[0:00] We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, let's read together from Isaiah 53 and then we'll think about it for a time together.
[0:12] So Isaiah 53 from the beginning, but we'll think about verses 10 to 12. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
[0:24] He grew up before him like a tender shoot and 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.
[0:38] He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held him in low esteem.
[0:50] Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions.
[1:01] He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray.
[1:12] Each of us has turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.
[1:22] He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, yet who of his generation protested?
[1:34] For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
[1:47] Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
[2:00] After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors.
[2:20] For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. So we've been thinking for the last two Sundays now this one about the gospel, the good news that there is in the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.
[2:36] And we come here to part three and we're going to focus on the resurrection of the servant as we think about Easter Sunday. But I want to begin with the story of a man from Cameroon called Francis Ngannou.
[2:51] And maybe you've heard of him. I suspect most of you haven't. I certainly hadn't until last week. If you're interested, he is an ultimate fighter. He's in the UFC, mixed martial arts.
[3:02] I don't follow it, but I always like to read those sort of personal interest stories, those interviews that reveal sort of glimpses into the sort of the backstory of athletes.
[3:14] And Francis's story is a story of being a refugee from Cameroon to becoming a rising star within the MMA. So I was reading and listening to him talk about being like many thousands from Africa, leaving that continent on migrant boats in order to sail to France.
[3:35] And then he spent months homeless and penniless in Paris until eventually he found a gym and then he began to train.
[3:46] And now he's on this path towards success in the MMA. And so I read that in the morning. And then later that day, I discovered that he had a championship fight, which he won.
[3:57] And he is now crowned as heavyweight champion in the world of UFC. And it's sort of now in my head, those two stories of agony and struggle and victory, they belong together.
[4:13] When I think about Francis and Gannou. And isn't that true when we think of the story of Easter and the story of Jesus? Here we have Isaiah 700 years before the arrival of Jesus.
[4:26] And what he's done in the first verses that we've looked at, he's taken us into the agony, to the depths of the suffering and the death of Jesus, the obedient suffering servant of the Lord.
[4:37] And today, in verses 10 to 12, we're going to see how the agony and the victory of the resurrection are then woven together as essential elements in the gospel.
[4:52] They are two sides of the same coin. So that hopefully we will recognise that we are called to respond to the Jesus of Isaiah 53.
[5:07] The Jesus who is both crucified for us and risen in glory. So the question is, will we worship this Jesus or will we walk away from him?
[5:22] So we're going to think about the resurrection of the servant of the Lord and see how that connects with the Lord's will. And then think about what that says about the satisfaction of the servant and the triumph of the servant as we move through this text.
[5:40] So let's begin with the resurrection and the Lord's will. Verse 10. Look how it begins. Yet it takes us right to the heart of the crucial question.
[6:05] Who killed Jesus? And it takes us beyond the religious leaders who plotted and planned against Jesus. It takes us past the Roman soldiers who conspired with the Jews to put Jesus to death.
[6:22] Ultimately, we see it was the father who planned to kill Jesus. Notice it begins, verse 10 begins with a yet.
[6:38] It's saying, although we have seen all this truth, although we have seen the servant despised, abused, rejected, killed, buried by those who hated him and opposed him.
[6:50] Yet as the curtain is pulled back, beyond human actions, we see it is the Lord's will and the Lord's pleasure to do what?
[7:03] This is a remarkable statement, isn't it? Look at verse 10. It was the Lord's will. It's the Lord's pleasure to crush his servant. To cause his servant to suffer.
[7:14] To make his servant's life an offering for sin, a guilt offering. Now remember, the servant is Jesus, the sinless Son of God.
[7:30] The dearly loved Son of God. So the question is that, how do we make sense of this? How can the Father delight in the death of his Son?
[7:40] And the answer must lie in what the death of his Son, the Lord Jesus, achieves. Now to just take a step back for a moment.
[7:55] Imagine the Bible, not as a book, but as a symphony. And if the Bible was a symphony, we'd hear over and over again the great melody of salvation ringing out.
[8:08] God is a God who delights to save sinners. But within this symphony, we'd have interweaving themes that come and go throughout the whole Bible.
[8:20] And two dominant themes are, one, that God is passionate for his glory and his honour. So he cannot turn a blind eye to sin and he cannot just brush sin under the carpet.
[8:32] He must be just and he must maintain his holiness. So God's passion for his glory and honour. But also, the other theme that we see is God's electing love. He is passionate to do good to sinners who rob him of glory, who deny him the honour he deserves.
[8:51] And what we see and what the Father delights in is that Jesus, in his death and resurrection, he brings those two themes together. This is what brings the Father delight. That Jesus is passionate for the glory of God and Jesus is passionate in his desire to save sinners.
[9:10] And so Jesus becomes our guilt offering. And Jesus' guilt offering is a suitable offering. He is perfect.
[9:20] He is blameless, as the law demands. Jesus, coming as our substitute, he meets the demands of God's justice against sin, as every sacrifice did.
[9:32] And Jesus also meets the needs for sinners like ourselves. We cannot make ourselves good enough for God. We need the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus.
[9:45] And in his becoming our guilt offering, he brings God glory and he saves sinners and God is pleased. Of course, that's not the end of the story.
[9:59] The story doesn't end with Jesus' death. Verse 10 continues. He will see his offspring and prolong his days.
[10:12] And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. Beyond agony, there is victory.
[10:23] The will of the Lord prospers in his hand, Isaiah says. What does that mean? It means that beyond the death of Jesus, there is life. And in his risen life, Jesus continues the Lord's will.
[10:36] God's purpose and plan is worked out in and through the Lord Jesus. And what is his plan?
[10:47] What is the will and the pleasure of God? Well, again, to go back to verse 10, Jesus will see his offspring. Jesus, in his dying and rising, purchases a spiritual family that belong to God, who with Jesus share in his resurrection life.
[11:10] And so we are invited by Isaiah and in the good news of the gospel to look to the cross and to see there at the cross both the Lord's plan and the Lord's passion.
[11:21] His desire to uphold his glory and honour and his desire to save ungodly rebel sinners by laying our sin on Jesus, by Jesus enduring our shame so that we might receive his honour.
[11:39] So we are not ashamed to say Christianity is a rescue religion. The great song of the Bible is the song of salvation. And we want to sing that joyfully.
[11:50] Nothing in my hands I bring simply to the cross of Jesus I cling. So we look to the cross, but we also look to the risen Jesus, the one who accomplishes the Lord's will as he becomes that guilt offering, the one who accomplishes the Lord's will as he establishes that family of faith that enjoys eternal life.
[12:10] As that family covers the globe, the global church, the church through history, Jesus accomplishing the Lord's will.
[12:21] The death and resurrection of Jesus enthrones him as victorious king. So this was the Lord's will for Jesus. I wonder how often we think about the Lord's will, the Lord's desire for you and for me.
[12:38] Paul, as he writes to Timothy in his first letter to Timothy chapter 2, says that God desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
[12:53] What is that? What is that truth? That in Jesus we can be part of the family of God rather than being enemies estranged from God. That we can receive eternal life and not eternal death.
[13:06] That we can enjoy forgiveness. That we don't have to live with guilt. That's the gift that God desires to give.
[13:16] Now of course, we can resist that. We can say no to that. But why would we? Do we know Jesus as Saviour?
[13:28] Do we worship him because of all that he has done? There's the resurrection and the Lord's will.
[13:40] Verse 11 moves from there to think about the resurrection and the servant's satisfaction. The satisfaction of Jesus, the servant of the Lord.
[13:54] Perhaps you are familiar with performance assessments. I know boys and girls that that's something you sometimes have to do in school. Maybe in a workplace you have end of year reviews or end of a project reviews.
[14:09] It's part of life for many of us. Asking questions like, you know, am I happy with how things went? What would I have done differently? Could things have been done better?
[14:21] Could things have turned out better? Now Isaiah here pictures, anticipates the servant of the Lord giving his assessment of the cross as he looks back on it as a finished work.
[14:37] And the servant is totally satisfied. He would change nothing because he has performed, he has achieved the Lord's will.
[14:53] And of course the Lord's will is the will of the servant because Jesus is the Son of God. So he is totally satisfied with what his performance has achieved.
[15:06] Let's see that in verse 11. Look at the beginning with me. After or literally because he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
[15:18] Here is a reward anticipated satisfaction that will be experienced because of this suffering that has been gone through. So the flow of the first part of the verse is because Jesus has suffered and died and Isaiah has laid that out in verses 3 to 9.
[15:36] Because he was despised and rejected, because he suffered, because he took up our pain and suffering, because he was pierced for our transgressions, because the punishment that brought us peace was on him as he was oppressed and afflicted but bore that silently.
[15:52] Now as he was cut off from the land of the living and assigned a grave with the wicked, after that comes resurrection. He will see the light of life and he knows the satisfaction of the plan of salvation being completed.
[16:08] So Jesus can look on the cross and be satisfied, knowing it is both the Lord's delight in upholding his glory and his delight in saving sinners.
[16:22] Jesus knows satisfaction as his offering purchases offspring for God's family. He dies so we might live.
[16:35] To use the language of the book of Hebrews from a different section, Hebrews chapter 12, speaks of Jesus who for the joy set before him, so this is looking forward to the cross, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.
[16:48] Now what was the joy anticipated by Jesus? The joy of completing the Father's plan, of upholding the Father's glory and bringing salvation to sinners. And now here in Isaiah, he's looking back and seeing that same joy.
[17:02] Now the second part of the verse is interesting. Take a look at that verse, the second part. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities.
[17:15] Now our instinct might be to read that to say that knowing Jesus is the key to being justified in God's sight. If we are to be declared perfectly acceptable, we can't do that on our own strength or merit.
[17:29] We need to know the Lord Jesus. And that of course is true. But the focus here isn't what do I know about Jesus? The focus is what does Jesus the servant know?
[17:41] And what Jesus the servant knows, and he alone knows, and knows fully, he knows the Lord's will. The Lord's will to uphold his honour.
[17:54] The Lord's will to save sinners. Jesus, as he comes, as he suffers and dies, he knows that. Jesus knows what the Lord requires.
[18:05] For us as sinful people to be acceptable, Jesus must, to use the language of verse 11, he must bear our iniquities. He must suffer the judgment of God for us.
[18:17] He must go under the curse for us. Jesus must become, as it were, unacceptable, that we might be made acceptable in God's sight there at the cross.
[18:32] What we discover in verse 11 is that our hope rests in Jesus. Jesus, who is God's righteous servant.
[18:43] And that word righteous is so important. That he is righteous is good news for us. Because the only way for his offering to be accepted is if he is righteous and blameless.
[18:55] Just like in the Old Testament, the animals had to be pure and blameless. It was a picture of the sacrifice God requires to deal with our sin has to be a righteous one. That's Jesus, the righteous servant.
[19:09] And the only way his righteousness can be extended to us is if we receive it as a gift. God can only be satisfied with us because he is satisfied with his son and we are in Christ.
[19:30] By faith we are united to Christ so that when God looks at us, he sees us perfect in the Lord Jesus. And it brought Jesus satisfaction to do that for God's glory and for the church.
[19:49] That's an amazing thing to think about considering the events of Easter. When Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones sang and we still hear it, I can't get no satisfaction.
[20:01] I expect then they were voiced in the feelings of many. And I think now we still have that sense of discontent. Perhaps in this last year especially, feeling a sense of discontent.
[20:19] Perhaps we're not sure where we look for satisfaction. Maybe we've tried various things to give our life a sense of meaning and purpose and identity. And as the foundations of life have been shaken, we find that we're not sure where to turn.
[20:35] Well, the Bible says the one source of true and lasting satisfaction is in Jesus. So we look to Jesus and we consider what brought Jesus satisfaction.
[20:48] Here in Isaiah, we're reminded that the sinless Son of God took on himself the sin of the world, the judgment that we deserve so that we could be justified, so that we could stand in God's presence and not be condemned, so we could be declared righteous in God's eyes.
[21:09] And that brings Jesus satisfaction. There's love, isn't it? Jesus both has satisfied the requirements of the law by becoming our blameless substitute, and Jesus is satisfied that the plan of salvation is complete, that the price has been paid, that the gift has been offered to a needy, hurting, broken world, to you and me today.
[21:35] Your longings for love, for purpose, for security, for hope, for forgiveness, they are found in the risen Lord Jesus.
[21:56] Look to him, turn from sin and turn towards God and to put your trust in Jesus as saviour. And you will find your heart's desire in him.
[22:14] And now let's have a look at verse 12 and the resurrection and the servant's triumph. Now I want to suggest there's a picture here as we read verse 12 and we'll read it in a second.
[22:29] And the picture is of a victory podium. You imagine perhaps a medal ceremony and there's a gold medalist on the top of the podium and he's receiving, she's receiving glory.
[22:41] Now the question, who is it that receives glory and victory in Isaiah's prophecy? Now in the translation we have here, first half of verse 12, therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong.
[23:04] Now that can sound like and perhaps suggest that if this is a podium, then the whole team are on the platform together, sharing in honour.
[23:18] Now perhaps Jesus is captain, but he is first among equals. That might be the impression we get, but it's better to think of it this way. There is only one who stands on that podium.
[23:32] Only one who receives this glory and honour anticipated in Isaiah 53 in the first instance, and that's the servant, Jesus, our risen Lord.
[23:43] And that we then appreciate that our victory is totally dependent on that of Jesus. Jesus is for us, our champion.
[23:58] Think back to the Old Testament, David against Goliath. Rather than having Israel and the Philistines as whole armies battle it out, champions were chosen. And whichever one was victorious, their army would share in the victory.
[24:13] So Jesus, as our champion, wins the battle against sin and the devil and death and the grave. He pays the price that we owe because we have broken God's law and in him and only in him are we conquerors.
[24:31] So that all the glory and all the honour must return to Jesus even as we share in his victory. To him be the glory.
[24:43] Look at the verse 12 again. Therefore, in light of having perfectly completed his task, there is now a victory, there is now reward.
[24:58] Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great, among the many. This is a picture of Jesus receiving all the redeemed people of God as his reward.
[25:10] What is the reward for Jesus after his death and resurrection? It's the church. Don't ever devalue the church. It's Christ's reward.
[25:21] It's the people he died to save and to love and to bring into fellowship with him. And then verse 12, the second line in verse 12, slightly different note, he will divide the spoils with the strong.
[25:34] It's a picture of the spoils of war. You know, to the victor belong the spoils. Well, the spoils of war here are actually the strong. It's a reference to those nations and kings in the book of Isaiah who resist God's will.
[25:50] Those who resist Jesus ultimately will be defeated. Decisive action of judgment will be taken against those who oppose Jesus as Lord. Here is total triumph in other words.
[26:02] Here is the risen Jesus in joy and glory, saving his people, bringing judgment on those who oppose him. And how does that victory, how does the reward come? Read with me in verse 12.
[26:14] Because he poured out his life unto death. So because of his death and because he was numbered with the transgressors, because he identifies, self-identifies with sinners, and because he bore the sin of many.
[26:35] Jesus in love was willing to be regarded as a rebel. Jesus out of love and mercy was willing to take on himself and be punished for those thoughts that you have, those actions you have committed, those words that you have spoken that cause you deep shame and you would love to hide and to bury him for no one else to see.
[26:59] Jesus died for those, identified with those and bore those. And here is the triumph and the victory of salvation.
[27:12] Through the cross and the resurrection there is reward, there is honour for Jesus. But how does reward and honour and good news come to us because he does it for us.
[27:27] And notice in particular this last phrase, Jesus made intercession for the transgressors. Here is Jesus standing as go-between.
[27:39] You know in friendships when people are sort of face-to-face but then there's a falling out and people then turn their backs on one another. Jesus comes as mediator, he comes as that party looking to reconcile.
[27:51] And Jesus is the perfect mediator because between God and man, Jesus is both God and man. And Jesus stands and he takes that sin that separates.
[28:06] He takes the anger of God that is against us so that we might be reconciled through faith in him. And it's important that we understand that the intercession of Jesus wasn't a one-time thing there at the cross.
[28:19] Jesus continues to make intercession. Again to go to Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25, Jesus ever lives we're told to make intercession. Jesus in other words is constantly claiming his finished work as the basis for his people to be accepted and welcomed.
[28:40] He is pleading before the father on the basis of those wounds that he received on the cross. The reality that he has suffered and died in our place for our sins that justice has been done so that by faith in Jesus we can be welcome and accepted.
[29:01] We are a people who long for security. It's been profoundly unsettling times. There is complete security for now and eternity in knowing the risen Lord Jesus.
[29:13] we have his power in us. We have his presence with us and we have him in heaven and he is praying for us.
[29:26] So we have seen the agony and the victory of the servant and we see it in the story of Easter.
[29:37] Here is Isaiah led by the spirit anticipating 700 years later the agony of the suffering of the being forsaken of the death of the resurrection triumph of Jesus.
[29:51] How do we respond? Well I think about the story of Francis Ngannou knowing all he'd gone through it made me root for him to have success. It made me feel a sense of happiness that he would have victory beyond his struggles.
[30:05] How much more should we have joy in the victory of Jesus? How much more should we delight in Jesus knowing that the agonies he went through he went through for us?
[30:17] It's Jesus who delighted in carrying out God's plan of salvation who is satisfied in justifying ungodly people like us who intercedes for us so that we might share his resurrection life and victory.
[30:31] That's the good news of Easter. That's the heart of the message of the gospel. I wonder if that's the story that's central to your heart bringing you joy today.
[30:43] If it is then worship Jesus, enjoy him, trust him and if not turn to him as your Lord and Saviour.
[30:55] Let's pray together. Lord, there is so much mystery surrounding Easter. It is a mystery that you could be pleased in sending your son to be the sin bearer so that people like us might be forgiven and redeemed and justified and adopted and have the hope of glory.
[31:20] But yet we know it's true. Lord, we are amazed at the satisfaction that Jesus felt in completing your plan and in saving people like us.
[31:34] In seeing your love for the church. Help us to know that this is true. Father, help us to see in a fresh way the glory, the triumph, the victory of the Lord Jesus, to know that in him we have security and hope for now and for eternity, that we would live as a people with hope and joy.
[32:00] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.aram Leifa What can wash away my sin?
[32:28] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me old again?
[32:39] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow.
[32:57] No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[33:08] For my pardon, this I see Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[33:30] For my cleansing, this my plea. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[33:42] Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow.
[33:55] No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[34:06] Nothing can force in the tone Nothing but the blood of Jesus Not of good that I have done Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[34:40] Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow.
[34:52] Oh, precious is the flow No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[35:03] This is all my hope and peace Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my righteousness Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow Oh, precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No other fount I know.
[35:53] Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow Nothing but the blood of Jesus Now by this I'll overcome Nothing but the blood of Jesus Now by this I'll reach my home Nothing but the blood of Jesus Now by this I'll reach my home Nothing but the blood of Jesus And oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow Oh, precious is the flow
[36:58] Oh, precious is the flow The flow that makes me white as snow No other found I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus Crown Him with many crowns The Lamb upon His throne While heaven's eternal anthem Drowns all music but its own Awake my soul and sing
[38:00] Of Him who died to be Your Savior and your matchless King Through all eternity Crown Him the Lord of life Triumphant from the grave Who rose victorious from the strife For those He came to save His glories now we sing Who died and rings on high Who died eternal life to bring And lives that death may die Crown Him the Lord of love
[39:07] Who shows His hands and side Those wounds yet visible above And beauty glorified No angel in the sky Can't fully bear the sight But downward bends His burning eye Crying high at mystery so bright Crown Him the Lord of peace His kingdom is at hand From pole to pole From pole to pole let warfare cease And Christ rule every land A city stands on high His glory it displays
[40:10] And there the nations Holy cry in joyful hymn of praise Praise Crown Him the Lord of years Crown Him the Lord of years The potent saint of time Creator of the rolling spheres In majesty sublime All hail, Redeemer, hail For You have died for me Your praise shall never, never fail Through all eternity All hail, Redeemer, hail For You have died for me
[41:12] Your praise shall never, never fail Through all eternity I'll praise the Lord my God Whose counsel guides my choice And even in the night My heart recalls instructions' voice Before me constantly I set the Lord alone
[42:15] Because He is at my right hand I'll not be overthrown Therefore my heart is glad My tongue with joy will sing My body too will rest secure In hope unwavering For You will not allow My soul in death to stay Nor will You leave Your Holy One To see the tombs decay
[43:15] You have made known to me The path of life divine Bliss shall I know At Your right hand Joy from Your face will shine Anytime To see the tombs till there You have made known to be And for the mind Of The Caitlin And the journkas