As most of you are aware, in preparation for Easter we have been taking a close look at the message of Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12. And over the past two weeks we have taken a close look at the prophets portrayal of the Suffering Servant. First we saw the Surprising Appearance. Last Sunday we examined the Strange Attitude. Tonight we will look at the center paragraph, the chi (key) of his message: The Substitutionary Atonement. Let us once again read the inspired words given to Isaiah Ben Amoz.
See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him-- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness--so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Early in my childhood I remember a minister using this illustration. It made such an impact on me that to this day the imagery strikes me. In the windows of my mind, I look over my grandfather’s wheat fields and see this story as it unfolds. In those early days of this century, wood-burning locomotives ran from village to village. And those old locomotives often set fires on either side of the tracks as sparks flew from the stacks. As you all know, there is a ten-to-fifteen day period when the reap is ripe enough to burn but not yet ripe enough to cut. In those early days, wheat fires sometimes burned for ten miles, sweeping across the plains before a farmer would see the fire burn toward his buildings.
One such farmer saw the smoke of one of these great wheat fires. As he stood out in front of his farm he looked off to the northwest. Then, judging the direction of the wind, knew that the fire raging in the distance would burn his wheat right down to the barn. If he did not do something to stop it, that fire would take his cattle, his barn, his very house. So he took a torch and ran to the edge of the field to light a back fire. His fire began to burn - 100 yards, 200 yards. It made a great circle all the way around the buildings so that when the great fire came and met the burned wheat it would pass around and thus the farmers building would be saved.
Sure enough the fire raged, right to the farmers land. But when it met the scorched earth burned from the back fire, the fire went around the buildings. The farmer had saved his buildings but he had lost his crop. Later in great grief, he walked through the burnt stubble. And when he did he saw the charred body of a hen lying there. He thought the hen had become confused and had been burned to death. Idly, he turned the body of the hen over with his toe, and out from underneath ran a dozen little chicks. The mother’s body had been over them; she was burned but they went out free.
This is what the prophet portrays in his depiction of the atonement of the Servant of Yahweh. In the day of Christ’s dying, there was the dam of God’s patience, and the flood of God’s wrath; the day that Christ was placed upon the cross, God said that Christ was guilty of all of the law, having become of a curse through his crucifixion. On that day God placed the sin of his people on his servant and Christ came between us the wrath of the God the Father. Yet there is a day coming where we will be free.
Last week we saw how God "rolled up his sleeves." Isaiah says "...to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" And then he described a strange attitude toward his servant, his child. Today we see the servant as the resource of the atonement, the reason for the atonement, and the role of the atonement.
I. The RAM of the Atonement
In our day and age we have lost appreciation for the word "atonement." It has lost it’s meaning and so the term has become obscure. It reminds me of another term which we no longer use "expiation." The terms are synonymous yet they differ. "Expiation" means to make an attempt to correct a wrong done to another. While "atonement" means restoration through compensation. Let me say that again. "Expiation" means to make an attempt to correct a wrong done to another. While "atonement" means restoration through compensation.
To the Hebrew mind atonement was man’s reconciliation with God after having transgressed the terms of the covenant. The means of this reconciliation is made clear in the book of Leviticus. Often times we fail to open the pages of this book because the overwhelming sacrifices listed. But let us just take a glance at one small portion. Turn to Leviticus 6. The book is the third book in the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus 6 verses 1 through 7.
The LORD said to Moses: "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-- when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering. And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to the LORD, his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty."
So how does one receive forgiveness? Through the sacrifice of a ram. It would be a wonderful thing to see, and maybe even to live under the bondage of the law for a while. We have lost the sense of horror that our sins should bring. We have failed to learn to be a forgiving people. We have failed to reconcile ourselves with our neighbors, friends and even our families. And more than that we have failed to be reconciled with our God.
This is what Isaiah’s message is all about. Not only did Israel reject her God but they failed to see God’s hand in leading the 10 northern tribes into captivity. You would think that they would have fallen to their knees after watching their family members being dragged to the east with fish hooks in their mouths. But no!
For here Isaiah states that the servant of Jehovah will take up our infirmities and carry our sorrows. What passive terms! The writers of the NIV have watered down the Hebrew. For the words are much stronger. And they are enunciated more forcefully in the original.
In Hebrew normally the subject is attached to the verb. But here he states it stronger. In English it would be like someone saying "Lynell, Lynell" The pronoun is placed outside of the verb and then again with it. "He, He carried." And the verb for carried contains with it the idea of lifting up and bearing the load of another.
And what is that load? Our infirmities and our grief. R.A. Torrey, the founder of Biola University went through a time of great adversity. Their twelve year old daughter was killed in a tragic accident. The child’s funeral service was held on a cold, rainy, miserable day. As they lowered Elizabeth’s body into her grave. Mrs. Torrey remarked, "I am so glad Elizabeth is with the Lord, not in that box."
Have you experienced grief like that? This is the feeling behind Isaiah’s words. Our infirmities are better translated "our sicknesses" our griefs are "our sorrows." The consequences of sin is sickness and death. These are our consequences yet Isaiah says that the Servant of Jehovah will pick them up and carry them, he will bear them for us.
But we considered him stricken by God. We do not own our own responsibility for his death. We say that he was smitten by God. When we see him on the cross, we hold no ownership for placing him there. We say "He was smitten and afflicted by God.
II. The REASON for the Atonement
But Isaiah does not let his readers off the hook quite so easily. For in verse 5 he defines the reason for the Atonement. Those of you who remember our discussions on Biblical parallelism will notice how this servant is portrayed. The first portion of verse 5 states that "He was pierced" and then in the last half "He was crushed." Literally the Hebrew says the wounded one, the crushed one. The imagery is one who has been mutilated by a spear and then buried beneath a load of such crushing force that anything beneath is pulverized.
The servant of the most high God was pierced for our transgression, he was crushed for our iniquities and the punishment that brings us peace was upon him. The words flow like poetry but does their meaning strike your heart. I received this description this week.
Let me read to you the medical description of the death he endured so that you may have peace. The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought iron nail through the wrist deep into the wound. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place. The left foot is press backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain- the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through his muscles, knotting them deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in
the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided. Periodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint wrenching cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over- the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level-the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues- the tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. Finally, he can allow his
body to die...
All this misery and the New Testament only records the simple words, "and they crucified Him" (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this? Isaiah, doesn’t give any more detail but he lays for the reason. It was for our iniquities. It was for our transgression.
Remember the words of Leviticus? "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-- when he thus sins and becomes guilty.." But notice this is not all God told Moses about sin. He also said in Leviticus 4:22 "When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the LORD his God, he is guilty" and then in verse 27 "If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, he is guilty. Later in the next chapter God says "If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible" in Leviticus 5:17.
The reason for the atonement is that we are guilty. We are all deserving of damnation. We have all offended the Almighty God and broken his law. Paul tells us in Romans that "there is none righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10-11) and "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23)and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
III. The ROLE of the Atonement
Look at verse 6 of Isaiah 53. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The first word in the Hebrew is the same as the last. He uses the word WnL;Ku (culanu). In doing such he is not speaking directly about those Covenant People of God or Pagans but he includes himself. He is talking about all of humanity. And here we see three last things. He is speaking about Universal depravity and Universal sufficiency.
Here Isaiah is again painting with words. As he does he uses the imagery of sheep. We probably have all memorized this verse in our childhood. All we like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. But the words are again deeper than our minds take them. The verb of which "All we" is the subject implies more than just wandering off. The idea it conveys is running after our own whims. It’s like a kitten chasing butterflies. It is each one of us chasing after our own selfish dreams, our own ideas, our own goals. But even more than chasing it is being in a daze, confused out of our own ignorance, our own incapacity to choose the right path. And it is not just one simple minded confused lamb running around after its own idealism, but a multitude of sheep. A plethora of flocks, with each individual member wandering in his own confusion.
This folks, just isn’t the world. It’s the church. We all have our own ideas on how things should be done. How the decorations should be hung. How the tables should be set. Where the snacks go in the kitchen. But what does God think? How does he want us to run the farms he has entrusted to us? How does he want us to raise our children? Does he have a master plan or are we each allowed to do it the way we see fit? Dare I step on any more toes?
This confusion hits the text like a hammer on an anvil. An when it does it doesn’t strike the sheep. For when you read that "the Lord laid on him" it should not be thought of as gently placing our load on Christ. For the word is Wnyn]P* (panynu) which means to strike violently. The iniquity of which we are guilty does not come back to meet us and strike us as it does when we hit a punching bag. No it is placed by Yahweh on his servant with all the violence our iniquities can muster.
Jesus Christ is the servant of God. He is the servant who came to bear our sins. He is the servant on whom the Almighty God has dumped the iniquity of his people. It is our sins, yours and mine, that pierced him. It is our sins, yours and mine that crushed him. Yet God was pleased to do it. God was pleased to take our sins on his body. He was pleased to be stripped bare and nailed to the cross for all the world to see. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
John Newton the infamous hymn writer penned these words:
In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopp’d my wild career:
I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fix’d His languid eyes on me.
As near His Cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seem’d to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke:
My conscience felt and own’d the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help’d to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may’st live."
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now if fill’d,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill’d!
We began this evening with a story of a mother hen, who protected her own by placing them under her wings. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep gave his life for his own children. Do you belong to him? Do you hear his voice? If so then you belong to him? Are you living a life worthy of his death? This evening if you don’t know. If you are not sure that you are a child of the King, I ask you, do not leave this place tonight if you are not sure that the Almighty God placed your sins on Christ that Good Friday. If you are not sure take me aside this evening. Do you hear his voice? It’s speaking to the church, to the ones called by His name. Is he calling you? You think about that.
