March 7, 2004
Title: Servant Songs of Isaiah #4: Suffering Servant
Text: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Introduction
1. There are 5 "Servant Songs" in Isaiah.
We started with the Introduction of the Servant in Isa_42:1-4...
Where God says, "Here is My Servant, whom I uphold. My Chosen One in whom I delight"
Then we looked at the Mission of the Servant in Isaiah 49:1-6
Where God says, "It is too small a thing for You to be My Servant to restore
I will also make You a Light for the Gentiles....
that You may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth"
This verse is sometimes referred to as "The Great Commission of the OT".
Last week, we looked at the obedience of the Servant in Isa_50:4-9...
Christ was obedient to His Father’s wishes in His speaking...
listening...
He was obedient to the point of His suffering...
and He was obedient in His purpose...
He said, "I set My face like flint"...
and He didn’t swerve to the right or to the left...
He was obedient all the way.
2. This morning, we will look at the 4th of the Servant Songs, the Suffering Servant.
This is the longest of the Servant songs.
It consists of 5 stanzas...
each stanza is 3 verses long.
This passage of Scripture is quoted more often in the New Testament...
than any other passage of Scripture in the Old Testament.
This passage of Scripture has been called, "the Gospel of the Old Testament"
Let’s stand together as we read God’s Word.
Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Body
1. First Stanza: The Divine Proclamation Isa_52:13-15
A. This 1st Stanza contains the words of God...
as He makes a divine proclamation.
In the KJV, He says, "Behold, my servant"...
According to Webster’s Dictionary, "behold" means...
To fix the eyes upon;
to see with attention;
to observe with care.
John said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"...(Joh_1:29)
Then, here in our text, God Himself says..."Behold, My Servant"...
I invite you to do just that this morning...
I invite you to behold Jesus....
I invite you to fix your eyes upon Him...
I invite you to see Him in ways that you have never seen Him before...
B. God tells us, through Isaiah, that His Servant will be raised and lifted up...
He will be highly exhalted.
Isaiah used the same terminology back in Isaiah 6...
where he says, "I saw the Lord high and lifted up"
Some commentators (Keil & Delitzsch) see the 3 steps in the exaltation of Christ in these few words...
Christ will be raised...as we see in the resurrection,
Christ will be lifted up...as we see in ascension,
and Christ will be highly exhalted...as He takes His place in heaven.
C. But, before this exaltation takes place...
God announces that His Servant will be humiliated...
and His appearance and His features will become so disfigured by the abuse...
so much so, that people will hardly recognize Him.
Our text tells us that kings and other leaders will begin to understand...
what they hadn’t understood up to this point.
D. God tells us that His Servant will "sprinkle many nations"...
at first this phrase seems strange...
and commentators differ on its meaning...
The word used here means to sprinkle as in to declare clean from disease.
Leviticus 14 describes the process whereby one who had been healed from leprosy...
or some other disease that was considered contagious...
could be declared clean by the priests...
Let me read it for you Leviticus 14:2-7 says, "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields." Lev_14:2-7 (NIV)
E. In the same way, God is telling us that His Servant...Jesus Christ...
by the sprinkling of His blood...
will provide for our cleansing from a disease far worse than leprosy...
that disease is sin.
2. Second Stanza: The Servant’s Life Isa_53:1-3
A. In this next stanza, we see a very brief summary of the Servant’s life...
People from Isaiah’s day...
all the way down through history...
up until the current time...
people are incredulous at the thought of a suffering Servant...
and they are even more incredulous at the thought that through the suffering...
the Servant will provide salvation for many.
Our text says, "who has believed our message"?
I’m sure there were plenty of doubters in Isaiah’s day...
Just as I’m sure there were plenty of doubters on that day that Christ actually fulfilled this prophesy...
and paid the ultimate sacrifice when He was crucified...
and I know that there are still many people who doubt even today.
B. Verse 2 tells us that this Servant "grew up...like a tender shoot".
The word that’s translated as "tender shoot"...
actually has the meaning of a plant that sprouts forth new growth after the tree has died.
In botany, they actually have a word to describe plants that do this..."soboliferous"
Perhaps you’ve seen a tree trunk after a tree has been cut down...
and suddenly, new, fresh growth will begin out of what once was dead.
That’s how it was when Christ came 2,000 years ago...
it was an extremely dark time of history...
spiritually, financially, politically, in almost every way...
but Christ came...
bringing new life out of something dead...
Isa_11:1 tells us, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1 (NIV)
C. Is 53:2 also says that Christ was "like a root out of dry ground"...
this doesn’t refer to the land around Galilee at this time...
it is a reference to the lineage of Jesus Christ...
even though He is in the line of David...
His father was a poor carpenter...
and His mother was a virgin...
and it was in these humble circumstances that Christ would "take root".
D. Isaiah also tells us that Christ had no special beauty or majesty...
some people use this to tells us that Christ was ugly, or deformed...
I’m sure that Christ’s appearance was at least of average attractiveness...
what this verse is referring to is the humbleness of His surroundings...
He wasn’t born in a castle...
to parent’s who were King and Queen...
He wasn’t born in an important capital city...
to parents who were high religious leaders...
Jesus was born to poor parents...
in a part of the country that was despised...
in a town that people said "nothing good can come from there"...
He lived in a cottage...
He worked at a trade...
There is certainly nothing about His life and His beginnings...
to suggest that He might become a prince in that part of the land...
Let alone Messiah of all mankind...
E. "He was despised and rejected by men"...
"a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering"
He came and began to minister to the people...
and the religious establishment refused to accept Him...
He was cursed...
He was falsely accused of things...
He was hated...
And although there were a few people who accepted Him and followed Him...
many people "esteemed Him not".
3. Third Stanza: The Servant’s Vicarious Suffering Isa_53:4-6
A. In this 3rd Stanza, we have the most profound passage of Scripture in all the Bible...
explaining the "doctrine of substitution"...
everyone is familiar with substitution...
in school there are substitute teachers...
in basketball or football and other sports...
they will call time out and make player substitutions...
B. In theological terms, it means that Christ was our Substitute...
He stepped in and bore the brunt of the punishment for sin that should have been ours...
In the original language, the words are very emphatic...
Surely HE took up OUR infirmities
HE carried OUR sorrows,
WE considered HIM stricken by God,
WE figured it must have been HIS own sin that He was being punished for...
surely God was punishing Him for something He had done wrong in His life...
But HE was pierced for OUR transgressions,
HE was crushed for OUR iniquities;
the punishment that brought US peace and salvation...
was given to HIM
and by HIS wounds WE are healed.
C. Christ suffered and died...
not because He had done anything wrong...
and not even because He ran afoul of the religious establishment of the day...
Christ suffered and died...
because someway, somehow...
someone must pay the price for sin...
there must be punishment given...
And Christ...
In His love...
stepped in...
and He paid the ultimate price...
so that you and I didn’t have to.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and God the Father...
sacrificed His own Son....
to pay the price of OUR sin. Isa_53:4-6 (NIV)
D. And that’s not just Old Testament theology...
we find it in the New Testament as well...
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Cor 5:21 (NIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, Gal 3:13 (NIV)
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
E. But that’s not fair...
Someone who hasn’t done anything wrong...
why should He be punished...
That goes against the grain of all that we believe about fairness...
My kids are quick to point out when they believe fairness has been subverted...
"That’s not fair...Amelia got to stay up late"...
"That’s not fair...you didn’t take me to McDonald’s"...
"That’s not fair...Lora sat by the window on the way there...not its my turn"...
that’s not fair...
that’s not fair...
that’s not fair...
I can assure you that we try very hard to make sure we are "fair"...
Aren’t you glad that when Christ was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane...
that He said, "Nevertheless, Father, not My will, but Your will be done"...
He certainly would have been correct if instead...
He would have turned His face to heaven and said...
THAT’S NOT FAIR....
I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG...
WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT PAIN AND PUNISHMENT ...
FOR SOMETHING I DIDN’T DO...
I WON’T DO IT...
THAT’S NOT FAIR...
LET THEM SUFFER FOR THEIR OWN SIN...
NOW THAT MAKES MORE SENSE...
LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS...
But Christ didn’t do that...
F. The pain was His...
the suffering was His...
taking the punishment for our sin..was His...
BUT... the sin was OURS...not His...
G. The closest I can come to understanding this is with my own children...
when one of my children is injured...
and has to go through something painful...
I would gladly step in and become their substitute...if I could...
I would endure their surgery...
I would endure their pain...
I would even suffer their death...if that was required...
because I love my children so much...
But with Christ...the situation is different...
He didn’t endure suffering as a substitute for a family member whom He loved deeply...
He endured all that suffering...
and carried all that sin...
for people like Barrabas...
who was literally the first beneficiary of the substitionary sacrifice of Christ...
He died for people who were murders...
robbers...
adulterers...
He died for the very people who were crucifying Him...
He died for people like you and like me...
If I were in the hospital room...
and they said...we need to do a heart transplant ...
your heart is just fine...
but there’s this guy down in prison...
and he’s dying...
he’s gay...
he’s got HIV...
he’s a drug user...
he’s a convicted felon...
his heart is such a mess...
it’s his own fault...
but we just want to take your healthy heart ...
and give it to that guy...so he can live.
H. I’m sorry to say, my response would probably be...
sorry...but that’s just not fair...
I’ve taken pretty good care of my heart...
"He’s made his bed...now let him lie in it."
"You reap what you sow"
That’s the decision that Christ was faced with...
giving up His life...
for sinful people...
He had no guarentee that those people would even appreciate it...
or accept it...
but He did it anyway...
because He loved them...
and He wanted them to have an opportunity for a new life.
4. Forth Stanza: The Servant’s Silent Suffering Isa_53:7-9
A. This 4th Stanza refers to the Servant’s Silent Suffering...
I’m sure you’ve all known people who were sick...
or going through painful things...
and they were quick to let you know about it too...
they wanted you to know how much they were suffering...
they told everyone who would listen all about their ailments....
But then, there are a few people...
you know they are hurting...
you know they are in pain...
and you ask them how they are doing...
they say..."I’m doing fine"!
They never complain...
they never grumble...
B. Other times, in the courtroom...
you will hear people talk about their rights...
"you can’t do that...I’ve got my rights"
Christ could have definitely used the courtroom as a bully pulpit...
He was given the opportunity to defend Himself...
He could have ranted and raved...
He could have said, "hey...I’m doing this for you...
you’re going to appreciate this someday..."
No, the only time He spoke was when remaining silent would have led to the misunderstanding that He wasn’t the Messiah.
5. Fifth Stanza: The Servant’s Victory Isa_53:10-13
A. The Servant’s story doesn’t end with suffering...
the story doesn’t end on a down-note...
because the Servant is victorious...
First of all, even His death is victorious...
by His death, He paid the penalty for our sin...
He could have given up...
when the pain was too great...
but He remained faithful-- to the death...
and as a result, our text indicates that He served as a guilt offering.
2. He is victorious because He will see His offspring...
No, Christ doesn’t have any physical children...
but He has countless SPIRITUAL descendants...
down through history...
people who...because of the sacrifice that Christ has made...
have invited Him into their hearts.
3. He is victorious because God will prolong His life...
When Christ rose from the dead...
He didn’t rise...
just to die again later when He was older...
He was victorious OVER death...
Paul says, "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him" Romans 6:9 (NIV)
And God tells us that He will reward His Servant because of His faithfulness.
Conclusion
1. God said, "Behold, My Servant"...
I hope you have done that this morning...
I hope you have fixed your eyes upon Jesus...
I hope you have seen Him in a fresh and new way...
2. When Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed...
they brought his body from Washington to Illinois
As they passed through Albany, they carried his body through the street.
They say a black woman stood up on the curb...
and lifted her little son as far as she could reach...
above the heads of the crowd and said to him...,
"Take a long look, honey. He died for you".
So, if I could, I would lift you up ...
and I would like to show you Jesus on the cross....
and I would tell you...
Take a long look...because He died for you. (Illus from: Craig Glickman, Knowing Christ, p. 89.)
