Sermon
# 165 Series: Isaiah
Title: Five Astonishing Facts in
Isaiah 53
Text: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
Subject: Isaiah’s Prophecy of
Christ’s Saving Work
Date: Sunday Evening – October 24, 1993
Introduction:
The
Bible is A Book with one message, and that message is
substitution. Substitution was the
message of the Old Testament, just as it is the message of the New
Testament. The Old
Testament is the New Testament concealed.
The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. But the message of both is
substitution. In the Old Testament the
substitutionary work of Christ was presented in picture and in prophecy, while
in the New Testament it is clearly revealed and explained. This is the one message of Holy Scripture
and the one theme of all the prophets, apostles, and preachers in biblical
times. And the
substitutionary work of Christ ought to be the constant theme of God’s servants
today. This is the message which must
be sounded out from our pulpits. This
is the doctrine of the Bible – Jesus Christ, The Son of God, The Lord of Glory, took
upon himself our sins and endured the strict fulness of God’s holy wrath
against sin in the place of his people.
He satisfied in our place, as our Representative, every claim of divine
justice against us. Taking the sins of his people upon himself, he removed
them from us and gave us, by way of legal imputation, his perfect
righteousness. I mean that Jesus Christ
did actually redeem, pardon, and justify his people by his death and
resurrection. “By his own blood he entered
once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb. 9:12).
This
message of substitution is the central message of the Bible.
So I
make no apology for preaching this blessed message to you again. In fact, I hope never to be turned aside
from this glorious theme – “In due time, Christ did for the ungodly.”
My
subject is – Five Astonishing Facts In
Isaiah 53. Someone has suggested that Isaiah 53 is the text upon which the rest of the Bible is
a sermon. It has always been treasured
by the people of God. There is no need
for me to prove to you that this prophecy speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ and
his substitutionary death at Calvary.
The scriptures are abundantly clear in this matter – (Lk. 22:37; John
12:38; Acts 8:26-35; I Pet. 2:21-25). As I read Isaiah 53, I know that I am reading a prophecy,
written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ; but it is so accurate and
detailed that it appears to have been written by one who was an eye-witness of
the crucifixion. This 53rd chapter of Isaiah has been the means of salvation
for many. It was from this text that
Phillip preached Jesus to the Eunuch.
And it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will bless this message to your
hearts and bring some to Christ this day.
Proposition: Here the prophet of God shows us that – The Messiah,
God’s Servant Would Deliver His People And Establish His Kingdom By His Atoning
Death And Resurrection.
Divisions:
Here
are Five Astonishing Facts In Isaiah 53 –
1. Here is An Astonishing
Report – (52:13-15). A Redeemer is coming into the world.
2. An Astonishing Rejection – (53:1-3) When The Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world he was despised and rejected by men.
3. An Astonishing Representation – (4-9) All that the Son of
God suffered as he hung upon the cross was voluntarily endured by him as the Substitute
for sinners.
4. An Astonishing Revelation – (10-11) The sacrificial death
of the Lord Jesus Christ was a sure and successful fulfillment of the covenant
of grace.
5. An Astonishing Result – (12) Because of his success
as our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to the place of
sovereign and universal Lordship for the welfare of his people and the glory of
his own great name.
I. Here is an Astonishing
Report – (52:13-15).
Eight
hundred years before our Lord was manifest in human flesh the prophet of God,
being moved by the Spirit of God, declared that A Redeemer Is
Coming Into The World.
“Behold!” Stop and listen.
Pay attention to what I am about to tell you. Here is good news for hell deserving, guilty sinners. God almighty is so merciful,
gracious, and willing to save that he sent his own beloved Son into the world
to save sinners! (I Tim 1:15).
A. The Lord Jesus Christ Came
Into This World As God’s Servant – (13).
The
Son of God voluntarily agreed to become the Servant of his Father’s will and
decree – (Ps. 40:7-8).
1. He is God’s Servant.
2. Once his work was finished, the Son of God
was promised exaltation, power, dominion, and glory.
3. Our Lord Condescended To Great
Depths Of Humiliation To Redeem His People – (14).
C. The Sure Result Of Our Lord’s
Humiliation Is The Reign Of His Grace – (15).
Our
Lord was promised a universal kingdom and universal dominion as the result of
his substitutionary sacrifice. Since he paid the price of our redemption he has been
given the power and authority required to secure the everlasting salvation of
his people. Because Jesus Christ reigns as
The King of glory his gospel is preached among the nations and his grace is
dispensed throughout the world.
II. Here is An Astonishing
Rejection (53:1-3). When the Lord Jesus Christ came into this
world he was despised and rejected of men.
All men by nature are opposed
to the Lord Jesus Christ. The natural heart is enmity
toward the Son of God. No man, left to
himself, will come to Christ, trust him, and embrace him- (John 5:40).
It
would seem that all men would welcome the revelation of the long promised
Redeemer; but it is not so. “He came
unto his own, but his own received him not.”
To them that believe not, the Lord Jesus Christ is a stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense.
A. The Message Of The Gospel Has
Never Been Popularly Received – (1).
Isaiah
was astonished that the Son of God would suffer and die for sinners. But he was even mere astonished by the fact
that men who desperately need salvation reject the message of salvation.
1. It is a message worthy to be
believed.
a. It is a good message of good
things.
(1.)
Reconciliation
between man and God.
(2.)
Perfect
Righteousness.
(3.)
Finished
Redemption.
(4.)
Complete
Atonement.
(5.)
Accomplished
Justification.
(6.)
Full
Pardon.
(7.)
Eternal
Life.
b. The gospel message is faithful
and true.
2. But the blessed gospel of
God’s free grace can only be known and believed by Divine Revelation.
“The
arm of the Lord” is a figurative term which signifies the active, almighty
power of the Lord Jehovah. The Lord’s arm is that by which he executes his purpose.
a. Where is the arm of the Lord
seen?
(1.)
Creation
(Jer. 27:5; 32:17).
(2.)
Redemption
(Ex. 6:6; Ps. 77:15).
(3.)
Salvation
(Is. 59:16).
(4.)
Providence
(Is. 51:5).
(5.)
Preservation
(Is. 40:11).
b. What is the character of the
arm of the Lord?
(1.)
It
is Almighty.
(2.)
It
is Guided by Unerring Wisdom.
(3.)
It
is Controlled by Unfailing Love.
(4.)
It is Always Effectual.
B. Our Lord Made His Appearance
Without Pomp or Pagentry, Form or Ceremony – (2).
He is
the Servant of Jehovah, the Son of God; but he made his appearance in great humiliation
– (Phil. 2:5-7).
C. Because of His Humiliation, He
was Despised And Rejected Of Men – (3).
It came to pass, even as it was written, “They hated me without a cause.” Let me tell you why you despise the Son of God and reject him.
1. You do not feel your need of him.
2. You are ignorant of God’s righteousness.
3. You are too proud to be saved by faith in Christ.
4. His beauty and grace has never been revealed to you.
5. You refuse to bow to his claims.
Behold the man of sorrow who is acquainted with grief. His life was one of continual sorrow, from the cradle to the cross. He ate his bread with sorrow all the days of his life.
III. Here is An Astonishing
Representation – (4-9). My friends, all that the
Son of God suffered as he hung upon the cross, he voluntarily endured as the
Substitute of God’s elect.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came to
be born at Bethlehem in order to suffer and die in our place at Calvary. “For this cause came I unto this hour.” (Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 10:5-10).
In the covenant of grace our Lord agreed to come as our Redeemer. It was promised in the Old Testament scriptures that he would come to redeem us. And in the fulness of time he actually obtained eternal redemption for us by his voluntary sacrifice at Calvary.
In
these verses Isaiah gives us five points of instruction about the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
A. Our Lord Died As A Substitutionary Sacrifice For Sin.
Everything
Christ died upon the earth and in his death he did a the eternal Surety and
legal Representative of his people – (4-8).
(John 10:11, 15; II Cor. 5:21).
B. The Lord Jesus Christ Voluntarily Laid Down His Life For Us – (7). (Is. 50:5-7; I Pet. 2:21-24).
1. The law had no claim upon him.
2. Man had no power over him.
3. We had no claim upon him.
4. He voluntarily, willingly made
himself to die for us. (Jo. 18).
a.
Because
He had Sworn to do so.
b.
Because
he loved Us.
c.
For
the glory of His Father.
C. Our Savior was Successful And
Effectual In
His Great Work of Redemption – “With his stripes we are healed.”
It is
not possible that the Son of God should suffer in an attempt to save sinners
who perish in hell. That blasphemy
would make his death a failure.
Complete atonement Thou hast
made,
And to the utmost farthing
paid,
Whate’er thy people owed;
Payment God cannot twice
demand,
First at my bleeding Surety’s
hand,
And then again at mine.
When the Son of God died his people were then and there redeemed, justified and pardoned.
D. The Sacrifice of Christ was A Just Atonement For Sin. (9).
The
infinite and innocent Son of God laid down his life for guilty sinners and made
an infinite satisfaction to Divine Justice for us – (Rom. 3:24-26).
E. And The Lord Jesus Christ Laid Down His Life
For Guilty, Hell-Deserving Sinners, Like You And Me – (6, 8, 9).
He
laid down his life in our place. He
took our place for a time that we might take his place for eternity. He died that we might live.
IV. Here is An Astonishing
Revelation –
(10-11). The sacrificial death of the
Lord Jesus Christ is a sure and successful fulfillment of the covenant of
grace.
Here
the Holy Spirit revealed by the prophet Isaiah that our Savior’s
Substitutionary sacrifice for sin would
be a grand and glorious success, actually accomplishing all that he agreed to
perform before the world was.
A. The Death Of Christ At Calvary
Was The Work Of God, His Father – “Yet, it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” (Acts 2:23; 4:28; 13:29).
It
did not please the Lord to see his Son suffer.
But he was pleased to bruise his Son in order to accomplish the
redemption and salvation of his people.
B. That Which Sustained Our Lord
In His Agony Was The Prospect Of Seeing His Seed With Satisfaction. This was the joy set before him.
For
these people, and these alone, his soul was made an offering for sin.
C. Because Of His Satisfactory
Death, The Son Of God Lives Again – “He shall prolong his days.”
The
resurrection of Christ is proof positive of his finished work of
redemption. He put away sin. (Rom.
8:32-35).
D. Today, The Pleasure Of The
Lord Prospers In His Hand.
E. He Will Have Every Soul For
Whom He Died With Him In Glory.
F. By The Knowledge Of Christ A Vast Multitude
Shall Be Justified.
G. And, All Of This Is Sure. Because He Has Born Our Sin Away By The Sacrifice Of Himself.
V. In the last place, Here is An Astonishing Result- (12). Because of his success as our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted to the place of sovereign and universal Lordship for the welfare of his people and the glory of his own great name.
As the result of his obedience as our Surety the Son of God sits today upon the throne of total dominion. (John 17:1-4; Phil. 2:9-11). (Rom. 14:9).
A. The Son of God Must Have The Spoils Of His Labor.
B. It Is Not Possible For Jesus Christ To Lose His Purchased Possession.
The Lord God will give him His People, because he hath poured out his soul unto death fro them.
C. Today, He Makes Intercession For Those Very Transgressors For Whom He Died At Calvary.
D. Christ On The Throne Fills My Heart With
Comfort.
Because he is on the throne, it is well with my soul. Christ on the throne assures me of many things.
1. My sin is all gone.
2. All things work together for good to me.
3. I shall never perish.
Application:
How Can I Know That This Blessed Substitute Died For Me?
1. He has been revealed in my heart.
2. I willingly bow to his dominion.
3. I trust him alone as my Lord and Savior.
4. Will you come to Christ in faith?