Reflecting On The Holy One
Isaiah 6:1-7
April 23, 2023
I realize this will be our 3rd week in a row dealing with this 6th chapter of Isaiah
And his vision of the Holy One,
I just wasn’t quite ready yet to leave this vision in the rear-view mirror.
Before we move on, I want us to consider this vision
In light of the fact that this Holy One that Isaiah saw
Was none other than Jesus Himself.
John 12:41 “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”
John there was of course referring to Jesus as the One whom Isaiah saw.
We have said many time and we say again this morning that
The vision which Isaiah saw CHANGED HIS LIFE.
He had been a hypocritical worshiper.
• He was self described as a man with “unclean lips”
• Who lived “among a people with unclean lips.”
Isaiah was making the confession that he was a liar.
His confession did not match his heart.
Isaiah would preach this message later to the congregation saying:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
Isaiah confessed that he was exactly that sort of man.
• Like a Pharisee he appeared righteous on the outside but inside was full of all
uncleanness.
• He would have been one of those bloody-handed sinners.
• He would have been one of those who brought useless sacrifices.
• He would have been one of those whose worship offended God.
He was going through the motions without any real love for God
And he knew it.
And he was totally content to live in such a state of hypocrisy
UNTIL he saw the Lord.
When he saw the Lord it changed everything for him.
• In a moment he felt the weight of the guilt of his sin.
• In a moment he realized that “the wages of sin is death”
• In a moment he understood that sin was no laughing matter and definitely not something to overlook.
He fell to his face and prepared to die at the hands of the Holy One.
BUT IT WAS THEN THAT ISAIAH RECEIVED MERCY
For the Holy One is merciful to those who are contrite in heart.
Isaiah was forgiven, his iniquity was removed
And he was commissioned into the service of the Holy One.
And if you read the book of Isaiah
It is not hard to see that HE NEVER GOT OVER the vision.
• 30 times in this book Isaiah speaks of “the Holy One”
• Nearly 60 times Isaiah speaks of God as “Holy”
• 7 times he speaks of Jerusalem as the “Holy Mountain”
• Twice he calls Jerusalem the “Holy city”
And that is only because the Holy One is there.
Isaiah entered the temple in a state of hypocrisy
With no real concern for what God thought about his sin.
He exited that temple totally captivated with “the Holy One”
And totally committed to proclaiming Him to his contemporaries.
If you zoom out and take a birds-eye view of Isaiah’s preaching
You can hear him making the same 3 points over and over again.
1) THE HOLY ONE IS YOUR REDEEMER AND DELIVERER
ISAIAH LEARNED THAT IN THE TEMPLE
When instead of killing him, the Holy One pardoned him.
Isaiah learned that this Holy One is the only chance you have a salvation
And he echoes this throughout his ministry.
When Assyria attacks, God makes this promise regarding Assyria.
Isaiah 10:17 “And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.”
When Babylon threatens Israel, God promises again:
Isaiah 41:13-16 “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. “Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff. “You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.”
Again to Babylon:
Isaiah 47:1-4 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate. “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. “Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 48:17 “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.”
Isaiah 54:5 “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.”
Isaiah is constantly reminding Israel that they have but one savior.
They have but one deliverer; one redeemer
And it is the Holy One whom he saw back in the temple.
The clear implication is that
Israel should quit running to their neighbors and trusting in false gods,
But should run to their true Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
It is a constant theme in the book.
Another constant theme
2) THE HOLY ONE IS THE ONE WHO WILL GLORIFY YOU
Isaiah 55:5 “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, And a nation which knows you not will run to you, Because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”
Isaiah 60:9 “Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.”
Isaiah 60:14 “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah saw how the Holy One transformed him from sinner to saint.
How he was changed from a hypocrite to a prophet.
He knew that not only would this Holy One redeem you,
But He would also glorify you.
It was again the call to run to Him in submission and humility and worship
And to allow Him to fulfill His good pleasure in your life.
It is a reoccurring theme in Isaiah’s preaching.
But there is also one more tragic theme in Isaiah’s preaching.
3) BUT YOU ARE DESPISING AND REJECTING THIS HOLY ONE
Isaiah 1:4 “Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.”
They mock His sovereign plan:
Isaiah 5:19 “Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!”
Isaiah 5:24 “Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
Perhaps the most telling of all:
Isaiah 30:10-15 “Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern.” For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing,”
This is the grief of Isaiah’s life.
• He has found the Holy One.
• He has found the One who will deliver, redeem, and glorify His people
• And yet the people are rejecting Him.
But Isaiah will spend his entire life proclaiming this Holy One
Whether they listen or not.
THE POINT?
Isaiah saw Jesus and it changed his life forever.
• It changed his behavior.
• It changed his priority.
• It changed his occupation.
I want us to take one more look at this vision of Jesus
In hope that it changes our lives as well.
For Isaiah, it is all about the Holy One.
He was captivated by the greatness and power and perfection of the One on the throne.
Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?”
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?”
Isaiah 40:25-26 “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”
When Isaiah stepped into that temple
He saw One to whom he did not compare.
He saw One that was nothing like him and One that he was nothing like.
All Isaiah could do was fall as a dead man and cry, “I don’t belong here!”
He is higher and loftier and holier and wiser and more glorious
Than anything we could even have imagined.
There is none like Him and He is totally unapproachable.
Even the angels would not gaze directly upon Him.
• He is the One who put Isaiah and Ezekiel on their face.
• He caused guards to faint like dead men.
• He terrified the apostle John to the point of death.
He is more holy and exalted than we have ever considered.
He is Holy and totally unapproachable by sinful men.
WE HAVE DISCUSSED THAT FOR 3 WEEKS NOW.
But in my daily reading this week,
I read a verse that I’ve read many times and on this day it struck me even more in light of this vision of Jesus that Isaiah saw.
It occurred after Peter and John healed the cripple man at the gate of the temple and all the people approached them in awe of that miracle.
In response to that crowd Peter said this:
Acts 3:12-15 “But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
The phrase that struck me?
Peter said, “but you disowned the Holy and Righteous One”
Peter referenced the Holy One that Isaiah had seen
And charged the people with disowning Him
Just as Isaiah’s contemporaries had done.
And it struck me to ponder again
Exactly what happened to this Holy One that Isaiah had seen.
• This One that Isaiah couldn’t even look at…
• This One that Isaiah dared not approach…
• This One who caused Isaiah to pronounce woe upon himself…
• This One the angels wouldn’t even look at…
• This One the angels covered themselves from…
• This One who caused the very thresholds of the temple to shake…
WHAT BECAME OF HIM?
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WE READ THE ANSWER.
Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”
This Holy One who had terrified Isaiah
Would put on human flesh and dwell among us.
The Holy One who terrified Isaiah
Is the very One who was mocked and scorned and crucified.
The incarnation and the crucifixion
Took on a whole new light for me this week
When I viewed it through the lens of the vision that Isaiah saw.
THIS MORNING
I want us to consider the atoning work of Jesus through that lens.
I want to give you just three things to consider.
#1 THE METHOD OF SALVATION
As we said a couple of weeks ago
As we contemplated the resurrected Lord, and we saw how far from Him Isaiah was.
We said, “Isaiah couldn’t put on glory so the Holy One put on flesh.”
We see that in the gospel with the birth of Jesus.
We read really that astounding request made by the Father in Zechariah 11.
Zechariah 11:4-5 “Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.”
• That was a preincarnate conversation between the Father and the Son
• Where the Holy One was asked to put on human flesh
• And go shepherd the abused sheep of Israel.
What a humiliating task!
What an embarrassing request!
And yet the Holy One did it.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
We have said it before that never has anyone
Experienced more of a humiliation than Christ did.
No one ever started so high to descend so low as Him.
This was the Holy One whom Isaiah saw
Relinquishing His glory so that He might enter the womb
And be born as a baby and live among sinners.
He became a child who became a man who became a servant
Who was condemned and murdered.
Never has anyone ever experienced humiliation like He did.
AND IT CAUSES ME TO WONDER
When men today refuse to humble themselves before Him…
EXPLAIN TO ME how it is too much for God to ask you to humble yourself?
• Why is it too embarrassing to confess your sin?
• Why is it too humiliating to come to the front and cry out for a Savior?
• Why is it too much to ask to let everyone see that you have been a phony?
IT IS NOTHING BUT SHEER HUMAN PRIDE
That keeps sinners from confessing their sin and seeking a Savior.
They see the humiliation as too great a cost.
Do you suppose the Holy One will accept that as an excuse after having humbled Himself to such an extent to purchase your salvation?
FOR YOU TO BE SAVED IT REQUIRED
• That this all glorious, unapproachable, Holy One
• Humble Himself to a great extent than you ever will and become human
• And suffer our shame and reproach.
AND HE DID IT!
Perhaps you understand why He finds your pride repulsive.
The method of salvation was the humiliation of the Holy One
#2 THE MADNESS OF SALVATION
Here is the part that I really pondered this week that blew my mind again.
That in the gospel account we see that this Holy One
Actually subjected Himself to the shame and ridicule
Of proud and arrogant men.
TURN TO: JOHN 18:12
This of course was in the garden as Jesus prayed.
• And all of a sudden Judas arrives with an entire Roman Cohort.
• Of course the first thing He did was declare “I am He” and they all fell on their faces.
It was just a reminder of who it was they were approaching
And that a cohort was not going to be nearly enough men.
But in meekness and submission He allowed them to take Him.
AND WE READ that they “arrested Jesus and bound Him.”
THINK ABOUT THAT.
This is the very Holy One that Isaiah saw.
Could you imagine Isaiah leaving the temple, going out to gather a mob or even the Israeli army and saying,
“There’s a guy in this temple that greatly offended me. He made me feel
like a sinner. I say we go in there and bind Him with chains and drag Him
out of that place.”
Could you read Isaiah 6 and even imagine such a scene?
• Could you imagine Isaiah approaching that throne and trying to zip-tie the
hands of the Holy One on the throne?
The angels would have killed him before he even got close.
But yet, here in the garden, the Holy One kept the angels at bay
And submitted Himself to be arrested and bound by sinful men.
And of course we’re just getting started.
TURN TO: JOHN 18:19-24
Now Jesus has been taken to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas.
• However before Jesus can get inside the house He is intercepted by Caiaphas’ father-in-law Annas who was the real big-wig of Israel.
• Annas confronts Jesus in the courtyard to make sure Jesus knows who’s really in charge here.
And Jesus answers his questions by saying, (20-21) “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what is said.”
But one of the guards was offended by Jesus’ answer:
(22) “When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is this the way You answer the high priest?”
DO YOU SEE THAT?
That guard punches Jesus and says, “Who do you think you are to talk to the high priest like that?”
In light of Isaiah’s vision can you imagine such a thing?
Can you imagine that angel coming
To touch Isaiah’s lips with that live coal to purge away his iniquity
And Isaiah grabbing that coal and chunking it at the Holy One and saying, “Who do you think You are to try and cleanse me, cleanse Yourself!”
Could you imagine such arrogance?
In Isaiah 6 it is absolutely unthinkable.
But here we are in John 18 and the Holy One is submitting to all of it.
And still that’s not all.
Jesus next enters the house of Caiaphas, still bound, and still a prisoner.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 26:59-68
Again, it’s unthinkable.
• They bring in their false witnesses and they just make up lies about Him.
• And when they ask Him who He is and He tells them, they call Him a blasphemer and start spitting on Him and punching Him with their fists.
COULD YOU IMAGINE
Isaiah gazing upon the Holy One and saying, “Who are you?”
And when the angels announce that He is “Holy, Holy, Holy”
That Isaiah would then walk up an spit on the Holy One on that throne?
That is unthinkable. It is absolute madness.
And yet Jesus is submitting to it.
TURN TO: JOHN 19:1-16
Here is Jesus before Pilate,
• You notice that Pilate is starting to catch a glimpse of the madness that is going on here.
• He’s terrified but he’s more terrified of the Jews.
But here they are again, mocking him with a crown of thorns,
Slapping Him, and abusing Him.
And then the crowd comes together and asks for Him to be crucified.
Isaiah’s Holy One crucified?
Isaiah’s Holy One mocked and slapped and beaten?
Of course it wasn’t just at the hands of Pilate.
Matthew 27:27-31 “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.”
Luke 23:8-11 “Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.”
THIS IS JUST MADNESS!
It is unthinkable that Isaiah would have approached the Holy One
And even looked cross-eyed at Him,
Let alone slapped Him and spit on Him and mocked Him.
AND STILL IT ISN’T DONE.
TURN TO: LUKE 23:33-39
• They nailed Him to a cross and even the criminals hanging beside Him join in on the ridicule.
• The crowds gather around Him to watch the spectacle and hurl their abuse at Him.
Isaiah’s Holy One, hanging naked, abused, crucified,
A spectacle for all the world to see?
These arrogant sinful men have no idea what they are doing.
Jesus even said that, “they do not know what they are doing.”
BOY IS THAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
• What humility!
• What mercy!
• What restraint!
They arrogant men are despising the Holy One just as Isaiah said.
Acts 3:14-15 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
IT IS MADNESS!
AND YET, THERE ARE MANY WHO DO IT STILL TODAY.
There are many who totally disregard that He is the Holy One
And refuse to humble themselves and submit to Him.
• He calls and they tell Him “No”.
• They do what He forbids
• They rebel against His holy Law.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
They hear the truth, they know the truth, but they reject the truth.
The writer of Hebrews says “they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
What arrogance!
What madness!
And the only real question we can ask is:
WHY DID HE PERMIT THESE ARROGANT MEN TO DO SUCH THING TO HIM?
#3 THE MEANS OF SALVATION
Why did He allow it?
Isaiah 50:4-6 “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.”
And of course Isaiah again gave us the answer.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 53
Whey did the Holy One take on flesh and subject Himself to the scorn and reproach of arrogant men?
Because it was the only way for sinners to be saved.
Someone had to pay the price for their sin.
• Isaiah couldn’t put on glory so the Holy One had to put on flesh.
• Isaiah couldn’t pay for his own sin, the Holy One had to pay it for him.
THIS UNAPPROACHABLE HOLY ONE
• Relinquished His glory that He might approach us.
• He bore our sin and our shame and our suffering that we might be justified and able to approach Him.
• He tore the veil from top to bottom and now through Him we do what Isaiah never even dreamed possible.
Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Isaiah saw the Holy One and feared for his life.
But this Holy One humbled Himself to save Isaiah’s life.
It is the only way salvation would work and He did it for us too.
I am struck by the Holy One who would humble Himself to save sinners.
And I am appalled by sinners who won’t humble themselves to repent of their sin.
This morning I invite you to humble yourself before Him
As He humbled Himself before you.
He received score and mocking and death,
Do you think yourself above the crushing of your pride and little embarrassment for admitting yourself to be a sinner?
I am calling you to repentance and faith in Christ.
And for those who are saved, this morning as we partake of the Lord’s Supper we worship Him with immense gratitude for what He has done.
We’re going to have a Time of Preparation.
IF YOU NEED SALVATION, if you need to openly and publicly confess Him as Lord, come forward and do that during this time.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE REDEEMED it is a time of confession and sanctification as we focus on this unapproachable Holy One who actually approached us.
And then we will partake of the Lord’s Supper
LORD’S SUPPER
• Deacons Come Forward
Matthew 27:27-31 “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.”
• Give Bread to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Deacons pass out Bread
Matthew 26:26 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
• Take Bread
John 19:1-7 “Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
• Give Juice to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Deacons pass out Juice
Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
• Take Juice
• Prayer
• Parting Hymn
