Isaiah 54–55

0:00 Well, first things first, let me tell you about this two-inch gash that's on my forehead right here, so I don't have to have that conversation 500 times at the door back there. Sadly, this weekend, my son Jack got a little violent, and he got in one swipe on me, but we expect him to be out of the hospital on Tuesday. No, I'm kidding. Jack's not violent. I wish it was something so heroic.

0:30 I wish I could tell you that I was out water skiing this weekend and got hit by a ski, really anything other than what I'm forced to tell you now, which is that I got into an unfortunate altercation with a metal picture frame. How does one do that, you might ask? Well, it's not an interesting story at all. I was just bending over to do some housework. I was trying to clean up, reached over to pick up a dog toy, and there's a little side table next to the couch with a picture frame on it. I reached over too fast, and wham, the picture frame won the fight, quite clearly.

1:01 I checked. There's no damage to the frame, sadly. 100% of the damage is to me. But there's that. Nothing interesting about it. I just, you know, a lot of you have already noticed it, and so I thought I might as well come clean with you right here in the intro to the sermon. We are today continuing our study of the book of Isaiah. So take a Bible. If you have one, turn over to Isaiah, well, 52. You're expecting 54, we'll get there eventually, but I want you to turn to Isaiah 52. We're actually, if you looked in the bulletin or at the preaching schedule, you'll know that we're supposed to be looking really at the last two chapters of the second major section of Isaiah.

1:39 The second major section is called the book of the suffering servant, but before we get to those last two chapters of that big middle section, we're going to do something here for a little while that we don't do very often. I want to back up and take a closer look at a section that we actually looked at at least briefly last week. So I want to look at what's called the fourth and final servant song, which runs, if you're using one of these Red Pew Bibles, we're going to start on page 613.

2:10 You'll see a big number 52 on that page. That's chapter 52. Then down in there, you'll see little verse numbers. So if you look down right-hand side of the page, the subheading there, he was pierced for our transgressions. Verse 13 there of chapter 52 starts this fourth servant song. And it runs all the way down through chapter 53 before you get the kind of conclusion that we're going to talk about later in 54 and 55. Well, what we're going to do is back up and look at that fourth servant song again. Now, there are a couple of reasons that I want to do that.

2:43 One of those reasons is that if, like we talked about last week, if the book of Isaiah is kind of like a cathedral in its architectural beauty and detail and exquisiteness, chapter 53 is without a doubt like the biggest, highest, soaring central nave of the cathedral. This is kind of the middle of the book. This is what it's all been driving to. And chapter 53, to call it roughly that, it's really 52, 13 through 53. But chapter 53 is the center of the whole thing.

3:14 And so we want to be sure to give it the attention that it's due and look at it carefully. Another reason, though, is that chapters 54 and 55 only make sense if you've got chapter 53 already in your head. They don't make sense otherwise. And the reason is because they are an invitation to salvation. And what you've got to know before that invitation makes sense is, okay, well, what kind of salvation? What's on offer here? What's being held out in this invitation? And it's chapter 53 that gives that to you.

3:47 So what we're going to do, even though we talked about it in a little bit last week, we're going to back up and we're going to talk in more detail about chapter 53 and then move on forward into 54 and 55. Okay, so let me bring you up to speed on where we are in the book. For the last few weeks, what we've been doing is looking at the central section of Isaiah. It's three big sections, right? The central one is called the Book of the Suffering Servant. We've been looking at that second big section, Book of the Suffering Servant, chapter 38 through 55. And as we've said about the book of Isaiah as a whole, every section of the book has this exquisite literary structure to it.

4:22 That's why I think about it as a cathedral. Because every room you walk into, every chapter that you walk into, has this wonderful structure to it. And it's all connected to each other. And then as you start to look at a particular section or room of the cathedral, you realize, oh my goodness, this section itself has an exquisite literary structure to it. So Isaiah, throughout the book, is really building what you might call a cathedral out of words. And once you start to see that, it's breathtakingly beautiful. It's not just beautiful, though.

4:54 It's also instructive. Because probably some of you in your Bible reading plans, probably some of you have read through Isaiah before. And you know that it can, if you don't understand the structure of it, if you're just kind of reading it sight unseen and without some help, without a map of the cathedral, so to speak, you can just get lost in it, right? It doesn't feel so much like a cathedral as it does a bowl of spaghetti, right? There's just judgment, judgment, judgment, judgment, right? And there's no, it's hard to figure out what the most important parts are. I mean, we're all familiar with various verses of it. We're familiar with chapter 53. We're familiar with chapter 9.

5:26 We're familiar with chapter 6. And so when we run up on one of those in our, you know, unstructured reading, it's like an oasis in a desert, right? Oh, good, a verse that I've heard before. But here's the thing about the structure. The structure of it works kind of like when you were a kid, the decoder glasses, right? Like you look at this piece of paper and it just looks like this jumble of mess, like red and blue, all jumbled up. And then you take your decoder glasses and put them on it. Oh, I can read the message, right? That's what the structure does. When you see the structure, it illuminates the message.

6:00 It helps you understand what Isaiah is saying in the section. Well, the book of the king, or the book of the servant that we've been looking at is really no different. So you probably either picked up or having your bulletin, a handout looks like this. It's green and blue. So take that out. Let me get you up to speed on where we are with this book. So on the, what is that, the left-hand side with, you know, the sort of gray lettering, what you've got there on the left-hand side is an outline of the whole book of the servant.

6:31 From chapter 38 all the way through 55, that's what you've got right there. And I've told you this a few times, but it, you know, it doesn't hurt me to say it again, and it's probably good for you, as Paul says. What you've got here are five sections, each of which acts like a two-sided coin, right? So number one there, historical example. Basically, in 38 and 39, what you've got is good Hezekiah, bad Hezekiah. That's what you've got. It's a coin. It's all about Hezekiah. And one part he's good, and the next part he's bad. And the question is, Hezekiah, are you going to trust the Lord, or are you not? He doesn't, and then he doesn't. Right?

7:01 That's how 38, 39 works. That second one, you really could call it two promises of comfort. So it's all about comfort. That whole section, comfort to Israel on the one hand, then comfort to the nations. Right? See the coin structure there? Then you get two promises of redemption. So two kinds of redemption. One of those redemptions is redemption from slavery in Babylon. That's what Israel thinks they need. And then you've got redemption from sin. That's what God is telling them they do, in fact, need. Right? So redemption from captivity, redemption from sin.

7:32 Then you've got two redeemers in number four. Cyrus of Persia, who's going to redeem them from captivity. That's what they think they want. And then the suffering servant, who redeems them from sin. That's what they actually need. And that section ends with this green box. right? The very last part of it is this fourth most famous servant song. If you've been in church much at all in your life, you're going to recognize lines from this fourth and most famous servant song. And then, you know, the last little coin there in the blue box, two proclamations of redemption. So a proclamation of redemption to Israel, proclamation of redemption to the nation.

8:08 So you can see how the structure of 38 to 55 works. So what we're doing today is we basically come to the last of those little sections, the last of those coins. We're going to look at that blue box, those two proclamations of salvation, two invitations, really. But first, we're going to back up and look at the fourth servant song yet again. This is actually, I think, short enough that we're going to read it. Yep. So turn in your Bible to page 613. If you're using a pew Bible, We're going to start reading in the fourth servant song there at 52, 13.

8:43 So here's what Isaiah writes. Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. So he shall sprinkle many nations. 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. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

9:15 For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

9:45 Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, 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. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

10:20 And he 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. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 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. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.

10:54 Because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors, and bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Sing, O barren one who did not bear. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor. For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent. Let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your offspring will possess the nations and will people desolate cities.

11:29 Fear not, for you will not be ashamed. Be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced. for you will forget the shame of your youth and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more for your maker is your husband the Lord of hosts is his name and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer the God of the whole earth he is called for the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit like a wife of youth when she is cast off says your God for a brief moment I deserted you but with great compassion I will gather you in overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you But with everlasting love, I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.

12:06 This is like the days of Noah to me. As I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you. O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, Behold, I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphire. I will make your pinnacles of agate and your gates of carbuncles and all your wall of precious stones.

12:40 All your children shall be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me. Whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed. And you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.

13:16 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me here that your soul may live. And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.

13:48 Behold, you, David, shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you. because of the Lord your God and of the Holy One of Israel for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he's near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

14:22 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it for you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

15:00 I mean, it's beautiful, isn't it? I mean, let's just sing and go home. You've got the gospel about as plainly as it's ever described in the entire Bible and in these two beautiful invitations to people to come find salvation in Jesus. It's just a beautiful story that unfolds there. But there's a structure even in these three chapters. So grab that handout again and look at the other side, five. This will help you as we're making our way through this morning. So it just works kind of like a double click, right? Like a drop-down menu.

15:32 So the green box over there opens up into structure over here in the green box. And same thing with the blue box. You'll see how it kind of lines up. So look at it with me in the green box, for instance, this fourth and most famous servant song. It's got what we call, what scholars call, a chiastic structure. Now, many of you will have heard of that sort of thing. What does that mean? Well, chi, so chiastic, right, chiastic structure. Chi is the Greek letter X. So it's like, right, that's what chi is. So if you look at the green box, you'll see along one side of it, A, B, C, B, A, right?

16:07 What does that look like? It looks like half of an X, right? So if you stuck it on the other side, you'd have the whole X. That's why they call it a chiastic structure. because you've got sections within this fourth servant song that are talking about the same thing just kind of with a different twist, right? So both of the A sections are kind of talking about the same thing. It's the servant being exalted and yet despised. And what it's asking is, why is that? Like, how can he be so exalted and yet despised at the same time? That's the problem set up in that first A section.

16:40 In the last A section, the solution is given and it ties the suffering and the exaltation together in a really amazing way. The B sections are talking about the servant's life and how he's despised and ultimately he dies and is buried. That's what the B sections are talking about. And then that C section right in the center is explaining why all this suffering is happening, which is how chiastic structures work, right? I mean, you've heard the phrase X marks the spot, right? So if you've got a treasure map and you're going to say where the treasure is, where do you mark?

17:12 Where with the X do you mark? You mark the treasure at the center of the X, right? That's where the treasure is. X marks the spot. Same thing with a chiastic structure like this. The treasure is at the center of the X, like almost always. You know, there's usually smaller treasures on the outside, but the big treasure is always right at the middle. And so when you see a structure like this, that's where you go. So here, the C section. It's the explanation of the suffering, not just the suffering itself or its details. That's not what's ultimately important. It's why the suffering had to happen.

17:43 And that's how it works. If you look down at the blue box, I'll just go through this real quickly. In 54, you've got three images of kind of reversal. So you've got a widowed barren woman who's blessed with many, many children, right? And larger tents, you know, because you're gonna have a lot of kids, basically what it's saying. So this widowed barren woman is blessed. You've got a rejected wife restored. We're gonna talk about that. And then the third image is an afflicted city under siege being established in righteousness. right? It's made beautiful. Carbuncles are put on the walls and the, you know, gates are made out of agate and all the rest of it. So the afflicted city established. 55, that should look familiar, right? That's another chiastic structure. So I'm not going to go through the whole thing, but look at the center, right? Where the treasure is, that sea, it's a call right in the middle of it. Repent and believe. Like, come to Jesus and be saved. That's what the whole thing is aiming at, right there at the middle. So follow along with this. That'll help you see what the point is. Here's the main idea of the whole thing. Jesus, the suffering servant, has done the work of salvation.

18:44 So come to him and be saved. Jesus, the suffering servant, has done the work of salvation. So come to him and be saved. We're going to look at this section of Isaiah in two points. Number one, the servant's work. That's chapter 53. So green box, point one, the servant's work. And then point two, the Lord's invitation. That's 54 and 55, so the blue box. So that's where we're going. Jesus, the suffering servant, has done the work of salvation, so come to him and be saved. And then we're going to look at servant's work and the Lord's invitation. Okay, let's dive into it.

19:21 Point number one, the servant's work. Looking at that green box. Last week, we looked at this section that runs from 52.13 all the way down through 53. But it's very much going to be worth looking at it again in more detail. Because I'm not kidding you, the picture that this paints of what the suffering servant accomplishes is incredible. It's just breathtaking. And it's breathtaking, I think, not just in its content, but in its unexpected clarity. I mean, can you just believe that when we were reading Isaiah 53, you might as well have thought that that's something that was written in the New Testament, right? I mean, that passage belongs in the New Testament. It's like somebody has watched the whole birth and life and death and burial and resurrection of Jesus from start to finish, and then writes a poem about it. That's what it sounds like. And yet, this poem, friends, was written 700 years before Jesus was even born. I mean, I know

20:24 that you probably already know that but just think about it the clarity with which isaiah in his prophetic office sees the life of jesus and the death of jesus and the resurrection of jesus so we're going to look at that in in more detail even before we do that though i i want to i want to kind of back up a little bit and take you on a flyby of how isaiah has introduced and talked about this character of the servant throughout the book because at various points throughout the book of the servant he's showed up right he's showed up several different times and you just get these glimpses of this servant who's going to rescue the people from their sin and what you learn each time he shows up is just a little bit more about who he is going to be so throughout throughout the book of the servant 38 to 55 there are four places where the servant shows up where he's introduced and we learn something about him and we call those we've come to call those the four servant songs of the book of Isaiah. They're all in poetry. They're all probably meant to be sung,

21:26 so they're servant songs. In some of those songs, the Lord is speaking to or about his servant, right? So in the first one, he introduces the servant to the people. Other times, he speaks to the servant. In a couple of places, in a couple of the songs, the servant himself actually speaks about himself, which is super interesting. But that's the four servant songs, and I'm going to I'm going to show you where they are. So take your Bible, flip back a few pages to chapter 42, and look at verses 1 to 9.

22:00 We're not going to read all of this, but I do just want you to notice some certain things. Chapter 42, 1 through 9. This is the first introduction of the servant, and he gets a nice introduction there in 42.1, right? Behold, God says, my servant. Ta-da, this is the introduction of the person who's going to be the hero of this whole central section of the book. Behold my servant. Now I want you to look at, I want you to notice some things as you let your eyes roll down over this. So 42, verse 1, I have put my spirit upon him.

22:32 He will bring forth justice to the nations. Interesting, who else does that sound like? Who else has the spirit put upon them and works to bring justice to the nations? The king, from the book of the king, remember that? Going down to verse 4. He will not grow faint or be discouraged until he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his law. Again, this language about establishing justice, exactly the same thing that the king does.

23:03 Look at verse 6. I am the Lord. This is the Lord speaking to the servant. I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind. It's interesting, isn't it? This servant is going to be a covenant for the people of salvation. So that's what this first song is about. It's introducing the servant. And what it tells you is he's going to be established by the Lord.

23:35 He's going to work to establish justice in all the nations of the earth. He's even going to rule over them, it looks like. And in the process, he's going to be a covenant whereby God and man come together in his own person. He's going to be that kind of person. Okay, that's the first servant song. Now, flip over a few pages to 49. This is the next one. We looked at this one a little bit last week. Chapter 49.

24:08 So this is the servant speaking. Listen to me. Oh, Coastal, you remember we said that Cyrus never speaks, but the servant calls the nations to attention here? He's a ruling kind of figure. Look at verse 4. This is new. But I said, this is the servant still speaking, but I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity, yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with God.

24:38 Now what's that talking about? Well, it's the first time in these servant songs that you get the note of suffering sounded. Now it's not much. It's just a high-pitched note in the midst of the symphony. But it's a note that the servant is going to suffer. There are going to be times when he's not happy. I've spent my strength for nothing in vanity. And then it goes on to hit a lot of the same themes. You've got, you know, verse 7, kingly authority again. You've got universal salvation of the nations again in verse 12.

25:11 That's the second servant song. Turn one more page to chapter 50. Chapter 50. This one's a little obscured because it runs from verse 4 to 9. This is the third servant song. 4 to 9. It's got an introduction on it, verses 1 to 3. And then it's got this, and then you get the song itself from 4 to 9. Now, this is the servant speaking again, but you don't know that. It's not told to you until after it's already over, right?

25:42 So look, you've got 4 through 9. That's the servant speaking. And yet in 10, look what it says. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? So that's what clues you in, that who you've just been listening to speak is, in fact, the servant. Look at 6, verse 6 of it, right in the middle. I gave my back to those who strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. So that high, tinny note of suffering in the second servant song is getting broader and broader here.

26:18 It's getting wider, it's getting louder. You start to see that, oh, the servant is going to suffer. But then look at seven. But the Lord God helps me. Therefore, I've not been disgraced. Therefore, I've set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. And then nine, behold, this is how it ends. Behold, the Lord God helps me. Who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment. The moth will eat them up. So in the midst of the suffering, what this is telling you is that the servant is gonna rely on him who judges justly and that one who judges justly is gonna vindicate him in the end.

26:54 So do you see how all these themes are coming together and you gotta have alarm bells going like, that's Jesus, that's Jesus. Yes, it is. but you're only supposed to see that in shadow through these first three songs. What you get, I mean, you can see the picture taking shape, right? This servant that's being introduced here is a kingly figure. He's going to rule over the nations of the world. He's going to establish justice, but at the same time, he's also going to affect a covenant between God and people, and he's going to suffer. He's going to be rejected, but he's going to trust in God, and God is going to vindicate him in the end.

27:28 That's the picture that's starting to take shape. but you're still asking the question, okay, how though? Like there's a bunch of pieces laying around there, but how do we pull all those shards together into something that makes sense? Why is he suffering? How does he end up ruling the nations if they reject him and despise him? Well, that's the question that's still burning as this fourth servant song gets going in 52.13. So now let's go there. 52.13, let's look at it. You can see there it breaks down into five sections on your handout, A, B, C, B, A.

28:05 That's kind of how it works. And at the beginning of it, all you've got so far is this burning question of what is this suffering that the servant is being subjected to? What is going on? And in the first section there, 13 to 15, it basically sets up a paradox, right? It's trying to get you to realize that there's a problem. So let me show you what it is. Verse 13, behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. Now, I mentioned this last week, but do you remember why that language of high and lifted up is important?

28:41 It's because there are only two other places in Isaiah where that's used. One of them is in Isaiah 6. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. It's talking about Yahweh. It's talking about God. So that's cluing. And the other time is in 57, also talking about God. So that's cluing you into the fact that this is not just a man. This is not just a normal person. This is God. So there's this new thing. Oh, the servant is royal, but the servant is also divine.

29:15 Couldn't be clearer that this servant isn't just a human. Somehow he is God Almighty subjected to suffering. So then in 14, you get this picture of these people called the many. being astonished at the servant's suffering. You see that? As many were astonished at you. The many there is actually an important word. It doesn't look like it, but it is, because it's a character that runs throughout the story. It is the people who are being saved, and they have a story that sort of runs underneath the story of the servant.

29:46 So here, they're just knocked back by this guy. It's like the many are astonished because your face is so marred you don't even look like a human anymore, it says. They're just knocked back by his suffering. By the end of the story, though, that suffering is the very same thing that has saved them from their sin, and now they're rejoicing. So they have a story. The many go from being astonished to being saved, from being knocked back to rejoicing. That's what happens to the many. And, friends, that's you and me if you're a Christian. That's our story, to be astonished by Jesus first.

30:19 It's just to be like, surely that can't be a Messiah. That can't be God. And yet it is. And it's only because it is that we can be saved. You get a little preview of that rejoicing in the first line of 15. So even though the many are astonished at his marred appearance, yet somehow he ends up sprinkling many nations. That word sprinkling there has to do with sacrifice, with atonement. So it's saying that as the altar of the temple was cleansed by the sprinkling of blood on it, So the nations are cleansed by the sprinkling of something.

30:54 Isaiah doesn't really tell us yet, but they're sprinkled somehow in atonement by the servant who is so marred that he's beyond recognition, right? So you get a little preview of that. So you see the paradox being set up here, right? The problem. How is it that this servant can be so exalted such that in that last verse there, 15, you got kings shutting their mouths because of him. How can he be that exalted and yet suffer so deeply that people are knocked back by his marred appearance that doesn't even look human?

31:26 How can that be? There's no answer yet. You just have this guy super exalted and super suffering, and they're not pulled together at all yet. Look at 53, 1 to 3, the next section. Keeps up the paradox, even twists it a little bit, twists the paradox to make it tighter, to make it more tense and uncomfortable. So verse 1 there basically asks, how can anybody believe this? Like this is crazy. And you're supposed to feel that by now. Exalted and yet suffering. This is nuts. How can anybody believe this? That phrase arm of the Lord there is interesting because every time it's used, it's not just an appendage of God.

32:02 It's not talking about his arm. That's not what it means. It means God. It's the strength and power and majesty of the Lord. Right? His strength. Right? That's why it says arm. It's his strength. It's him. So you got another reference there to the servant being God. But then, over the next couple of verses, you get several reasons why people aren't going to recognize that. They're not going to see that the servant is the arm of the Lord. So even though he is that, even though he's God himself in all his exalted power, then you get this.

32:32 He grew up like a plant. Grew up like a root in dry ground. In other words, there's nothing exceptional about him. He didn't drop out of heaven. You know, he came up out of the ground like the rest of us did. He has a very earthly beginning. Same thing with his appearance in verse 2. There's no particular majesty about him. There's nothing that would draw your attention. He's not overly handsome. He's not overly tall. He's not overly well built. Nothing like that. There's nothing that would draw your attention. You ever think about that? That when you see Jesus face to face, other than just the divine splendor of the divine majesty, right?

33:06 If you were to just see him in his human form, there'd be nothing about him that would draw your attention. When you stand in front, I think most of us have the idea that when we stand in front of Jesus on the last day, it's going to be like this. Right? Like a child looking up at the father. But no, probably not. This is telling you that he's not overly tall. He's not overly handsome. Like, do you know that, as far as we can tell from, like, crypts and stuff in Rome and Jerusalem and other cities, you know what the average height of a person was in Jesus' day? And Jesus would have been average.

33:38 About 5'4". Like, like, right there. Like, do you realize that for most of you, the king of the entire universe is shorter than you? He's human. He's human. And Isaiah is saying, there's nothing that would draw you. And so verse 3, he's despised. He's rejected. But still, why? Why is the servant suffering like this? And the answer comes in that center section, 4 through 6. Look at 53, 4 through 6.

34:09 Surely he's borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds 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. Finally, you get an answer. Why does the servant suffer? He suffers not because of something he did. He suffers not even because he doesn't have a form that attracts people. No, it's not because of his wrongdoing.

34:40 He suffers because of ours. He suffers because of our wrongdoing. I said last week that I think this is one of the clearest explanations of the gospel in the entire Bible. And it is. It just is. So let's look at what it teaches. Four things that I want you to see here. Number one, they're all in these three verses. Four through six. Four things out of those three verses. Number one, it shows us, these verses show us just how helpless we are to save ourselves. and how powerful Jesus is to save.

35:13 It shows us how helpless we are to save ourselves, and how powerful Jesus is to save. So look at that section. Notice throughout those three verses that there are two emphatic subjects, actors. There are two actors that show up again and again. There's he, and then there's we. He and we, again and again and again. I mean, you can see it there. Surely he has borne our grieves and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, and with his wounds we are healed.

35:46 We have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. There's he and there's we. But throughout those three verses, he does everything, and we do nothing. He does everything, and we do nothing. He bears sins. He is pierced and crushed. He takes the chastisement of peace. We stare at him, watch him go astray, and then finally just benefit from what he's done. That's what we do.

36:17 Friend, it is a good and humbling thing for you as a Christian to remember that your salvation is holy because of what Jesus has done for you and not at all because of anything you have done for yourself. When you stand in heaven, if anybody ever walks up to you and says, hey, brother, sister, why are you here in heaven? Don't you dare start that sentence with I. You start it with he died for me, and therefore I am saved.

36:51 Second thing, these verses show us that salvation is accomplished through what we've come to call penal substitutionary atonement. Salvation is accomplished through penal, meaning penalty, penal substitutionary atonement. In other words, salvation is accomplished through a substitute being punished in your place as a sinner. Now, through the years, there have been lots of arguments about this with people trying to say that, no, no, no, no, no, salvation in Jesus' death, it doesn't have anything to do with punishment. It has nothing to do with a penalty being exacted by God.

37:25 It doesn't have to do with that. It's just a display of love. It's a display of self-sacrifice. It has nothing to do with punishments. It has nothing to do with substitution, right? Well, that is impossible in light of these few verses right here. You can see that in words like, surely he has borne our griefs. Surely he has carried our sorrows. And look at the first phrase of five there. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Really, really important word there in four.

37:59 He was pierced for. What does the four mean? Well, it's a very particular little preposition in the Hebrew language. And what it means is because of. He was pierced because of our transgressions. He was crushed because of our iniquities. So that's substitution. It was our iniquities. It was our transgressions. But he was pierced and he was crushed. That's substitution. So where's the penalty part of that?

38:30 where's penal substitution well it's in all those words really I mean if you get crushed for someone else's iniquities you know crushed because of someone else's iniquities that crushing is a penalty right but there are some people who have looked at the crushing and the you know the smittenness and the you know the piercing and the bearing and the carrying all that and they've said well those things aren't they're not penal they don't have anything to do with punishment they don't have anything to do with penalty they just that's what happened to him right but God didn't inflict that as a punishment okay so look then at the third line of five upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace the word chastisement is literally the punishment and I actually wish that your bibles wouldn't soften that by calling it a word you never use you never say chastisement you do say punishment a lot especially if you're a parent chastisement means punishment it literally is punishment so you see he the servant endures a punishment for our griefs for our sorrows for our transgressions for our iniquities that results in

39:38 our peace it's extraordinary that idea of peace being the end of all of this is extraordinary because you remember last week what we said is as god watched his wicked people go out of babylon He redeemed them from Babylon, right? There's all this great rejoicing that they're going out of Babylon. He's rescued them. And then as he looks after them, he says, there is no peace for the wicked. Now there is. Now there is. Because of what the servant has done, now there is peace between God and sinful human beings.

40:13 Here's the third thing. These verses show us that the servant does this. He suffers as a substitute for his sinful people. He does this willingly. It doesn't just happen to him. God doesn't just subject him to it. He does it willingly. So look at the first line of verse 4. Surely he has borne our grief. So that word borne can have the connotation, if you don't understand it, that it's just saying it happened. Right? Like somehow our griefs and our sorrows got put on his shoulders.

40:45 So somehow they got there, and now he has borne them, right? But it doesn't necessarily say anything about how they got there. The word actually does say how they got there, though. Because what it means literally is to lift something off of someone else. Do you see the note of willingness in that? Surely he has lifted up our sorrows and put them on his back. See, friend, it's not just that Jesus bore your griefs and your sorrows and your sins accidentally.

41:16 It's not just that God put them on his shoulders against his will. No, he stooped down and lifted your griefs and sorrows and sins and transgressions and iniquities and willingly put them on his own shoulders. Look, this is critical because right here, this is like the pinnacle of Isaiah's atonement theology. This is where Isaiah is ringing the bell of the most profound thing that he's going to say because he realized more clearly than literally anyone else yet in the story of the Bible that a truly effective substitutionary sacrifice would have to die willingly.

41:53 That's what he realized. The sacrifice has to die willingly. See, the fatal flaw, the fatal flaw with the Old Testament system of sacrifices was that a lamb could be killed, a bull could be slaughtered in the place of the people, but neither the lamb nor the bull was willing for it to happen. But why does it have to be willing? Why is it so important that the sacrifice be a willing one? Because that's the point, at the will, where sin is most evil.

42:30 See, look, it would be one thing if sin were just a failing. If we just tried really hard and failed, right? That would be one thing. It would be another thing if sin is just like brokenness that just, you know, happens to us. You know, maybe we failed. That would be one thing. Maybe it just happened to us and we're all broken and sinful now. Those are bad enough. But what makes sin evil is that it is willful. When you sin, you sin because you want to sin. It goes right down into the very heart of you that sin comes out.

43:04 You do it because you want to. it's rebellion. And so a truly worthy sacrifice, one that could atone for the very heart and core of willful, rebellious sin, would have to be a sacrifice who gives himself willingly. That's why the animals were never going to work. That's why the animals were never going to work. The sacrifice had to be willing in order to atone for the ugly, rebellious core of sin itself.

43:38 So, listen, if you're a Christian, think about that for a minute. Think about how much Jesus loved you to go to the cross for you and take on that sin willingly. He didn't do it begrudgingly. He didn't do just what's necessary to save you. He made atonement for your very core. He made atonement for the very core and awful heart of your sin. That's what he did for you. Here's the fourth thing. It shows us, these verses here show us very clearly that all of this was God's will.

44:12 And it was under God's sovereign authority. So look at the last line of verse 6. Ultimately, it's God there who lays on him the iniquity of us all. That language right there, laying the iniquity, straight out of Leviticus 16. Because the iniquity is laid on the animal that is about to die. The high priest lays the sin of the people on the animal and the animal dies. Straight out of Leviticus 16. And the whole structure of this thing, as I said last week, is structure to make you gasp when you get to the end of verse 6. How did all this happen? How did it all happen?

44:43 How does the servant become a sacrifice in my place? It's because the Lord wanted it to happen. Let's keep going. 53, 7 through 9, the next section. So if verses 1 to 3 told us about the, you know, these facts about the servant's life. He has unremarkable beginnings. He's got a life of suffering and being rejected. If that's what 1 to 3 does, 7 and 9 picks up that story and tells us about his trial and his death and his burial. And this is just real clear. Do you see it? The trial is in 7.

45:14 The death is in 8. He's cut off from the land of the living. And then you've got that note of substitution sounded again. Who among his generation, who among his contemporaries realized that the reason this happened is that he was being stricken from my people? Right? That's Isaiah saying, you know, who would know that this is what was going on? And yet this is what was going on. Right? So the death is in eight, cut off from the land of the living because of the sin of the people. And then in nine, there's this fascinating statement that he was buried with the wicked ones, in the plural, and a rich man, in the singular.

45:46 Now that's weird because if Isaiah's just wanting to make the point that he was buried with the rich, wicked people, right? He would have said with the wicked ones and the rich ones. He didn't use the plural, but he changes it. It's the wicked ones and a singular rich man. who's that who's that rich man Joseph of Arimathea again 700 years in advance alright look at the last section 53 10 through 12 what you got there is just a fireworks display of rejoicing and triumph the agony of the servant is over he receives the reward of his suffering look first with me at verse 10 you got clear notes there of substitution and sacrifice That's what offering for guilt is.

46:33 And at this point in the story of Isaiah 53, he's dead, right? He died up in verse 8. And then he stayed dead. He got buried in 9. And now you've got in 10, this is what's happened. He got crushed. He got put to grief. His soul has made an offering for guilt. He's dead. And yet, look at the next line. And yet he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. And the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. And it goes on and on and on and on. So right there in the middle of 10, everything changes, and all of a sudden, the servant's alive again.

47:05 There's the resurrection. I mean, it's astonishing, isn't it? You have life, death, or life, trial, death, burial, resurrection, all right here in Isaiah 53. It's like Isaiah's just seen the whole thing. Look at verse 11. It's just so beautiful. There are two parts here to the salvation he wins. Do you see in verse 11? By his knowledge shall the righteous will my servant. He does two things here. He shall make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. He shall make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

47:38 Both things. When you come to Christ for salvation, you are not just forgiven of your sin, you're also made righteous with his righteousness. You ever heard me talk about the magnificent exchange? Luther used that phrase, Martin Luther. Magnificent exchange between you and Jesus if you're a Christian. He gets your iniquities, and you get his righteousness. There it is right there in verse 11. He shall make many to be accounted righteous, credited as righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Verse 12, you've got him ruling over the world again.

48:11 I will divide him a portion with the many. He shall divide the spoil with the strong. He's seated among the greatest of the earth. Why? Why is he there? Well, four reasons real quick. Because he poured out his soul to death. Because he was numbered with the transgressors. That's you. He identified himself with you as a transgressor. He bore the sin of many, and now he stands as an intercession for the transgressors. Between man and God. I mean, it's beautiful, isn't it? It's just beautiful. I mean, right here we're standing at the white-hot center of the good news of Jesus.

48:45 We are completely helpless in our sins, sunk under the curse of sin. And yet, Jesus, the suffering servant of God, the divine royal king, lifts our sin off of our shoulders, places it onto his own, and dies in our place as our substitute. And now we live with him. Now friend, if that's news to you, I hope it is striking your heart as brilliant news this morning. Because it is. What it's saying is that there's a king who stands ready to save you by his own blood shed in your place.

49:17 His hand is open. Why don't you come to him today and be saved? That's what chapters 54 and 55 are looking at. This is point number two. It's way shorter. The Lord's invitation to you. Because it's just not as, these two chapters are not as complicated. It's just this eruption of praise and invitation and come, come, come. Right? It just isn't that complicated. So on the heels of this magnificent picture of the servant's work, you've got two chapters, grand invitation to come to the Lord and be saved by his work. So it starts, as you might expect, with the word sing.

49:49 Because the servant has done all this, because all of this is true, sing, O barren one who did not bear. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor, because now you're going to have children, right? It's just saying a barren woman who is sad and broken and defeated is now brought to life. That's what it's saying. So you, as a Christian, as a sinner, stand in the place of that barren woman, and now as one who's been redeemed by Christ, you stand as this blessed woman. That's what that's saying. When you look at the next part, too, the next part there, If you look at the handout, the next image is a rejected wife.

50:27 Again, you are the rejected wife, and now you're going to be, you know, by Jesus, called back into fellowship with the husband. But I want to show you these three things real quick. Look at verse 7, 54-7. Just look at the exchange that takes place here. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. Desertion exchanged for compassion. Eight, in overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you. But now, with everlasting love, I will have compassion on you. Anger exchanged for compassion. And then in verse 9, you've got 9 and 10, basically, you have this new covenant of peace that is offered to this rejected wife instead of wrath.

51:06 Just like a covenant was offered in the days of Noah, this new covenant of peace established by the servant is offered to those who should face only wrath. That's a good thing, this covenant of peace. it's a good offer that's being made to have anger put away and a covenant of peace put in place that's a really good thing because friend if you're not a Christian let me let me tell you something about where you stand right now a covenant of peace with God is a good offer terms of surrender with God is a good offer because you are right now at war with God you may not feel like that you may not believe that that's true but the reality is you are but what isaiah is saying to you is that if you'll come to the servant if you'll come to jesus that war can be over there's a covenant of peace offered in him you can be at peace with god forever now i love what one preacher said about about all of this he said in the moment that

52:09 Jesus cried out, it is finished, and bowed his head in death, all the canons of God's wrath fell silent. Jehovah bade his sword awake, O Christ. It woke against thee. Thy blood, its flaming blade, must slake. The flame of God's sword will be quenched in the blood of the servant. Thy blood, its flaming blade, must slake. Thy soul, its sheath, must be. And all of that was for my sake, my peace to make.

52:40 Now sleeps that sword for me. And chapter 55 is just this ringing universal call to all the nations of the world to come and find salvation. Look what he says in 55.1. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Four times. I mean, how often could the Lord say it?

53:14 Come, come, come. And notice that twice there in verse 1, he mentions that it doesn't take any money to come. No money. Why? Because it's all been paid for already by the work of this divine, royal, suffering servant. My friend, if you're not a Christian, more than anything else in your life, you need to hear this invitation. You need to not let this invitation from God pass. That sword that we sang about last week that I just quoted, that sword who's going to be slaked by somebody's blood, that sword is going to find its sheath somewhere because of your sin.

53:50 There's no way around it. That sword is going to fall on your sin one way or another. Don't let it find its sheath in your own soul. There's one who's already taken it. There's one in whose soul it has already been slaked. Who's already suffered the piercing of that sword. And right now, friend, right now in heaven, he stands ready to take that sword for you. He won't always. He won't always be there with his hand open, offering mercy and forgiveness.

54:24 He won't. One day that open hand is going to close and withdraw. One day he's going to turn away and the day of salvation will be over forever. But praise God, not yet. Not yet. Right now, it's still open. It's still outstretched. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

54:58 Come. let's pray our Lord God we praise you that you are such a good and joyful and welcoming God that you the suffering servant have given yourself for us so that your hand can be outstretched in mercy and compassion now oh Lord we pray that there wouldn't be a single person in this place today who would walk away from here not receiving that salvation from your wounded hand.

55:31 We pray all of that in the name of Jesus and to his honor and glory. Amen.