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The Silent Servant
Isaiah 53:7-9
July 21, 2024

Tonight we come to our 4th look at this wonderful Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah.

We’ve seen THE SUCCESSFUL SERVANT
That despite His horrific suffering, He is God’s chosen servant and God has promised to exalt Him.

We’ve seen THE SCORNED SERVANT
That because He did not look the part, He was despised and not esteemed by humanity.

We’ve seen THE SUBSTITUTIONARY SERVANT
That the reason for His suffering is because He was bearing our sin and the consequences that came with it.

And tonight we look at THE SILENT SERVANT

When reading these 3 verses it becomes immediately obvious that Isaiah has a special interest here in the speech of our servant.

Twice in verse 7 we are told that despite His suffering “He did not open His mouth”

The end of verse 9 reveals to us that there was no “deceit in His mouth”

Clearly the emphasis here is on His speech.
Perhaps more than that we are talking about His response to all the suffering.

We learn very clearly from Jesus in the New Testament:
Matthew 12:34b “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

Certainly here we get a look at the heart of Christ.
Certainly here we get a look at the participation of Christ.

We learned this morning at the end of verse 6 that Christ’s coming as a substitute was all the sovereign will of the Father.

“But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

Acts 2:23a “this Man, [was] delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God”

It was God who sent Him.
It was God who imputed our sin to Him.
It was God who then poured out judgment and wrath on Him as the bearer of our sin.

I suppose an obvious question to follow such a revelation would be, “What did Christ think about that plan?”

And here we find the great love of Christ for we see that in every aspect of His suffering, He was ALL IN!

John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Clearly Christ was totally compliant.
He willingly and eagerly participated in the plan.

If someone were to look at the scene of the crucifixion unfolding and ask the question, “But did Jesus want to go to the cross?”

The answer is absolutely!
That is why He came.
That was His desire.
That was His purpose.
He came to save sinners.

And even to that the motive is not difficult for us to understand:

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

It is the unyielding, uncomprehensible, unfailing, unrelenting love of Christ.

He did not go to the cross as an unwilling sacrifice.
He was not handed over as a reluctant savior.

If that were the case we might have heard Him arguing, pleading, complaining, or defending Himself.

But “He did not open His mouth.”

His heart was set upon saving His people.
And as He told Peter and the rest of the disciples:

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.”

This had to happen for salvation to occur and Jesus, in His heart, was all in.

He came to save you and it was His desire to do so.

It really is remarkable love just to think about it.
And that love is clearly manifest for us here in these 3 verses as we examine really the scene that unfolded and Christ’s compliance with it.

Tonight we want to break these verses down into 4 points.
And I want you to see the love of Christ through His compliance.

#1 HE WAS VOLUNTARY IN HIS TRIAL
Isaiah 53:7

We open the verse by reading that, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted,”

And now we can add both of those realities to His growing list of sufferings.

We’ve already examined His sorrows and His griefs.
We’ve already seen that He was pierced through and crushed.
And now we add words like “oppressed” and “afflicted” to the list.

“oppressed” is a Hebrew word that means “pressed hard”

It can be used of a driver of livestock who pushes his animals hard in labor or in transport. Or of a boss who is extremely hard on his employees.

Isaiah 58:3 “‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.”

In Exodus it referred to those Egyptians who oppressed the slaves.
Exodus 5:13 “The taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.”

The same word is there translated “taskmaster”.

And this is the oppression that Christ was placed under.

We also see the word “afflicted” which comes from a word that means “to become low” or “to be put down” or “to be humbled”.

And if you’re allowing your mind to take you back to the events surrounding the cross then you know that here we are discussing both His arrest and His trial.

Where Christ was captured and bound and taken to trial.
While He was there He was pressed hard and abused.
They attacked Him so as to humble Him and humiliate Him.
They treated Him like a criminal.

And I again remind you why.
It is because He was bearing our sin.
He was being treated as we deserved.

But we saw this oppression and affliction during His arrest and trial.

He was arrested in the garden, going with them without a fight.

He was first taken to Annas:
John 18:22 “When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?”

He was then taken into the house of Caiaphas:
Mark 14:65 “Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.”

He was then taken to a public trial:
Luke 22:63-65 “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”

He was then carried before Pilate:
John 19:1-5 “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!”

He was then taken to Herod:
Luke 23:11 “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.”

And finally back to Pilate where He was sentenced to be crucified.

That is what you call oppression and affliction.

He was pressed hard, He was brought low.

If there was a time to fight back or defend yourself this was it.

Many a criminal has sought to defend himself at the moment of his arrest.
Certainly under the questioning of a trial he will try to offer evidence of innocence.

And they do this because they don’t want to be punished.
They don’t want to go to jail.
They don’t want to pay a fine.
They don’t want to be executed.

But here was Jesus, being pressed hard from every direction and being humiliated by His accusers and what did He do to try and escape the scorn and the punishment?

NOTHING

“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.”

Peter said:
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 held His tongue.

Before Caiaphas:
Mark 14:60-61a “The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer.”

Before Herod:
Luke 23:9 “And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.”

Before Pilate:
Mark 15:2-5 “Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.”

And again the second time:
John 19:8-9 “Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.”

Jesus just wouldn’t defend Himself.
It’s almost like He was determined to go to the cross.

This is what we call amazing love.
To submit to oppression.
To submit to humiliation.
To refuse to offer a defense.
To refuse to try and free yourself.

It is no wonder that this is the very passage that overwhelmed the Ethiopian Eunuch and led him to salvation.

Acts 8:32-34 “Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”

What else can we attribute that to but the love of Christ that He refused to speak up to free Himself or to defend Himself.

He was voluntary in His trial.
#2 HE WAS VICTIMIZED IN HIS JUDGMENT
Isaiah 53:8a

“By oppression and judgment He was taken away;”

In know we saw the word “oppressed” in verse 7 but this is a different Hebrew word used here.

That word was NAW-GAS
This word is O-TSER

This word speaks of “restraint” or “closure”.
It is actually used of when the LORD closes the womb and restrains a woman from having children.

But here it speaks of a restraint as a result of coercion.

It’s not talking about Jesus here being restrained, this is talking about the restraint that was thrown on Pilate.

You’ve read the account, you know that Pilate definitely had a preference regarding what to do with Jesus.

Even Pilat’s wife had warned him to have nothing to do with Jesus.
And several times Pilate tried to set him free.

But in the end Pilate ends up crucifying Jesus anyway, why?
Because the Jews coerced him.
They bound him up and restrained him from doing what he wanted.

How?
John 19:12-16 “As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.”

Did you hear the threat of the Jewish leaders?
“If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar;”

Luke 23:23-24 “But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail. And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted.”

We read that the masses “were insistent”

Mark 15:14-15 “But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”

There we read, “wishing to satisfy the crowd”

And what was Pilates final decision?

Matthew 27:24-26 “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”

“By oppression and judgment He was taken away;”

Pilate was encircled and coerced.
He was pressured and intimidated.
He was threatened and overwhelmed.

And in his own human weakness he submitted and passed “judgment” on Christ who was “taken away” to be crucified.

Christ was totally victimized.
There was nothing right in this.
There was nothing just in this.

We don’t have time tonight, but go look up the sermon we had years ago on Matthew 26:57-68 and “The Corrupt Trial of Jesus” and see that there was nothing legitimate about this.

I know it is common for most convicted criminals today to try and play the victim card, but Jesus really was.

He was totally cheated.

And what did Jesus say to all of this?
NOTHING

He never asked to address the crowd.
He never warned Pilate that he better listen to his wife.
He never sought to contradict the testimony against Him.

And even when being sentenced to crucifixion He didn’t argue for a lesser sentence.

Crucifixion is what He came for.
He was committed to it.

But there is even more of a picture here.

We read it this morning:
Leviticus 16:21 “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.”

That is the same language being used here.
Christ, bearing our sin, was also “taken away”

And He submitted to it without a single request on His own behalf.
Tell me about the love of Christ.

He was voluntary in trial
He was victimized in judgment

#3 HE WAS VILIFIED IN HIS DEATH
Isaiah 53:8b

Now we have moved from His trial and the pronounced judgment upon Him to the place and moment of His execution.

We know He was crucified.
He was nailed to that cross and raised up between two criminals.

Here we read that “He was cut off out of the land of the living”

That means death.

And we even know why He died.
“For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due”

As we have learned repeatedly, He was bearing our sin and thus was subject to our punishment.

He had become surety for our note.
He had taken our debt upon Himself.
And that debt could only be paid in blood.

The wages of sin is death and so Christ came to die to pay off our debt.

And we have discussed that substitutionary atonement that He worked on the cross.

But if you’ll notice verse 8 here is in the form of a question.

This is not a verse where Isaiah is for the first time revealing to us that Christ was suffering for our sin.

He already told us that this morning back in verses 4-6.

Here in verse 7 Isaiah is watching Christ die and he is asking a question.

That question is this:
Who there at the cross knew that is why Jesus was dying?

“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 do?”

“His generation” refers to the people of His day.
And Isaiah simply wants to know if anyone there, watching Him die, understood why He was dying?

I mean here was a guy who had already submitted to an oppressive and humiliating trial all for the goal of being crucified for His people.

Here is a guy who already stood silent before His accusers and even before Pilate at His sentencing all because the objective was to have Pilate crucify Him.

But now, the deed is done.
He has been crucified.
He is hanging before men.
There is no going back.

Now, at this point, does anyone understand what is really happening?

Is anyone there aware that He is doing this for them?

Well we know the answer.

Matthew 27:38-44 “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.”

Mark 15:27-32 “They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.” Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. “Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.”

Luke 23:35-39 “And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”

Now, we do know that there was one who had his eyes opened and did see.
The thief on the cross was made aware, asked for salvation, and Jesus saved him.

But not a single other person understood.

I mean, even when we introduced this text last Sunday morning we talked about how even His disciple didn’t get it.

Don’t you remember those men on the road to Emmaus?
Luke 24:17-27 “And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

And here is a good question.
WHY NOT?

Well certainly we could appeal to the fact that they thought God was punishing Him for His own sin.
Certainly we could talk about Him not looking majestic in His saving work.
Certainly we could talk about Him being marred beyond human likeness.

But there is another reason no one figured it out while He was on the cross.

Of all the things He said there, can I tell you what He didn’t say?

He never explained from the cross that He was innocent, or that He was dying for them.

He never looked down from the cross at the crowd and said, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

That’s what I would have done!

If I’m going to suffer for you and bear your sin and be oppressed and afflicted and falsely tried and corruptly condemned and nailed to a cross…

You had better know for sure that I’m going to make sure everyone knows why I’m doing it.

I’m going to be explaining to everyone that this isn’t for me, this is for you.

I’m going to start naming every one of your sins, both public and private as I pay for them.

I’m going to talk about everything you did and how I am bearing it.

But not Jesus.

“He did not open His mouth” at least not to defend or explain Himself.

Why?

Well partly because part of the suffering was shame and He was not there to avoid it.

But also because what He did He did out of love, not just out of duty.
If you love someone and you wish to save them you don’t humiliate them doing it.

If you save out of love you just save.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,”

He is the silent servant.
Tell me now about His great love for you.

He was voluntary in His arrest
He was victimized in His judgment
He was vilified in His death

All while remaining silent

#4 HE WAS VINDICATED IN HIS BURIAL
Isaiah 53:9

As this verse continues we find that the desire for scorn continued.

At this point Jesus is dead and so there’s no way He can defend Himself even if He wanted to.

And we find that “His grave as assigned with wicked men”

He was numbered with transgressors, no doubt He was going to be buried with them.

I can tell you were they were going to be buried.
They were going to be buried in that potter’s field or field of blood.

But at this point God, in His sovereign providence intervened.

We read that:
“Yet He was with a rich man in His death,”

And this is not mysterious to us.
Matthew 27:57-60 “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.”

It was Joseph who found courage and took the body of Jesus and buried it in an honored buried site as opposed to that criminal’s pit.

And of course the theological promise behind all of this is clear to us as well.
Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

And all of that is true.

But Isaiah here links this honorable burial, not to a prophetic promise from David, but rather as a response from God to the submissive nature of Jesus.

Isaiah says that “He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”

There are many ways to read that.

When we talk about doing “no violence” it can either be a reference to His submissive willingness to be arrested, tried, convicted and crucified.

That would certainly be true.

It can also be a reference to His humble obedience to God’s Law.

Remember how Jesus spoke of the rebellious Jews?

Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

It was a reference to people trying to malign the word of God and lower the standard to force their way into heaven.

God would echo that:
Ezekiel 22:26 “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”

Even when we read that there was no “deceit in His mouth.”

It certainly could be that He never lied to protect His own skin while on trial, but it can also be a reference to His purity in His confession of loyalty to God.

When He made commitments to God He kept them.
When He said He was going to the cross, He went.
He always did the things pleasing to the Father.

Jesus rebuked the religious elite:
Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”

They couldn’t speak truth because they had evil hearts.
All they knew was deception.

But not Jesus.

His confession was pure.
His confession was true.
He never maligned or twisted God’s word.
He simply walked in purity.

And I think that is what Isaiah is referring to.

This Jesus who was oppressed and afflicted in His trial…
This Jesus who was victimized in judgment…
This Jesus who was vilified in death…

He was silent, not making any defense..
He was silent, not offering any request.
He was silent, not giving any explanation.
He was silent, not voicing any complaint.

And while He would not honor Himself, God did it for Him through a honorable burial and ultimately a resurrection.

Psalms 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.”

And God proved that with Christ.

So do you understand here Isaiah’s point?

Yes He was the substitutionary servant.
Yes it was God’s sovereign plan to make Him so.

But He didn’t do it reluctantly.
He didn’t go to the cross kicking and screaming.
He didn’t feel the need to vindicate Himself though God certainly proved He deserved it.

He went to the cross out of love.
He went their willingly.

“No one took His life, with love He gave it. He was crucified on a tree that He created.”

Can you ever question the love of Christ?

When you walk through trials and you are tempted to question His love, remember that He walked through trials and never opened His mouth.

When you are wrongly accused or persecuted and are tempted to question His love, remember that He was wrongly convicted and never opened His mouth.

When you are shamed, scorned, vilified, or humbled and desperately want people to know the truth and you treat your shame as though Christ must not love you, remember that He endured all of that and never opened His mouth.

He loves you.
He proved it by His submission to the cross.
He proved it by His desire for the cross.

This man put you first for every second of His life on earth.
He bore your sin.
He bore your shame.
He bore your arrest.
He bore your trial.
He bore your conviction.
He bore your death.

And He never once tried even a little to get out of it.

He loves you.

Tonight I encourage you to love Him back.

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The Substitutionary Servant
Isaiah 53:4-6
July 21, 2024

This morning we jump back into our study of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant.

I remind you again that
• You cannot overstate the significance of this passage.
• None of those who walked with Christ and who saw His death and resurrection fully understood what was going on there
• Until God allowed them to understand the Scriptures.

And chief among the Scriptures
Which explain the atonement of Christ is Isaiah 53.

Our theology on the atonement
Certainly comes from the New Testament writings of the apostles,
But their theology came from Isaiah 53.

Now we’ve already spent two sermons in this passage.

First we saw: THE SUCCESSFUL SERVANT (Isaiah 52:13-15)

Where we were reminded that
• Despite the shock,
• Despite the fact that Jesus suffered more than any human ever,
• He is in fact God’s Chosen Servant.

1. God has raised Him.
2. God has ascended Him to the heavens.
3. God has seated Him at His right hand.

Jesus is both Lord and Christ
Despite what the world saw in His horrific crucifixion.

He is the Successful Servant.

Last Sunday night we saw: THE SCORNED SERVANT (Isaiah 53:1-3)

Even though He is God’s chosen Messiah,
The world most certainly has not recognized Him as such.

They didn’t see an obvious king.
• The saw “a tender shoot”
• And “a root out of parched ground”

They saw a meek and gentle man, not a revolutionary.
And they saw an ordinary man, not one with a noble pedigree.

Even His appearance was less than inspiring since “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”

Visually speaking He just didn’t have that “it” factor.
When seeing Him in a crowd, He didn’t stand out as an obvious king.

(3) “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.”

And I want to bring that verse back to your attention
Because this morning we move into verse 4
And yet it is clear that verse 3 is still on Isaiah’s mind.

Namely that statement: “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;”

And if you think about it, that is really a peculiar statement.

We even have a song that begins with:
“Man of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came!”

Why is it so peculiar that the Son of God would be called a “man of sorrows”?

Let me remind you here of a theological truth.
We call it: THE ASEITY OF GOD

Aseity comes from a Latin word that means “From Self”
And it speaks of God’s self-sufficiency.

That is to say God needs nothing outside of Himself
For His own satisfaction or fulfillment.

God is totally self-sufficient.
God is totally self-fulfilled.

Sometimes we hear contemporary Christian songs which deny this doctrine. For example a recent Hillsong song called “What a Beautiful Name” which says, “You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus You brought heaven down.”

The song insinuates that there was this empty hole in God;
some lack of fulfillment or inward grief that could only be fulfilled by us.
Heaven, without us, just wasn’t enough.

That is blasphemous because it denies the Aseity of God.
Within the trinity God needed for nothing, wanted for nothing.

John 5:26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;”

Acts 17:24-25 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;”

God is totally self-sufficient and fulfilled.

So it is extremely peculiar that the God-Man would be described as “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”

• As though He was somehow unfulfilled.
• As though He was somehow depressed.
• As though He was somehow in need.

We would expect the God-Man to be described as “A man who needed and wanted for nothing. A man invincible to the plight of humanity.”

But He was called “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”

And that statement brings with it an enormous: WHY?

And the answer to that question is given here in the first two lines of verse 4 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;”

HE WAS A SUBSTITUTE
• The “sorrows” He carried weren’t His “sorrows”, they were “our sorrows”.
• The “griefs” He bore weren’t His “griefs”, they were “our griefs”.

He was “a man of sorrows” because He bore our sin.

And that is repeated continually in these 3 verses.
Take a look at all that was laid on Him.
• (4) “griefs” and “sorrows”
• (5) “transgressions” and “iniquities”
• (6) Apostasy and Defection “gone astray” and “turned to his own way”
• And again in verse 6 “iniquity”

None of those were His, they were ours.

And one of the things that I think will help us understand the weight of this passage even more is if I start by asking you a question.

WHEN?

• When were our griefs laid on Him?
• When were our sorrows laid on Him?
• When were our transgressions laid on Him?
• When were our iniquities laid on Him?

If you say “the cross” then you are off in your timeline by about 33 years.

For it was not the cross where our sins were first laid on Him,
IT WAS THE MANGER.

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

Christ was SENT “in the likeness of sinful flesh”
• Christ bore the marks of sinful flesh in His body, being circumcised the 8th day.
• Mary had to complete the days of purification even after the birth of Christ.
• Philippians 2 says He was “made in the likeness of men”

A.W. Pink wrote:
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust” (1Pe 3:18). The reference here must not be restricted to what Christ endured at the hands of God while He hung upon the cross, nor to all He passed through during that day and preceding night. Beware of limiting the Word of God! No. The entirety of His humiliation is here included. The whole life of Christ was one of sufferings. Therefore was He designated “the Man of sorrows,” not simply, “sorrow.” From His birth to His death, suffering and sorrow marked Him as their legitimate victim. While yet an infant, He was driven into exile to escape the fury of those who sought His life. That was but the prophetic forerunner of His whole earthly course. The cup of woe, put to His lips at Bethlehem, was never removed until He drained its bitter dregs at Calvary.
He experienced every variety of suffering. He tasted poverty in its severest rigor. Born in a stable, owning no property on earth, dependent upon the charity of others (Luk 8:3), oftentimes being worse situated than the inferior orders of creation (Mat 8:20). He suffered reproach in all its bitterness. The most malignant accusations, the vilest aspersions, the most cutting sarcasm were directed against His person and character. He was taunted with being a glutton, a winebibber, a deceiver, a blasphemer, a devil. Therefore do we hear Him crying, “Reproach hath broken my heart” (Psa 69:20). He experienced temptation in all its malignity. The prince of darkness assailed Him with all his ingenuity and power, causing his infernal legions to attack Him, coming against Him like “strong bulls of Bashan,” gaping on Him with their mouths like ravening and roaring lions (Psa 22:12-13). Above all, He suffered the wrath of God, so that He was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Mat 26:38), in “an agony” (Luk 22:44), and ultimately, “forsaken of God.”
https://www.chapellibrary.org/read/subsfg

Had our sins not been imputed to Christ until the moment He hung on the cross then what explanation do we have for His suffering before that day?

No, God placed our sins on Him from His birth, and His entire life of suffering bears witness to His identification with us.

• All the poverty
• All the reproach
• Even the temptation in the wilderness

He suffered those things because He was made in identification with us.

A.W. Pink makes another remarkable observation,
And one that I had never contemplated.

We know for example that Psalm 40:7-11 is about Christ.
Hebrews 10 tells us that specifically.

Psalms 40:7-11 “Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation. You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.”

Pink then says, “What about verse 12?”
Psalms 40:12 “For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.”

And we easily say, “That can’t be about Christ, for He never sinned.”
And that is true He didn’t.

But what if verse 12 is not speaking about His own sin,
But rather sin He has taken upon Himself and is now liable for?

When a man legally becomes surety for his neighbor has the debt not become just as much his as if he had made the charges himself?

Every time Christ offered forgiveness to a sinner,
Who promised to pay that debt? Where did it transfer?
• Our sin was NOT POTENTIALLY transferred to Christ.
• Our sin was NOT SYMBOLICALLY transferred to Christ.
• Our sin was ACTUALLY TRANSFERRED to Christ.
• And thus He bore our sin as though it was His own.

IT FELL ON CHRIST.
He took the statement.
He took the bill.
He became liable.

AND THIS IS THE POINT.
Christ started sipping that bitter cup the moment He was born,
And He drained it down to its dregs on the cross.

He began to bear our sin
And the sorrow and grief that accompanies it at birth
And He finished it at His death.

Do you want the explanation of why He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”?

It is because He had taken our sin upon Himself.

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;”

At the Day of Atonement we read about Aaron’s job:
Leviticus 16:21 “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.”

And in THE EXACT SAME WAY:

Our text this morning ends with this line:
(6b) “But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

CHRIST HAS ARRIVED AS OUR SUBSTITUTE.

Christ has arrived to bear our sin
And the sorrow and the shame and the suffering that goes with it.
He took at Bethlehem and He finished it at Calvary.

This is what we mean by substitute.
HE WALKED IN OUR PLACE.

THAT IS HOW the self-sufficient Son of God could come to be called “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”.

THIS MORNING we want to look at these 3 verses in Isaiah 53
Which all speak of His substitutionary work.

These verses are so remarkable because
They speak of us as much as they speak of Him.
• He is referenced 8 times
• We are referenced 10 times
• And those references are linked

It is “our griefs” He is bearing.
It is “our sorrows” He is carrying.
It is “our transgressions” that He is pierced for.
It is “our iniquities” that He is crushed for.

He is taking our place.
He is our substitute.

I’m going to break these 3 verses down into 5 points this morning.

None of them will take long,
Isaiah offers 5 statements of explanation
As to how the self-sufficient Son of God
Could be come to known as a man of sorrows.

#1 THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION
Isaiah 53:4a

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;”

We’ve already discussed this quite a bit
So you understand why He is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.
• Our sin brings with grief.
• Our sin brings with it sorrow.
• He was bearing our sin.

In Genesis 3 we have sin entering the world with Adam and Eve
In Genesis 4 we have sorrow and grief as Adam and Eve must bury their son Abel.
Grief follows in chapter 5 with death.
Grief continues in chapter 6 with wickedness leading to a flood.

Where does sorrow and grief come from?
And the answer is because of sin.

And for clarity purposes let me say it like this, “Your sin.”

Sure we live in a sinful world and a fallen creation.
But it is misplaced for us to blame our sorrow and grief
On anyone’s sin but our own.

While it is true that at times the righteous suffer. (Job taught us that)
I can assure you that more of our suffering has to do with our sin
Than it does our righteousness.

WE SUFFER BECAUSE WE SIN.
Proverbs 20:17 “Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.”

That was simply Solomon’s poetic way of reminding you that
SIN BRINGS SORROW WITH IT.
• Sometimes it brings immediate sorrow.
• Sometimes it brings delayed sorrow.
• Sometimes it brings lingering sorrow.
• Sometimes it brings generational sorrow.
• Sometimes it brings splattering sorrow.

But it always brings sorrow.
It is never worth it.

AND CHRIST CAME TO BEAR THAT SIN.

Hebrews 9:28a “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many…”

There is an actual imputation of our sin onto Christ.
• This is the reason for His sorrow.
• This is the reason for His grief.
• This is the reason for His death.

HE SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF
Jesus spoke of this on 3 specific occasions.

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Luke 22:19-20 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

Twice Jesus says it is “for you”

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

That we see.

But we also need to zoom in on the word “Surely” there

Because it reminds that what Christ did wasn’t potential, it was definite.
• He didn’t nearly bear our griefs.
• He didn’t almost carry our sorrows.
• “Surely” He did it.

And that is evident in His life.
He actually suffered because He actually bore our sin.

So there is a SIMPLE EXPLANATION as to why He was a man of sorrows.

#2 THE STUPID EXPLANATION
Isaiah 53:4b

“Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Talk about the miscalculation of the century.

• We saw Christ suffering poverty…
• We saw Christ suffering grief…
• We saw Christ suffering slander…
• We saw Christ suffering arrest…
• We saw Him humiliated and crucified…

And our own logical explanation was that
HE MUST HAVE REALLY OFFENDED GOD BAD!

“we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

We see it at the cross, as Jesus hung there.

Matthew 27:43 “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

What are they saying?
We let’s see if God is really pleased with Him or not?

IT IS RIDICULOUS!

A similar analogy would be like if you go out today and sign your name on a note to buy a new car, but you can’t afford it.
• So someone else agrees to let you keep the car,
• But they have the note transferred into their name.

But because of the added financial burden to their life,
• They become visibly burdened.
• Their clothes get worn out,
• They resort to very little food,
• It becomes obvious they are suffering under a heavy financial strain.

And your response to their plight is: “Well I guess they’ll learn to better manage their money.”

It is the most remarkable picture of human blindness in the entire Bible.
The thought that Jesus suffered because of something He did wrong.

THAT IS A STUPID EXPLANATION.
• For if He has a sin, then name it.
• If He has a failure, then expose it.
• If He offended God, then show it.

A Simple Explanation, A Stupid Explanation
#3 THE SPIRITUAL EXPLANATION
Isaiah 53:5a

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;”

Now it is obvious that the stakes have been raised.
• For now the Servant is not just sorrowful or grieved;
• Now He is “pierced through” and “crushed”

We’ve moved from consequences to judgment.
We’ve moved from depression to death.
We’ve moved from discipline to execution.

He was “pierced through” and “crushed”
• This is not lethal injection.
• This is not dying in your sleep.
• This is not euthanasia.

This is painful, intense, horrific, execution.

The type of death that makes one wonder just how angry God was?
And the answer is: VERY ANGRY.

Later we will read:
Isaiah 53:10a “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief…”

There is no hesitancy here.
There is no relief here.
There is no restraint here.
It is the determination to Hit Him as hard as you possibly can.

It reminds us again of the hatred which God has toward sin,
For we clearly read that it is sin which brings this judgment down.

We read about “transgressions”
PE-SHA in the Hebrew and it speaks of “rebellion” or “revolt”

• It is sometimes translated “breach of trust” (Ex 22:9)
• It is someone who was in covenant with you and then sinned against you.

And clearly God does not take it lightly.
In fact His response to “transgressions” is to pierce one through.

We read about “iniquities”
A-VONE in the Hebrews and it speaks of “perversity”.

And God does not like it.
Exodus 20:5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,”

God’s fury here is seen on this sin to the point that
He crushes those who engage in it.

By crushes we mean “trample under foot”.
It is severe judgment.

So on one hand you have the general depravity and perversity of humanity and their propensity to do vile and immoral and perverse things.

And on the other hand you have this broken vow or broken commitment or treachery or breach of trust.

BOTH OF WHICH GOD HATES

BUT CHRIST IS THE ONE BEING PUNISHED FOR IT.
He was never perverse. He never betrayed.

But God has laid our betrayal and our perversity on Him
And He is being crushed and pierced through for it.

“But He was pierced through for our transgression, He was crushed for our iniquities;”

• Think about the most vile and perverse things you have done.
• Think about the times you have broken your word to God.
• Think about God’s fury on those sins.

And now see God laying that sin on Christ and punishing Him for it.

He is not only a man of sorrow and grief,
He is also a man under God’s furious judgment.

And He is there because He is a substitute.
So there is not just a physical substitution going on here,
But clearly a spiritual one.

#4 THE SAVING EXPLANATION
Isaiah 53:5b

“The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

Thus far we’ve seen two categories of His substitutionary suffering.

We’ve seen sort of a physical or at least social suffering indicated by His sorrow and grief.

We’ve seen a spiritual suffering indicated by His being pierced through and crushed under God’s wrath.

But here we find the upside of His substitution.
He suffered so that we can be at peace.
He suffered so that we can be healed.
His substitution was so that He might save.

Isaiah says, “The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him”

“well-being” is the Hebrew word SHALOME and it means “peace”

Humanity, ever since the garden, had been at enmity with God.
• Adam and Eve removed from the garden.
• Cain cursed to wander the earth.
• The entire world flooded during the days of Noah.
• The world scattered at Babyl.
• God on a mountain warning not to even touch the mountain.
• God dwelling behind a veil which no man can enter.

THERE WAS ENMITY AND SEPARATION.

That is because of sin, and more specifically, unatoned sin.
Because the rebellion & perversion of man had not been dealt with.

AND MANKIND COULD NOT BE AT PEACE WITH GOD.

So Christ comes to suffer God’s wrath.
Christ comes to pay the penalty.

AND THE BENEFIT OF HIS SUFFERING is transferred to those who believe in Him.
• He received grief, sorrow, piercing, and crushing;
• We get peace as a result.

There was “chastening” required for our peace and He took it.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

The other benefit we receive is that “by His scourging we are healed.”

This is a direct reference to the “griefs” He bore up in verse 4.
That word “griefs” can also be translated “sickness”
And thanks to the work of Jesus we no longer bear those griefs,
We are “healed”.

NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO ADDRESS IT.
Many charismatics have taken this verse to mean that because of the atonement of Christ, no Christian should ever get sick, and if they do they have the right to expect complete and total healing.

Now, aside from Scriptural exposition,
Even human observation should reveal the nonsense of such a belief.
Clearly everyone ages and everyone dies of something.

Paul told us that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven” and that this “mortal must put on immortality”.

So clearly that is not what is meant.

Now, I will say that physical healing is absolutely part of the atonement, but so is sinlessness. And they will be achieved in the millennium when Christ restores all things, but that is not a promise we enjoy here.

That is a misunderstanding of Isaiah’s point
And a distraction from the gospel here.

To clarify, let me simply ask you a question about Isaiah 53.
In this beautiful chapter is Isaiah referring to sickness as a sin or is Isaiah referring to sin as a sickness?

Isaiah is using sickness as an analogy for sin
And revealing that Christ came to fix that problem.

Now, others will push a bit further and point out when Matthew quoted this verse.
Matthew 8:16-17 “When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

Clearly there Matthew quoted this verse in reference to literal physical healing, so shouldn’t we then say that is the point?

No, what Matthew is doing is forcing the reader to understand
The spiritual significance to the healing ministry of Jesus.

He links the healing ministry of Jesus to Isaiah 53
So that you will turn and read Isaiah 53 and see that
The One who can heal diseases
Is actually the One who can forgive your sin. That is the point.

What we are talking about here is that
Jesus bore our sin so that we might be saved.

He was saddled with our sin.
The ramifications of that for Him was sorrow, grief, piercing, and crushing.

But because He was saddled with our sin
The ramification for us is peace and healing; spiritual healing.

He bore our sin so that He might save us.

Simple Explanation, Stupid Explanation, Spiritual Explanation, Saving Explanation
#5 THE SOVEREIGN EXPLANATION
Isaiah 53:6

Peter loved this verse too:
1 Peter 2:24-25 “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.”

We again see emphasized the substitutionary work of Christ.
• We see that we were the sinners.
• We see that we were the strayers.
• We see that we are the rebels.

But we see that all of our sin has fallen on Him.
• Not just the consequences for our sin,
• But our sin itself is imputed to Him.

“the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

It is that same point made over and over and over in these 3 verses.
• Christ is our substitute.
• Christ bore our sin.
• Christ took accountability for the evil things we did.
• He took our debt, we get debt relief.

That is all stated here again.

BUT THE FINAL POINT I want you to see here this morning
Is who THE CATALYST for all this is.

Take very special note of the instigator:
“But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

THIS IS GOD’S DOING!

Humanity did not get together and decide to offer Christ to God as some sort of payment for our sin. (That is pagan)

No, it is God who determined to send Christ to bear our sin and pay the penalty for it. (That is the gospel)

So many misunderstand the gospel, as we mentioned at the start,
• As if God was somehow unfulfilled
• And desperately needed us as friends
• So in order to fix His loneliness and unfulfillment
• He decided to send Christ so that He could have us back.

That is blasphemous
That is humanistic
That is idolatrous

No, God was totally self-satisfied just as He was.

He didn’t send Christ out of His need to be reconciled to us,
He sent Christ because we had a need to be reconciled to Him.

We saw it all the way back in Genesis:
Genesis 22:7-8 “Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”

Genesis 22:13-14 “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”

And what was God’s motive for such a sacrificial act?
(not loneliness, not depression, no unfilfillment)
LOVE

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s love was not motivated out of His own selfishness
Or desires to fill some void in His own life.
GOD’S LOVE WAS SELF-SACRIFICING.

• God decreed the coming of Christ.
• God decreed His incarnation.
• God decreed that He bear our sin.
• God decreed that He bear our sorrow and grief.
• God decreed that He bear our judgment.

And God put it upon Him.
God strapped it on His back.

Just as Aaron laid his hands on that goat
And figuratively placed the sin of the people,
So God literally placed our sin on Christ and judged Him for it.

This was done so that we might have peace with God.
This was done so that we might be healed of our wickedness.

Christ is the SUBSTITUTIONARY SERVANT.
Christ is the means by which we are forgiven and saved.

And we celebrate that this morning in the taking of the Lord’s Supper.
Here we celebrate the body that suffered for us.
Here we celebrate the blood that was spilled for us.

Here we see His humiliation, His sorrow, His grief,
His piercing through, His crushing, His death.

And He did it for us that we might know
Peace and healing, forgiveness and salvation.

And as we partake, we love Him, we celebrate Him, we praise Him,
We thank Him, we proclaim Him.

It should have been our body that was broken,
It should have been our blood that was spilled,
But Jesus took that upon Himself for you.

Eat and rejoice!
Drink and rejoice!

“The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

We will now have a time of preparation and then we will approach the table of the Lord.

LORD’S SUPPER

• Deacons come forward

Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 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.”

• Give bread to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out bread

Luke 22:19 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

• Take bread

Isaiah 53:4-6 “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.”

• Give juice to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out juice

Luke 22:20 “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

• Take Juice

• Prayer
• Parting Hymn

download here

The Scorned Servant
Isaiah 53:1-3
July 14, 2024

This morning we began our look
At this famous “Suffering Servant” passage of Isaiah.

AGAIN I REMIND YOU THAT
The significance of this chapter really cannot be overstated regarding our understanding of what occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus.

We see in the gospels that the scene was utterly confusing
Even to the disciples who had been repeatedly told by Jesus Himself
That He would suffer, die, and be raised.

After His crucifixion there is nothing but grief from those who followed Him.
• We see such scenes as Mary weeping outside the tomb, asking the supposed
gardener what they did with the body of Jesus.
• We see Peter and John running to the tomb, wondering what they did with
His body.
• We have those men on the road to Emmaus actually speaking with Jesus in
total disarray even staying that we thought He was the One who would
redeem Israel.
• And even when Jesus appeared to the disciples we read that “some were
doubtful.”

What that means is that they did not understand
What they saw during the crucifixion.

But when the Lord gave them the Holy Spirit, and opened their minds to understand the Scriptures everything came to light.

And no chapter in the Old Testament would have been more enlightening or beneficial to explain what really occurred there than Isaiah 53.

• This is where we learn that the suffering of Christ was for our sin, not His.
• This is where we learn that in His suffering He satisfied the wrath of God.
• This is where we learn that propitiation was made.
• This is where we learn that justification was awarded.

All of those verses you read in the New Testament
About the atoning work of Jesus on the cross
Originate with the apostles understanding of Isaiah 53.

IT IS THAT IMPORTANT.

We actually started looking at this passage THIS MORNING
As we looked at Isaiah 52:13-15 (which really belongs with it).

There we saw what we called, “The Successful Servant”

God announced that His servant would be
“high, and lifted up, and greatly exalted.”

The shocking part of that statement was when we found out who the Servant was.
• Because while looking at Jesus on the cross,
• A man whose “appearance was marred more than any man”
• It was hard for us to figure how this could be the exalted King of God.

Surely not this one.

But once we found out that through His death
He was atoning for many even among the Gentiles
We realized that His suffering did not negate His exaltation.

No, instead, His success was because of His suffering.
The salvation of the nations and the exaltation of the Servant of God
Would come through His suffering.

Though He suffered like no human ever,
He was totally successful in His mission.
And that is why we called Him the “Successful Servant”.

WELL TONIGHT
We continue in this great chapter and we begin to examine His rejection.

You know that the rejection of the Christ
Has been really the primary focus of Isaiah since chapter 50.

• Even though He came…
• Even though He was clearly God’s Messiah…
• He was totally rejected by Israel.

THIS EVENING WE BEGIN TO SEE WHY.

So having looked at the Successful Servant.
TONIGHT let’s look at “The Scorned Servant”

#1 THE QUESTION
Isaiah 53:1

There are actually two questions here.

1) “Who has believed our message?”
2) “And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

And if you’ll think about it,
This has really been the driving question of Isaiah’s ministry.

We remember well the day God saved him and called him to serve as a prophet to Israel.
• We remember that temple scene where Isaiah’s hypocrisy was exposed and atoned for.
• We remember God calling him.
• We remember that famous “Here am I, send me!” response.

But we also remember the specific commission.
Isaiah 6:9-10 “He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”

Isaiah’s ministry would primarily be one of revealed condemnation.
By continually shining the light of the gospel,
Isaiah’s real success would be in exposing blindness.

• It would be a hard ministry.
• It would be what we would call an “out of season” ministry.

The more he would preach the less the people would understand.

But what we found out by the time we came to the New Testament
Is that Isaiah’s ministry would be prophetic of Jesus’ ministry.

For Jesus would do the exact same thing.
In fact, no Old Testament passage is more specifically quoted in the New Testament than Isaiah 6:9.

Not only did Isaiah give us prophetic truths about the Christ,
But Isaiah’s ministry in general was a prophetic look
At the same stubborn rejection that Christ would face.

Isaiah shined the light, Christ was the light
And both revealed the blindness of the people.

So it is a fitting question here in Isaiah 53
When evaluating the response to God’s Servant.

“Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

The answer to that question might shock you.

John quoted that verse:
John 12:37-38 “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?”

Paul even used this verse when speaking of the stubbornness of Israel.
Romans 10:16 “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?”

But here we even get a little insight into their failure to believe.

For the second question says, “And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

And here we learn that in part the failure to believe the truth
Stems from a refusal of God to reveal the truth to them.

Now that certainly seems strange to us.

WE UNDERSTAND HUMAN LIMITATION
• We know that no one can know the truth unless God reveals it to them.
• No human has within himself the natural ability to discern the truth of God.

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

• Man can’t see it…
• Man can’t comprehend it unless God reveals it.

So why wouldn’t God just reveal this truth?
Why wouldn’t God, in His tremendous grace, just show everyone?

It is helpful here to understand the way the revelation of God works.

We have what we call GENERAL REVELATION,
Which is the truth of God revealed generally through creation.

It is what we learn of God through our own deductive reasoning
As we examine all that is created.

• David did this in Psalm 8 when he looked at the heavens and then asked,
“What is man that you are mindful of him..?”

• It is what Paul spoke of in Romans 1 where God’s “invisible attributes, His
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly scene.”

And the expectation of God is that based on that revelation
That man should seek more.

Paul told the Athenians that the purpose of God’s revelation is:
Acts 17:27 “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

And Jesus taught us:
Matthew 7:8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

And that is the plan.
God generally reveals Himself, man is supposed to
Receive that revelation and seek the God behind it.

• If they do, then God reveals Himself further.
• If they do not, then God takes even that revelation away from them.

And that reality is stated by Jesus after giving the parable of the soils.
Matthew 13:11-12 “Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

CLEARLY THERE,
• There were people who did not learn from general revelation
• Who did not seek based on the truth before them
• Therefore God, in His sovereign prerogative chose not to give them any more truth.

They were like the people of Isaiah’s day,
They rejected the light, and so no more light would be given.

But General revelation is more than just creation.

Jesus’ miracles were also a form of general revelation in His day
Since they were done for all men to see.

But even that revelation was rejected by the people of Jesus’ day.

And they are the people we are going to discuss here in Isaiah 53:1-3.

BUT BEFORE WE GET TO THEM,
I do want to make sure you rightly understand the flip side too.

For, if you are sitting here and allowing pride to creep up in your heart and are saying,
“That’s right, the reason I was granted knowledge of the truth is because, unlike them, I sought God. Therefore God honored my seeking by showing me the truth.”

There is a problem with that.
Romans 3:11 “THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;”

The reality is, even you who do know the truth,
DID NOT come to a knowledge of the truth
Because you sought while others didn’t.

No, you came to a knowledge of the truth
Because God in His grace chose to reveal Himself to you
In spite of your lack of seeking.

And again, before anyone cries, “That’s not fair!”
Let me remind you that “fair” would have been for no one to be told.
• All men were shown God by God through creation.
• No man responded properly to that revelation.
• All men, according to justice, could have and probably should have bene judged.
• But God chose to have grace to some and reveal Himself anyway.

Think about Matthew 16
Matthew 16:13-17 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

• Jesus didn’t praise Peter for seeking while others rejected.
• Jesus told Peter that he was a recipient of the blessing of God,
• Because God graciously chose to reveal to him what he did not deserve to see.

So I just want to make sure you understand how all this works.

But here in Isaiah 53 we are talking about those
Who received a general revelation of God
And even saw the miraculous signs of Christ.
And Isaiah is asking, “Who has believed..?”

And the answer is: NO ONE
THAT’S TRUE.

No one, of their own prerogative believed that unless God chose to open their eyes.
No human, of his own constitution, looks at the life of Christ, even His miracles, and just believes.

And the question of these 3 verses is “WHY?”
• Why don’t men believe in Jesus?
• Why don’t men see His works and know He is the Messiah?
• Why don’t men understand who He is?

Maybe you’ve had that question.
Well, Isaiah is about to answer it.

The Question
#2 THE PROBLEM
Isaiah 53:2

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”

Very poetic language here,
But it becomes so clear to us what the problem is.

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot”

Here we are talking about how Christ grew up before God.
We are talking about the lift that Christ lived before God.

And it is described as “a tender shoot”

It is a Hebrew word used only here
• It speaks of a delicate plant, even one that is totally dependent still on the host plant.

What this means of Jesus is that
• He was One who did not seek to demonstrate the twisted expressions of
human strength,
• instead He walked in total submission to His Father and in dependence on Him.

We think of words like, “meek” or “gentle” or “humble”
Or “kind” or “compassionate” when we think of Jesus.

He was the very epitome of One who would
“turn the other cheek” or “go the extra mile”.

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;”

None of those attributes look like strength to a fallen world of humanity,
But in reality they are the greatest strength.
THIS IS HOW JESUS LIVED.

This is why so many failed to recognize Him as God’s anointed king.

Even our own political climate will teach you this.
You can’t watch a political debate or even news program
• Without someone yelling or name-calling
• Or bullying or losing their tempter in some childish rant.

Fallen men think tough-talking and bullying is strength.

There is an entire faction in our nation that loves it when a politician or pundit brags or name-calls or talks about kicking someone else’s tail, etc.

In some backward way our world thinks that is strength
And even looks for that in a leader.

This is why they overlooked Jesus.
He was not a bully.

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.”

• Jesus was not going to go on a debate floor and mock or threaten someone.
• He wasn’t going to yell or use His divine power to knock you to the ground.

And let’s be honest, men wanted that.

We also read:
“And like a root out of parched ground;”

This speaks of His pedigree.
Today we like people who come from the right family.
• We saw the Bush family make a run through politics.
• The Kennedys have been a political family.

In professional sports we wait for the son or daughter of a famous athlete to come of age to see if he has his father’s or mother’s genes.
• People today have their eyes set on the backup quarterback of Texas
• Because his last name is Manning
• And they wonder if he’ll be like his grandpa or his uncles.
• He’s played in 2 games and already has 3.2 million dollars worth of NIL money.

YOU GET THE IDEA.

But Jesus had no remarkable pedigree by the world’s estimation.
• Yes, Matthew reveals that Joseph was of the kingly line,
• But that line had not been recognized in quite some time.

Instead men saw the pedigree of Jesus as quite ordinary.

Matthew 13:54-58 “He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? “And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

He just wasn’t Messiah material.
He didn’t come from the right blood-line.

So we have a meek and mild man from an ordinary family.
He is not the first pick of the people.

“He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”

• We learned this morning that “form” is a reference to His body.
• We learned that “appearance” is a reference to His face.

When you look Him over, He just didn’t look kingly.
• Where is the Saul who stands a head above all the people?
• Where is the David who has slain his 10,000s?

For people who were looking for a leader to overthrow Rome,
Jesus just didn’t have that “IT” factor.

He had no “majesty” about Him.

Now some have balked here at Isaiah’s words a little.

The Jews say this passage can’t be about Jesus since Jesus did attract large crowds at time.
• We read about Him feeding the 5,000 or the 4,000.
• We even read in John 6 about how they were going to take Him by force and make Him king.
• Or what about His triumphal entry where they were laying their coats in the road and crying “Hosannah!” as He rode by?

They argue that He did obviously have majesty
And that people were ready to make Him king.

Obviously Isaiah is not referring to momentary infatuation.
Isaiah is referring to a lasting devotion.

It is true that hungry crowds were very enamored with Him when He fed them,
• But that same crowd in John 6 departed when Jesus claimed to come from heaven.

It is true that many in the temple in John 7 wondered if He was the Messiah and claimed to believe in Him.
• But that same crowd in John 8 tried to stone Him when Jesus offered them freedom from sin.

And yes, a large multitude of people did welcome Him at the triumphal entry,
• But they also turned and yelled for Him to be crucified 4 days later.

For brief moments Jesus did look like the Guy they wanted,
But when they learned why He came they were totally unenthused.

Jesus did not come in majesty, He came in humiliation
AND NO ONE WANTED A KING LIKE THAT.

In fact, the overwhelming testimony of the gospels
• Is that not only did they reject Him as King,
• But they openly mocked Him as a pathetic one.

Matthew 26:67-68 “Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Matthew 27:29-31 “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.”

Matthew 27:35-37 “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.”

Matthew 27:39-44 “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.”

You can see the disdain that was aimed at Him.

While there were moments were selfish crowds were hopeful
That He might grant their carnal desires…

The reality is that the more He showed them who He was,
The less they wanted Him.

ULTIMATELY
• They tried to throw Him off a cliff…
• They tried to stone Him…
• They tried to arrest Him…
• They tried to kill Him…
• They tried to discredit Him…
• They tried to trap Him…
• And they ended up crucifying Him.

He just didn’t fit the bill of what they were looking for in a king.

And when we take that back to verse 1,
THIS IS WHY they did not believe.

In fact, apart from the gracious revelation of God, no one believed.

So He came, but they did not believe He was who He said He was.

#3 THE RESPONSE
Isaiah 53:3

• They should have crowned Him King.
• They should have bowed to Him in reverence and awe.
• They should have taken up their cross and followed Him.

But what did they do?
“He was despised and forsaken of men,”

I want you to take special note of that word “despised”
Because it seems to be Isaiah’s main point.

In fact Isaiah will circle back to it at the end of the verse as if to emphasize it again.
“He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

That word “despised” in the Hebrew is BAW-ZAW.
It does men “to despise” or “hold with contempt”.

It comes from root words that mean “to trample under foot”
בָּזָה i.q. בּוּז to despise, to contemn, pr. to trample with the feet, see בּוּז, בּוּס.
https://www.studylight.org/lexicons/eng/hebrew/959.html

That word BAW-ZAW is the same word used to speak about Esau rejecting his birthright in favor of a bowl of soup.

Genesis 25:34 “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

• He didn’t want it.
• He didn’t think he needed it.
• He despised it.
• He figuratively trampled it under foot.

And that is the FIRST THING we see
Regarding the people’s estimation of Christ.

HE WAS TRAMPLED
“He was despised and forsaken of men,”

• He was not valued, He was turned away.
• He was not wanted, He was given up.
• He was considered as having no value.

Judas sold him for 30 pieces of silver,
• Which according to the Old Testament was the redemption price one must pay if his bull gores another man’s slave.

The people traded him even for a murderer named Barabbas.

They just didn’t value what He had to offer.

We also find out that:
HE WAS TROUBLED
“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;”

The Hebrew word for “sorrows”
• Can be translated as “literal physical pain” or “overwhelming sorrow”.

Surely our Lord endured both.
• One only has to see Him in the garden sweating drops of blood or weeping over Jerusalem.
• You only have to see Him on trial being beaten, flogged, crucified, and then bearing the wrath of God.

Not only was this man totally despised by the people
But He was also terribly afflicted by them.

Mankind did their worst to Christ.
• A corrupt trial
• A humiliating death
• A painful death

They hung Him naked between two criminals
And mocked Him while He hung there.

Not only was He Trampled and Troubled
He was: TURNED AWAY
“and like one from whom men hide their face”

They simply turned away from Him.
• No acknowledging Him.
• No helping Him.

• His disciples fled from Him in the garden.
• Those who had seen His miracles attributed them to Satan.
• Those who heard Him preach distorted His words.

• No one came to His defense.
• No one came to His aid.
• Everyone turned their back on Him.

And Isaiah adds the exclamation mark by repeating it again.
“He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Once again, He was trampled under foot.

But Isaiah also adds that “we did not esteem Him.”

You’ve seen that word “esteem” before.
It is the Hebrew word HKHA-SHAV

Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
• You know that word as “reckoned”.
• Same word here translated “esteem”.

Later we’ll read:
Isaiah 53:4b “Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

We did not reckon glory to Him.
We did not reckon honor to Him.
We did not reckon kingship to Him.
Instead we imputed judgment to Him.

When mankind measured Jesus;
They did not honor Him as God, they did not marvel at His power.

They judged Him to be of no worth or value
And they tossed Him aside as a man worthy of judgment.

Matthew 26:64-66 “Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”

That is what man reckoned to Christ.

He was trampled, troubled, turned away, and: TOSSED ASIDE

He was sent outside the city where He would be executed like a criminal.
• He was rejected, not honored.
• He was not reckoned to be the Messiah,
• He was considered a fraud and they crucified Him.

Matthew 27:17-23 “So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

He was “THE SCORNED SERVANT”
All because He did not look like the Savior they wanted.

• They wanted a King to feed them.
• They wanted a warrior to fight for them.
• They wanted a mighty man to lead them to prominence.

But He came to save them from sin not Rome.

He demonstrated Godliness in everything He did
He offered sinners reconciliation with God,
BUT THE PEOPLE WANTED NEITHER.

John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

As Isaiah has repeatedly shown us, they wanted the wrong salvation.

And that really poses an interesting reality to us.

I heard a preacher once say:
“How is it that the world couldn’t get on with the holiest Man who ever lived, but they can get on with you and me? Are we compromised? Is there no righteousness that reflects upon their corruption?”

That is convicting to us as believers.

But beyond that I think THE REAL QUESTION OF THE TEXT
Is the same that Jesus asked His disciples.

Matthew 16:13-15 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

We know that His contemporaries did not esteem Him.
• We know they didn’t want the salvation He offered.
• They wanted to keep their sin, they just wanted freedom from Rome.

And since Jesus didn’t come to do that, they rejected Him.
He wasn’t the type of King they wanted.
So they despised Him.

They figuratively trampled Him under foot

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

The writer of Hebrews no doubt picked up on Isaiah’s statement:
Hebrews 10:29 “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?”

Have you esteemed Him?
• Do you honor Him?
• Do you see Him as the Savior you need?
• Have you confessed Him?
• Are you following Him?

He is “THE SCORNED SERVANT”
But don’t let Him be scorned in your life.
Instead you submit to Him and trust Him.

For though He was rejected by the world,
He has been exalted by the Father
And He will succeed in His mission.

Go against the grain of the world and follow Him.