Worship & Word Celebration - Part 3 — Charles Price

Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant

The Lord says, My servant will succeed in his task. He will be highly honored. Many people were shocked when they saw him. He was so disfigured that he hardly looked human. But now many nations will marvel at him and kings will be speechless with amazement.

They will see and understand something they had never known.

The people reply, Who would have believed what we now report?

Who could have seen the Lord's hand in this?

It was the will of the Lord that his servant should grow like a plant taking root in dry ground.

He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him.

There was nothing attractive about him.

Nothing that would draw us to him.

We despised him and rejected him.

He endured suffering and pain. No one would even look at him. We ignored him as if he were nothing.

But he endured the suffering that should have been ours.

The pain that we should have borne.

All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God.

But because of our sins, he was wounded.

Beaten because of the evil we did.

We are healed by the punishment he suffered.

Made whole by the blows he received.

All of us were like sheep that were lost.

Each of us going his own way.

But the Lord made the punishment fall on him.

The punishment all of us deserved. He was treated harshly but endured it humbly. He never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered.

Like a sheep about to be sheared.

He never said a word.

He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die.

And no one cared about his fate.

He was put to death for the sins of our people.

He was placed in a grave with evil men.

He was buried with the rich.

Even though he had never committed a crime. Or ever told a lie.

The Lord says, It was my will that he should suffer. His death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants. He will live a long life and through him my purpose will succeed.

After a life of suffering he will again have joy. He will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant with whom I am pleased. Will bear the punishment of many. And for his sake I will forgive them.

And so I will give him a place of honor. A place among great and powerful men. He willingly gave his life. And shared the fate of evil men. He took the place of many sinners. And prayed that they might be forgiven.

Prayer Before the Sermon

Let's just pause in silence. And just allow the Lord to apply that to our hearts. As we prepare for his servant Charles to come and just bring God's word to us. Let's just pause in silence.

We thank you so much Lord Jesus for the relevance of your word. As we look into it we ask that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. Not just that we are better informed. But better equipped to live lives that please you and honor you.

In Jesus name. Amen. Well good to see you again this morning. And we have just had read to us. Probably the best known section in the whole book of Isaiah. If you knew nothing else about Isaiah before you came here this week.

You probably knew Isaiah 53 or parts of it. It's to some extent the climax of Isaiah's prophecy. If not the climax of all Old Testament prophecy. It's the fourth and last of the servant songs that we mentioned yesterday.

And we're going to look at it this morning. And I believe as I've prepared this this morning. And spent time in praying through the issues we want to talk about. That this could be for some folks a very significant morning.

Because I know many Christians. I sit, talk and counsel and pray with many Christians. Who have never actually understood the message of this chapter. They're Christians. And the likelihood is there are many of us here this morning.

Who need to understand what we're going to talk about. And be refreshed and maybe liberated by it. Now the servant song as such actually begins in chapter 52 and verse 13. Where he says, see my servant will act wisely.

And then he extends right through to the end of chapter 53. Remember of course that the chapter divisions were not inspired. Not part of the original text. I understand they were done by a bishop. Whilst traveling on horseback from Paris to Lyon.

And I think he must have fallen off his horse once or twice. And got confused. And this is one of the areas. Anyway we're going to confine ourselves to chapter 53. And I don't need to tell you that this chapter is about Christ.

If you have any problems with that. Just read Acts 8 on some occasion. When Philip, when directed by the Spirit of God. Or by an angel that came to him when he was preaching in Samaria. To go down to the desert road.

Bumped into an Ethiopian. Jumped on board his chariot. He happened to be reading from this very passage. And the Ethiopian said. Well Philip said to the Ethiopian. Do you understand what you're reading?

He said no I don't. Is this about the writer? Is it about somebody else? And it says beginning with that passage. Philip told him the good news about Jesus. So I'm in league with Philip. This is about Jesus.

I don't need to persuade you of that. Not only that. I don't need to tell you that it's about the cross. Yet the remarkable thing is. That this description of the cross of Jesus. Was written 750 years before Christ was ever born.

The Cross Foretold in the Old Testament

Now I want to talk about the cross of Christ. You see the death of Jesus. Took his disciples by surprise. He told them he was going to Jerusalem. And die. They didn't believe it. Peter interrupted when he told them.

And said never Lord. This shall never happen to you. Not because Peter was trying to be awkward. He was trying to be helpful. Lord you don't deserve to die on a cross. That's not part of the agenda. And Jesus had to say to him.

Get behind me Satan. You're a stumbling block to me. When those two men on the road to Emmaus. We mentioned them yesterday. When they met with Jesus. Not knowing who he was. They said of Jesus. We had hoped.

He was the one who would deliver Israel. It was past tense. Their hope was shattered. Their hope had died. The moment he died. They said it's the third day. And he's in the tomb. Weren't expecting it.

Probably if we were contemporaries of Jesus. Or one of the disciples. We would have joined them in their disbelief. But it shouldn't have taken them by surprise. Hundreds of years before the Lord Jesus Christ was born.

Graphic details have been given about his cross. Isaiah here. Chapter 53. 750 years before he was born. David in Psalm 22. 1 ,000 years before Christ was born. Wrote a description that would cause us to think.

He was an eyewitness. I think Psalm 22 is a remarkable chapter. Says in verse 7 of that chapter. All who see me mock me. They hurl insults. Shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord rescue him.

Well isn't that exactly what they said? You would think this is an eyewitness report. A little bit later in the same chapter. It says. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. That was the effect of the cross being dropped into the hole in the ground.

The third as the cross hit the base of that hole. Would knock most of his bones out of joint. My heart has turned to wax. It's melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a pot shirt. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men has encircled me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. People stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them.

And cast lots for my clothing. If I read that to you without telling you where it was from. Some of you would say that's an eyewitness account. It's written 1 ,000 years before Jesus was ever born. Moses, 1 ,500 years before Christ was born.

Received on Mount Sinai. The elaborate rituals centered on the shedding of blood. All of which foreshadow and tell the story of Jesus. Someone has worked out there are 333 prophecies. Detailed prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament.

I haven't been able to check it. Wouldn't know where to start. And somebody else has worked out. That the chances of those prophecies being fulfilled in one man. Are one in 83 billion. I wouldn't know how to check that out.

Yet the remarkable thing is. They were all fulfilled in Christ. From the place of his birth. He was born in Bethlehem as a fluke as you will know. His mother lived in Nazareth. It just so happened away in Rome.

Caesar Augustus decided. I want to know how many people live in my empire. I'll count them. Just arranged that the day the census to be taken. When every man went to the home of his family. The forebears.

Just so happened the day the census. Was around the day he was due to be born. And they arrived late. Too late. All the beds in the inns were taken as you know. Had Jesus been born a day early. He would have been born in Samaria.

Had it been a month later. Almost certainly back in Nazareth. They would have counted. That doesn't take long to count everybody. And then visit you know granny and a few other relatives. And go home again.

But 750 years before Micah had written. In Bethlehem. In Judah. He's going to come. Remarkable. Went down to Egypt. Hosea wrote that 800 years before. Herod thought it was his idea. Came back to Nazareth.

Matthew 2 says he'll be called a Nazarene. That's a quotation he says. You don't find it in the English Bible. It's probably a play on the Hebrew. In Hebrews 11. In Isaiah 11. About the root of Jesse.

And in the Hebrew. It sounds like Nazarene. Nazareth you see is a town. Had never been in existence. When Isaiah wrote that. Remarkable. Now I want to say something. We have a better reason. For believing that Jesus Christ.

Was born and lived and died. And rose again. Than the Bible said that he did. You say what's the better reason than that? The better reason for believing that Jesus Christ. Was born and lived and died.

And rose again. Than that the Bible said he did. Is that the Bible said he would. Long before he did. That's remarkable isn't it? If you pick up today's newspaper. And read yesterday's news. You expect to do that.

If you pick up. Today's newspaper. And read next week's news. And next week it happens. Wouldn't you want to meet the editor? The Old Testament is next week's news. 700 years. 1 ,000 years. 1 ,500 years in advance.

And it happened in detail. If you need convincing of the authority of scripture. Read the Old Testament. Because there are times you think. I must be reading the New Testament. This surely was written after it all happened.

It's so detailed. Isaiah 53 is next week's news. And the marvelous thing is. You can meet the editor. Far in advance. 750 years before it ever happened. You see the twists and turns of history. Never take God by surprise.

The Servant’s Status, Substitution, and Satisfaction

Now what's the message of Isaiah 53? I want to break it into three simple things. About the suffering servant. When I introduced the servant songs yesterday. And mentioned what they're about. I mentioned this one is the song of the suffering servant.

And I want to break it up into three things. Concerning Christ the servant that it foreshadows. And anticipates. First three verses. Just a few things we'll say briefly about his status. We won't take too long over that.

Then verse 4 to 9. About his substitution. And we'll take most of our time over that. Because that's the heart of this chapter. And then thirdly from verse 10 to 12. His satisfaction. Because the marvelous thing is.

It says that the Lord Jesus. The one who endured all this suffering. Was actually satisfying. Through it. And we'll see that in just a moment. But I want to say something about his status here. Because I think this is important.

And it may encourage some of us. It says in verse 2. He grew up before him. That is before the Lord like a tender shoot. Like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.

Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows. Familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised and we esteemed him not.

This is an incredible description. When you realize who it's talking about. He had no beauty. No majesty that would attract us. Nothing in his appearance would make us desire him. Despised. Rejected. Man of sorrows.

Familiar with suffering. One from whom people hide their faces. They're embarrassed by him. That's surely the implication of that. Despised. This isn't what we would have expected of the Messiah. It certainly wasn't what his contemporaries when he came expected.

This is the son of God he's talking about. Co-equal with the Father. And with the Holy Spirit. One who is in the beginning. With God. Who was God. By him all things were made. Whether visible or invisible.

Scripture tells us. He created the world. Everything in it. Threw every star into the far corners of the night. But he says there's nothing beautiful about him. Nothing in his appearance that we would desire him.

Do you know when people paint pictures of Jesus. They always make him look good. Now the New Testament gives us no indication of his physical appearance. And we live in a culture where physical beauty has a high priority.

You just pick up any glossy magazine and see what mostly adverts are about. How to make yourself beautiful. What paint to buy. What clothes to wear. What jewelry to hang off. Everything it can hang off.

This is the men I'm talking about. We lay great store on beauty. The New Testament doesn't give us any physical description of Jesus. The Old Testament does. Here it says he wasn't good looking. That encourages some of us, doesn't it?

He wasn't good looking. You wouldn't look twice in the street. Most paintings when we try to imagine what he was like. Make him so striking that you would stop on the street and watch him go by. He was unattractive.

He knew what it was to suffer. He didn't have an easy run through life. I mean sometimes we imagine that for the Lord Jesus Christ everything was probably quite easy. No, he was tempted in all points like you and me.

He knew what it was to battle and suffer. For 30 years he worked as a carpenter. He didn't just go into his carpenter shop with nobody looking. Just produce miraculously a table. He sawed up the wood, chiseled it.

Occasionally probably cut his finger in the process. He never told anybody who he was. I'm amazed he was able to keep it quiet. Wouldn't you have been tempted to tell folks who you were? You know, sitting outside with your brothers, looking up into the sky.

Say to his brothers, do you like the sky? Do you like the stars? Beautiful, isn't it? Let me tell you something. I made them. On a Wednesday afternoon. In half a verse. I left the way on the fourth day in half a verse.

And he made the stars also. Bit of time left before tea, just make the stars also. He knew about the laws of aerodynamics. Why didn't he invent the helicopter? Why did he go by foot? And get tired and sit on the well?

Because he was worn out. Why didn't he at least invent a car? He was real man. Subject to all the pressures that every other man. There was something about him that was unusual. It was this. He was like a root out of dry ground.

Roots don't grow in dry ground. There was an explanation for his life. It had nothing to do with his environment. If that was true of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe it's a principle that should be true of you and me.

The only valid explanation for the quality of life that you live and I live. Is not our environment. Is not our personality. Is not our background. Is not our education. It's God in us. Operating through us.

A root out of dry ground. We're not going to say more about that. Though I think it's fascinating. The status of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the main point of this passage. And the main concern I want to talk to you about.

Is from verse 4 down to verse 9. Where he talks of his substitution. Because he says in these verses. Let me read part of it. Verse 4. Surely he took up our infirmities. And carried our sorrows. Yet we considered him stricken by God.

Smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. By his wounds we are healed. We like sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. I have underlined the words our. And us in those verses. They occur eight times. Did you know that you were mentioned in the Bible?

You're in the Bible. We got a telephone book that came through a couple of days ago. My children looked up to see if our name's in it. I mean they felt good. Our name's in this book. Did you know your name's in this book?

Because it's our infirmities. Our sorrows. Our transgressions. Our iniquities. It's our peace. We are healed. His iniquity. The iniquity of us. He took upon himself. And this is Christ as our substitute.

Why the Cross Was Necessary

Now you know that. That's fundamental. But I want to talk about the big question. Why was the cross necessary? And it's important that we're clear on this. Because as I mentioned at the beginning, it seems that many of us as Christians are not very clear about this.

I mean if God is God, why doesn't he just forgive us? Why is the cross a necessary ingredient in our forgiveness? Well, there are two qualities in the character of God that require the cross. The first is that God is just.

The second is that God is merciful. Now you say that's all very well. You haven't told me anything new. But there's a problem with those two qualities. And the problem is they are incompatible with one another.

To be just and to be merciful at the same time is inconsistent. What is justice? Justice is giving what is deserved. What is mercy? Mercy is not giving what is deserved. Now you can't do both at the same time.

Give what is deserved at the same time. Not give what is deserved. You can't be just and merciful at the same time, in the same situation, towards the same person. Let me give a very simple illustration.

The simplest are usually the best. Just supposing I got into a car, drove away from Skegness, went down the Lincolnshire Roads at 80 miles an hour. If that were possible. But you know the Lincolnshire Roads.

It probably isn't possible. And as I drive along at 80 miles an hour, I notice in my rear view mirror a car with a blue flashing light going at 90 miles an hour. And it passes me. Pulls me over. And imagine I'm taken to court.

The magistrate says, Did you drive your car at 80 miles an hour in a, whatever the limit is, 50 miles an hour limit? I might say, because I'm honest, Yes, Your Honour. But the police car was going at 90.

The magistrate has a choice. He can either be just. If he's just, he will fine me. Or he can be merciful. If he's merciful, he can let me go free. What he can't do is both. How can he be just, fine me, and be merciful, let me go free at the same time?

There's only one possibility for that, and that is by the introduction of a third party. And so imagine Doug Barnett. He's my friend. Or he was until this moment. Comes into the courtroom. Magistrate says, You're guilty.

In the exercise of justice, I fine you 100 pounds. And I say, Oh no, 100 pounds. I'm a preacher. Where do I get 100 pounds? And my friend writes his check for the 100 pounds and pays it on my behalf. As far as that court is concerned, justice has been done.

The records of that court say, Charles Price, crime, speeding, guilty, penalty, fine, 100 pounds, paid. I walk out of the court the recipient of mercy. Justice and mercy are reconciled only in a third party.

Now this is basic stuff, of course. I want to tell you why it's important to stress that and go over that gram, which is so basic, because the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ was the judge himself, the magistrate, getting off his throne.

And on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ met the just demands of a holy God who said, The soul that sins shall die, that is the justice of God. God in his integrity must see sin paid for. And as the Lord Jesus Christ received in his body the punishment due to you and to me when he said, My God, why have you forsaken me?

Enter the very atmosphere of hell, separation from God. That's the penalty for sin. And the Lord Jesus on the cross was made to be sin for us. You and I become the recipients of mercy. Now I'm going to ask you an important question.

I'm going to ask you to respond. Listen, put your hand up. I'm going to ask you to respond to one of these two questions. When you come to God for forgiveness, do you appeal to his justice or do you appeal to his mercy?

That's my question. Now please don't put your hand up and say both. If when you come to God for cleansing of your sin, if you appeal to his justice, would you please put your hand up? Okay, I can see one hand in this direction.

Maybe you're not playing, I don't know. If you appeal to his mercy, put your hand up. I suspected that would be the case. Put your hand down. You are wrong. And this is not just a little detail. This is crucial.

Appealing to God’s Justice Through Christ

What does 1 John 1 .9 say? If we confess our sins, he is faithful and... Oh, you know it. I beg your pardon? Faithful and just? Why does God forgive you? Not because he's kind. He is kind. Not because he's merciful.

He is merciful. God forgives you because he's just. What does that mean? Because Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the complete demands of a holy God on sinful men and women, boys and girls. Because his demand was satisfied in Christ, God, understand this, is morally, legally obligated to forgive you.

Now, I'll tell you why this is important. If you appeal to the mercy of God, I'll tell you what you'll begin to think. I've gone one too many times. I've exhausted his mercy. But when you and I come in genuine repentance, we appeal not to his mercy.

Behind the cross is the mercy of God, but I appeal to his justice. Father, I have sinned. I know that, but I thank you. Jesus died. Let me give you another illustration. Supposing at the end of this session you went down the track here to the snack bar, whatever it is, cafeteria down here.

You went in and you said to the butlin employee behind the counter, I would love a cup of coffee, but I'm really sorry. I don't have any money. I left it in my chalet and I haven't time to go back. Could you give me a cup of coffee?

What's he likely to do or he likely to do? Well, they may look you up and down and say, well, you're not supposed to do this. You say, but I'm really thirsty. They might say, okay, I'll give you one. Don't tell anybody.

Well, you've experienced mercy. Supposing tomorrow you went back, went back in, found the same butlin employee and said, hi, remember me from yesterday? Yeah, I remember you. You'd never believe it, but I forgot my money again.

Would you forgive, would you give me a cup of coffee? What are they going to say? They're going to say, look, I wasn't supposed to do it yesterday, let alone today. But if they're really, really nice and you smile really, really warmly, they might say, look, I'll give it to you, but this is it.

Supposing the next day you go back again. You say, hey, you'll never guess. They'd say, I think you should take a walk back to your chalet. But supposing I went down the track and I said, went down the track to the, wherever it is, the snack bar, and I said to the person behind the counter, listen, a friend of mine's coming in here this morning.

I'd like to give you some money for him to get a cup of coffee every morning after the Bible study. So here's a few pounds. It'll cover his coffee. You go in after this session. You say, good morning.

Charles Price come here this morning? You say, yeah. Did he give you some money? Yeah. Could I have my coffee? Thanks. You go back the next morning. What are they going to say? They're going to say, hi, good morning.

Do you want your coffee? It's here. Go back the third morning. Hi, I've been waiting for you. I've got your coffee. It's here. Have it. What's the difference? Well, first time you appeal to their kindness and mercy.

Second time, they're obligated to give it to you. Why? I've paid the money. The cash is in the till. When the Lord Jesus Christ said, it is finished, all he was saying, he was saying there's cash in the till.

It doesn't matter what your sin is. It doesn't matter how many times you've come. Come again. It's paid for. And I meet folks, Christian people, who live with a sense of guilt because they've never understood the justice of God was satisfied in Jesus.

And without any presumption, but boldly, boldly not on the basis of anything that God owes me, but boldly on the basis of the fact that God in his holiness owes Jesus my forgiveness. Do you understand that?

And I come and say, Father, I confess my sin, and I know your faith. I know your just. You don't just look at my sin. You look at the cross, and you say, the money's in the till, paid for. One of the most wonderful things is to know the possibility of forgiveness because forgiveness is one of the greatest psychological needs that people have, the Christians have.

Luis Peler, in a seminar that I shared with him a few days ago, quoted Gordon MacDonald in a statement he made. He said, any congregation you stand to address will have 40 of its people filled with a sense of guilt.

That is the statistic that applies here this morning, 40 of us filled with guilt. Is that you? I heard on radio four on one occasion a Scottish psychiatrist dealing with those who've gone through mental breakdown.

He said this, and I was so taken aback, I pulled my car off the road. I was on the motorway, pulled off at the next service station to write down what he said. It was too dangerous to write it down on the road because I was driving.

He said, if my patients could be assured of forgiveness, half could go home tomorrow. I read in Newsweek magazine, 95 of insanity in the United States has its roots in the refusal to accept forgiveness.

I don't know how that statistic's arrived at, but 95 is an awful lot. Breakdown has its roots in guilt. You see, if God is only a God of mercy, you can take Isaiah 53 out of our Bible. We can take the cross out of our Bible.

But God is a God of justice, and your name is in this text. It was our infirmities, our sorrows, our transgressions, our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him. If God will not forgive you for your sin, what He's saying is not that you're bad.

He's saying Jesus' death was not adequate. He doesn't say that. But the events of the cross go beyond simply saying that Jesus died for me. And I want to explain this because this is important. It goes to the point of saying, I died in Him.

What does that mean? It means that when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, as far as God is concerned, you died, I died in Him that day. My sin was paid for. That's why Paul says in Galatians 2 verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ.

That's past tense. As far as God's concerned, Charles Price hung on the cross on that first Good Friday. Romans 6 verse 5 says, We have been united with Him in His death. And verse 11 of Romans 6 then says, Therefore, count yourselves dead to sin.

Now, this doesn't mean engage in some mental gymnastics when you pretend you're dead. I spent time doing that. I'm supposed to be dead. Reckon yourself dead. Pretend I'm dead. I knew I wasn't, but pretend I am.

Pretend the old me is dead. What He's saying is judicially, legally, as far as God is concerned, the old me was crucified with Christ. You don't crucify yourself. It's past tense. People sometimes say to me, How do I crucify myself?

Well, you can't. In fact, it's the only way you can't kill yourself. I mean, how do you crucify yourself? You knock one nail into this hand? What do you do about this hand? You pull it out and knock one into this hand.

Now, what do you do about this hand? Pull it out again. Knock it in here. Listen, you can jump off a bridge, put your head in an oven, or put a bullet in your brain, but you can't crucify yourself. It's the only way you can't deal with yourself.

You've got to be crucified. And the marvelous thing is, you were. Good Friday is next week. If you go to Good Friday service next week, I want you to think of it this way. You're going to your funeral.

I'm speaking next Good Friday next week at a gathering in Ottawa in Canada. Twenty-eight denominations join together every Good Friday for a mass Good Friday service. They invited me to speak. They said, Give us a title.

I gave them the title, Welcome to your funeral. They'll come out of curiosity, I'm sure. On the cross, in God's reckoning, I died. I went two years trying to crucify myself and die to myself, and suddenly realized it says all along, I have been.

It's past tense. Believe it, Romans 6 says. Count it as true. That is, for every sin you have ever committed as far as God is concerned, you have paid. You died in a substitute in Christ. He demands nothing more of you but your repentance and confession in order that we may my appropriate.