Humble Servant

Story

A gentleman was in front of a preacher coming out of the church one day. The preacher grabbed him by the hand, pulled him aside and said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor." The Pastor questioned, "How come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?" He whispered back, "I’m in the secret service. "

Intro/ Recap

Jesus fulfilling the OT Prophecies

Last Week- He’s Alive (Peter’s Sermon)

Jesus Came to serve (Matthew 20:28)

Isaiah shows us a great picture of the servant Messiah- Jesus

Lets take a look at what a true Humble Servant Jesus is

He's Sovereign (Isaiah 52:13)

God the Father's Servant who came to earth to serve the will of the Father in redemptive history (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; John 6:38)

Jesus refers to himself as a servant of the father but also equal to the father

There is some dispute as to the identity of the Servant in Isaiah 52-53

Not everyone agrees that this refers to Jesus

Isaiah used the term servant to refer to several different people

The nation of Israel

Himself

The Messiah

This prophecy is so obviously fulfilled in Jesus that it has become an embarrassment to the Jews

They knew that historically, Isaiah 53 is a messianic prophecy

The Targums translate Isaiah 52:13 as "Behold, My Servant Messiah"

The Jews Own Interpretation

They came up with an alternate interpretation

It became common to refer Isaiah 53 to the nation of Israel

History of the Jews, the despised nation of the world

It cannot refer to Israel

It does not fit

Israel never suffered as a substitute for another nation

They never suffered voluntarily

They never suffered silently

In Isaiah 49, God speaks to His Servant Messiah about His servant Israel

Isaiah 53:4-5, speaks of the substitution Israel needs, Israel cant be its own substitution

He's Sinless (Isaiah 53:9)

Buried in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb (see Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:43-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42)

No one could convict Him of sin (see John 8:46; 18:38; 19:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

The punishment He received was undeserved

He paid a debt He did not owe

His esteemed position as the Son of God made what He did that much more powerful (see Philippians 2:6-7)

He Suffers (Isaiah 52:14; 53:4-5, 7, 10, 12)

His visage was marred

Visage = face

Disfigured

The crowd wanted blood (see Mark 15:13-14; Luke 23:21; John 19:6, 15)

Pilate thought he could placate the crowd by beating Jesus (see John 19:1)

People sometimes died from Roman scourging alone

Two soldiers with whips made with leather strips and pieces of glass, metal, and bone (Cat Of Nine Tails)

The whips would tear the skin and tissue from the back of the victim, exposing the vital organs

Ecce homo = behold the man (see John 19:5)

He carried His cross

Patibulum = the crossbeam

He didn't even make it all the way (see Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26)

This was God's sinless Servant taking this torture

No other religion has at its heart the humiliation of its God

He's Substitutionary (Isaiah 53:4-7, 10, 12)

The human race has a sin problem (see Romans 3:23)

We all have a sorrow that comes from a sickness that is brought on by sinfulness

Our disease requires a specialist

It requires a substitute who will take our place

Jesus died instead of you

Vicarious atonement= someone dying in your place

Jesus volunteered to do it for us

We are not good enough; we need someone to stand in for us

Jesus stepped into critical mass, stopping the chain reaction that sin brought to humanity

He was slaughtered so we could be saved

The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God; the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man

He's Silent(Isaiah 53:7)

Jesus was brought before the chief priests, high priest, Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pilate

He remained silent as they hurled accusations at Him (see Matthew 26:63; Mark 14:61; Luke 23:9)

This astonished Pilate (see Matthew 27:14)

He had seen many prisoners go to a cross before, but none of them were silent

He had never seen someone stand silent while accusations were hurled at them

Silence can be intimidating

But silence gives you time to think

Perhaps Jesus had said everything He needed to say to Pilate

Perhaps He wanted to give Pilate time to think about what He said

Some people worry when they feel God is not speaking to them

It could be that He is silently giving you time to think about what He has already said

Maybe He wants you to contemplate before you act

He Saves (Isaiah 52:15; 53:11)

The priests used to sprinkle the mercy seat with the blood of the lamb sacrifice

Signified the cleansing of sins

Jesus would cleanse the sins of many nations

Jesus would justify many people

Many does not mean all

Not all will be saved

Many will be saved, but many won't

Many will not admit they need a savior

God has a big eraser, but you must first admit you have smudges

So many people do not see their need for a substitute

Closing

story

prayer