His Promised Accomplishment

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turn with me to the book of Isaiah.
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Find yourself in the 53rd chapter.
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A very familiar passage to most of us is found in Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6.
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And we'll read together.
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But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.
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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
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All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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Father in heaven, I thank you for your word.
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I pray now that as I seek to preach it that you would keep me from error.
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I make this plea every time I preach because I fear Lord preaching that which is untrue.
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And I pray this morning as I noted earlier, I pray for particularly this morning the Jewish people, the Jewish nation.
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Lord as we think about the reality that this passage talks about them missing the Messiah.
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And that he has come and his name is Jesus.
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And so I pray Lord that we would see in this passage the importance and the true mission field which is the Jewish people that still exist today.
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And that we would have a desire to reach them.
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And Lord also that we would understand in this passage the great value of the atonement that was made, not just for the Jews, but for everyone who would ever believe on Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Greek.
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For in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, but Lord we are all one in him.
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So I pray Lord that you help us to understand the word better this morning, in Jesus name.
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Amen.
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Please be seated.
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Well this morning marks the third Sunday in our celebration of Advent.
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It is the time in the church here where we focus on the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ.
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The word Advent of course means arrival.
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And it is a celebration.
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A lot of people think it's a celebration only of the first coming of Jesus, but it's actually more focused on his return.
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We're thinking about the fact that he has come and will come again.
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In our first lesson we looked at his prophesied Advent.
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We looked at the fact that the Old Testament tells us that Jesus will come all the way back to the writings of Moses.
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There are promises of a coming Redeemer.
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And then in our second week we looked at the pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus.
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The fact that Jesus doesn't just come on the scene in Bethlehem, but he is actually seen in the Old Testament through what we would call Christophanes.
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He appears to different people as the Lord.
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He appeared to Abraham.
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He appeared to Isaiah and others.
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And this week we're going to look at another section of Isaiah because we saw in Isaiah 6 Jesus appearing to Isaiah there seated on his throne.
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Well this week we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 53 focusing on the atoning work of Jesus.
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Isaiah 53 is without a doubt one of the most important passages, not only in the Old Testament, it's one of the most important passages in the Bible.
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It talks about a coming servant of God who would suffer on behalf of his people.
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But because it is so important it also remains very controversial.
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Nothing in the Bible that has any value, and the whole Bible has value, but nothing that really speaks to an issue that really says something of import regarding doctrine is ever without some form of controversy.
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And certainly no passage in scripture which boasts such a grand claim as this one would ever be without someone willing to argue over it.
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Many an Israelite has been saved, one to Jesus Christ, simply through this section of scripture alone.
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It has been known to cause such confusion among the Jewish people that it is left out of the readings in the synagogue.
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And I heard this but I wasn't sure that it was true so I investigated it.
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And it is true that the public readings of scripture in the synagogue will intentionally leave out Isaiah 53 because it is said to have created so much controversy and so much misunderstanding.
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It is limited to private study only but not to public proclamation.
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And the reason is because when faced with its contents rabbis have to give an answer as to why this passage which Christians contend points to Jesus, obviously points to Jesus.
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Rabbis have to contend why it doesn't.
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Rachmel Friedland, a Jewish author and Christian Jew, has an article entitled The Rabbi's Dilemma.
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And in that article he writes about Isaiah 53.
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And I want to read to you a little bit of what he wrote on this passage.
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Speaking of his time before converting to Christianity, he says this, quote, the subject was never discussed in my pre-war Poland Hebrew school.
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In the rabbinical training I had received, the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah had been continually avoided for quote-unquote weightier matters.
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Yet when I first read this passage my mind was filled with questions and questions.
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Who is this chapter speaking about? The words are clear.
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The passage tells us of an outstanding servant of the Lord whose visage is marred and is afflicted and stricken.
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He has not deserved any pain or wounds but was wounded through our transgressions, bruised through our iniquities, and with his wounds we are healed.
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The text presents the suffering servant of the Lord who dies as a korban, which is a recompense for guilt.
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He is then buried with a rich and wicked but is gloriously resurrected to life.
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God permits his affliction and at the end exalted servant to endure the suffering in order to remove the sins of many.
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So Friedland goes on to say who is this servant? Who could it be? And this is an important question because many modern Jewish teachers will try to interpret the servant of Isaiah 53 as Israel himself.
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They'll say that the suffering servant is not the Messiah but the suffering servant is Israel.
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They contend that Israel is called the servant of God in the Old Testament.
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In fact Israel is called the servant of God in Isaiah and they're not wrong.
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Israel is identified as the servant of God in Isaiah 41.
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It says but you Israel my servant Jacob whom I have chosen, you are my servant I have chosen you and not cast you off.
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It says specifically Israel is the servant of God.
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But in the same book there are other servants identified as well.
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David is called the servant of God in Isaiah 37.
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Eliakim the son of Hilkiah is called the servant of God in Isaiah 22.
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And Isaiah himself is defined as the servant of God in Isaiah chapter 20.
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So Israel is not the only entity that's identified as the servant of God in the book of Isaiah but it is certainly one that is identified as the servant.
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So Israel modern Jewish people will say it is not the Messiah who is in view in Isaiah 53.
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It is Israel as a nation.
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But the problem is that raises more questions than it answers.
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Because we look at the passage and we have to ask was the nation of Israel ever without sin? Because the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is without sin.
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He is bearing the sins of others not his own.
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Has the nation of Israel ever as a nation atoned for the sins of other nations? No.
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No they have been punished but not for the sins of others but for their own sins.
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In fact their times of going off into captivity in Babylon and others was because of the sin of Israel not because of the sins of other nations they were suffering for their own sins.
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Was the nation of Israel ever suffering willingly without protestation voluntarily with a shut mouth? No.
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But yet the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 does suffer with a closed mouth.
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Has the nation of Israel ever died? No.
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In fact this last one is the one that causes most Jews who can't see Israel here to not be able to.
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In fact I go back to Rock Meal Friedland who said this.
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He said were the Jewish people God forbid ever cut off out of the land of the living? No.
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In Jeremiah 31, 35-37 it says God promised that we will exist forever.
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We are proud that Am Yisrael Chai, the people of Israel live today.
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So you ask have they ever died? No.
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So if this passage, if Isaiah 53 is not about Israel as is contended by the modern Jewish scholars who deny Jesus.
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If Isaiah 53 is not about Israel as a nation then who is the servant of Israel? Who is this suffering servant? Well I want to read to you from some of the ancient commentaries and by ancient commentaries I mean commentaries that predate Christ.
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Because if you think about it when Jesus came in fulfillment of what this passage says people could say well you're just reading that back into it.
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You're reading it anachronistically.
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But here are some commentaries that predate the time of Jesus Christ about Isaiah 53 and what do they say? The Babylonian Talmud says this.
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The Messiah, what is his name? The rabbis say he is the leprous one.
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Those of the house of the rabbis say the sick one.
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As it is said surely he has borne our sicknesses.
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So you see that passage directly quotes Isaiah 53 and says who is the Messiah? It's this one.
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It's the one who has borne our iniquities.
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The Midrash Rabbah commenting not on Isaiah 53 but on Ruth 2 and 14 says this.
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He is speaking of King Messiah.
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Come hither draw near to the throne and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.
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This refers to the chastisements as it is said but he was wounded for our transgressions.
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He was bruised for our iniquities.
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You see that passage is actually focusing on Ruth 2 but it's saying the Messiah is the one who will bear our transgressions.
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Where does that language come from? Isaiah 53.
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So even in a commentary on another passage it references that in passing as if everyone understands that.
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Everyone understands the Messiah is the one who is going to bear the sin.
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The Aramaic translation of Isaiah 53 which is ascribed to Rabbi Jonathan Ben Uzziel, a disciple of Hillel which is a first century teacher begins his commentary on Isaiah 53 with these words, quote, Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper.
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So who did he think Isaiah 53 was about? About the Messiah.
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There is a consistent interpretation within ancient writings on Isaiah 53 that the suffering servant spoke of an individual not of a nation.
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It spoke of an individual that would rise out of a nation and who would be called the Messiah.
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So in light of the reality that this passage is not about Israel as a nation but rather about the Messiah the question then becomes who is this Messiah? Now for Christians as we came in this morning I wouldn't have to poll anyone if I asked a question to you who is the Messiah you would all say well it's obvious it's Jesus.
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In fact we call him Jesus the Christ which is the Greek translation of Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus the Messiah.
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Christ meaning Messiah or anointed one.
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When you consider all that is said in this passage if you know anything about Jesus it's inescapable that that's who it is referring to.
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In fact I remember years ago a lady visited our church I don't remember her name but she came in to visit the church and after church she was waiting on me back by the door and she said pastor can we have a conversation about your message and I don't remember what I preached on.
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I don't remember much about the conversation except that when I took her into the office she sat down and she says I have a lot of difficulty believing in Jesus and she said I just don't understand and can you help me? I don't know what to believe.
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It's hard to believe all that's said about him.
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I mean he's God in the flesh that's a big deal.
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So I took out my Bible and again I didn't know this lady very well I had never met her before and I don't think she's been back so maybe I didn't do a good job but I just took out my Bible and I said can I read you something and I read to her what I read as our opening passage this morning Isaiah 53 surely he has borne our grief surely he has carried our iniquities and I read this to her and I said ma'am I said who is this about? And she said that's about Jesus.
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I said this was written 700 years before Jesus was ever born and her face just was amazed.
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Again she didn't fall on her knees and receive Jesus at that very moment but that's one of the reasons why this passage is so powerful because we see Jesus in it and yet he is not yet on the scene but it's as if Isaiah is standing at the foot of the cross writing about what he's watching as if it were on a screen and he could see every minute of it.
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The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is the Messiah and the Messiah is Jesus but here's something that's often overlooked about this passage this passage isn't really about the coming of the Messiah.
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Now you might say wait a minute pastor you just spent the last few minutes saying that this is all about Jesus yes it is but this passage isn't about the coming of the Messiah this passage is about Israel looking back and seeing the Messiah that they missed.
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You realize the concept of the Messiah is still in Hebrew teaching today.
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I listened to a Jewish man this week on the radio I wanted to hear what they think of Isaiah 53 and they said no no it's not Jesus we're still looking we're still waiting it wasn't him we've got a Messiah and he's coming and when he comes he's going to break the bonds he's going to destroy our enemies and he's going to lead us to freedom and he had all these great things to say about the Messiah but it wasn't Yeshua.
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That breaks my heart to hear him say that and that's what Isaiah is saying here he's saying there's coming a day when they're going to look back and they're going to say he was bruised for our iniquities he was crushed for our transgressions and we esteemed him not.
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Now when will that day come? I don't know.
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I don't get much into teaching about end times I know that's a disappointment to some of you but I do hope and this is a part of end times teaching that there will one day be a revival among the Jewish people and they will see Jesus for whom he is.
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Some people believe there's going to be a rapture that happens before that and without even wanting to contend for such this morning or discuss such I just want to say I would be blessed of God to see a revival among Israel.
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To see them look back at the Messiah whom they have rejected and welcome him as their savior.
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And I pray that it does happen before he returns.
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What a blessing it would be to see the physical descendants of Abraham receive him who was sent as their to the house of David.
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What does the Bible say? It says Jesus came to his own and his own what? Received him not.
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Wouldn't it be a blessing to see them receive him as he is? Well I want to go through the text and I want to read through because I want to show you why I believe this.
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I do believe this is the Israelites looking back and I want to show you why from the text.
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So we're going to start back up at verse 1.
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We're going to read through and I'm going to make comments as we go.
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The servant is actually identified in chapter 52.
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If you go back to 52 and just look at verse 12 you'll see this note here or rather verse 13.
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It says, Behold my servant shall act wisely.
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He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted.
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By the way that reference is only made one other place in Isaiah and it's in Isaiah 6 when talking about the Lord.
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He is high and lifted up and exalted.
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That combination of language very interesting in who it's referring to here.
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And it says, As many were astonished at you his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and from his form beyond that of the children of mankind so shall he sprinkle many nations.
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Kings shall shut their mouths because of him for that which has not been told them they see and that which they have not heard they understand.
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And now he says, Who has believed what he has heard from us? That's an important question.
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Who has believed what he has heard from us? This is Isaiah asking the nation.
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The servant came but who believed it? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This person the Messiah came but who believed the report? The vast majority of the Jews have not.
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And he goes on to say, For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.
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He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.
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He was despised and rejected by men.
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A man of sorrows acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not.
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Notice the past tense of that.
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The past tense of this prophecy.
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This is why I say this is the Jews looking back at the Messiah who they rejected because they're looking back and they're saying he came and he was like a young plant.
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He didn't have any value that we saw.
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He was like a root in dry ground.
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He had no form of majesty that we would want to worship him or follow him.
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There was nothing in him that we saw that would make us esteem him.
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According to one scholar this is the penitent confession of the Jewish people.
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Quote, How few of our nation in Messiah's days actually believed in him.
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And then in verse four, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
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Past tense.
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Yet we esteemed him stricken.
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We didn't esteem him as worshipful.
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We didn't esteem him as followable.
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We esteemed him beaten.
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We preferred to see him smitten by God and afflicted.
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But he was pierced for our transgressions.
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This is some of the clearest language of substitutionary atonement in the Bible.
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Isaiah has been called the fifth gospel.
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We have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and we have Isaiah.
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Isaiah proclaiming the Messiah in the form of a prophecy.
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He was pierced for our transgressions.
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He was crushed for our iniquities.
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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.
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And with his wounds we are healed.
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And by the way, I have to say this and this sort of takes a right turn for a second, but hang with me.
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Please don't lose it because this is important.
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That passage has been absolutely marred by the health and wealth crowd.
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When Isaiah says by his stripes we are healed, that is not a promise of absolute physical health.
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That is a promise of absolute and complete spiritual renewal, forgiveness and rightness of relationship.
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That's what's viewed in healing there.
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What was broken was not our bodies.
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What was broken was our relationship to God and that has been healed.
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Christians still get sick.
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Christians still die.
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But by his stripes we are healed.
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So I have to, every time I read that passage, I have to remind that because I've stood at the bedside of many sick people and have people say by his stripes, by his stripes, by his stripes, as if it were a chant.
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It is not a chant.
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It's a truth.
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He was pierced for our transgressions.
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Now I want to mention this as just a translational note also.
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The Hebrew people, modern Jewish translators, have translated this slightly different than we translated in our English Bible as an attempt to move away from the subject of substitution.
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Because we say he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.
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But if you go to a modern Jewish translation of this text, it actually translates it, he was pierced by our transgressions, he was crushed by our iniquities.
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A little different meaning if you translate it that way.
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It's not, I think, a good translation.
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There is not one Christian Bible that chooses to translate it that way.
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I've looked, I've looked all over.
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And I think it is an attempt to run around and escape the truth.
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That the language here is substitution.
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You say, well, how do you know that? Go down to verse six.
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And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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That's substitution.
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So, he was pierced by our transgressions, he was crushed by our iniquities, and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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That's possible as a translation.
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But the reality is, this is speaking of substitution.
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It's not by our transgressions.
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You could say, well, it could be, you could understand it that way.
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No, but it's for them.
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He's dying not by them, but for them.
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He's dying on our behalf because of what we have done.
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He is suffering in our place.
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And then in verse seven, 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 is before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
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By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and as for his generation who considered that he was cut off from the land of the living.
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Remember, this is all past tense.
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Looking back, stricken for the transgression of my people, and they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
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This section, verses seven through nine, is actually very, very powerful, because it so specifically addresses what happened to Jesus.
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Jesus did not seek to defend himself.
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That's what it means when it says he opened not his mouth.
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It doesn't mean he didn't say anything, because Jesus did answer questions in his trial.
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But he did not seek to bring a defense against the unrighteous judges that were before him, even when Pilate stood before him.
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What did Jesus say? He said, if I wanted to, I could call down a whole legion of angels.
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He knew he was submitting to the Lord's will at this moment.
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He was put to death between two wicked men, and this text says he was with the wicked in his death, but he was also with a rich man.
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What is that referring to? Joseph of Arimathea.
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Joseph of Arimathea gave the family of Jesus the tomb where he would be laid.
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So he was killed between two robbers, two wicked men, but he was laid to death with a rich man, and he was without sin.
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He had done no violence.
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No deceit was found in his mouth.
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This is the Messiah.
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And verse 10 tells us one of the most powerful words, one of the most powerful statements in all the Bible is found in verse 10.
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Because it says, yet, even though there was no deceit found in his mouth, even though there was no violence done by him, even though all of the good that could be said of the suffering servant, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.
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And then the next statement, he, that is God, has put him, that is the servant, to grief.
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Have you ever thought about that? When Jesus was in the garden on the night before he went to the cross, and he's crying out to God, Lord, take this cup from me.
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He's not asking that the cup of the Roman punishment be taken away.
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He's not asking that the cup of Jewish persecution be taken away.
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He is asking, Lord, God, Father, this cup of your wrath.
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If there is another way, let this cup pass from me.
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You know, people often ask the question, do you really think Jesus is the only way to heaven? And I say, you know, obviously, John 14, six, leave very little wiggle room.
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It says, I am the way, the truth and life.
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No one comes to the Father, but by me.
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There is no room in there for another way.
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But I say the other the other reason why I answer that question in the affirmative, yes, Jesus is the only way because he asked.
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Because Jesus himself in his in his time in the garden, in the in the brokenness where he was sweating as it was drops of blood, he said, Father, if there be another way, take this cup from me.
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And God did, because there wasn't another way.
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It pleased the Lord to crush him, not because God is a celestial sadist, but because God so loved the world that he gave his only son.
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And where he didn't make Isaac take this life of his own son, God gave the life of his son on behalf of his people.
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And it says in verse 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.
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There it is double imputation.
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Christ's righteousness will be given to them and their iniquities will be laid on him.
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This is the gospel.
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Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death, was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many.
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And by the way, that's a reference to that perfect atonement.
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He bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.
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That final section explains clearly what the work of the Lord was to make intercession for the transgressors and to bear their iniquities.
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Jesus had a very simple mission.
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He said what his mission was, I have given them his righteousness.
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Can I have you turn to one passage in the New Testament that clearly articulates this? And this is where we'll draw to a close.
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In Romans chapter 3, in Romans chapter 3, verse 21 to verse 26, the apostle Paul writes, But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.
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The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith.
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This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
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It was to show his righteousness at this present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
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Beloved, that last sentence, God never overlooks sin because he is righteous, because he is just and holy.
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He never overlooks sin.
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He punishes it either in the person who is guilty or in a substitute who willingly takes their guilt.
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And there is only one substitute who was himself guiltless and thus able to take the guilt of others.
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And that's Jesus.
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And that's why it says he has borne our iniquities, because he didn't have to bear his own.
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He had no sins to bear himself so he could bear ours.
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And God gets to remain just and justify the ungodly without ever there being a moment where he gives up his holiness, where he gives up his justice, where he gives up his righteousness.
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He is just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus.
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That is the promised accomplishment of Jesus.
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That's the accomplishment that he would make.
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And Isaiah is telling the Jews there's a Messiah coming.
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He will suffer and you will reject him.
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But one day you will look back at him upon whom you rejected and you will know that he was the one.
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Martin Luther said that every Christian should be able to recite Isaiah 53 from memory.
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Well, I'm not on that list.
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And I would never enforce such a requirement on us.
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But I will say this, I think that we should all be intimately familiar with the passage because it contains one of the clearest presentations of substitutionary atonement in the Bible.
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It is quoted at least eight times in the New Testament.
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And it is the very heart of the Christian gospel.
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And might I add this, were I given a moment to speak to a person of Jewish descent who didn't believe in Jesus, I would make my mission to run as fast as I could to this passage and present them with the Messiah and say, this is the Messiah whom you have missed.
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And he calls you to believe on him.
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John Huss wrote this, Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior, turned away God's wrath forever.
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By his bitter grief and woe, he saved us from the evil foe.
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Christ says, Come all ye that labor and receive my grace and favor.
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They who feel no want nor ill need not physicians, help nor skill.
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As his pledge of love undying, he, this precious food supplying, gives his body with bread and the wine, the blood he shed.
37:46
Praise the father who from heaven unto us such food have given and to mend what we have done, gave unto death his only son.
37:58
If thy heart, this truth professes and thy mouth, thy sin confesses his dear guest, thy shout be and Christ himself your banquet be.
38:10
Let's pray.
38:40
Tongue and nation who need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.
38:47
Father, maybe there are some here and I'm certain that there are who have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus.
38:55
They have not seen him as their sin bearing substitute and had a desire to trust in him and faith and repentance.
39:03
God, let it be today by your mercy and grace.
39:07
If you so choose to save, to open their hearts, to believe and confess the Lord Jesus Christ and seek after him in obedience all their days.
39:18
We pray in Jesus name.
39:20
Amen.
39:23
Let's stand and sing as we prepare for communion.