- Introduction
A. Read Isaiah 53:1-12
B. Who is Him?
1. At first, it seems a little ambiguous because we’re actually not starting at the beginning of the passage. The passage actually begins in Isaiah 52:13 “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”
a. Is.53:11 the righteous one, my servant
b. Isaiah 42:1ff., Isaiah 49:1ff., Isaiah 50:4-9
2. Who is this servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53?
a. 48 allusions or quotations in the NT
b. No part of the OT is referred to so frequently or so emphatically as Isaiah 53.
c. And all of that is focused on Christ.
d. In one sense it’s the only chapter in the OT which the NT explicitly tells us is about Jesus.
(1) Acts 8:34–35 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
C. There are three primary themes in Isaiah 53: humiliation/suffering, substitution/atonement, and triumph/reward.
1. Since it’s Easter, we’re going to focus on the third one: triumph and reward.
2. But first, I’d like to just point out the other two.
II. Humiliation/suffering – Christ’s suffering and humiliation are described in Isaiah 53 in language that is as vivid and poignant as anything in literature.
A. 52:14 his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind
B. 2 he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
C. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
D. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
E. It’s easy to focus here on the injustice, the mistreatment, the abuse that He suffered.
F. But the most surprising thing about all this horrific treatment is found in v.10 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.”
G. What? Why? What is the purpose and point of the humiliation and suffering?
III. Substitution/atonement
A. Nowhere in the Bible are we told so clearly and repeatedly about the purpose of Christ’s sufferings.
B. 4 he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
C. 5 he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
D. 6 the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
E. 8 he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
F. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
G. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
H. 12 he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
I. After reading Isaiah 53, there is no more mystery about how sinful human beings can be reconciled to a holy God. It is only through the death of Christ in our place by which we are counted as righteous. He stepped into the gap between us rebels and our just destruction, offering Himself as our substitute, bearing the weight of our sins.
1. The mystery we are left with is how God could love us like this?
J. The story doesn’t end here, though.
IV. Six statements of His triumph/reward/exaltation: our main thrust this Easter morning
A. 52:13 he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted
1. I talked about this in Friday night’s sermon.
2. This is language only used of God in the Bible.
3. Most experts agree that this was probably the inspiration behind Paul’s words in Phil.2:9ff., where he says that Christ “made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, humbling Himself to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him...”
B. 10 he shall see his offspring;
1. Obviously Jesus didn’t have any blood descendants.
2. This passage is referring to his spiritual descendants.
a. His life, far from being futile, will be the most fruitful life ever lived. Far from being childless, he will have children in every race on the earth, from every era of history, from every language, from every status in life.
b. As many as the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore, for His children are the ones promised to Abraham.
3. Jesus gets to watch His harvest grow. He sees us, the precious fruit of His sacrifice. This is why He did it.
C. 10 he shall prolong his days;
1. I agree with those who think we find the resurrection here. Having died, he shall prolong his days.
2. Revelation 1:18 “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore.”
3. 1Corinthians 15:3–4: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
a. There aren’t many obvious places in the OT which seem to predict the resurrection. So, we ought to be on the lookout for indications of the resurrection in the OT.
4. And I don’t think this phrase in v.10 is the only place Isaiah 53 includes the resurrection.
a. After His death, it says: “He shall prolong his days...He shall see his offspring...He shall see and be satisfied...He receives the plunder.” These all seem to imply His resurrection.
D. 10 the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
1. You might think this doesn’t belong in the category of His reward/triumph, just His success (like in 52:13).
2. But this statement seems to be referring to what happens after his death, not in his death. Otherwise, it seems out of place in the context. “When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” All of these subsequent phrases seem to be speaking of the results of His soul making an offering for guilt.
3. As a result of His work, “the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”
4. So, “the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” refers to what Jesus is doing now.
5. One of the things which makes Christianity different than any other religion is that behind it there is a living Christ who’s making it happen. Not all of it, of course. There’s plenty of deadness.
6. “The sole explanation of the vitality of Christianity, and the sole reason which makes its message a gospel to any soul, is Christ’s death for the world and present life in the world.” – MacLaren
E. 11 (Out of the anguish of his soul) he shall see and be satisfied;
1. He shall see and be satisfied. So what does that mean?
2. He is not a sado-masochist, getting satisfaction from pain! He gets satisfaction from seeing the result of His anquish.
3. It is so satisfying that it far outshines the anguish He had to endure in order to accomplish it.
4. This is the Servant’s experience: whatever he had to endure, the darkness and pain of it is replaced with the sheer joy of the results He sees.
5. What will He see?
a. “the righteous one, my servant, shall make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” He sees redeemed sinners!
b. By bearing their iniquities, he makes many to be accounted as righteous.
c. It was “for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.” Heb.12:2
(1) This doesn’t mean He hated the shame, it means He regarded as nothing because of the surpassing importance of that which it accomplished.
d. He found such joy in rescuing His loved ones.
6. He shall be satisfied! How gratifying it must be for Him to behold the fruit of His labors!
a. All the effort. All the waiting. All the pain. All the struggle. All the trauma, rejection, condemnation.
b. The horror of Gethsemane was as nothing compared to the joyful satisfaction of seeing His beloved ones redeemed.
c. It is finished!
F. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
1. In this context Therefore brings to mind Phil. 2:9.
2. Phil.2:8-10 “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
3. The Servant faithfully descended to the lowest depths to fulfill his Father’s will to the Nth degree. Because of that faithful obedience, God exalts him to the highest heights.
4. The picture is of a victory parade with the Servant as conqueror, bringing home the spoils of conquest. He receives treasure as a result of his redemptive work.
5. This is a theme in the NT as well. Jesus receiving the plunder (Is.49:24-26).
a. Mark 3:27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
b. Luke 11:21–22 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. (Cf. Ephesians 4:7–8)
c. Today He is collecting His treasures — and setting the captives free.
6. Why will God reward Him in this way? “Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors.”
7. “The Servant will be exalted to the highest heaven (52:13) not because he was humiliated (although he was), not because he suffered unjustly (although he did), not because he did it voluntarily (although he did), but because it was all in order to carry the sin of the world away to permit God’s children to come home to him.” – Oswalt
V. What about you and me?
A. How can we spurn such a great salvation?
B. It doesn’t come to everyone. It only comes to those who embrace it.