[0:00] way. Let's now read the Word of God from Philippians 1 verse 12 right through to 2 verse 11.
[0:17] Philippians 1 verse 12 to Philippians 2 verse 11. I want you to know brothers that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
[0:35] So it's become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the Word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.
[1:35] For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now, as always, Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
[2:09] If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.
[2:22] I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
[2:33] But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
[3:01] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in one spirit, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.
[3:32] This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
[4:02] So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy.
[4:20] By being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves.
[4:43] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by coming obedient to the point of death.
[5:24] Even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
[5:48] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[5:59] May the Lord bless to us that reading of his own holy, inspired word. Before we turn to Isaiah 53, let's bow in a moment of prayer.
[6:11] We need you Lord, afresh, anew. We need your spirit to enable us to read, to understand, to proclaim, to hear, to see how we can apply the truth that we will find in your word.
[6:35] Lord, we need you Lord to make our gathering together for these few moments fruitful, so that we will bear fruit that will bring honour to you, clarity to our understanding of what you have done in Christ, so that with greater eagerness and urgency and authenticity, we can go out and share the gospel with everybody you put into our path.
[7:14] Grant to us Lord the same spirit that you gave to Paul. Paul did not see closed doors, not even in prison.
[7:25] He saw opportunities to share. when he saw those who would oppose him and even preach Christ in pretense, he saw that Christ's name was being proclaimed.
[7:40] He was able to rejoice in the most difficult of circumstances. He was able to live Christ and be ready to die and gain Christ.
[7:55] we pray Father that as a fruit of our studies together, we in a measure may be able to do the same, to truly mean it and say for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.
[8:17] We ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Let's turn now to Isaiah 53. This is the passage that we were exploring little by little over the last number of months when we've been together and this morning I was looking at verses 10 to 12 and continuing that study this evening.
[8:42] Isaiah 53, let's read from verse 10 to the end. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. This is Jesus. The Father, he has put him to grief.
[8:54] When the 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.
[9:10] By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities. these were the words we were exploring this morning when we were seeking to make the point that the death of Jesus on the cross was no accident.
[9:31] It was nothing other than the will and indeed the pleasure of God. There was no reluctance in the Father. It was the will, the desire of God the Father, the Lord to crush him.
[9:47] He has put him to grieve. And we were also making the point that it wasn't child abuse as some have proclaimed because Jesus was a willing sacrifice.
[10:00] When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he was willing to be there to sacrifice himself. I lay down my life, no one takes it from me, said Jesus.
[10:13] Jesus. And then we saw that his death was not futile. And then we went through some of the statements in the second half of verse 10 and the whole of verse 11.
[10:29] The wonderful things that followed the death, the cross of Jesus. He shall see his offspring. There will be fruit.
[10:39] fruit. And every one of them is related to him. He shall prolong his days. He will live forever as will his offspring.
[10:53] The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. The plans of the Lord could not progress to restore his people, to bring the universe under his sway unless Jesus suffered, was crushed and put to grief.
[11:16] But now that it has happened, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall reign forever. Then we also saw that he shall see.
[11:29] Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see. I don't think we need the word light, though it wouldn't be wrong to add it, but he shall see.
[11:41] And Jesus didn't need anyone to tell him the results of his suffering. He himself shall see and does see.
[11:52] And he will be satisfied as though this were a goal that he had always been looking forward to. This was something that he longed for.
[12:05] And now that it has happened, there's perfect satisfaction. Everyone for whom he suffered will benefit. And God will be glorified.
[12:18] And the universe will be restored to what God intended it to be. Satisfaction in the cosmic sense, satisfaction in the personal sense.
[12:31] he's even satisfied with you and with me as we are in Christ. And then he will justify, make many to be accounted righteous.
[12:48] By his knowledge shall the righteous one my servant make not a few but many to be accounted righteous. righteous he had to be righteous himself.
[13:00] He had to be righteous as a servant and what he would undergo in terms of suffering the knowledge of that is what will lead to others being accounted righteous in his name many of them.
[13:19] That's what we see in Philippians 2. And then finally he shall bear their iniquities. That's the beauty. This is something that Jesus will do after the cross.
[13:34] Not just before it, not just during it, but after it. He will always be our sin bearer. A day will come when our sins will all be in the past, but he will always be our sin bearer.
[13:54] So we were asking the question why did Jesus die on the cross? Tonight we're asking the question and using verse 12 as the answer why is Jesus crowned as king?
[14:11] How do you think of Jesus? When you think of him tonight are you thinking of somebody who's weak or strong? Are you thinking of somebody who's the child in the manger the baby or the sovereign king over the universe?
[14:31] Is he somebody who is under pressure when he has the government on his shoulder? Or is he somebody who is totally in control and is not a tremor in his heart at all?
[14:48] Is he undervalued in your perception or is he highly honored? What do you think of Christ when you think of him tonight?
[15:02] Weak or strong baby or sovereign under pressure or in control under valued or highly honored? As we explore this verse we will certainly see three things about Jesus being crowned as king because that's what he essentially is now.
[15:27] He was king when he was here in this world. That's how he brought the kingdom of God during his ministry and he is now proclaimed king son of God with power he's made Lord and Christ and he has things to do now post Calvary that he could never have done pre Calvary he is now king and his mission is amazing that's why the opening word there in verse 12 therefore on the basis of all that he suffered therefore says the father I will divide him a portion with the many this is what the father says I will divide him a portion with the many I will give him divine honor divine honor why was
[16:32] Jesus crowned as king is to receive divine honor look at that therefore I will divide him a portion with the many we have already been told that the lord the father crushed him put him to death and you may have thought why would the father do this to his son why would he cause him to endure such suffering why would he ask him to go into that deep and dark valley why would Jesus be so willing to do it well Jesus knew and the father knew that beyond this dark valley of suffering there was to be honor therefore the father says I will divide him a portion with the many you can see what the picture is there after a victory the general would come and he would be able to display his triumph in the procession well says the father
[17:41] I will divide him a portion with the many he may seem to have been so dishonored on the cross and you may even have concluded them could the father give him a portion with the many
[18:59] God has honor to bestow upon him and that's a mystery but even in the midst of the difficulties and the trials and the pain and the suffering and Jesus crying out my God my God why are you forsaken me, even then the Father knew that he would honor him in the most public way possible.
[19:32] And part of that was to raise him from death. Jesus was raised from death by the Father. He was willing to rise, but the Father was pleased to raise him from death because he wished to honor Jesus, to divide him a portion, to grant him a heritage, to grant him the many.
[20:05] There are several ways to understand this. I will divide him a portion with the many. Some people would say, well, the heritage that the Father granted to him was all the people for whom he died.
[20:20] These are the many that are granted to him as the portion. And that's a biblical truth. But I think it's also true that he has this portion which the Father wants him to share with the many.
[20:39] When Jesus is raised from the dead, he's raised as Son of God, Son of God, Son of God. He wants everyone to know, that's my Son. Remember at his baptism, that is my beloved Son.
[21:02] You're my beloved Son. At the transfiguration, this is my Son. Listen to him. And now, having been raised from the dead, this is what the Father is saying, Son of God in power, Son of God in power, he's mine.
[21:19] And I honor him, and I love him, and I devote all this inheritance, this riches to him. It's a people. They are heirs.
[21:35] Ask of me a heritage. The heathen, I'll make thine, Psalm 2 says. Where Jesus is indeed granted a portion.
[21:47] He's granted heirs. But all of these heirs are joint heirs with him. I will divide him a portion with the many.
[22:00] And I think this is where Christians are included in this verse. See the reward that Jesus got, the honor that he received by being raised by the Father and resurrection.
[22:14] He shares that honor with all of his people. Have you thought of that? Christ was raised.
[22:25] Yes. Were you raised with Christ? Yes. Christ was seated at the right hand of God.
[22:36] Honored. Yes. Have you been raised to the heavenly places? Yes, you have. Where are you at the moment in the mind of God?
[22:49] You're hid with Christ in God. You are citizens of heaven. You are the most honored people if you're believers tonight.
[23:04] Jesus received divine honor. That's why he's crowned as king to receive divine honor. And we who trust in him, we have the privilege of sharing that inheritance.
[23:21] Joint heirs. That brings us on to the second one. The second reason why he's crowned as king is to share spiritual blessings.
[23:35] You see, in verse 12, the first part, it's as if the father is speaking. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many. The next phrase is Jesus.
[23:50] He shall divide the spoil with the strong. So in the first part, the father is saying, I want to honor him. I want to give him a portion.
[24:01] I want to give him the many. And I want him to share the portion, the inheritance with the many. In the second, Jesus is raised. He shall be crowned as king so that he himself shall divide the spoil with the strong.
[24:19] That's why he's been exalted to the throne of the universe. Because he has the blessings of victory to share with all of his people.
[24:31] Who were our enemies? Who were his enemies? His enemies were all defeated. They were all defeated.
[24:42] They cannot touch Jesus. They cannot hurt Jesus. His enemies are being brought to his footstool. Satan cannot touch Jesus tonight and never can come near him again.
[24:56] Jesus Christ is exalted. He's safe. He's on the throne of the universe. He is safe. He will die never again.
[25:09] Satan will never cause him pain ever again. And his own flesh will never again bring him down in any shape or form.
[25:25] Now, Jesus says, see all of that? All of that spoil that comes from the enemy being defeated, I want that to be shared and divided with the strong, with the Christians.
[25:42] I want them to enjoy the spoils of victory so that sin will not have the last word for them, so that Satan will not be able to torment them forever.
[25:58] They will be delivered from the evil one. And death will not have the last word for them either. As we saw during the week at Ruth Patterson's funeral, the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
[26:16] That's true for each individual believer now. And one day it will be gloriously true on the day of the resurrection.
[26:27] Because on the day of the resurrection, the great resurrection, that will be the end of all funerals. No need to gather for that anymore because Jesus will divide the spoil with the strong.
[26:45] Isn't it interesting though? He calls them the strong. The many and the strong. The Father knows there are many who will be blessed.
[27:00] And all of them are spoken of as the strong. It's a wonderful thing. We tend to think of ourselves as Christians, by definition almost, as those who are weak.
[27:17] And there's a sense in which, of course, we are weak. Very often we may be willing, but our flesh lets us down.
[27:30] My flesh and heart doth faint and fail. That's true. But what goes on after that? But God doth fail me never.
[27:41] How often does the Apostle Paul speak about the strength of Christians, being strengthened in the inner man?
[27:52] See, that's what we are. We are empowered by God, strengthened by God, even in our weakness.
[28:04] And that's a wonderful thing to ponder. We will never be in a situation where we are not strong enough by God's sufficient grace to endure that situation.
[28:24] My grace is sufficient for you. It always will be. You will always have enough and there's a sense in which we always will depend upon God, not in our own strength, but His strength is so important.
[28:47] I think that's why Paul, when he was writing in prison in Philippians there, he makes out, I'm in prison, but actually things are going just right.
[29:00] Even in prison, this is not Paul on missionary journeys, going down the highway, planting churches, but in prison for two years, he says, see for me, to live is Christ.
[29:15] I think, Paul, come on, you're here in prison, you can't get out, you can't go, you can't plant, you can't proclaim. Oh no, he says, for me to live, Christ.
[29:26] And what if the executor of justice should say, Paul, you are to die. No problem, he says. To die is gain. Tell me, when Paul is saying these words, is he weak or strong?
[29:43] He's strong. Strong because he has faith in the Lord. Hope is always on the horizon. Future for Paul was not filled with fear.
[29:59] And as we mature as Christians, that's what we should aim towards. We should not aim to have fear in our hearts, to be hopeless, but to be strong in the Lord, in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
[30:19] So that's the second reason. He's crowned as king, so that we can enjoy these spiritual blessings as the strong.
[30:31] The third reason why Jesus is crowned as king, I say, is to display his saving love. Imagine for a moment, you were allowed a glimpse into heaven.
[30:50] You were allowed a glimpse into heaven. And you didn't know anything about Christ, except what you saw from that glimpse into heaven.
[31:01] So the curtain is being torn aside and you're able to peek in. I remember growing up in the north of Lewis, we'd go out onto the peat ground around this time of year and every village would have their own tent.
[31:18] It looked like wigwams, really. Every village had their own tarpaulin tent and they would put it up and have a fire outside it and an amazing spread of food on the inside.
[31:32] And as children, we would just run around out in the open peat land and then we'd put our heads under the tent and just peek up, thinking nobody would ever notice when we, as young children, would be peeking in to see what's going on, what's being said by these people.
[31:59] Imagine if we were able to peek into heaven and you'd never seen Christ before. How would you measure him?
[32:12] You'd see somebody with a human body enthroned over the universe. You'd see somebody who's got amazing majesty, royal power.
[32:28] The angels worship him. He's completely confident. He's in love with his Father. He's empowered by the Spirit. And if that was all you saw, you could come back and say to others, I have seen the glory of Jesus.
[32:49] But you know you'd be wrong. Why? Because you wouldn't know what had happened before he went to heaven.
[33:03] That human body of Jesus in heaven didn't begin there. He trod the valley down here first.
[33:15] He emptied himself as we read in Philippians 2. He became a servant to the point of death, the cursed death on the cross.
[33:30] And then he was highly exalted. And if you knew the contrast between what he was before what he is now, he would say, wow, now I understand his glory in new dimensions.
[33:54] I see a line of history that I never saw before. And that's what we've got in this section here. What is it that was said about him?
[34:07] He was crowned as king because he poured out his soul to death. See there. Because he poured out his soul to death, I will divide him a portion with his many.
[34:25] He shall divide the spoil with the strong. Why? Because he poured out his soul to death. So you're looking at this person in heaven and you're saying, see before he took on the royal rule over the universe, he poured out his soul to death.
[34:44] There was this sacrifice. There was this damnation. There was this torment of hell that he had to endure.
[34:55] And he himself did it. He poured out his soul to death. He emptied himself. He came down. He became a servant.
[35:07] He wasn't forced into any of this. He poured out his soul to death. This was damnation, as Rabbi Duncan put it, and he took it lovingly.
[35:23] And he didn't stop pouring until death took place. He poured out his soul to death. death. Now that makes the crown seem all the more beautiful because he poured out his soul to death first.
[35:42] The second thing, his identification. He was numbered with the transgressors. See, there he is in heaven.
[35:56] And you know what's true about heaven. There's nobody there but righteous spirits. There are some there with bodies and all of these are righteous people.
[36:11] But there are no people there who are not saved. but see Jesus, he is numbered with the transgressors.
[36:28] He's numbered with the transgressors. He's righteous. We already saw that in the previous verse. The righteous one, my servant. But here he's numbered with the transgressors.
[36:41] He wanted to be identified with them. He didn't keep away from them. When Jesus took on a human body, human flesh, a reasonable soul, became a human being, he shared in our nature.
[37:00] Can you imagine the angels saying, but you don't understand, these are transgressors. You can't share the nature of those who are sinning against you, your father, your spirit.
[37:14] You can't possibly be counted among them by sharing their nature. Jesus says, I will. And it takes a body to do that.
[37:28] Same on the baptism. Remember in John the Baptist ministry, people were being addressed by John the Baptist and being told to get ready because the Lord is coming on the scene.
[37:42] The Lord is coming. And what did he ask for? He asked for people to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, to take God's holiness seriously and to confess their sins.
[37:58] And they came out in their droves from Jerusalem, from Judea, from all around. The roads were black with people coming to John the Baptist to hear his preaching.
[38:10] And they melted under his preaching. And they wept under his preaching. And they confessed their sins under his preaching. And they were baptized, longing to be cleansed from their sin.
[38:28] That's a picture of transgressors. Then who walks along the road and comes in among these people but Jesus?
[38:41] Can you imagine the angels saying you can't go there? You don't belong with these people. These are sinners. These are transgressors. That's not your place.
[38:53] You've got no sin to confess. You've got nothing to repent over. Jesus says I will go there. I'll meet with my people in the waters of baptism.
[39:08] I will be numbered with the transgressors. I will weep over their sins. I'll take the waters of judgment for their sins so that they can have the waters of cleansing and forgiveness.
[39:25] I'll take the judgment so that they can receive the blessing. I'm willing to be numbered with the transgressors. even in the rest of his ministry the woman of Samaria Jesus you can't possibly go and speak to her.
[39:45] She's been married five times over and the person she's living with now is not even her husband. You can't possibly go and mix with that kind of person. You can't have a conversation with her.
[39:57] you can't engage in theological discussion. You can't possibly go and be seen with such a woman at this time of day one to one.
[40:08] That's not for you to be numbered with a transgressor. But he goes and he says I'm going and I'm going to talk and I'm going to share and I'm going to love.
[40:19] And she melted. She melted. She believed. Zacchaeus don't have time. Levi don't have time.
[40:34] Saul same thing. Jesus numbered with the transgressor. And even on the cross as we are told in fulfillment of this verse in order to dishonor him as much as possible how did they crucify Jesus?
[40:53] They said we know how to do it. we'll put two sinful revolutionaries robbers on either side of him.
[41:03] One on either side. We will ensure that he is dishonored as much as possible. Jesus was delighted to be there numbered with the transgressor ready to hear the cry of the dying thief.
[41:30] That's why he's crowned as king. Because he was willing to be numbered with the transgressors. Because he's king for transgressors.
[41:44] For sinners like you and me he is crowned as king to save. Substitution.
[41:59] He bore the sin of many. see this is where the numbering led him to.
[42:11] He was identified with sinners. Well if you're going to be identified and numbered with the transgressors you know what that might lead to. That you will have to bear their sins.
[42:25] Yes says Jesus. And you know what I am willing to bear the sin of every single transgressor with whom I am numbered.
[42:42] Every single person given to me by the father to lay down my life for as substitute.
[42:53] I will do it. That includes you. That includes me. Notice the singular sin. It's not he bore the sins of many.
[43:08] It's he bore the sin of many. All the sin. All the dishonor, the rejection, the ungratefulness, the hatred of God, all the guilt, all of it in one mass.
[43:27] And Jesus says, I'll take it all as their substitute. I'll take it all. I'll bear the sin, not of one or two, but of the many, and they are many, for whom I am numbered among the transgressors.
[43:45] I'll take it all. And he did. he bore that sin away and is no longer ours to carry.
[43:59] And that's why he is crowned in victory, because he's taken away the sin. He will always be our sin bearer.
[44:10] He will always be our saviour. He will always be the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, slain in time, and who is in the midst of the throne, as the lamb, as it was slain.
[44:28] He will always be the sin bearer. But he has borne away these sins once. He bore the sin of many, and it's done.
[44:45] Do you feel rubbish about your sins? Do you feel as if you frequently let the Lord down? And do you think that somehow the Lord will not forgive this sin or that sin?
[45:04] Ah, listen, my friend, this is where grace comes in, where you say with tears in your eyes, I know I have spent a lifetime in sin as a Christian, but he bore that sin.
[45:21] He's dealt with it. He's taken it all away, and that's why he's in heaven. He would not be crowned unless he had taken the cross for my sins, and it's done.
[45:36] It's done. Satan wants to say to you, it's not done. You have to add to it. You've got to do something. Faith says, it's done.
[45:48] The cleansing is complete. He bore the sin of many. And makes intercession for the transgressors.
[46:00] Mediation. He's the mediator. See, he's numbered with the transgressors. he bore the sin of many and makes present tense intercession for the transgressors.
[46:20] Jesus is always the bridge between us in our sin and God in his holiness. He is always the bridge.
[46:33] He's always the mediator. We will never need to meet God on our own. We will never stand before God on our own.
[46:44] We will always have the mediator with us. Jesus will always be there. He's crowned in the presence of God asking for you because he makes intercession for you.
[47:04] he's always the one who's there for you. And the father just has to look at his son and he knows the son's history.
[47:17] He knows all that the son did. He knows he poured out his soul to death. He knows he was numbered with the transgressors. He knows he bore the sin of many and he knows that he's currently making intercession for them.
[47:36] He's always their mediator. Ah, beautiful. We will never be without the mediator. We will never be without Jesus. We will never be without the king in the presence of God the father.
[47:53] That's what makes heaven a beautiful place to contemplate. We go there and we know we've sinned and to our final breath we will know that we are sinners.
[48:06] But we will always say yes but he's there and he's there for me. He always makes intercession for us. And even in the morning of the resurrection as we look forward to a world without death we will always be able to say he's there as well.
[48:28] He always making intercession for us. I pray for them says Jesus. I pray for them.
[48:39] I don't pray for the world but I pray for them. we won't have time to look at the final point tonight but can I invite any of you who find this peak into heaven and to Christ on the throne asking the question why is he there?
[49:07] he's there because God honors him. Do you honor him? He's there because he has spiritual blessings to share.
[49:18] Do you want these blessings? blessings? He is there because he has saving love to display as one who poured out his soul to death numbered with transgressors like yourself bore your sin in its entirety as your substitute and will ever live to make intercession for you.
[49:49] Surely surely you want this. How could you possibly not want it? How could you possibly think about living the rest of your life here in this world without this Christ whose cross could be the cross for your sins and the crown so that he could reign to save you?
[50:19] He says to you come to me come to me why are you not coming to me because he is there enthroned whoever comes to me I will not cast out let's pray heavenly father we ah lord we worship we want to worship you for who you are and who you have set before us as the saviour is your servant first and foremost but is your servant to save us and to restore us to be a people for your glory lord you've put so much on the table you've put so much out on the messianic banquet the feast it's beautiful and the head of the feast is so lovely and oh father you are lovely son of god you are lovely holy spirit that leads us into these treasures how lovely open the eyes we pray of the blind open the eyes of the youngest to the oldest and draw them lord to yourself save them from the clutches of satan who doesn't want either the cross or the crown to become part of our history save us lord we pray in