The Suffering Servant (Part I)
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Mar 25, 2005
- Series: The Suffering Servant
SUFFERING SERVANT
Isaiah 53:1-6
- 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.
Last year, Mel Gibson allowed the world to see the gruesome reality of Christ’s sufferings on the cross through the movie, The Passion of the Christ. His portrayal of the last eighteen hours of Jesus Christ from His agony in the garden of Gethsemane to His crucifixion opened the way for people to have a deeper appreciation for the extent of God’s love. And as a result, so many were drawn to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The prophet Isaiah had the unique privilege of understanding the sufferings of Christ, the Messiah about seven hundred years before it became a reality. When you read our text, you will get the impression that the prophet was almost like an eyewitness of the crucifixion. In a way we can recognize that the Salvation, which Christ brings, was not merely an afterthought of the Godhead but was well thought out and strategically planned. Let’s again revisit how the Savior had suffered for us by studying this prophetic proclamation by the prophet Isaiah.
The text actually begins at the closing verses of chapter 52. Here you would see that it is about the Servant – the Messiah of Israel:
- 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.
We will cover this text for the second part of this sermon series. As we consider our text, there are three truths we could highlight from it:
I HIS REJECTION: (vv. 1-3)
In the first three verses, the prophet comments on people who rejected the Lord. This rejection happened in three levels:
A. Prophecies were rejected – Who has believed our message?
The Old Testament prophets have sufficiently reported or predicted the coming of the Messiah. In fact, the New Testament writers have quoted 308 times from the book of Isaiah alone concerning direct passages directly related to Jesus Christ. However, the Jews have openly rejected all these prophetic declarations.
B. Power was rejected – to whom has arm of the Lord been revealed?
The phrase, arm of the Lord, speaks of the power of the Messiah manifested through the miracles He performed during His earthly ministry. Despite all the miracles, He was still rejected.
- He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
- And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
C. Person was rejected – Grew up like a tender shoot like a root out of a dry ground.
Another reason why the Messiah has been rejected is because of His appearance. People had difficulty accepting Him because he doesn’t look and act like a Messiah! He’s not particularly good looking. He doesn’t dress the way you would expect a man of royalty to dress. He hangs out with tax collectors and sinners and prostitutes and low lives. He’s no Messiah!" He was no King; no millionaire; no beautiful celebrity!
- “Man of sorrows” - Jesus was despised and hated by many. They hated him for not being the kind of Messiah that they wanted him to be. They wanted a warrior Messiah who would lead his army into battle against the evil Romans. But instead, Jesus preached about loving your enemies and getting right with God, and leaving your material comforts behind to follow Him. And the people simply didn’t want to deal with that kind of a Messiah. Just like what John commented:
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
II HIS REPRESENTATION: (vv. 4-6)
The following verses are the heart of the Gospel, the good news. We should not miss the truth that when Jesus went to the cross, He was there as our representative. He took our sins and paid the price for them. He had no sin of his own, and the Bible is very clear to record this:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
There are people who think that Jesus is dying on the cross because he is being punished by God. But the truth is that Jesus is dying on the cross because he is taking OUR punishment!
- "He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities." - Can you imagine how much it must have hurt to get those spikes nailed into his hands and feet?
- “All” - All means all people. Jesus Christ died for everyone. He wants to save all kinds of people.
Because of Christ’s substitutionary work, we are recipients of great advantages. Anne Graham Lotz provides some ideas:
Because He emptied Himself of all but love, you can be filled
Because His body was broken, your life can be whole
Because He was forsaken, you will never be alone
Because He was buried, you can be raised
Because He reached down to you, you don’t have to work your way up to Him.
Because His promises are always true, you can have hope
Praise God for just giving us Jesus!
III HIS REDEMPTION: (vv. 11-12)
- 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.
Redemption is a theological word that means to purchase back something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom. Jesus suffered to purchase those who were lost. To get them back to His Father.
These last two verses of the chapter allow us to see some specific blessings that Jesus is able to bestow after he suffered:
- “Servant will justify many” – Justification simply means He can declare sinners righteous. The death of Christ made forgiveness possible.
- “To have a portion and divide the spoils” – This phrase pictures a general, after winning a battle, sharing goods taken from the enemy.
Our salvation in Christ suggests a two-fold blessing – The removal of guilt and the reception of blessings. If we are in Christ today, we should be eternally thankful for the sacrifice He has made for us. We all must look to Him for the salvation of our souls.
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.