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Sermon #2273[i]                                                                    Miscellaneous Sermons

      Title:                     A Blind and Deaf Savior

      Text:                      Isaiah 42:18-21

      Subject:   Jehovah’s Servant Blind and Deaf

      Introduction:

Open your Bibles with me to the 42^nd chapter of the Gospel of Isaiah. I want to talk to you about — A Blind and Deaf Savior. — My text is Isaiah 42:18-21. — A Blind and Deaf Savior (Isaiah 42:18-21).

I am sure the title of my message sounds a little strange to you (A Blind and Deaf Savior); but I assure you that before I am done, if God the Holy Ghost will speak his Word to your heart through this worthless, empty, dirty, and broken pipe, you will leave here rejoicing in our Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Servant, — A Blind and Deaf Savior.

(Isaiah 42:18-21) “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Who is blind, but my Servant? Or deaf, as my Messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant? ⁽²⁰⁾ Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. ⁽²¹⁾ The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.”

Is he blind who is our Light and our Salvation? Is he blind who directs our path and guides us in his way? Is he blind of whom it is written, “in him is no darkness at all?” Is he blind, of whom it is said, “Thou God seest me?” Is he blind, whom Zechariah beheld as the Stone in which were seven eyes?

Is he deaf who has promised, “It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear?” Is he deaf to whom all flesh shall come? Is he deaf who bids us come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need? He is, indeed. Let me show you how.

Proposition: Our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is Jehovah’s blind Servant and deaf Messenger.

Let’s begin reading at Isaiah 42:1. I will be working my way to my text and my subject in verses 18-21.

Here is Jehovah’s Righteous Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

(Isaiah 42:1-21) “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine Elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. ⁽²⁾ He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. ⁽³⁾ A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. ⁽⁴⁾ He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Here is our Savior’s commission as Jehovah’s Servant, as our covenant Surety.

⁽⁵⁾ Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: ⁽⁶⁾ I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; ⁽⁷⁾ To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.[1] ⁽⁸⁾ I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

⁽⁹⁾ Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

In the light of this great revelation of grace God’s prophet erupts in rapturous praise to our God. — Before going on to tell us how this shall be accomplished, Isaiah calls for all who experience God’s salvation to give praise to the Triune Jehovah, the God of all grace.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. ⁽¹¹⁾ Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the Rock[2] sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. ⁽¹²⁾ Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.

Why? Why should we give such praise to God? — Read on.

⁽¹³⁾ The LORD shall go forth (conquering and to conquer) as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy (zealous envy) like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.[3]

⁽¹⁴⁾ I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. ⁽¹⁵⁾ I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

⁽¹⁶⁾ And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.[4]

⁽¹⁷⁾ They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.”

Now, let’s look at verses 18-21 and see how all this is done.

God’s Call

Read verse 18, and hear God’s call. Here, the Lord God himself calls deaf sinners to hear to him and blind sinners to look to him. — “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.”

This is the nature of all our race. — We are by nature spiritually deaf and blind. We cannot hear and we cannot see in any spiritual sense. If you are here without Christ, the words of verse 18 describe you.

• You are deaf. You cannot hear. — You are “like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely” (Psalm 58:4-5).
• Yet, the Lord God calls you to hear his voice (Proverbs 1:23-33; Matthew 11:28-30).

(Proverbs 1:23-33) “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. ⁽²⁴⁾ Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; ⁽²⁵⁾ But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: ⁽²⁶⁾ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; ⁽²⁷⁾ When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. ⁽²⁸⁾ Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: ⁽²⁹⁾ For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: ⁽³⁰⁾ They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. ⁽³¹⁾ Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. ⁽³²⁾ For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. ⁽³³⁾ But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”

(Matthew 11:28-30) “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ⁽²⁹⁾ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ⁽³⁰⁾ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

• You are blind (John 3:5-7). You do not see and cannot see — Your Sin, — God’s Son, — God’s Salvation.
• Yet, God calls you to look to Christ and be saved (Isaiah 45:22; John 1:29) — The Brazen Serpent

You may be thinking, “That’s ridiculous. If I’m deaf, how can I hear? If I am blind, how can I look?” — God told Ezekiel to preach to dry bones: “O ye dry bones! Hear the word of the Lord.” He told John the Baptist to preach to men as dead and deaf and blind as the stones of Jordan. — It is while we are speaking, and through the very words we speak, that God gives life, and hearing ears, and seeing eyes.

·      Hear and your soul shall live!

·      Look and you shall be saved!

·      If you will, you can!

·      If you can, you will!

Christ Blind and Deaf

Now, look at verse 19. Remember, as you read these words, the Lord God, speaking by his prophet Isaiah, is describing our Lord Jesus Christ, his Servant and his Messenger.

(Isaiah 42:19) “Who is blind, but my Servant? Or deaf, as my Messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?”

Blind

“Who is blind, but my Servant?” — While he walked on this earth as our Substitute, our Surety, our Representative, doing the will of God on our behalf, for the accomplishment of our eternal salvation, God’s Servant was blind, indeed, blind to all the obstacles before him, blind to everything that opposed the redemption of our souls.

Illustration: The Battle of Copenhagen 1801 — Admiral Hyde Parker — Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson — Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye and said, “I see no signal to retreat.” Nelson was deliberately blind to Parker’s orders and won a great, great victory for Britain over the Danes.

So our Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Righteous Servant was blind, wilfully, deliberately blind to the obstacles that lay before him.

• The Allurements of Satan in the Wilderness of Temptation.
• The Influence of Cherished Family and Friends.
• The Divine Justice that Must be Satisfied.
• His Own Will — Gethsemane!

• The horrors of hell awaiting him, as he prepared to bare our sin in his body on the tree.

Deaf

“Or deaf, as my Messenger that I sent?” — The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Messenger, the Messenger of the Covenant, sent by the Triune Jehovah to reveal God to man.

• The Word of God!
• The Revelation of God!
• The Unveiling of God!
• The Sent One of God!

(Job 33:23-24) “If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: ⁽²⁴⁾ Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.”

As God’s Messenger, our Lord Jesus was deaf while he went about life doing the will of God, accomplishing our salvation. He was…

• Deaf to Satan’s temptations.
• Deaf to the slanders heaped upon him.
• Deaf to the accusations of his accusers.
• Deaf to the taunts and jeers of men.

Blind and Deaf Today

Look at those words again. There is much, much more in them than we can imagine. Our dear Lord Jesus was blind and deaf in his humiliation and suffering, in his obedience as Jehovah’s Servant. —— And, blessed be his name forever, he is still both blind and deaf, — blessedly, deliberately, determinately blind and deaf as our Savior.

(Isaiah 42:19) “Who is blind, but my Servant? Or deaf, as my Messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?”

The last part of this verse, if I read it right, refers specifically to our Savior’s glory as Jehovah’s successful Servant, having been made perfect by the things he suffered (Hebrews 5:9). Jehovah’s perfect Servant, “the Author of eternal salvation,” is both blind and deaf. — “Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant?” — He is perfect who has “perfected forever them that are sanctified!”

• Perfect God!
• Perfect Man!
• Perfect Sacrifice!
• Perfect Prophet!
• Perfect Priest!
• Perfect King!
• Perfect Advocate!
• Perfect Messenger!
• Perfect Interpreter!

He who is our perfect Savior, Jehovah’s perfect Servant, is blind to the sins of his people. — Do you see that in verse 20?

“Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.”

Shem and Japheth were aware of Noah’s sin, but unlike their brother Ham, they refused to look upon it and covered it. So our blessed Savior is aware of our sin, but is blind to it, because he has covered it, atoned for it, and put it away.

God our Savior is blind to our sins! — He’s aware of them, but he does not observe them. He never charges them to us (Psalm 32:1-4; Romans 4:8). This is one of the most wondrous, glorious aspects of gospel truth to be found in Holy Scripture. It fell from the mouth of Balaam, a false prophet, by the inspiration of God the Holy Ghost, and is recorded in Numbers 23:21. — “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.”

Much Sin in Us

Those words do not suggest that there was no sin in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. There was an abundance of perverseness among them. But the Lord God did not mark the sins of his people against them, he did not impute sin to his chosen, he did not look upon their sins with the eye of his justice; but hid his face from them and forgave them. — “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.” He did not at the time Balaam spoke, or after Balaam spoke, or before Balaam spoke. — “He hath not (ever, at any time) beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he (ever, at any time) seen perverseness in Israel.” And that which God did for his elect among the children of Israel, he has done for his elect in Christ, his true Israel, “the Israel of God.”

Though there is much sin in us and done by us, as every true believer readily admits and confesses (1 John 1:8, 10), yet God sees no sin in his people. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to destroy, purge, remove, and take away the sins of his people; and he has done it (John 1:29; Hebrews 1:3; 9:26; 1 John 3:5).

(John 1:29) “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

(Hebrews 1:1-3) “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

(Hebrews 9:26) “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

(1 John 3:5) “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

All the sins of God’s elect were laid upon Christ and made his, he bore them in his own body on the tree, endured and satisfied the wrath of God for them, and bore them away. The Son of God redeemed us from the curse of the law, made an end of our sins, and justified and sanctified us by his blood. God almighty has, through the effectual atonement of Christ, so thoroughly blotted out our sins that he does not behold them. He has cast our sins into the depth of the sea. He has cast our sins behind his back. He has removed them from us as far as the east is from the west, and remembers them no more. This is the doctrine I have travelled more than 10,000 miles in the past two weeks to declare to everybody who would hear me, the message I’ve come here to declare to you.

What I am preaching to you, the fact that God sees no sin in his people, is a most glorious, comforting doctrine of the gospel, “without which,” John Gill appropriately declared, “the gospel must cease to be good news and glad tidings to the sons of men.”

The record books of heaven record no iniquity, no transgression, and no sin against God’s elect. God will not impute sin to his saints, or require satisfaction from us because when Christ was made sin for us our sins were imputed to him, paid for by him, and expunged from the book of God’s offended justice by our Savior’s precious blood. Read the testimony of Holy Scripture and rejoice (Romans 4:8; 8:1, 33, 34; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21).

(Romans 4:8) “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

(Romans 8:1) “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

(Romans 8:33-34) “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. (34) Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

(2 Corinthians 5:19-21) “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

I want so much for every one of you who trust Christ to get hold of this blessed, glorious fact. — Our Savior who is both our God and God’s Servant, is blind to our sins! — “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.” Rejoice in it. Give praise to God for it. And walk in the blessed comfort and assurance of it all the days of your life.

The Lord Jesus Christ has, by the sacrifice of himself, put away our sins, all of them, past, present, and future. They were made his, imputed to him, laid upon him, punished in him, and put away by him.

·      Isaiah 53:4-6

·      Daniel 9:24 — He made an end of sin!

·      Zechariah 3:9 — He removed all the iniquity of his people in one day, by one sacrifice!

·      The Scapegoat!

·      Acts 13:38-39

·      Hebrews 10:11-14

·      “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.”

God, the Triune Jehovah, has, upon the ground of Christ’s blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction, freely and fully forgiven all the sins of his people.

• The blood of Christ, like the blood on the mercy-seat, covers our sins, so that our sins are not visible to the eyes of God’s holy justice.
• The blood of Christ has blotted our sins out of the ledger book of heaven, so that justice cannot see sin in us.
• For Christ’s sake, the holy Lord God has cast our sins behind his back and into the depth of the sea, so that they are not only forgotten, but gone, insofar as his law and justice are concerned!

(Jeremiah 23:6) “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

(Jeremiah 33:16) “In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.”

(Jeremiah 50:20) “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.”

In God’s esteem, in the eyes of God, as God sees things, (And the way God sees things is the way they really are!) you and I are, as the church and bride of Christ, the very perfection of beauty and holiness. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit look upon us in Christ, washed in his blood and robed in his righteousness as beautiful, perfect, complete, holy, unblameable, and unreproveable (Ezekiel 16:14; Song of Solomon 4:7, 9; Ephesians 5:25-27; Jude 24-25).

(Song of Songs 4:7) “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”

(Song of Songs 4:9) “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.”

(Ezekiel 16:14) “And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.”

(Ephesians 5:25-27) “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

(Jude 1:24-25) “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (25) To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.” The Lord our God “hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.”

·      He never has.

·      He does not now.

·      He will not tomorrow.

·      He will not in the judgment.

·      He cannot ever, because he once beheld them in his dear Son, our blessed, all-glorious Lord Jesus Christ!

(Psalms 40:12) “Innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.”

(Psalms 69:5) “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”

Deaf Too

Now, watch this — Our Savior is not only blind to our sins, he is deaf to Satan’s accusations, when he would raise Moses up to condemn us (Zechariah 3:1-10).

(Zechariah 3:1-10) “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. ⁽²⁾ And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? ⁽³⁾ Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. ⁽⁴⁾ And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. ⁽⁵⁾ And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. ⁽⁶⁾ And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, ⁽⁷⁾ Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. ⁽⁸⁾ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. ⁽⁹⁾ For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ⁽¹⁰⁾ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.”

• Deaf to our murmurings!
• Deaf to our secret blasphemies!
• Deaf to the accusings of our own hearts!
• Deaf to Satan’s Accusations.

Jehovah Pleased

How is it possible for God our Savior to be blind to our sins and deaf to every accusation hell and our own unbelieving minds raise against us? Look at verse 21, and you will see. — Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Servant, God’s Messenger has magnified the law and made it honorable.

“The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.”

·      By His Righteous Life!

·      By His Sin-atoning Death!

·      The Lord is well pleased!

Oh, may the Lord our God, the God of all grace, give you grace to hear his call today, for Christ’s sake.

(Isaiah 42:18-21) “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Who is blind, but my servant? Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant? ⁽²⁰⁾ Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. ⁽²¹⁾ The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.”

Oh, Spirit of God, make me such a servant!

·      Blind to my own will.

·      Blind to the obstacles that stand before me and the enemies who oppose me.

·      Blind to offenses.

·      Blind to the sins of my brethren.

·      Deaf to rumors.

·      Deaf to slander.

·      Deaf to accusations.

Amen.

Don Fortner

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