Good Friday - Friday, April 2, 2021 PM

The Suffering Servant Bears Our Iniquities

Look up our pain and consider him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted, was pierced for our, was crushed for our inequities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we all, like sheep, have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to the Lord as laid on him of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent. So he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave for the wicked and with the rich.

For he had done many deceit in it. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer his life in offering for sin. He will see his offspring and prolong his days and the will of prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered 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. Something that we missed out on last year.

Thankful to be able to come together this year and put our attention upon Christ crucified. So here in a moment Lisa is going to play for us and we're going to spend some time praying and asking God to help us tonight to worship him, help us to treasure Christ and to consider all the riches and all of the significance of Jesus crucified for us.

And as we listen to the scripture read for us and as we hear the scripture preached to us as we sing these hymns and as we pray together and share in communion my heart's desire for all of us is that we would indeed put our attention upon Christ and him crucified and treasure that and rejoice in the grace of God that we see there.

We pray tonight that you would give us grace to turn our eyes upon Jesus. That indeed the things of the world would grow dim in the light of your glory and your presence tonight. Help us tonight to remember.

Help us to remember Christ crucified. Bearing in his body on the tree not his sins but ours. Lord as we come together tonight may we be still, may we draw near. Help us to lay our burdens at the feet of the cross tonight.

Thank you for Jesus our burden bearer. Lord Jesus we remember your words when you said that if I be lifted up I will draw all men to myself. Lord draw us into your presence. Thank you for your heart of love for us that you will willingly freely gave yourself in our place.

The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Lord we give you glory and honor and blessing and praise. For you are worthy the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. We bow before you tonight.

May you be may you be glorified in our praises tonight. In Jesus name we pray amen.

The Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52–53

Good evening saints. If you would rise with me and turn your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 52. And let's turn our hearts and our affections to Christ the suffering servant. We'll begin reading in verse 13 if you would with me instead of 12.

Let's begin in verse 13. Behold my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you. So his visage was marred more than any man. And his form more than the sons of men.

So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at him. For what had not been told them they shall see. And what they had not heard they shall consider. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant. And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness. And when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by men.

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him.

As we praise our Lord together. His sacrifice. Please turn with me to page 175. Hallelujah water savior.

Continue with verse 4 of chapter 53. Surely he has borne our griefs. And carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken. Smitten by God. And afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes. We are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone. To his own way. And the Lord has laid on him. The iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep before his shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment.

And who will declare his generation. For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people. He was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked. But with the rich at his death.

Because he had done no violence. Nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul. An offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days.

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul. And be satisfied. By his knowledge. My righteous servant shall justify many. For he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors. And he bore the sin of many.

And made intercession for the transgressors. Thus far the reading of the Holy Scripture. Precious Father we come to you. And we contemplate these things. And they are certainly marvelous in our eyes. Lord how to fully appreciate.

This the greatest of all injustices that was ever wrought. That the holy and the just one should be judged. Should be condemned. That he should suffer your wrath. That he should be rejected from your presence.

And not for his sins but for ours Lord. And it slays us. How unworthy of such great sacrifice we are. That you should pour out your love and your compassion. And your mercy and your grace. And satisfy all of your judgment.

On the back of your son. Shall we praise you. Lord we are yours. We are bought at a price. We are not our own we belong to you. Both now and forever more. And we shall render your praise. Lord fill our mouths and our hearts and our lives.

And our obedience and our love. With all that is worthy of your name. But we ask it. In the name of your most blessed son.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Sing with me together. Oh sacred head now wounded.

Christ Crucified in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

Your Bibles and turn with me to. First Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter 1. I'll begin reading in verse 18 in a moment. Of course it is no surprise. That we're going to talk about Christ. Crucified.

Tonight of all nights. But it is my desire for us. That. Starting tonight with Good Friday and. Moving towards Easter. That we're going to keep on talking about. Christ crucified. And Christ risen the third day.

And to keep that up all the way to. Ascension Sunday. Talk about Christ at the right hand of God. Because Jesus Christ. God incarnate. The dust of earth the breath of heaven the word of God. Jesus Christ is the light in which we live our days.

And he is the hope in which we spend our nights. Everything in this world is about Jesus Christ. Everything in this world is about Jesus Christ. And so we take time and we stop. On this Friday in the year.

To recall Christ. Crucified. In this letter. First Corinthians Paul is laboring. For a church that he has spent a great deal of time with.

Three.

Three years of ministry. Total and Corinth he. Is compassionate towards them he loves them. He's burdened for them. And there's division in the church. There's division in the church a lot of disunity.

There's a lot of focus upon man. And Paul knows the problem with that. When there's a lot of focus on man there's a lot of disunity. There's a lot of prideful division. When there's a focus on man. And so he brings their attention to.

The one he knows will unify them and direct them. And sanctify them and heal them. And that of course is Jesus Christ. You may not be aware. But there is a whole lot of disunity in the. Evangelical church in North America.

You may have heard a thing or two about that. A lot of disunity. And I think that by and large sadly. Folks just don't know the things that would make. For peace. Things don't know they don't know the things that would make.

For peace.

There's a lot of disunity in the church because there's a lot of focus on man. What does man think? What does man want? But there's not a lot of focus upon Jesus Christ and him crucified. Making man the center.

Will bring the misery of prideful division. And division is a shame.

Division is a shame.

I remember R .C. Sproul saying one time. If we disagree doctrinally. It's a bad thing. But we can't kill truth in the streets for the sake of peace. And God has not hidden truth from our eyes. But he has revealed truth in his son Jesus Christ.

Division is a problem. And that's why Paul is writing to help. A divided church flounders. A divided church is ineffective. A divided church is not very. Not very good at pressing the crown rights of Jesus Christ.

Into every sphere of society. Making disciples of the nations. Evangelizing the lost. But drinking more of Satan's divisive brew. Is never going to sober us up. What we need to focus on. And what we need to have.

Is the power of Christ crucified. And the provision of Christ crucified. And the preaching of Christ crucified. Which is exactly what Paul presents to the Corinthians. In our text. Exactly what we need.

So if you would please stand with me. I'm going to read 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 18 to verse 5 of chapter 2. This is the word of the Lord. For the message of the cross. For the message of the cross.

Is foolishness. To those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved. It is the power of God. For it is written. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God. The world through wisdom did not know God.

It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached. To save those who believe. For Jews request a sign. And Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews a stumbling block.

And to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are called. Both Jews and Greeks. Christ the power of God. And the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling brethren. That not many wise according to the flesh. Not many mighty. Not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world. To put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world.

To put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world. And the things which are despised. God has chosen. And the things which are not. To bring to nothing the things that are.

That no flesh. Should glory in his presence. But of him. You are in Christ Jesus. Who became for us. Wisdom from God. And righteousness. And sanctification. And redemption. That as it is written. He who glories.

Let him glory in the Lord. And I brethren when I came to you. Did not come with excellence of speech. Or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing. Not to know anything among you.

Except Jesus Christ. And him crucified. I was with you in weakness. And fear. And in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not. With persuasive words of human wisdom. But in demonstration of the spirit and of power.

That your faith should not be. In the wisdom of men. But in the power of God. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. First of all. Let's give thanks for the power. Of Christ crucified. Paul starts off by strongly.

Making a contrast between. The wisdom of God. And the so called wisdom of men. And he talks about the message of the cross. The message of the cross. What is the message of the cross? We have been singing it.

We have been hearing it read to us from Isaiah. What is the message of Christ. Crucified. Jesus Christ our savior. Fully God and fully man. Lived the life. The only life that pleased the father. In every respect.

And he lived that life for us. In our place and for our sake. And he died upon the cross. As the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As the sacrifice offered up to propitiate. The justice of God.

The wrath of God. As the sacrifice that would take away our sins. From the very presence of God. Jesus Christ. Brings himself. Before in between us and God. The holy God and us sinful people. To mediate by his own righteousness.

By his own blood. So that we would know God's forgiveness. That God who has revealed himself as. Ultimately good and ultimately holy. And ultimately powerful. God who has revealed his wrath in the flood.

Sodom and Gomorrah. Setting Mount Sinai on fire. When we consider the power and wrath. Of a holy God. The pictures, the symbols, the visions. When we think of Isaiah in the throne room of God. God in the vision.

The message of the cross is that Jesus. Mediates between this holy God. And suffers the wrath. Of this holy God. As our substitute sacrifice. So that we would. We the sinner. We the fool. We the slave of the enemy.

That we would be delivered. That we would be rescued. That we would be saved. That we would be brought before God. And that he who knew no sin. Became sin on our behalf. That we might be called the righteousness of God.

We who have no claim to it.

At all.

But Jesus died in our place. And for our sake. He was raised the third day. Our savior. Our mediator. The message of the cross. The message of the cross. That we have at one mint. Tyndale's coinage of the term.

At one mint. Atonement. We are brought together with God. So that we may be reconciled at one. Our guilt. Propitiated before God. Jesus Christ. Bearing our curse. That we would be justified. Before God.

That he would look upon us and say. Not guilty. Fully welcome. My child forgiven. The message of the cross. The message of the cross. Is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved.

It is the power of God. It is the power of God. For it is written. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Paul quotes from Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 29.

Listen.

Listen to what. Isaiah says. Beginning verse 13 of Isaiah 29. Therefore the Lord said. Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths. And honor me with their lips. But have removed their hearts far from me.

And their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men. They are saying all the right things. They are saying all the right things. But their heart is nowhere near. Religion has become for them a covering.

So they can look good. Not for communion. So that they can love God. Therefore behold. I will again do a marvelous work among this people. A marvelous work and a wonder. For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish.

And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden. Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord. And their works are in the dark. They say who sees us and who knows us. Surely you have things turned around.

Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay? For shall the thing made say to him who made it. He did not make me. Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it. He is no understanding. It is not yet a very little while.

Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field. And the fruitful field is esteemed as a forest. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book. And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord. And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. God says I'm going to turn things around. All the arrogant and the prideful among men.

So they've got it covered. They've got God mastered. They've figured it all out. They've got the formula. He said I'm going to undo them all. And the deaf will hear. And the blind will see. And the hopeless will have hope.

The message of the cross totally undoes everything. The message of Christ crucified. Now the response. Paul is putting this in front of the Christians in Corinth. Because they're all divided. And they all have their named heroes and their named leaders.

And they're all in their factions. And they're all in disunity. But then Paul wants them to focus on how it was that they came to believe in Christ in the first place. How it was that they're saved at all.

Because in that, they will be delivered from unnecessary prideful divisions. You see, the preaching of the gospel is folly to the perishing. So the perishing, those who are without Christ, those who are dead in their trespasses and sins.

When they hear the message of the cross, they say that's stupid. That's shameful. That's scandalous. They mock it. They can't believe that anybody could believe that human sacrifice is a good thing. Even if it's built on the sacrificial system of animals.

How barbaric. That anybody, you know, 2 ,000 years ago could die in some horrific way. So what if he did? That doesn't have anything to do with anybody's guilt today. Corporate or individual. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

You're just using that as escapism. You're believing in a myth. You're just trying to find a way to make yourself feel good. It is folly to those who are perishing. What do you think you're going to do to make them like it?

Well, you could give up on it. Many people have done that. But it is life to the believing. It is folly. It is folly to those who are perishing. But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.

It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. It was in God's own wisdom that the world, through all of their wondrous wisdom, could never get to God. No matter what tower of Babel full of wisdom that they could conspire to build, they could never make their way to God.

In God's wisdom, He frustrated all of the efforts of man. And so they are shown to be foolish. It is folly to the perishing, but it is life to the believing. To the called, those who believe. Those are the ones who are being saved.

In Christ is life, and this life is the light of men. And it exposes the darkness, and it shames men's folly. The power of Christ crucified is such that we are reconciled to a holy God. Light is shown upon everything and everyone, everywhere.

The lines are drawn. There's only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who rejoice in Christ, and those who don't. How clarifying is that? There are just those who rejoice in Jesus Christ, and those who don't.

Two types of people in the world, and those who have been reconciled to a holy God. We rejoice. We rejoice. Not in our identities, not in our wisdom, not in our strength, not making much of ourselves.

We are not 45 races and 216 genders. There are those who are being saved, and those who are not saved. There are those who are being gathered into Jerusalem, and those who are left outside of it.

And that's it.

And then there's the provision of Christ crucified, verses 26 through 31. We are to consider our calling. You see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.

Christ died for all without distinction. He died for great men and powerful men like Abraham and David. And he died for small men and halting men like Lot and Mephibosheth. Consider the church. Consider the church.

Is the secret to her global, multi-generational dominance that she boasts more wise, more mighty, more noble than anybody else? Is that the key to success?

Hardly. Hardly.

God has inexorably called out a people whose overcoming only makes sense in Christ crucified. Look, it's all about God's choice. God has chosen, verse 27, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise.

And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in his presence.

What is the purpose of the Bible telling us? It's about what God has chosen, what God has done, so that we will not boast before the face of God. We will not brag and boast and glory in man, but that we would boast and brag and glory in God.

Verse 30, but of him, because of his choice, you are in Christ Jesus. And look, Jesus is for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Wisdom. Understanding why it is that things happen, and how it is that we are to respond.

To be able to approach any question and begin to answer it, humbly depending upon the Lord. All of the wisdom of God is treasured and stored up in Jesus Christ. And we have access to the wisdom of God because we are in Christ Jesus.

The provision of Christ crucified. Every blessing that we have comes from Jesus Christ and him crucified. You're not going to find grace and blessing outside of him. And righteousness, positionally, right before God.

Who will bring a charge against God's elect? But not only positionally, but also progressing in righteousness. You want to know which way to go is right? How do I know what choice is right in my relationships?

Which choice is right with my stewardship? What choice is right? Follow Jesus. And sanctification, positionally, holy unto God. Made living stones. Made acceptable to be brought together to build the temple.

And that we become more and more holy in our service to him. And redemption. We have been bought by the blood of Christ. We belong to God. Saved, delivered up out of slavery. So that, why? Verse 31, as it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

Have you ever stopped to think what God must think about all this glorying in the flesh that goes on? There's a lot of flesh glorying going on. A lot of flesh glorying. People glory in how much melanin they have in their skin.

People glory in how much self-cutting they have done to their body. People glory in the flesh. They glory in their strength. They glory in their political power. They glory in their financial power. They glory in their cultural power.

Glorying in the flesh. Jeremiah 8 and 9 says, the wise men are ashamed. They are dismayed and taken. Listen to this. Behold, they have rejected the word of God. They have rejected the word of the Lord.

So what wisdom do they have? The church is, of this last generation and currently, very, very eager to go drawing from the cisterns of these wise men of today who have rejected the word of the Lord. Seeking wisdom in all the wells of the wise men of today.

Oh, we can learn things from these wise men, they say. Let us bring what they have to offer into the church. Jeremiah says, they don't have anything. Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.

Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising love and kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight, says the Lord. Let us glory in the Lord. The provision of Christ crucified unifies his saints in joy. I mean, what is provided for us? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

We're not given a trickle, we're given a torrent. We're not given a drop, we're given a deluge. You see, the calling, considering our calling, what does that do? Well, it wasn't me. And everything I've got is from the Lord.

You see, grace levels us to our knees. And there, before Christ and him crucified, we find our unity. Insisting on magnifying fleshly distinctions after that is just foolish disobedience. The provision of Christ crucified humbles us.

Nothing left to brag about, nothing left to fight about. And thirdly, the preaching of Christ crucified. And I, brethren, when I came to you, chapter 2, verse 1, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

It's not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. The flesh profits nothing. The Spirit gives life. The flesh profits nothing, Jesus says. And Paul says, I didn't come preaching according to the flesh. Now, Paul's like, remember?

You guys are all full of division, and you're following this guy, this guy, this guy, and you're making so much of men that you are now in division. Because you make a big deal out of man. That's why you get into division.

He says, I want you to make a big deal of Jesus Christ so that you will be unified.

That's his whole goal here.

So he wants them to consider Christ crucified in the preaching of that message. So he points them back to the way he first approached it. He says, I did not use excellence of speech or persuasive words.

Paul's not saying that he intentionally used poor grammar and a creepy monotone. That's not what he's saying. He's saying, I know exactly the kinds of things that the wise men of the day would want me to say.

I know exactly the kinds of patterns in my speech that they would want me to have in my preaching. I know the themes and the patterns. I know the style that they want me to employ. He said, I know exactly how...

Paul was incredibly educated. He knew how to do all of that. He said, I know exactly what they want me to do. He says, and I did not preach Christ crucified in that way. I did not use the so-called wisdom of the world.

He knew that would only divide the church more. Because they would put their faith in the wisdom of men. Which is always changing and halting and faltering and failing and being reinvented and recycled.

And so, Paul says, I just preached Jesus Christ and him crucified. That was the message I preached. And you knew how it was. I was in weakness and fear and trembling. It was not worth writing home about.

But there it is, I just preached Christ crucified. Because why? I wanted you to hold fast to Jesus Christ and not to me or anybody else. So it is not of the flesh, but it is of the spirit. So Paul was weak, he was scared, he was all over the place.

But he was preaching Christ crucified. And the Holy Spirit took his message and powerfully worked the wonders of grace. Now, something very interesting, Paul also says in Acts 20, verses 24 -27. He also talks about his ministry there, his preaching ministry.

He says,.

But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy in the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

And indeed, now I know that you all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

So which is it, Paul? Did you preach Christ and Him crucified, nothing but Christ and Him crucified? Or did you preach the kingdom of God and the whole counsel of God? Which one was it, Paul? Yes. Which reminds us that it doesn't matter what the problems are in the world, and there were a lot of problems in that day.

And it doesn't matter what the problems are in the church, and there were a lot of problems in 1st Baptist Corinth. A lot of problems. How are they going to solve the problems within the church? How are they going to address all of the problems all around them?

Paul says like this, You pay attention to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You pay attention to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The wisdom of the world is nothing but empty wells, one sludge hole after another.

They've got nothing. And so, to those who are perishing, they say Christ crucified is foolishness. But to those who are being saved, we know it's the power of God. We know it's the wisdom of God. We know it is the light of God.

And a lot of problems in the church today, a lot of problems in the world today. But folks just don't know the things that make for peace. The primary thing that would make for peace is this, that Good Friday would not be so rare, and that we would put our attention very carefully upon Christ and Him crucified, the God-man offered up for us in our place for our sake, the Lamb of God who reconciles us to our Creator and reconciles us to one another.

I'm grateful for the preaching of Christ crucified. I'm thankful for every man that has stood up in weakness and in fear and in much trembling and preached Christ to me because I need that. That's the life of God for me, Jesus Christ, Him crucified.

So tonight we all get to do that because Paul reminds us that as often as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we proclaim the Lord's death. We proclaim Christ crucified, and we do so till He comes.

Let me pray for us. Father, I thank You for the time You've given us in Your Word tonight. I thank You for everybody who has prayed for this evening and has labored to serve tonight, and encourage one another, stir one another up, hold fast the confession of our hope in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Lord, I pray that You would bless us as we sing and as we share this meal with our Savior Jesus. And we pray these things in His name. Amen.