Israel's day. It is still upon many deaf ears today. years of Jew and Gentile and may we be so sensitive to pray that they would finally see
Even as we would pray for our own fresh eyes and soft heart to see what the gospel would clearly defined for us as good news. It's okay. We're going to primarily focus on Verses 4 through 7, not the whole thing. But but I want to start with a misconception that I hear too often. The majority who are looking for Christ. We're looking for salvation. Well, they are looking for the wrong thing. Certainly, he will come to make all things new that is the promise of scripture. That is his return. That's not the first Advent Israel missed him because they were looking for something different. They were they wanted their King, but but not in this manner. He was unexpected. The text tells us Isaiah goes to Great Lengths like an unexpected green plant in the middle of the Sahara Desert. That's what verse two is describing for you that there is a tender shoot. in a terrible place and then this is where the river starts. I've heard far too many. Discount the artistic references of Jesus, you know those pictures right? They circle around Facebook there on people's walls. I think my great-aunt had one on her wall. People will say all that's not what Jesus look like. That picture is too handsome.
Somewhere along the line somebody heard that he had no form or Majesty that we should look at him from the close of this verse verse number two. And people started saying of Jesus he was average or less than average. He was nothing to look at if not, just playing. displaying
and I think that's incorrect. Here's why there's there is nothing playing or average about the son of the Living God.
What we have before us when you see him truly whether you think real beauty is on the inside or the outside. I assure you he has both. He is the perfect image of God before us the scriptures tell us that he is the express image of God the Father. There is no more fulfillment of perfection than Christ Jesus. So what does Isaiah mean? What are we miss understanding? What what you should receive here is not an indictment of his complexion not an indictment of his hairline or his General appearance which all of the pictures out there. I'm just going to say it. He's too white for it is a middle eastern man. I'll just leave it at that.
His looks it is his approach that were talking about there is nothing Regal about the first Advent. There's nothing Majestic about his first time coming. He comes not with an Entourage, but with a ragtag bunch of unlearning to fishermen and zealots, he comes from a feed trough instead of a throne room. Snap by Shepherds before the Magi come years later.
Jesus would be one hanging on a cross not hanging out in Royal Halls. That is what you would hide your face from.
He was playing only by nature of his humility. You didn't cling to his equality with God. He set it aside so that you might be restored. The Bible says instead of a Royal Crown we would see him with thorns upon his head. Set of Robes of royalty. He would be stripped bare.
Set of pampered he would be pummeled by Roman soldiers. Nothing that you would expect nothing that you would have steam. But by God's grace everything that you need. Truly, he was despised. The text says he was rejected the group that was with him for three years. Not even they stood with him all the way through this horrific weekend this pain beyond all measure that we look at today serves the purpose to make a rash since treasure.
You need to understand that your sorrows. And your griefs your issues everything but your sin? We're his for 30 plus years. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy flashy. Nothing fetching. Isn't it often the case that what we need most? Never looks appealing what we need most never tastes the way that we want it to taste.
Even while IT addresses are most internal of needs. In the shame that would cause men to turn their face away from this bloody crucifixion.
In the shame that would keep us from looking eye-to-eye from that one that would stand on the corner asking for help. As verse three would say as one from whom men hide their face May match take a brief moment to plant a seed of conviction. You know, I love you, right it's one of those moments.
Your Jesus was more homeless than any person you've ever seen holding a sign. The scripture say specifically we can even narrow it down further. Jesus himself says birds have nests foxes have holes. The son of man has no place to lay his head.
What a challenge you this coming week when you are out and about. Would you make compassionate eye contact with everyone you encounter? Even when you may not agree with their life choices are the circumstances would you acknowledge their presents? Anybody else ever have the urge you sitting at the stoplight and you see the individual and for whatever reason you just look away.
Is Believers we need to get out of that habit?
Every person you encounter is made in the image of God every person you encounter has Eternal value. Somewhere along the line. Somebody said I think it's CS Lewis, but I'm not certain you will never lock eyes with somebody whom God does not dearly love.
The Bible goes on to say later on Jesus would say that there may come a time when you may be engaged to serve him by serving the least of these. What's up again? Whether you avert your eyes for shame. Or whether you avert your eyes for sinful Pride stop it.
Praise God for the position of where he has placed you in your life In This Moment who knows where a few wrong choices might just have landed us. to look and love and live so that the least of these might see Jesus in you and in me. All right, so many sermon over back to the text first 5, I want to point something out to you by by making a repetitious point. Can I help you? Understand something just a little bit better like Mama used to by saying the same thing in multiple different ways. Would that be helpful if I said it once twice maybe 3 times in different ways some of you are already not in your head cuz you catching that. I'm already doing it. If you're with me, then you're ready to hear Isaiah's words verse 5he Jesus. was pierced was crushed was chastised for you
does any of that sound Pleasant? I know you're reading right. His pain is in your place. So that we might receive God's truth these past tense verbs that are here all revolve around sin. I miss this morning. If you have any question about how God feels about Sin let the cross be example number one of how he feels.
In the church, we don't think about the cross so much we think about Sin we we think about our neighbors, don't we?
Why we get labeled with hypocrisy so often because the only thing worse than my sin is my neighbor's sin is is your sin. now I know you've never felt this way, but maybe you've encountered somebody that's felt this way that as long as I am better than the next guy. Well, then I'll just be a little bit closer in line to the Pearly Gates when Peter is reading the role. I mean, I don't Rob liquor stores. I've had somebody tell me that before don't lead with that with your preacher. That's that's not a
I don't got to Rob liquor stores. I don't assault old lady's I don't pursue any of those overt sexual sins.
Shoreline closed doors. I'm a lie a little. I might gossip a bit. I might end to you and and I might. This next one is why I don't introduce myself as a preacher to your friends. When I encounter you in public. I might even say words that I shouldn't say in front of the preacher.
I might watch shows Crossing pornographic lines. But all that's behind closed doors.
As if Jesus didn't come to save you out of all of that as much as he did save your neighbor out of all of his mess. Jesus doesn't just call out the public sends. These are the private since he sees them all. I don't care Church what you call your sin, Isaiah is going to cover the bases. He's going to say Jesus died for it all. He was pierced for our transgression. The word we don't use very much that word means your Rebellion your treason.
Isaiah would have you here that's in is Cosmic assault against Heaven Cosmic treason. It is your attempt at a spiritual coup upon. Almighty God it is the placing of myself is the placing of eye upon the throne of your heart and the expulsion of your creator, or at least its attempt.
The transgression would be the nails holding him to the Cross if it were not for the love that held him there. transgression is the word that we minimize and do those three little letters s i n transgression is the cat-of-nine-tails that flayed his back those nails that impressed his hands that spear that impaled his side. That is all transgression work. It is warring against God. When we treat it as a mere sparring match.
It's not it Isaiah tells us he was then crushed for our iniquities. He's covering the Gambit the this word force in iniquity means perversity.
Theologians would hang the adjectives total before the word depravity to describe our condition here total depravity iniquity is here. This is this is guilt not not the feeling right? Cuz sometimes you feel guilty. This is guilt not and feeling but in fact the judge and the gavel are done.
Things we see in the things we hide. the darkened heart in US It's crushed him our iniquity crushed him you and I did this.
Our chastisement our chastening I had to watch my images with this one cuz I was raised a little bit different than we didn't have switches where I grew up in South Florida Palmetto would cut you in half. So
you think about that it would buy back on track. Old fashioned discipline. I don't know how you were raised, but I was raised differently than switch.
Your wage was delivered upon him. Was in your place that he took your whooping so that you might be made whole before his father.
But only if you would receive that by faith.
You do not get Glory. You do not get Heaven unless you want it and you did not get it any other way, but by Christ's finished work. God does not force salvation upon you he offers it freely. 1st John 4:10 says in this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and he sent his son to be a propitiation for our sins now salvation may be free to you. But it uncovered nailed and revealed both God the father's arm and the sons Mighty arms upon the tree of calvary. Isaiah asked who is who is the arm of God then revealed if you hold a new testament your your it I'm it.
What is free to you do not treat as cheap because there is no higher cost paid to accomplish your salvation. These three verbs that we've looked at are all in a passive past tense. What's that mean? Well, the nerdy side of me would have you understand that we are to receive that this was not a this is not Rome doing these things.
It is God. That is the initiator. First Tennessee or is it said that it was the will of God? To crush him his own son his only son. Perfect life that we and Adam failed at work that that perfect that Perfection was owed to God and in his is the debt that we owe and it is his perfect son that does the work to accomplish the settlement of it. It is his pain for our game. First five finishes off by his stripes or by his wounds depending on your translation. The the word originally was by his scourging He was beaten within an inch of his life. And if you would been there on that day I can assure you the blood was everywhere.
It covered everything is a picture of what the altar would have looked like in and Abraham it or seasoning Moses's day.
Is a picture of what the altar would have smelled like and look like with burnt offering in the air. His blood was shed. It was splattered. It was spread covered everything.
And the bit that remained in him the lifeblood that room it's our sin what little he had left the Bible says 3 hours later as he hung from the cross. He expelled that last little bit after saying these words. It is finished. That's right.
Living water and cleansing blood on that day. Now independent of this because there's some people that take a wrong turn. I think here we're going to cover this real quick independent of this we can say that God is revealed as Jehovah shalom. God is our peace that's not the peaceful easy feeling that is a complete possession of everything that we need that's not lacking, but it's possessing. God is Jehovah shalom. God is revealed as Jehovah-jireh. That was last week Genesis 22 that that we have a God who is our provision not because he knows everything but because he sees and he plans and he provides we have Jehovah-jireh before us. He's revealed as Jehovah Rapha. That's Exodus 3 you can do some homework on that one. God is our healer. And so why do I lead with these three and give you those references? Well, here's why God can heal and God does heal. Sometimes he heals in the temporal many of you have seen that here. Sometimes you have to wait a bit longer. The promise of scripture is that he will heal the believer into perfect. Tear free suffering removed. Glorious Heaven one day soon. That's why we pray because he is able. Because he is good. And even when we don't see the answer to that prayer when scripture would testify these things when we don't understand what he is doing we can know that he is good because he has been declared such all throughout the rest scripture. Why do I say that? Well, this beating that Isaiah prophesied about is not about you getting over a sniffle. It's not over your sore back. It's not even over your cancer. You already have a guy that is clearly on display that loves you and will provide for you and sees exactly where you're at. That's not what this healing. It's
Start with these stripes are for.
Here too often those type of healings may happen based on other truths, but this type of healing hear the chastisement that brings us. Peace. That's what Isaiah is talking about. It is towards you understanding that. God did not send Jesus to make bad people better. He sent Christ to make dead people alive.
to a filthy ragged Humanity to us soiled in our sin while we were Sinners while we were in defiance while we were in transgression and iniquity and every other word that you can use to describe sin Christ came so that we we might receive his righteousness. That we might become Sons and Daughters of the father. That you would no longer be a prodigal. But that she would be precious. Isaiah has mentioned this process or this assault in three different ways so that you and I would be clear on what God is doing for us.
Later on when the when the gospels speak of the Sun going dark in the midday eclipse. All that good Friday, that was for understanding that God was drawing the veil upon the holiest of holies his son. Instead of The Ripping veil in the temple of the holy of holies. I catch the difference holiest and just holy and that place where only the high priest Hebrews 4 says of Jesus Christ. He didn't enter into a holy place to offer a offering but to be the offering not to make sacrifices as all of the imperfect High priests before him had done but to be that sacrifice 1st Peter 2:24 is my backup for this it explains our death to life healing that Isaiah speaks of by this bloodshed. That you would die to sin and that you would live to righteousness.
your healing Is God addressing the terminal nature of your sin? I don't like that word terminal Dewey, but it's true. the Wage of Sin staff you do not need Heavenly antibiotics. You need a holy transfusion by the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Through the shedding of blood there is no other way towards propitiation the remission of sins. on that day your penalties became his he substitute in for you for me. That you might be made at one with the father. Now. That is the Layman's way of expressing the $3 word. I didn't put it on the screen, but that is the idea behind penal substitutionary atonement.
Praise God we serve a Risen Savior and not just an acceptable sacrifice.
God's receding of Jesus is obedience provides you with justification. That's the legal term that states that you have been made. Not just forgiven by his work his Perfect Replacement in your place The Great Exchange makes it as though you never send.
When God sees you to a follower of Christ, he sees his son. What a tremendously great great Exchange.
Particularly when Isaiah sums it up nicely when we followed the crawl when we followed the crowd as sheep LED astray Isaiah says our Good Shepherd held the line and paid the cost. That we would see his up his opposition his Affliction in his Slaughter was in fully committed obedience to the will of his father and and no amount of pain and no amount of problem. No amount of fear would cause him to throw in the towel.
We say things a little out of habit and maybe a little carelessly we say in the church. They took him. But the testimony of scripture is that he went willingly for the joy set before him. He endured the cross for you and for me. They didn't take him he went on his own. We say they killed him. Lot of people have made bad theological decisions based on vilifying certain individuals. They killed him. That was what was said, but it is the very picture of Genesis 3 that we would understand that God provided him today picture of Genesis 22 from last week. We say they buried him in the Tomb. Praise God. He did not stay there. we say he has risen.
But do we live like it?
Do we cling to the righteousness that supposedly has gripped us?
I think this is probably where we get our hypocrisy name tag the most. Me to say lovingly friend if God's grace does not lead you to repent and address your sin. You may only have an understanding of what the debt is that you owe you may not hold God's grace the way that you think if you're not driven to mortify sin to to find it to root it out to get it gone. I'm not saying you're not going to slip because I I slipped constantly, but the trajectory in the the distance of walk comes by abiding with Christ.
Do you know about Jesus but you don't follow Jesus? Those are different things. And we need to be reminded that those have different destinations.
Would you be certain of that today? Would you know this pain? his pain what was to be your pain? for your game It's time for you and your place. God made him who knew no sin to take your place. Luke tells us he came to seek and save Matthew tells us he came to serve and become a ransom for many. For your part. He took your pain. So today you can be you can be set free because that work is already done. Bhaskar musicians to come forward this is always a reminder. We we need to be ever so much more as much as as much difficulty as we have sharing our faith outside of these walls. Sometimes we might find the solution by understanding what Christ has done for us inside this heart. If you don't get it in the heart, you won't get it out the doors to pray with me. Heavenly Father we ask Lord that you would cause us to respond. And however, you are working in this moment. You are calling it is your spirit that Reigns and rules in this place. It is your spirit that equips us and it is the only hope that we have leaning upon you that we might make it through this life alive. We trust you. We thank you. We serve a risen savior. It's in your name. We pray amen.