Isaiah 53:4-6 "The Suffering Servant"

Introduction

Isaiah 53 is set against the backdrop of uncertain times in the life of OT Israel.

Israel as a people had moved far away from having any allegiance to Yahweh, their God. That is why there are prophecies of destruction spoken against the Northern and the Southern Kingdom in Isaiah.

The Assyrians would take the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC. And the Babylonians would take the Southern Kingdom in 586 BC.

In both of these overthrows many of the people would be taken away in exile. And it would have seemed that all of God’s covenant promises to Abraham, Moses and David had failed.

The people had lived in direct defiance against their covenant God and His judgement was coming on the land. Israel’s biggest enemy was not some other nation but it was their battle with their commitment of obedience to Yahweh their God.

But God had not forsaken His people. He spoke through Isaiah of a Servant that would arise and this Servant would suffer on behalf of God’s covenant people.

And in our text this evening we see that there is a redemptive element that needs to be taken into consideration in regards to what this suffering servant would accomplish. Look back at your text to verse 4:

I. The Consideration (4).

Notice at the beginning of verse 4 we see the word “Surely” being used. In Hebrew the term denotes emphasis. Isaiah prophesies with the upmost certainty concerning the ministry of the suffering servant of God.

He understands that it is ultimately the work of God that is being carried out and therefore failure or uncertainty doesn’t even for a moment figure into the equation.

It was Father’s intent that the Son would bear our griefs and our sorrows upon Himself. This is why the second person of the Godhead took on a body of flesh and blood.

He was smitten by God. This is one of the key reason for which Christ came into the world.

If you would go down to verse 10 you would see that, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;”

It was always God’s plan to afflict the Son on behalf of sinners. He came to satisfy the wrath of God. It was all according to the plan.

Israel had lived in defiance to the covenant for hundreds of years. They had gone through the same cycles of temporal repentance only to fall away again in their unfaithfulness. There was no lasting covenant fidelity in their life as a covenant people.

All of humanity if left to themselves are no different before God. God knew before the Fall that there would need to one day be a substitute to stand in the place of His people.

And that is exactly what the Suffering Servant would come into the world to do. Look at the substitution in verses 5-6:

II. The Substitution (5-6).

He was pierced for our transgressions. Christ’s body was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities. Christ’s body was crushed for our iniquities.

Take it in Christian, that precious lamb of God conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgins womb. Spotless, pure, Holy and blameless came to bear our sin.

What mountain would God not move to redeem a people for Himself! What depth would He not go and what limit would God not pursue to ransom us.

Christian are we not loved by the Father? You may have came into this place tonight even as a believer doubting God’s love for you. But if you have been redeemed by the lamb of God cast away your doubts.

Surely the love of God is certain and the benefits of Christ as our substitute are just as certain.

He was chastised for our peace. Peace is the benefit that we receive due to Christ being chastised on our behalf. There is no longer a hostility between God and His covenant people but peace because payment has been made in full. Remember those words from the Cross, “It is finished”

And by His wounds we are healed. This is not just physical healing for us. It is something better. It is talking about our sickness of sin and how Christ suffering brought us healing to the sickness of sin.

If this was specifically referring to physical healing from sickness no Christian would ever get sick. And we know this is not the case. Even the Apostle Paul got sick and had physical problems with his body.

But we also know there are implications of the atonement for physical healing as well in this life. We pray for it all the time. But in eternity hospitals are out of business. Doctor’s and nurses will be out of a job.

Isaiah’s language is the language of restoration. The wounds of His brokenness have brought about our restoration to health.

Then in verse 6 we see the allegorical illustration. He refers, to really all of us, as being like sheep gone astray. We all have turned to our own way.

When we headed home from Tennessee about two weeks ago we drove by a pasture field where there was a large flock of sheep running on the hillside.

And down by the road was this young lamb with its head stuck in the fence. And I said to my girls, look at that lamb with its head stuck in the fence.

Of course they were like oh the poor little thing. So being the Dad that I am I just kept driving. And I was amazed that Audry didn’t say something like Dad some pastor shepherd you turned out to be.

But I told them I wouldn’t be surprised if more of them came down and stuck their heads through the fence too. Thinking that the grass is better on the other side of the fence. Sheep are like that. They will go their own way if there is no shepherd around.

Christian God did not leave us to ourselves. He sent His Son into the world to lay down His life for His sheep. And in doing so He bore the iniquity of His sheep:

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

It is profound how the prophesies of Isaiah come alive in the life of Christ as recorded in the 4 gospels.

Conclusion:

Ever feel like your head is caught in the fence? Oh I don’t mean literally, I mean from a spiritual perspective in relation to your sin before God?

Unbeliever Jesus Christ can set you free by His sovereign grace at work in your life. His death on the Cross is what makes Good Friday so Good. You need a substitute who can take your sin upon Himself and pay your penalty on your behalf. Believe by faith, Trust in Christ!

Christian as we prepare for this table tonight we are called to examine our own hearts in preparation. We are warned in Scripture against approaching this table in an unworthy manner.

Let us come before His throne of grace confessing our sin in full and certain reliance upon God in Christ for our hope.

Let’s Pray!