AM Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Why did Jesus die on the cross?

[0:00] Isaiah chapter 52, Isaiah chapter 52 from verse 13 through to chapter 53 and verse 12.

[0:14] Isaiah 52 from verse 13. Behold my servant, this is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[0:25] Jesus Christ both in his humiliation and in his exaltation. Behold my servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted.

[0:42] As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.

[0:52] So shall he 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.

[1:08] Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.

[1:21] He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

[1:35] 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.

[1:52] Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

[2:06] Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with the stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.

[2:17] 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.

[2:30] Yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. And like a sheep that before it cherishes silent. So he opened not his mouth.

[2:42] 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. Streaking for the transgression of my people.

[2:55] And they made his grave with the wicked. And with a rich man in his death. Although he had done no violence. And there was no deceit in his mouth.

[3:08] 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.

[3:20] 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.

[3:31] 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.

[3:46] And he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he poured out his soul to death. And was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many.

[3:58] And makes intercession for the transgressors. Amen. And may the Lord bless to us. That reading of his own holy inspired word.

[4:10] Which we read in Isaiah chapter 53. And read again from verse 10. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

[4:25] He has put him to grief. When a 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.

[4:38] 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.

[4:50] And he shall bear their iniquities. The trouble with us I suppose.

[5:01] Is that we have become so accustomed. To the death of Jesus Christ. The cross is a story. Story that we read of.

[5:13] We shared with our children. It's a story that we know very very well. We be able to recount it to others. No problem. Somebody asked us in the street.

[5:23] Can you tell me the story of Jesus? I am sure you'd be able to focus in on the cross. Exceptionally well. Because it makes such sense to you. And yet.

[5:37] How precious is it to you? How precious is the death of the Lord Jesus to you? How precious is Jesus to you?

[5:50] When you think of all that he has done for you. Can you say that you actually love him more than you did when you first came to be a Christian?

[6:06] I don't know how long ago it was. But remember when you first began to listen with open ears. With an open heart. And Jesus Christ made such sense to you.

[6:19] And you realised that this is the Saviour that you must have. And you couldn't live without. Jesus was a name that was on your lips then.

[6:30] But not only on your lips. He meant something to you. He was at the very heart of your life. You burned with a passion for him. And you were ready to share the gospel.

[6:43] The good news about him with others. And maybe you are now years down the road. Maybe decades down the road. Maybe half centuries down the road.

[6:55] And you ask yourself. Where am I now? The thing that I find among Christians of my own age. That is that we often say.

[7:06] Oh, I wish that I took this more seriously into my heart. I wish it were engraven more there.

[7:17] I've become too accustomed to the story of the cross. Too accustomed to the message about Jesus. The name isn't as sweet.

[7:28] As it once was perhaps. What do you do in that situation? Well, one of the things you can do is go and meet with people.

[7:39] Meet with people who are Christians. And maybe who are newborn Christians. And they are just beginning to breathe this new air of life. And it is wonderful to meet with people who have just come to saving faith in Christ.

[7:54] Sometimes it is coming to meet with Christians who are near the end of their days. We have loved ones at the moment in that very situation.

[8:06] Loved ones in Christ. People whom we know and love in Jesus. And they are just so far away from passing into glory.

[8:16] And speaking to these people. Getting texts from these people. You realize this is real. This is real. These people are ready to die.

[8:29] Because they know what Jesus did for them. It is great to meet with one another. Meet with people who read the word.

[8:41] Who pray. Have fellowship. And of course, that is in a sense what happens here in Isaiah 52-53. There is a conversation going on here.

[8:55] Here the prophet is speaking as if he is part of a people. That at one time didn't appreciate Jesus Christ, the servant. And then came to appreciate him.

[9:08] And he tells it as it was. He says, there was a time we didn't esteem him. We despised him. We didn't give him a second look. He wasn't part of our life. And then we came to realize.

[9:22] Actually, it was for our transgressions. That he endured all that he did. It was personal. It was for us. It was for me.

[9:35] And when you read that, you say. Yeah. I must spend time thinking again. About my own sin.

[9:45] And how I have been rescued by my saviour. My saviour. My saviour.

[9:57] Liz and I were reading recently in the pastoral letters. And it's amazing how the theme of God and Jesus as saviour flows through these letters.

[10:10] We are being rescued. We are being rescued. Delivered. Saved. And that's what this passage is about. We are only looking at these last three verses today.

[10:24] Verses 10 and 11 in the morning. And verses 12 in the evening. Asking in the morning. Why did Jesus die on the cross? And asking in the evening.

[10:36] Why was Jesus crowned in glory? The first question. Why did Jesus die on the cross? You.

[10:47] In a sense. Will know the answer to all of that. But you've got to be careful. The devil loves you to know the answer.

[10:59] Without a noun of worship. Flowing from your heart. Why was Jesus? Why did Jesus die on the cross? Well the first thing is this.

[11:11] It wasn't an accident. It wasn't an accident. It was part of the divine plan. The cross of Jesus was the plan of the Lord.

[11:23] That's what you have there in the opening of verse 10. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. This is what the Lord did.

[11:36] This is what God the Father did to God the Son. It was the Lord's will that this should happen. It was the Lord. You can actually translate that word will.

[11:49] It was the Lord's pleasure. It was the Lord's desire to do that. If you were to ask the Father. Did it please you to have the servant.

[12:02] Your own son. Crushed at Calvary. He would have said yes. It pleased me. I willed it. I desired it.

[12:13] It pleased me that it should happen. But you are talking here about your own son. Yes. It was my will. My desire. My pleasure.

[12:24] To crush him. But you put him to grief. Your own son. Yes. And it was my will. And if I had to do it again.

[12:35] Which I never will. I would do it again. It is part of the plan. My plan. My plan. My purpose. And I desired it.

[12:47] And I willed it. The whole of human history was flowing towards Calvary. Towards Jesus. The Son of God. In human nature.

[12:58] Being there. And the Father. Crushing him. And causing him. Grief. Now you.

[13:09] Know your Bible very well. And you know that. We read elsewhere. That the Lord has no pleasure. In the death of the wicked. So if he has no pleasure.

[13:21] In the death of the wicked. How on earth. Or in heaven. Could he have pleasure. In the death of the righteous. There are mysteries.

[13:34] You know. There are mysteries. In. The work of God. And don't let any of us say. That we've got them all solved. Three persons.

[13:46] One God. How can that be? We can't understand it. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit. Clearly. Three distinct persons.

[13:57] And yet. One God. That's a mystery. That we believe. Even if we can't fully understand. Jesus. He's fully God.

[14:10] And he's also a full. Human being. How can that be? Two distinct natures. One person.

[14:21] Forever. How can Jesus be fully God. And be fully man. And be one person. Irreversibly.

[14:33] Forever and ever. We don't understand. And that's quite as it should be. There's a place for awe.

[14:44] And worship. When we say. Lord. I don't understand. But I believe. I believe. And when it comes to this.

[14:55] This event on the cross. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. We can say. Well that cross. That suffering of Jesus happened. Because.

[15:06] The father willed. Desired. In the sense that it pleased him. For the fulfillment of his purposes. To crush his own son.

[15:17] We can say. That's true. That is perfectly true. Does it mean. That he didn't love him. At the exact same moment.

[15:29] When he was crushing him. Did he love him. And crush him at the same time. When he was bearing our sins. Did the father hate him.

[15:43] No. And there's a mystery there. He bore our sin. Without. Without. Becoming a sinner. We can't understand that fully.

[15:56] But we believe it. So if you ask the question. Was the father. Reluctant.

[16:07] For Calvary to take place. No. He wasn't. It was the will of the Lord. It was his will.

[16:18] There was no other way. See the father had a plan. The father has a purpose. And this purpose. Cannot.

[16:29] Go forward. Unless. The servant. Goes to the cross. And takes the punishment. For his people. God's wrath.

[16:40] Has to be satisfied. God's people. Have to be saved. And there is just. No. Other way. And the father.

[16:51] Knows. There is no other way. The father. Cannot conceive. Of a history. In which. The cross of Jesus. Does not take place.

[17:07] And yet. It's still a mystery. It's not just. A legal resolution. Of the problem. It's not just. Jesus took our sins. Upon him. And we are therefore.

[17:19] Free from our sin. Because he became the sin bearer. That's all true. But there is always more. To it than that. Calvary is not just.

[17:32] A legal. Resolution. It's a mystery. It's totally amazing. What happened.

[17:44] But at the cross. Is the plan of the Lord. It wasn't an accident. Nor was it child abuse. It wasn't child abuse.

[17:58] Rob Bell brought out a book. Some years back. Where he was accusing God. Of cosmic child abuse. When the father. Did what he did. To his son.

[18:09] He says. If that's true. Then. That's just. Child abuse. Because if we took. Any father. In this world. And saw him doing that.

[18:20] To his son. We would say. That's abuse. That's child abuse. So. Bell accused. God. Of cosmic. Child abuse. Not that he believed it.

[18:31] For a moment. He says. That's not what happened. On Calvary. But we've already said. That's precisely. What happened. On Calvary. So.

[18:43] How is it not. Child abuse. Because. The sacrifice. Was willing. See.

[18:54] It's not just. That the father. Wanted the cross. To happen. Jesus. Wanted the cross. To happen. Remember.

[19:07] When he said. Take this cup. From me. In the garden. Of Gethsemane. In a sense. There's nothing. Within Jesus. That makes him. Want. To go. And face. The wrath.

[19:17] Of God. Yet. He says. Not my will. But thine. Be done. And then. He goes. To Calvary. He goes.

[19:28] To face. The slaughter. Nothing. Can hold him. Back. And if you. Met Jesus. On his way. To meet. The soldiers.

[19:38] Who were about. To arrest him. And you. Were going to try. And protect. Jesus. You're not going. There Jesus. Jesus. Says. I am going.

[19:49] There. Put down. Your sword. I'll even. Heal. The ear. Of the servant. Whom you attacked. Nobody. Will accuse me.

[20:01] Of being. Unwilling. To go. To the cross. And Jesus. Was willing. And that's what you find there. See. In the opening words.

[20:12] Yet. It was the will of the Lord. To crush him. The Lord. Has put him to grieve. Then the change. When his soul. Makes an offering. For guilt. See.

[20:23] It's Jesus. That offers himself. When his soul. Makes an offering. For guilt. Jesus.

[20:33] Is the one. Who's offering himself up. As a sacrifice. To satisfy. The justice of God.

[20:44] Yes. It's the father's plan. And yes. It's the father's wrath. That he will experience. And yes. It's the father's. Full.

[20:56] Weight. Of all that we deserve. For all of our sins. Yes. He's experiencing all that. And the father is placing it upon him. But Jesus.

[21:07] Is taking. All of that. Willingly. He's a willing. Sacrifice. He wants.

[21:20] To be there. He makes that perfect. Offering. For guilt. And notice just the word there. When his soul.

[21:31] Makes an offering. For guilt. This is not just. Going through the motions. This is not just. A body experience. This is the whole person.

[21:44] When his soul. Makes an offering. For guilt. He knows that there are. Guilty people. Out there. And that's us.

[21:58] I mean. How guilty. Are you? How guilty. Am I? Aren't we ashamed. Of even the sins. We've committed. Before we came to Christ.

[22:09] In our ignorance. Aren't you more ashamed. Of the sins you've committed. Since you came to Christ. How could you do these things.

[22:20] And all that guilt. The guilt of the sins. Of people. Before they came to Christ. The guilt of the sins. Of people. Since they came to Christ.

[22:32] We are guilty. Before God. And Jesus says yes. Yes. But I will make an offering. For your guilt.

[22:44] I will ensure. That that guilt. Is removed. I will willingly. Take all of your guilt. Upon myself. So that you.

[22:57] Can be forgiven. He's a willing sacrifice. See this idea. Of the guilt offering. Remember there were five offerings. In the Old Testament. The guilt offering.

[23:08] Was to do with compensation. Compensation. God was owed something. And we never gave it to him.

[23:21] We didn't give it to him. On Monday. Or Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Or Friday. Or Saturday. That week. The next week. The next year.

[23:32] We just didn't give him. What he was due. Jesus. Gave him. Everything he was due.

[23:44] He honoured him. To perfection. On our behalf. He did it in his life. His life. Was an offering.

[23:56] And he did it in his death. And it was all perfect. And God the Father. Must say. Do you know what?

[24:08] That's perfect. Perfect. There's never been a human being. That did that. Nobody loved me.

[24:18] With perfect love. Nobody hated sin. With perfect hatred. Nobody loved my will. Nobody loved me. The way you do.

[24:30] And the Father says. I'll credit that. To every one of the people. Whom I want to be saved. Your guilt offering.

[24:42] Your guilt offering. Is for them. Because I know. You are willing. To be the sacrifice. So it wasn't an accident.

[24:54] The cross was the plan of the Lord. It wasn't child abuse. It was a willing sacrifice. The cross. As a sacrifice of Jesus.

[25:04] Jesus. And the cross. Thirdly. It wasn't futile. It wasn't a waste. Of course it wasn't a waste.

[25:19] If this was the supreme center. Of God's will. And if this was the supreme act. Of willing obedience.

[25:31] Then it could never be. Futile. A waste of time. No. Amazing.

[25:42] Astounding. Results. Follow it. Have you ever noticed. How often Satan. Tried to stop the cross happening. Remember when Jesus was being tempted.

[25:58] Go on. Go on. Make these stones into bread. You don't need to suffer. Just. Just. Take the decision. Yourself. Just make. I know you've got the power. I'm a believer.

[26:08] Say. Say. I know you've got the power. To make the stones into bread. And Jesus won't do it. He won't take a step.

[26:19] Without reference to the father. If the father wills me. To suffer in hunger. For six weeks. So be it. If the father wants me. To go to the cross. And suffer.

[26:30] So be it. Satan doesn't want it. He wants to stop the cross. Satan. Satan.

[26:41] Couldn't stop the cross. Couldn't stop. Jesus. Making his soul. And offering for sin. He couldn't stop the father. Organizing the whole of history.

[26:53] To ensure. That that act happened. So what does Satan do then? Does he say. I give up. I'm leaving it there.

[27:05] No. He stops. He tries to stop us. Having confidence. In the crown. Of Jesus.

[27:16] And what Jesus achieved. On the cross. What did he achieve on the cross? Just briefly. Some of the things that I mentioned there. When a soul makes an offering for guilt.

[27:28] Here's the first thing. He shall see his offspring. Jesus. Will see his seed. What do you mean? Well it means that there will be a people who will benefit.

[27:42] From this offering for sin. And they are his seed. They are all related to Jesus. They couldn't exist without him.

[27:54] As a saved people. And they all directly benefit from his sacrifice. Could you put your name there?

[28:06] When Jesus makes an offering for guilt. He shall see. John Angus. He shall see.

[28:17] Norman. He shall see. Jack. He shall see. His offspring. He knows that there are people.

[28:29] Who will benefit. From what he is doing. He shall see. His seed. And. They are his seed. They are all organically.

[28:40] Related to him. They are all. Spiritually. Related to him. See when you become a Christian. You are never on your own. You are always considered.

[28:51] In Christ. You are always. The seed. He is the seed of Abraham. Jesus. And we. Are the seed.

[29:03] In the seed. We are related to him. And that is how we benefit. From the cross. The second thing. He shall live.

[29:14] Forever. Forever. When the soul makes an offering. For. For. For guilt. He shall see his offering. He shall prolong his days. What do you mean?

[29:26] Surely death will be the end. When Jesus offers. His life as a sacrifice. To satisfy divine justice. Surely that's him dead.

[29:37] No. Says the prophet. Centuries before the resurrection. He will prolong his days. Death is not final.

[29:50] There's a stage beyond. The sacrifice. There's a stage beyond. The last breath. On earth. Directly related to the death.

[30:04] Is the resurrection. He shall prolong. His days. This day has to happen. The father wills it.

[30:17] The son is willing. But it will not be the last day. He will rise from the dead. He will prolong. His days.

[30:28] Because I live. He said to his people. You also. Shall live. The third thing. He will reign.

[30:39] With royal power. See. When his soul makes an offering for guilt. The will of the Lord. Shall prosper in his hand. See.

[30:50] Until Jesus. Gave his life on the cross. The father's purposes. Could not move forward. This.

[31:01] Was the stop. If Jesus. If Jesus turned back. Remember the children of Israel. When they came to the sea. They turned back. They wouldn't go forward in obedience.

[31:13] Well Jesus came. To the waters of judgment. And he did not turn back. If he had. God's purposes. He could not go forward.

[31:26] Father. Is there no plan B? No. There is no plan B. This is the only way. There is no one else.

[31:38] Who can do this. In the whole universe. No human being. No priest. No angel. No archangel. There is no one else.

[31:49] Who can actually. Offer this sacrifice of himself. But one. And he has to do it. At that time. Only one.

[32:03] No plan B. That's the will of the Lord. And the will of the Lord. Requires the willingness of the servant.

[32:17] The will of the Lord. Requires the willingness of the servant. That's why Jesus in John 13. He says.

[32:27] God has put everything in my hands. Wow. Wow. What a statement. The Father has put all things in my hands.

[32:39] What do I do? Wash the feet. Yes. A stepping stone to the cross. That's what I do. No plan B.

[32:52] Everything that the Father wills. Depends upon my. Sacrifice of myself. God put everything in his hands.

[33:07] For the cross. Before he puts the universe. In his hands. For the crown. The fourth thing.

[33:19] What astounding results these are. When his soul makes an offering for guilt. Out of the anguish of his soul. He shall see.

[33:30] Similar to what you had earlier. He shall see his seed. He shall see his offspring. But here it's just. He shall see.

[33:42] Out of the anguish of his soul. He shall see. In other words. Think of this. We have one grandchild.

[34:00] And the grandchild was born. On the day that we were moving. Out of our house in Bathgate. We heard the message. A message came to us.

[34:12] And that message. Was amazing. Brought great joy. Of course it does. But that message. Was followed. By sight.

[34:25] We saw. The child. And that. That increased the joy. The message was wonderful. Seeing.

[34:37] Was just like a second heaven. It was lovely. Jesus. Isn't just told. That there are people. Saved.

[34:49] He sees them. He sees them. He sees the disciples. Who were converted.

[35:01] On the day of Pentecost. When the spirit was poured out in the church. How many were converted? Three thousand people. Who saw that?

[35:12] Who counted the number? Who was the first person. To count them? The one who sees. The one who sees.

[35:24] Your conversion. Before you ever told your parents. He saw. Your conversion. Your growth in Christ.

[35:37] As a Christian. Your progress in holiness. The way you weep over your sin. He sees. All of that. He sees.

[35:51] You know. You might think. Wrongly. That Jesus is so disappointed with you. He's not.

[36:04] Out of the anguish of his soul. He sees. And he's not disappointed. He's not disappointed.

[36:17] He knows. He knows. What his anguish. Has achieved. And will achieve. The next thing. He shall be satisfied.

[36:31] You mean he looks. At the fruit of the cross. And he's satisfied. Yes. Why? Because you can see.

[36:41] The father's justice. Completely satisfied. Nothing unfinished there. It is finished. He says. I know it.

[36:52] The father's face. Smiles. Upon all of the elect. None of them. Will face the father's scowl. He will be satisfied.

[37:03] Jesus will never look back. And say. Oh. Do you know. If only I had. He will never do that.

[37:15] He is so satisfied. With all that he did. And he's satisfied with you. He's satisfied with you.

[37:26] He sees. Way beyond. Way beyond. What you see. And he knows. That the Holy Spirit.

[37:37] Dwells within you. And he knows. That the Holy Spirit. Will not rest. Till you are sanctified. And he's satisfied.

[37:47] With that. Don't. Don't. Buy into Satan's lies. That Jesus. Is only partly. Satisfied with you.

[38:02] No. He sees. He's satisfied. Oh. There shall work to be done. Yes. There shall work to be done. And yes.

[38:13] There shall lot of pastoral work to be done. And yes. There are letters that Paul must write. And people must be taught. And they must be rescued from all sorts of things.

[38:24] But. Don't for a moment. Equate that. With Jesus. Being dissatisfied. He is satisfied. And there's a mystery.

[38:37] And then. He shall justify many. By his knowledge. Shall the righteous one. My servant. Make many. To be accounted righteous.

[38:51] He will. Justify many. He will make many. To be accounted. Righteous. Oh. Do you know.

[39:02] How much of a thrill. It gives Jesus. To see somebody. Accounted as righteous. Before God.

[39:13] With his righteousness. Of course he's thrilled. His obedience was hard won. He resisted every temptation.

[39:28] Was perfectly obedient. He was perfectly righteous. Righteous. And now. Having made the offering for sin. He's able.

[39:39] He is able. To make many. To be accounted righteous. He's the righteous one. My servant. Shall make many.

[39:50] To be accounted righteous. This is what God says. You see. God's the one who says it. And how does that happen. By his knowledge.

[40:03] You could understand that in two ways. Couldn't you? You could be. We are justified. Declared righteous. By what he. Experienced.

[40:16] His knowledge. What he has gone through. Or. In addition. We are justified.

[40:30] By knowing him. Who has experienced. These things. By his knowledge. By our knowledge. Of him. Who experienced.

[40:43] And knows. All of that. We are justified. As Satan says. You can't be declared righteous.

[40:53] That easily. Can't just be. By his knowledge. By knowing him. God says. Yes. That's.

[41:05] That's what it takes. And no more than that. Don't bring your own righteousness. Don't bring something else. In the trailer behind. And say.

[41:15] If Jesus isn't enough. I've got some of my own. Good stuff here. No. By knowing him. The righteous one.

[41:26] My servant. Will make many. To be accounted righteous. And he shall bear. Their iniquities. That's that final result there.

[41:38] He shall bear. Their iniquities. In the Hebrew. It's. And he. That one. Shall bear.

[41:48] Their iniquities. Who carries your sins. Who bears your sins.

[42:01] Who bore. Your sins. Who still. Bears your sins. The servant. The servant.

[42:14] But that means. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. Everything about me. He knows. All my. Public. And my secrets. Yes he does. And he bears.

[42:26] These. Iniquities. That's what he always is. And that's the way. The father sees him. He looks at Jesus. At his right hand.

[42:36] And he says. I. He's bearing. The iniquity. All the iniquities. Of my people. Every single one of them.

[42:49] He is. The sin. Bearer. Should be often. Talk about Jesus. As our saviour. In addition.

[43:00] Talk of him. Jesus. My sin bearer. Because that's the reality. He rescues us.

[43:13] By bearing our present. Past. And future sins. May the Lord. Bless his word. Bless.