The Suffering Servant – Part 2
Psalms 69
April 26, 2020
Tonight it is our objective to once again look at this 69th Psalm.
We studied through it last week and sympathized with David
And the suffering which he was forced to endure.
But we also noted, as did many of the New Testament writers
That this Psalm carried a heavy prophetic weight.
(4) “Those who hate me without a cause”
John 15:24-25 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’”
(9a) “For zeal for Your house has consumed me,”
John 2:15-17 “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
(9b) “the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”
Romans 15:2-3 “Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”
(21) “They gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Matthew 27:33-34 “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.”
It is clear that this Psalm is about more than the temporary trial of David.
This Psalm is about the real Suffering Servant
Who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Indeed you are well aware that Jesus bore this title.
• He is often referred to as “The Suffering Servant”.
• Isaiah 53 refers to Him as “a man of sorrows”
In fact, there are 4 passages in the book of Isaiah
That are commonly referred to as “The Suffering Servant Passages”.
Isaiah 42:1-4
Isaiah 49:1-7
Isaiah 50:4-11
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
These are passages that prophesied of the coming Servant
Who would suffer on the behalf of His people.
And Jesus made no bones about it in the New Testament
That He came to fulfill those realities.
Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”
Matthew 17:22-23 “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.”
Matthew 20:17-19 “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
Luke 17:25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
HE CAME TO SUFFER.
Psalms 69 is really about Him.
So while we can study this Psalm from David’s perspective
• And find a great example of how to suffer the right way.
What we really must do is read this Psalm from Christ’s perspective
• And read it not just as an example, but as a means of hope
• Because the suffering which Christ accomplished He did for us.
David suffered at the hands of godless men and gave us an example.
Christ suffered at the hands of godless men
And a Holy God and gives us salvation.
So we are definitely interested in walking through this Psalm again.
Now I gave you the outline last week,
• And assigned you homework to begin to search out the pictures of Jesus in this Psalm.
• And if you did that, then tonight’s sermon will most likely pale in comparison to the wonderful week you have already had gazing into the perfect sacrifice of Your Savior.
Again, there are 7 realities here.
#1 THE SUFFERING SERVANT
Psalms 69:1-4
When we looked at this from the perspective of David
We noted how his trial was severe.
He likened it to be drowning.
(2) “I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.”
This was the description David gave regarding his suffering.
NOW THAT’S NOT THE ONLY PLACE David described his suffering in those terms.
Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”
Lostness itself was described by David in those terms.
He was stuck in the miry clay and the Lord pulled him out.
What we find in this 69th Psalm is that
The Lord rescued him from it by also Himself entering it.
We know this about Christ.
• He doesn’t just call down from heaven with instructions on how to escape our snare.
• He doesn’t just cry out to drowning victims and say, “Kick your feet! Now make a flapping motion with your arms…”
• No, He enters our pain.
• He enters our suffering.
• He enters the water, the miry clay, the deep mire with us.
HE DOES THAT HERE.
Christ, willingly became a partaker of our suffering.
And even the struggles found here can be easily seen in His life.
We read in verse 1 as David cries “Save me, O God”
• And we remember on the cross, what was also spoken in Psalms 22.
Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”
We read in verse 3 as David laments “my throat is parched”
• And we remember our Lord on the cross what was also revealed in the
22nd Psalm.
Psalms 22:14-15 “I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.”
I remind you that in David’s case, he had no choice; suffering found him.
But in Christ’s case, this suffering was a conscious decision.
HE WILLINGLY ENTERED OUR SUFFERING.
And while David could say they “hate me without a cause”
We understand that in Christ’s case this was absolutely true.
• He never gave a reason to be hated.
• He came only to do the work of God.
• He came only to save that which was lost.
• He came only to redeem that which was enslaved.
• He come only to reconcile that which was separated.
• He came only to restore that which was broken.
There was no cause for Him to be hated, and yet He was.
And probably the most telling line of His suffering comes at the end of verse 4.
“What I did not steal, I then have to restore.”
David laments having to pay a debt he did not cause.
But this is precisely what Christ came to do.
He didn’t suffer because of His own debt, but because of our debt.
All His pain, all His struggle, all His hardship
Was that which He willingly entered and endured
Because of the mistakes that we had made.
1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;”
That is a great statement Peter makes when he says that Christ died…
“the just [Christ] for the unjust [us]”
He was the Suffering Servant.
Suffering unjustly for wrongs He did not commit
Simply because He willingly chose to enter our muddy pit.
#2 THE SANCTIFIED SERVANT
Psalms 69:5-12
And again we remember David
• Seemingly vindicating himself by crying out to God
• As if to say, “You know my heart and You know I’m innocent”.
Again, David may have actually believed that,
But at best David could only say that
He was INNOCENT IN THIS PARTICULAR MATTER.
The reality is that even when you and I think we are innocent we are not.
It is just that God hasn’t yet revealed to you
The full measure of your sinfulness.
But Christ, being examined by God really was.
And in this innocence He became the one hope
Of the faithful that they might be saved.
(6) “May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,”
I think here of moments like the temptation in the wilderness.
• Imagine all of heaven, depending upon His redeeming work and therefore also depending on His perfect righteousness watching Him in His battle with Satan.
Satan is doing everything He can to cause Christ to fall from His perfection,
And because He is our only hope we watch eagerly as He fights that battle.
Or we watch at Caesarea Philippi
• As He announces His necessary death and Satan again (this time using Peter) tells Him He doesn’t have to die.
Or we watch in the garden
• As Peter offers to go to battle on His behalf and save Him from the Roman Cohort.
Or we watch on the cross
• As the religious leaders dared Him to come off the cross and save Himself.
If Jesus fails at any one of those moments
Our hope of salvation perishes, but He did not.
He was the truly Sanctified and Holy Servant of God.
Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
Don’t you love that statement, “He will not be disheartened or crushed…”?
I’m so glad He didn’t get overwhelmed or discouraged and decide to quit.
He perfectly followed.
And of course that included His HOLY ZEAL
Which was on display when HE CLEARED THE TEMPLE
And bore the hatred that people really had toward God.
We read that “the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”
Jesus Himself said:
John 8:42 “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.”
Jesus revealed that the reason they hated Him
Was because actually they hated God.
He bore that reproach because of His holiness.
Verse 8 says, “I have become estranged from my brothers And an alien to my mother’s sons.”
John 7:3-5 “Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”
And it didn’t matter what He did.
• It didn’t matter if He fasted (10) “it became my reproach”
• It didn’t matter if mourned in sackcloth (11) He “became a byword”
• It didn’t matter what He did, He was talked about.
Remember this sermon?
Matthew 11:16-19 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
It wouldn’t have mattered if He had eaten or not eaten; drank or not drank.
His life represented the holy presence of the Father
And so they were going to hate Him regardless.
David could say he was innocent and undeserving,
BUT CHRIST REALLY WAS.
His only offence was that He was holy
And the sinful world hated Him for it.
Yet for those who were looking to Him for salvation,
This holy suffering is our great hope.
The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant
#3 THE SUBMISSIVE SERVANT
Psalms 69:13-19
Last time we listened to the faith of David here
And we talked about faithful suffering.
David was faithful in suffering because
Regardless of the difficulty, David never turned on God.
• He continued to trust God’s sovereignty
• He continued to trust God’s lovingkindness
• He continued to trust God’s compassion
• He continued to trust God’s omniscience
THAT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF FAITHFUL SUFFERING.
But the faithful suffering of Jesus is even more remarkable
Because He had the power to escape that suffering at any moment
And yet faithfully remained in it.
Do you remember His conversation with Peter?
Matthew 26:52-54 “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
If you’ll remember this was the very truth Satan reminded Him of in the wilderness
When he told Him to throw Himself off the temple.
If Jesus had wanted out of the suffering,
He could have gotten out with the snap of a finger.
But He faithfully bore the suffering.
When we read (13) “But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time.”
It is the equivalent of Jesus in the garden praying:
Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Certainly in His humanity He dreaded what He was about to face,
And yet He willingly faced it.
We recently studied with the youth:
John 12:27-28 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
Even when granted the possibility of choosing to escape,
He faithfully endured.
He was The Submissive Servant.
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.”
Isaiah 53:7-9 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”
He just faithfully submitted to the call.
He willingly endured.
He was THE SUBMISSIVE SERVANT
But He also endured it with faith as David did.
He knew that even in His suffering God would vindicate Him.
(17-19) “And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly. Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it; Ransom me because of my enemies! You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You.”
Jesus trusted that even in His suffering God would vindicate Him.
Remember His trial?
John 19:10-11 “So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
He wouldn’t run to Pilate for deliverance, He just KEPT TRUSTING GOD.
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
He simply believed that God would vindicate Him.
And God most certainly did.
Psalms 16:8-10 “I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
And this was just another testimony
To His holiness and to His faithfulness.
The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant, The Submissive Servant
#4 THE SLAUGHTERED SERVANT
Psalms 69:20-21
These two verses are easy to spot.
Isaiah 53:3-6 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
We talk about His immense suffering on the cross.
And we know about the physical suffering.
• Certainly it was terrible.
But even more than the physical suffering
Was the EMOTIONAL and SPIRITUAL suffering.
And do you remember the scene at the cross?
Matthew 27:33-44 “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”
It was a horrible display of rejection by man.
BUT IT’S WORSE EVEN THAN THAT.
David could say that he had no sympathy.
David could say that he had no comforters.
• But the reality is that David may have no earthly sympathy or earthly
comforters.
• But the very presence of the Psalm indicates that David had the sympathy
and comfort of the Father.
But Jesus did not even have that.
HE WAS FORSAKEN OF THE EVEN THE FATHER ON THE CROSS.
When Christ says, “I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none” you understand what He meant.
He was crushed and forsaken even of the Father.
We all remember the, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
• Christ, on the cross was dying as a rejected sinner.
• Christ, on the cross was dying as the worst of humanity.
• He was mocked by the religious elite…
• He was mocked even by the criminals next to Him…
• He was forsaken of God…
He was slaughtered in every possible way on the cross.
No one ever has, nor ever will be able
To suffer to the extent that He suffered.
The Slaughtered Servant
#5 THE SUPREME SERVANT
Psalms 69:22-28
And this, as we said, is the one that shocks people a little.
• Because we distinctly remember Jesus on the cross praying, “Father, forgive them…”
So it seems strange to us initially that we would attribute this Psalm to Christ and yet see such an imprecatory prayer.
But we clearly see Christ referenced here.
(26) “For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.”
Jesus was bearing the wrath of God which they deserved
And yet all they sought to do was add insult to injury.
And granted, the request here seems harsh.
• (24) “Pour out Your indignation on them…”
• (24) “may Your burning anger overtake them.”
• (27) “Add iniquity to their iniquity”
• (27) “may they not come into Your righteousness.”
• (28) “may they be blotted out of the book of life”
• (28) “may they not be recorded with the righteous.”
That is serious judgment.
First let me remind you that this is NOT NEW INFORMATION.
Jesus flat out warned them of this, did He not?
John 7:33-34 “Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
And then later in the conversation
John 8:21-24 “Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
He had been very clear, that if you don’t repent and believe in Me
Then you’re not going to like where you end up.
If you reject Me then you are going to die in your sin
And You won’t be able to come where I am.
He promised them judgment for rejection.
That is the same reality we see here.
Consider Peter as he stands to preach at Pentecost.
• And Peter announces the unjust murder of Christ.
• And Peter announces the resurrection of Christ.
• And Peter announces the glorious ascension of Christ.
And then Peter says:
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.”
You say, “What was the point?”
Peter was letting them know that they blew it!
They killed God’s Christ.
And the people understood the ramifications.
Acts 2:37-38 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
You need to do what you previously refused to do.
IF YOU REJECT THIS SERVANT YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS.
This isn’t harsh, it’s true.
• If you reject Christ then all you can expect is judgment.
• This is not a petty spirit on Jesus’ part,
• This is Jesus praying according to the very will of God.
Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Jesus is the supreme Servant and you cannot overlook Him.
Listen to this suffering servant passage:
We read Isaiah 50:4-6 earlier about how He willingly gave His back to those who strike Him. LOOK AT THE REST OF THIS PASSAGE.
Isaiah 50:7-11 “For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them. Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”
Do you understand that this is part of it?
• He is the Suffering Servant, but He is no insignificant One.
• How you respond to His suffering determines your eternity.
Those who reject Him and crucify Him will be judged for all eternity.
But for those who receive Him it is a different story.
#6 THE SATISFYING SERVANT
Psalms 69:29-33
Here we listened as David showed us hope in the midst of his suffering.
That even in his pain he would sing to God
And that would be worth more to God than a sacrificial offering.
But the even greater picture is that
When Christ offered Himself to God
It was definitely worth more than some goat or ox.
We remember the offering which Christ presented.
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
And that is good because Hebrews 10 reminds us that
“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
But when Jesus came He didn’t offer to God a bull,
He offered to God a righteous life.
Hebrews 10:5-7 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'”
And we remember that through offering God that righteous life,
God was satisfied.
Hebrews 10:10 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
And that is what we see here.
(31) “And it will please the LORD better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”
Isaiah 53:10-11 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.”
The good pleasure of the Lord was satisfied in the sacrifice of Christ,
And therefore THE MANY WERE JUSTIFIED because of His offering.
And that is what David referenced.
(32) “The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek the God, let your heart revive.”
What a joyful day when Christ satisfied the Father!
What a glorious day when Christ propitiated His wrath!
THE HUMBLE (who knew they could not save themselves)
Now rejoice in the offering of Christ which satisfied the Father!
Only Christ could have done it and He did!
He is the Satisfying Servant
The Suffering Servant, The Sanctified Servant, The Submissive Servant,
The Slaughtered Servant, The Supreme Servant, The Satisfying Servant
#7 THE SAVING SERVANT
Psalms 69:34-36
David looked with eyes to heaven
To the glorious choir singing of redemption.
“Let heaven and earth praise Him”, David said.
There is now a glorious heaven (36) “And those who love His name will dwell in it.”
And we remember yet another suffering servant passage.
Isaiah 49:4-7 “But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God.” And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
Notice that statement… “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
And when we go to the end of the book, we read about this scene:
Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
HE IS THE SAVING SERVANT.
And speaking of this new Zion we read:
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
This is the work of Christ.
• He willingly came and entered our suffering.
• He came and paid a debt He did not owe.
• He endured through the suffering even though He could have escaped at any moment.
• And He endured that suffering alone, even at the hands of God.
And yet as a result of His suffering
• God vindicated Him through the resurrection
• And will yet vindicate Him by bringing judgment to His enemies.
• But for those who submit to Him, they rejoice in His salvation
• And eagerly anticipate spending eternity in Heaven with Him.
HE IS OUR SUFFERING SERVANT.
Not just one who taught us how to suffer,
But One who suffered for us so that we might be saved.
And when we sing Psalms 69 we sing it in honor of Him!
We sing it in gratitude to Him!
1 Peter 2:22-25 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
