Isaiah’s Suffering Servant - Part 4

Well, we are in our Easter sermon series this morning we continue on in it. We began several weeks ago with an introduction on Isaiah suffering servant. We moved on the first three verses and we looked at the identity particularly of that suffering servant. Who is the arm of the Lord who is God himself who the New Testament makes clear is Jesus Christ and Ice week. We looked at the involvement the involvement of the different parties in this whole salvation. The God is working out God himself the servant and then us and so today we look at innocence. We look at vs. In particular versus seven through nine. I'm going to read the whole song Servant Song again, but our focus is on 7 through 9, and we see that the servant is innocent in his suffering. Let's read from Isaiah. 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12.

Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and she'll be exalted as many were astonished that you his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and its 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 is not being told them they see and that which they have not heard they understand. Who 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 former 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 and is 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. Yeah. We esteemed him stricken Smitten by God and a flick 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. All we like Street 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 by oppression and judgment. He was taken away and asked for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living stricken for the transgressions of my people and they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man and his death. Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilty shall see his offspring he shall prolong his days the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand over 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 his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors yet. He bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. So this morning we're going to start in this passage by looking at the Injustice of the servant death the Injustice of the servants death. The suffering of the servant was a grave Injustice because he suffered for sin, even though he was innocent before God having never sinned against God and always having been perfectly obedient to God he was innocent and we see this in all three verses this morning. We see it in increasing strength that he was innocent as the a profit prophesize each and verse ads on the next making a more powerful a comprehensive argument for the innocence of the servant that begins with figurative language about lamb and sheep it moves from there and verse 8 to in Accusatory implication of the cause of his suffering in then and verse 9 there is a explicit positive assertion of the innocent of the servant to so let's take a look at that as we look at verse 7 where we see he was like a lamb in like a sheep a land that's being led to the slaughter and a sheep that is brought before it's years will neither a lamb and a sacrificial Ritenour a sheep who is being shared. Neither. One of them is blamable or culpable in any way now these metaphors I think are primarily for the purpose of describing how the servants suffered they reinforce the innocence of the sufferer in the case of the Lamb or in the case of the sheep being sheared. They have done nothing wrong. Now it moves from there to talk about transgressions to being stricken for transgressions to being up to experiencing suffering for transgressions. But those transgressions that are in question are organic tributed not to the servant but to the people of God, this is an accusation made of guiltiness, but it's not against the servant. It's against God's people. And then we seeing verse nine this innocence becomes explicit. We see this phrase. He had done no violence. There was no deceit in his mouth. This word violence is equal to any Act of hostility against people in this phrase. No deceit in his mouth indicates that there was also no deceit and his heart of Jesus said in the New Testament under the out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, but there is no deceit in Jesus's heart that could make its way and come out of his mouth. These phrases really describe a life lived free from sin that is in word and In Deed servant was innocent. He was sure in fact that you Neva Bible translates. He had done no violence as he had done no wickedness and there's good reason for that because when we get to the New Testament, we see the Apostle Peter quoting this verse And it's interesting as we look at how he quotes were going to look at 1st. Peter chapter 2 verses 18 through 25. No way to pay attention to how many allusions to what we've looked at in Isaiah, Isaiah come up in these verses in the second chapter of 1st Peter, but specifically how what Peter is talking about and his use of these verses from Isaiah Point again to the servants innocent Peter writes servants be subject to your masters with all respect not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust for this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one injures zoro's while suffering unjustly are that's Keys talking about suffering unjustly. For what credit? It is or what credit is it if when you send in her beating for you and your it, but if when you do good and suffer for it you and your this is the greatest thing in the sight of God for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his stat. He committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth when he was reviled. He did not revile and return when he suffered he did not threaten, but continued and trusting himself to him who judges justly Peters now pointing to Christ's suffering saying it was unjust and then using those words from Isaiah 53 and talking about Jesus. He goes on to say exactly the suffering he was talking about. He himself bore our sins. Another familiar phrase in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed for you were straining like sheep heard that before 2, but if not returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls and see the servant was innocent. This is clear and Isaiah 53. It's abundantly clear as we look to the New Testament particular that those words from Peter. No, not only did he not deserve the punishment of his people because he didn't do it. He didn't deserve any punishment at all because he was innocent. Now the Injustice of the servants suffering point to the innocent in a sense of the servant and the servants Innocents points us to the main idea of these verses that I would stay the main idea of these three verses like this. The servant was innocent free from sin and completely obedient to God and therefore his suffering must have been substitutionary. The servant was innocent free from sin and completely obedient to God and therefore his suffering must have been substitution or it must have been for someone else. Call my next point this morning is the importance of the servants Innocents. Why is this important? Why is this crucial? Why would this prophecy contain these three verses which really speak other things but focus in on the innocence of the servant, well the innocence of the servants serving introduces an extremely important. And in regards to the atonement and the doctrine and view is the active Obedience of Christ. That's what this is teaching and that's why his innocence was so important. What what is this active obedience steel theologians use the term active obedience to speak of the perfect life that Jesus lived specifically they are talking about the perfect Obedience of Christ for us. The active Obedience of Christ is Christ obedience for us in which he obey the requirements of the law in our place and was perfectly obedient to the will of God the father as our representative and this is really what verse 9 describes a life lived in perfect obedience to God. And we need to understand something here in his death on the cross. Jesus Christ earned forgiveness of sins for his people, but we need to understand that forgiveness of sins is not enough for our full salvation. See the removal of our sins and the guilt of our sins would only take us to a place of neutrality if that were even possible. That wouldn't Merit for us Heaven. Why why wouldn't I why wouldn't that be enough? Will you see God's requirement isn't simply that we refrain from sinning but that we also walk in perfect obedience to all he's commanded and fax sending include both doing things we should are so we not doing things we should not do and positively doing things that we have been commanded to do. So we are required negatively to not send word indeed but positively to perfectly do all that God's word has commanded us to do is hope the Forgiveness of sins. Don't get me wrong as a glorious glorious benefit of Christ work, but we need more we need perfect righteousness Wayne grudem Systematic Theology speaks about this. He says for this reason price had to live a life of perfect obedience to God in order to earn righteousness for us. He had to obey the law for his whole life on our behalf. So that the positive merits of his perfect obedience would be counted for us. See the servant being innocent and therefore perfectly obedient was crucial to our Salvation. I'm not the one of the reasons we get this information and Isaiah. Now what goes along with this idea of the active Obedience of Christ is a complementary Doctrine. Which we see in these verses of the Servant Song and really in the whole servants song. And that's Christ passive obedience. So here's another doctrinal truth Christ passive obedience a note in addition to a being a law perfectly for his whole life on our behalf Christ. Also took on himself the sufferings necessary to pay the penalty for our sins the doctrine of the passive Obedience of Christ. Is this price sufferings for us in which he took the penalty do for our sins in a result died for our sins represents his passive obedience.

And this is what Bruce 9 is talking about. He died. His grave was made with the wicked and with a rich man in death. And we talked about his suffering and death were talking about his passive obedience. The servants suffering was not passive in the sense that it was out of his control. We've we've already talked about that. We've already spoken about that is we looked at these verses from Isaiah? We have seen that he laid down his life of his own accord. Nobody took it from him. I want you to think back way back to Luke chapter 9 when we preach through chapter 9 verse 51 and we talked about this sentence in the Gospel of Luke Luke wrote when the days Drew near for him to be taken up. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. He wasn't passive in the sense of this happening outside of his controller outside of his will know this is what he chose. This is the path he chose to walk on. What is suffering was passive in the sense that he accepted it and he allowed it to happen. This is indicated inverse sin over 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet. He opened not his mouth like a land that is led to the slaughter and like a sheet that before it sure is a silent. So he opened not his mouth. He didn't resist it. He didn't fight against it allowed at any accepted and you know, the New Testament confirms that Jesus was the fulfiller of this prophecy the Fulfillment of the servant who goes through suffering and remains silent, we see it in his trial before the Jews and Matthew 20 chapter 26 verse 63 where we read but Jesus remain 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. He also remained silent before Pilate when the chief priests and Elders were making accusations Matthew 27 verse 12, but when he was accused by the chief priests and Elders he gave no answer. You remain silent when when pilot question him directly Matthew 27 verse 13 through 14 then pilot said to him directly. Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he gave him no answer not even to a single charge so that the governor was greatly amazed. Finally before Herod we see in Luke chapter 23 verses 8 through 8 and 9 when Herod saw Jesus he was very glad for he had long desire to see him because he had heard about him and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length. But he made no answer. Another land in the Sheep, make no protest when going to be slaughtered or going to be sheared. We understand that they make no protest because they don't know any better. Well as servants lack of protest was not due to a lack of knowledge or lack of understanding. He was well aware of what was happening to him. However, he had submitted himself to the father. And he had resolved to pursue the father's will. And so he was obedient, call that the passive Obedience of Christ. Now, there are many things we could point to as we move now to consider the impact of the servants sacrifice, which we've seen was an unjust just act committed against an innocent man with such a focus being drawn to his active and passive obedience as we have seen in these vs. I'd like to spend the rest of our time this morning considering one particular incredible impact of the servants innocent suffering on our behalf, and that is our justification.

Final point the impact of the servant sacrifice one incredible impact the innocence of the servant makes is seen in our justification. The Purity and the undefiled nature and life of the servant or his righteousness as seen in his active and passive obedience is imputed. That's a word that means it's reckoned or it's accounted his righteousness as seen in his active and passive obedience is imputed to us and therefore we are justified by God. Theologian Thomas Oden has written an excellent and accessible book on justification called the justification reader which provides a comprehensive yet concise structure for considering our justification until we're going to follow the format that he lays out in his book and I think you have it there on the insert. You can see how he lays out a comprehensive explanation of justification and for each of those points, I'm going to make an application. I have the opportunity this week to interact with a number of our brother's here at Westland Alliance Church, and I sought their input for this last section of my sermon. I wanted feedback. I wanted to know their thoughts and they were very helpful particular in regards to these application point. Now we are going to examine this doctrine of justification. We're going to use that examination of justification to apply the verses from Isaiah to our lives. So what is justification Odin in his book Thomas Oden says justification is the Declaration of God that one who trust in Christ atoning work. However, sinful is treated or counted as righteous at the definition of justification. Let me read it again justification is the Declaration of God. That one who trusts in Christ's atoning work. However, sinful is treated or counted as righteous. You know the new city catechism it was brought to my attention, but one of the brothers I interacted with that the new city catechism, which I hope you're using which I hope I think you did question 10 today with your kids. If you didn't maybe we can do it after this. He sighed in and brought to my attention that there's a great Definition of justification in it. The new city catechism says justification means are declared righteousness before God made possible by Christ's death and Resurrection for us. That's a great definition as well. So let's look at this examination of justification under these headings that you can see on your answer. The first heading is Source. What is the source of our justification while the source of our us our justification is gone. Understand. This is not a fictional righteousness as in let's all pretend that you are righteous, even though we know you're not know this righteousness is a fact and it's a fact as a result of the decisive merciful Act of God, who is Responding out of an actual event that occurred in history and that was the suffering of Christ. Romans 8:33 says who shall bring any charge against God's elect. It is God who justifies he is the source of our justification. What what application can we make keeping in mind that God is the very source of our justification. Well God being the source of our justification should give us great Assurance in regards to our standing before God the judge. Are you confident in your stance before God the judge?

Now I want you to think about your deal. We went through with Mission Carruth. Our team was in Peru. They were stuck there. Their flight home was canceled Peru was on Military lockdown no travel within the country let alone outside of the country and we were working on both ends to try and get this team back so it so what are we doing? Well, one of the things that people on both ends in Peru and and hear Graham and parents and myself and other staff members we started to send emails. We started to send tweets. We started to make phone calls. We started to send text. The various people and government and government agencies, but is that went on in his I heard reports from different parents and from Graham and they were talking to different MP3 and MP4 what I really wished for as that we could talk to the person in charge that we could speak to the person where the buck stops we were going through these conduits which were the right way to go but I would have like to speak to the man in charge of whether that be the Prime Minister himself or someone who is in control this I wanted to talk to the person. Cool could assure me that something was going to be done. I mean not to desire we have talked to the guy in charge. Well when it comes to justification, the guy in charge is God and the fact that are the source of our justification is God himself, then we know that the person who is declaring is righteous is the guy who's say so matters and we need to find assurance that we have been justified by considering the source of our justification. The buck stops with God and it's God who is the source of our justification and they should bring us great Assurance me to look that for Assurance and in terms of our standing before God. Well, let's move on. What's the nature of our justification? We are not justified by anything in our of ourselves. See we are the Sinners. We are the transgressors. We are those whose iniquities are too many to count and do we need to understand that the nature of this Divine Act of justification is Grace. This is a glorious display of God's favor, which we have not merited. We do not deserve it and we couldn't earn it Romans chapter 3 verses 23 through 25 says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift for the Redemption that is in Christ. Jesus who God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because isn't Divine forbearance. He had passed over former sins. The nature of justification is Grace. It is an act of Grace. How can we apply that truth to our lives? You know, one of the brothers I was speaking to brought this up to me and it's so true instead of Really receiving this gracious benefit of Salvation. Our justification are declared righteousness before God with the righteousness of Christ instead of continually receiving this we often seek to justify ourselves. And the evidence of that is is it is the magnitude of the evidence of daya's is hard to comprehend. We're doing it all the time. Sometimes we do it by pointing our fingers and others we try to justify ourselves by pointing out the shortcomings of others. Sometimes we do it by humblebragging to ourselves or the other is about how Godly we are. We we we do it with the pretext of being humble but we're really just bragging about the lives. We live now. His brother who I interacted with gave me a great question to share and share with you and we can use this question for applying this idea of the graciousness of our justification. We can ask ourselves this question. Here's a question why when God has declared that he has done everything to justify us. Why do I still try and justify myself? Why do I still try and Merida righteousness that can only be Impudent that's a great question and asking ourselves a question. Why do I continue? To do this to try and justify myself, even when God has declared that it's all been done and it's been done by him. Why do I keep trying to Merit this righteousness? That's a great question to ask yourself a great question to ask yourself to remind yourself that the nature of our justification is Grace. So I did encourage you if you catch yourself justifying yourself either trying to learn this by the Good Deeds that you do or and how you speak to others. Ask yourself that question. Why am I doing this God's already done it. Well, let's let's move on here. The next aspect of justification that Odin lays out in terms of examining this Doctrine is elements. What is it comprised of well justification is comprised of our pardon and our acceptance.

Let's do this people. I'm getting fired up here talking about justification.

What are the elements of justification justification is comprised of our pardon and acceptance? We see this beautifully in Romans chapter 5 verse 1 and 2 lesson of first one therefore since we have been justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ that speaks to our party. We are no longer under the wrath of God for our sins. We have peace with God. Because we've been Justified. Then verse 2 through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we were Joyce in the hope of the glory of God Access that we have by faith is the acceptance we are not accepted into God's family. And so we see the elements of just justification. It is comprised of both our pardon and our acceptance. How can we apply that wonderful truth? Well again one of our brothers from Westland Alliance Church shared a quote with me in regards to this. It's a quote by Corrie Ten Boom. And here's what she said. We are nearly as vigorous and appropriating God's forgiveness as he is in extending it. What a glorious truth. Is think of the lengths that God went to to extend forgiveness to us. We need to be vigorous in pursuing. Inappropriate in God's forgiveness. Not that we can work to achieve it. But we need to pursue that forgiveness. You know, what made me think of this whole pandemic? You know when it first started when we first started hearing things out of China and then a little bit out of Europe. We really didn't take it too. Seriously. We didn't pursue regarding ourselves against a very big vigorously, but then when the news went from bad to worse We became much more vigorous in our defense. Look at the look at the way things are now. Groups of no more than 5 unless you're a family keeping social distance is not meeting at the place of worship non-essential businesses and organizations being closed. Just one thing after another we become very vigorous in and guarding ourselves against this virus now that we take it seriously why we need to be people who vigorously appropriate God's pardon in the work of Christ. We need to take our sin seriously, and we need to take Christ's work on the cross seriously. He offers forgiveness. It can't be earned but it can be accepted and appropriated it by going to him and confessing our sins and receiving the Forgiveness that he offered. That's a great point of application in regards to our pardon acceptance. Well, what's the scope? What's the scope of justification justification is the gracious Declaration of an alien righteousness to all believers to all believers Romans eight verse 38 him. He predestined. He also called and Those whom he called. He also Justified and Those whom he justified. He also glorified if you are a believer in Christ if you've entrusted your life to him and to his work, On the cross and his resurrection for the Forgiveness of your sins in the reconciliation to our creator, then you are Justified. That's amazing. How can we apply the scope of justification to all believers to our lives are we need to understand that there are no there is no hierarchy. There are no levels or tear in Christianity when it comes to our justification. We are all equally and perfectly Justified with the righteousness of Christ. You know, one of the images of this justification in the Bible about in the Bible is that we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ in a really got me to think about actually football and we're in the team jerseys in football was thinking, you know, we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. The team jersey for Christians is the righteousness of Christ. And it made me think about guys who played in the NFL who would come to the CFL now, we understand that. The NFL is a bigger lead to get paid more. There's tons more money involved. There's far more viewership involved and oftentimes those players who came from the NFL would come to the CFL and and they would have a bit of an attitude and then we thought they were something special they were maybe on a different level or tear than CFL players and I remember on a couple occasions when you used to hear that from those NFL players and I would do it on a couple of occasions. I would say look buddy. You're wearing the same Jersey as I am. You may have come from the NFL good for you. You made lots of money for a few years. But guess what when you put your jersey on this weekend, you're wearing the same Jersey as I am in really we need to keep this in our mind in regards to the unity in the body of Christ Our shared state of being clothed with the righteousness of Christ is a great impetus for Unity. When we look at other believers, we ought to look at them. The way God looks at them as closed and the righteousness of Christ. I think this is a great point of application for maintaining our unity in the church and our love of the brothers and sisters see your brothers and sisters as those who have been closed with the Glorious righteousness of Christ. Because the scope of justification is do all believers. Well, what's the ground of justification the ground of this Divine Act of declaring a guilty Center righteous is the imputation of Christ's righteousness. The ground of our justification is the imputation of Christ's righteousness. That is Christ's righteousness his active obedience and Disobedience for that matter is reckoned to our account. Thomas Oden who wrote the justification reader which I've been using here. He said this it is not that the law is blandly relax or dishonestly set aside rather. The law is declared to be fulfilled in an even stricter sense by the judge himself by his own sacrificial offering of himself as he himself fulfills the requirements of the law for us. This happens by shooting or crediting to The Believer by God himself the perfect righteousness of his representative.

It's guaranteed God. The son Jesus Christ has lived and died perfectly righteously and that is credited to you by God. That's the ground of justification. It's a glorious glorious truth. And so how do we apply that? Well, we need to pursue obedience. We need to pursue obedience with freedom and confidence because we already know the verdict on our life as a pertains to Eternal salvation has already been granted. God has already declared us justify. He's declared us righteous and he's done. So in advance of the final judgment, it's a glorious thing one of another brother who I interacted with this you no talk to me said it's like going to a test. And not only knowing the questions and answers, but I would say actually knowing the grade that you got. You go in students are know some of you and University are beginning to write exams and have been doing so maybe this past week. What if going into that exam you already knew the mark you were going to get on the exam and then Mark was perfect hundred percent. Now, we all know what we would do in that case. We would slack off we would not study in most cases I think and we would just take the perfect but we also know that that's not the most virtuous path forward what if upon being granted a perfect mark on a test that you didn't deserve what not the better response be I'm going to study as hard as I can and as a result of the gracious gift that's been given to me. I'm going to honor the professor and try to learn as much as possible and do as well on this exam as I possibly can. That's how we should think about pursuing obedience. It doesn't earn our righteousness that's already been earned for it's in fact perfect righteousness has been declared over us and I should be a motivation to pursue obedience through our entire life because we already know what the verdict on our life is and it's a merciful gracious verdict that we don't deserve. Last point last aspect of just justification is the condition. What is the condition for justification? The only condition for justification is faith alone. Faith alone is the condition for our justification Romans 3:28 for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law justified by faith. What's the application Point here will for this I speak primarily to any unbelievers who are tuning in in listening. The application is put your faith in Christ. I declared righteousness with the righteousness of Christ that God makes he makes over all those who put their faith in Christ. So this morning let me encourage you put your faith in Christ. What does that mean? It means with my mind. I believe that Jesus is who he said. He is the Son of God and that he has worked salvation for his people through his life and through his death and through his resurrection and with my will I choose to trust him and choose to trust in his saving work on Calvary and choose to submit to his lordship in every aspect of my life. Enemies with my affections. I treasure Christ and I treasure his reconciling work above all things when it's nights you this morning I encourage you put your faith in Christ this morning. It's the only way it's the only condition for our justification.

Next week is Easter the next week. We're going to finish off this Servant Song of Isaiah. But I pray as this week begins today was Palm Sunday and leads up to the Easter Sunday. My prayer is that you would consider the suffering servant and that you would consider his innocence in regards to what he suffered. And as you think of that innocence you would think of his active and passive obedience his life that was lived perfectly and his acceptance of the suffering and payment of penalty for our sins that resulted in his death.

An adult things would make you think of our justification this gloriously gracious Declaration of God. That we are righteous with the righteousness of that servant Jesus Christ who lived died and rose again on our behalf. My prayer is that would bring you great encouragement this week as we lead up to Easter. The Lord be with you.