[0:00] Now as we come together around the Word of God, let us seek his blessing upon his Word. Let us pray. Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, we give thanks unto thee that thou hast enabled us to come together around thine own Word.
[0:23] Lord, we that is I and our hearts to worship and to honour thine own name. And as we come into thy presence in this act of worship, we acknowledge that thou art the one who is sovereign, that thou art the one who ruleth in heaven and in earth, and that all things are in thine own hands.
[0:49] We give thee thanks for the revelation that thou hast given to us of thyself through thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have boldness and confidence to come into thy presence and to seek thy mercy and to seek thy grace, and to help us in our time of need.
[1:12] We seek, O Lord, that we would come confessing our sins, acknowledging our own sinnership, and giving thee thanks for the provision that thou hast made in and through thy Son, for to meet us at our point of need.
[1:31] We give thanks unto thee for all the tokens of thy goodness and kindness, that thou dost so abundantly outpour upon us every day.
[1:42] We seek, O Lord, that as we come around thy word, that it would please thee to grant to us of thine own spirit, to enlighten our understanding, to lead us unto thy own word, and to open our hearts to receive it, that it may be lodged in our hearts and bring forth evidence in our lives.
[2:06] We pray, O Lord, that as we come to thy word, that it would please thee to open thy word to us in such a way that we would not only look upon thy word and meditate and reflect upon it with the natural heart, but with that we would have that spiritual heart, to which we would come and where we would humble ourselves in thy own presence, acknowledging, O Lord, that thou art the God of all pity, the God of all compassion, and the God of all grace, and that we would see the beauty of the incarnate word through the written word.
[2:57] O, as we come to behold the cross of Christ, we pray that we would not only look upon it with the natural eye, but that we would look upon it through the eye of faith, and that we would truly say that he was wounded for our transgressions, that he was bruised for our iniquities, that the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes that we are healed.
[3:27] That we would behold that wondrous cross, that wondrous provision that thou hast made for sinners, in thy love, in thy mercy, and in thy grace.
[3:37] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our community, that thou would bless every home and every family. Thou knowest their needs, and we pray that out of the riches of thy grace, that thou would meet with them.
[3:54] We remember those who are ill, and pray that thine own healing hand may be upon them, and those who may be mourning the passing of loved ones, reminding us that we are sojourners in this world, that we are all on the journey to our long home.
[4:13] And we give thanks unto thee, O Lord, for the great promises of thine own word, that they have been sealed for us through the blood of the everlasting covenant, and that in thy word that thou hast promised, that all those who will put their trust in thee, and follow thee, that thou hast prepared a place for them, where they will be taken to be with thyself forever, where they shall receive the apex of their redemption, to be conformed to the image of the Son.
[4:45] O, we give thanks, O Lord, for that living hope that we can have through thy Son. And we give thanks unto thee that that hope has been proclaimed through the gospel this day.
[4:59] And so we pray that the gospel may go forth in the power and demonstration of thine own Holy Spirit. For we are dependent upon thee, and for without thee we can do nothing.
[5:13] Amen. We pray for our young people and our children, and pray that thou would raise up a generation that would fear thine own name, a generation who would be thine own witnesses in this world.
[5:29] We pray for thy people. O grant unto us that we may be faithful unto thee, for we know that there are many snares that the enemy of our soul sets before us.
[5:42] But we pray, O Lord, that we may overcome all these snares to the power of thine own Spirit working in our hearts. We pray, O Lord, for all assemblies of thy people this day, and for all thy servants who are going forth with thy word, that they may have the unction of thine own Spirit upon them.
[6:04] Remember our nation, and we pray, O Lord, that thou would have pity upon us, that thou would visit us, O Lord, in thy mercy and in thy grace, and that we, O Lord, would return back unto thee.
[6:20] For thou hast promised that if we return unto thee, that thou wilt return to us. We pray that thou would take us to that place of repentance, where we would sorrow over our sin, and where we would seek the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
[6:40] We pray for all nations of the earth, and we pray, O Lord, that the gospel may go forth this day, and that many would be converted, convinced of their sin and converted, and that many, O Lord, would see their own great need of that salvation, which is proclaimed in the gospel.
[7:03] We ask, O Lord, that thou would continue with us, that thou would watch over us for moments that we are together, and that thou, O Lord, would forgive us for all our sins, and for all our shortcomings.
[7:16] And all that we ask is in Jesus' name, and for his sake. Amen. We shall read the word of God now, as we find it in the Old Testament, in the book of Psalms, and Psalm 69.
[7:35] Save me, O God, for the water shall come unto my soul. I sink in deep mine, for there is no standing. I am coming to deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
[7:49] I am weary of my cry, my throat is dry, mine eyes fail, while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause, are more than the hairs of mine head.
[8:01] They that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee.
[8:15] Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
[8:25] Because for thy sake I have borne reproach, shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger into my brethren, and an alien into my mother's children.
[8:38] For the seal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. While I wept and chastened my soul with fastings, that was to my reproach.
[8:52] I made sackcloth also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that sat in the gate speak against me, and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time.
[9:08] O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink. Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
[9:23] Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up. And let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord, for thy lovingkindness is good.
[9:36] Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from my servant, for I am troubled. Hear me speedily.
[9:47] Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it. Deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour.
[9:57] Mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness, and I look for some to take pity, but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none.
[10:11] They gave me also gall for my meat, and my thirst, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
[10:25] Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
[10:37] Let their habitation be desolate, and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou hast mitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
[10:48] Add iniquity unto their iniquity, and let them not come unto thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be ridden with the righteous.
[10:59] But I am poor and sorrowful. Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with his song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
[11:11] This also shall please the Lord better than ox or bullock that hath horns and hooves. The humble shall see this, and be glad, and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
[11:26] Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
[11:39] The seed also of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word.
[11:52] And now, seeking his help and blessing, let us turn to the prophecy of Isaiah, and chapter 53. Isaiah chapter 53, and reading at verse 7.
[12:06] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears are stum, so he openeth not his mouth.
[12:26] He was taken from prison, and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation. For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
[12:39] And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Now, as we continue to look at this servant song that we have in the book of Isaiah.
[13:00] Last week, we reflected upon part of this song, or report, from verse 2 to verse 6. And today, we will look at verse 7 to 9.
[13:16] Here in verse 7, we read, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears are stum, so he openeth not his mouth.
[13:35] It is hard to say who exactly is speaking in this verse. In a sense, it does not matter who the speaker is. What is important for us is what the speaker says.
[13:50] And in this verse, the speaker begins by setting out his main observation, and that, first of all, is that the servant was oppressed and afflicted, or that he was treated in a very harsh way.
[14:05] And secondly, and twice in this verse, the speaker highlights the silence of the servant. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.
[14:23] And then at the end of the verse, so he openeth not his mouth. He did not retaliate as one would have expected him to do so.
[14:36] And thirdly, he points us to the servant's submission, for he kept on submitting himself to affliction, or maybe it would be better to say that he kept submitting himself as a servant to the Father's will.
[14:55] Peter, in his first letter, alludes to this fact in chapter 2, verse 21, where he says, Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again.
[15:16] When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Now, in order for us to really appreciate the situation described for us here in verse 7, and to have some understanding of the events of the cross, we must learn that Jesus willingly allowed himself to be so ill-treated.
[15:44] For example, in his arrest, when Judas and the temple guards came to the garden to arrest him, Peter resorted to attacking them with a sword and inflicted a wound upon the right ear of the servant of the high priest by cutting it off.
[16:05] Surprising, this wound was healed by Jesus, and perhaps more surprising, he rebuked Peter for his action with the words, Thinkest thou that I cannot pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels.
[16:25] The implication of that rebuke is that he kept silent regarding what would have been a right request for him to make, to receive heavenly protection, which if he had done so, he would have received twelve legions of angels.
[16:44] But he realized that he was to submit himself to the Father's will.
[16:55] He kept silent. Why? Well, what took place just before Judas and the temple guards came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus prayed in agony, he realized that it was the Father's will that the cup of wrath against sinners like me and you should be drunk by him to the very last drop.
[17:24] And once Jesus realized that it was the Father's will, what we find is that he went forth depending upon the Father. This is the servant who said, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?
[17:40] Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. After his arrest, he remained silent.
[17:56] During his trial, he had maintained silence except when the high priest asked him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing?
[18:10] What is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace. He answered nothing.
[18:22] Again the high priest asked him and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am, and you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
[18:37] He was silent at the civil trial before Pilate, except for when he affirmed that he was a king of an entirely different kingdom.
[18:48] Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priest accused him of many things, but he answered nothing.
[19:04] And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.
[19:16] His silence was such that Pilate was amazed at it. He had questioned many a person before and heard that desperate pleas made to him for their release.
[19:29] But now there stood one before him who claimed to speak the truth about himself and his kingdom and he refused to answer any questions.
[19:41] He wasn't pleading for his release. And when he was sent to Herod, who was at Jerusalem at the time, we read that when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for it was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
[20:05] Then he questioned with him in many words, but what is said about Jesus? He answered him nothing. He kept silent.
[20:16] When the Jews told Pilate that Jesus ought to die because he made himself the Son of God, Pilate was troubled and went again to Jesus and said, Whence art thou?
[20:30] But Jesus remained silent. So Pilate says to him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee?
[20:43] Jesus then answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above. See, Pilate seemed to have been very perplexed about Jesus.
[20:56] His silence was remarkable, and when he did speak, he only instilled fear into Pilate. Here was one who, as a servant of Jehovah, remained silent in his arrest and in his trials.
[21:18] Yet the writer to the Hebrew testifies of the person of the servant and his relationship with God, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power.
[21:36] Here's the one of whom it is testified, All things were made through him, and without him was not anything that was made. In other words, he spoke, and the world came into existence, and he opposed the world by that same word of power.
[21:55] Yet he is the one who at his arrest and trials remains silent. And by remaining silent, he was fulfilling prophecy. This is a man who so often silenced his enemies, and of whom many of whom testified, no man ever spoke like this man.
[22:17] Yet there came a time, and there came a place, where he knew he had to be silent. In the silence, he expressed his submission to his father's will and his love for sinners like me and you.
[22:35] He at his arrest and trials committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. He committed himself into the hands of the judge.
[22:48] Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? He remained silent so that I and you could cry out to God for mercy.
[23:03] Then Jesus is here likened to a lamb that is led to the slaughter. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.
[23:15] He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
[23:27] This imagery here is immensely powerful. Here is the lamb of God being led to the place of slaughter.
[23:40] John tells us that the bands and the captains and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him and led him away. What really bound him was not the ropes of men but his desire to fulfil his father's will and to show his love and mercy for sinners by working out a way of salvation for them.
[24:09] The words brought as a lamb or as the ESV has it like a lamb that is led to the slaughter. doesn't imply any struggle but rather what we see here is unique submission.
[24:28] We read in John that Jesus therefore knowing all things that should come upon him went forth and said unto them whom seek ye? That is Judas and the temple guards.
[24:40] And they answered him Jesus of Nazareth Jesus saith unto them I am he and Judas and all which betrayed him stood with them and as soon as he had said unto them I am he they went backward and fell to the ground.
[24:59] Then asked he again whom seek ye? And they said Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus answered they have told you that I am he if therefore ye seek me let these go their way.
[25:10] Now this brings before us that he was not caught in events beyond his own control. In the Gospel of John we also find his own words in chapter 10 I am the good shepherd the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again this commandment have I received of my father you see he was not overpowered but chose to submit himself to those who came to arrest him because it was the father's will for the salvation of sinners like me and you he is led to the slaughter a word which is commonly employed to refer to butchery or he is led to the slaughter house some see it as a reference only to the horrendous sufferings of the lamb rather than a reference to sacrifice or any religious setting but
[26:38] I think that both can be accepted the altar of Jewish worship was a place of suffering and butchery the burnt offering for instance had to be cut up into pieces and placed on the wood upon the fire of the altar the cross of Golgotha was a place of horrendous suffering but it was also the place of the only sacrifice that could deal with sin what about the imagery of being sheared as a sheep before her shearer's stem so he openeth not his mouth it certainly implies that he made no attempt to escape from the destiny that lay ahead of him he kept himself in a state of submissiveness it is interesting to note that in general lambs go to the slaughterhouse and sheep are sheared in blind compliance they know not what awaits them as they are led to their different experiences as the lamb is led to the slaughterhouse and the sheep is led to the shearer's they go there in blind compliance because they know not what awaits them but notice here that
[28:03] Jesus as the lamb of God and the servant goes to the slaughterhouse goes before the shearers with a full knowledge of what is awaiting him nevertheless he goes in full submission to the father's will we can almost say and I think it would be right for us to say that he went with pleasure and with joy to the slaughterhouse and before the shearers he went with pleasure and with joy to the cross of Golgotha to the horrendous suffering and cursed death of the cross of Golgotha because it was the father's will for the salvation of sinners like me and you he knew that he was going to be maltreated yet he was submissive oh what wondrous love is here expressed to us at the slaughterhouse and before the shearers what wonderful love is expressed and shown to us by the cross of
[29:22] Golgotha in verse 8 we read he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken the ESV reads by oppression and judgment he was taken away this verse clearly teaches that the servant's life ended through a judicial process from his arrest and from judgment he was snatched away the idea that is most prominent in the words translated taken away he was taken from prison and from judgment or he was taken away is that of been snatched or hurried away the word taken is too tame a word really for it because he was hurried away from the garden of gethsemane to a series of trials that were not legal as prescribed by
[30:34] Jewish and Roman law he was snatched away to face five trials five trials on that night one by an ice another in the high priest palace before the Sanhedrin one before Pilate another before Herod and finally Pilate's final judgment five trials and he was hurried he was snatched away there is a sense of violence in it and he was brought to all these trials illegal trials but he was brought to them he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation and again a variety of opinions are given regarding the actual meaning of that clause who shall declare his generation in the Hebrew Bible the word generation signifies an age or people living in a particular age the word declare signifies a careful consideration or meditation who shall declare his generation so the meaning here could be who of the
[31:56] Saviour's contemporaries ponder upon the significance of the servant or of the events associated with his death now just think of it think of Golgotha think of the cross of Golgotha there are a multitude of people surrounding the cross there are a multitude of people watching what is going on but who of them pondered upon the significance of the servant or the events associated with his death who of them pondered upon the significance of the man who was suffering and die on the middle cross but my friends let us not criticise too much those around the cross let us remember that in the gospel this man is held out for us and how many of us give time or careful consideration to the significance of the servant that is brought before us in the gospel or to his death that is brought before us in the gospel in other words what this phrase is saying is that no one cared a hoot who shall declare his generation no one gave a hoot to the person who was suffering on the middle cross no one spoke up for him today we read there in psalm 69 reproach shall broken my heart and
[33:36] I am full of heaviness and I looked for some to take pity but there was none and for comforters but I found none Isaiah 63 I have thrown in the wine press alone and of the people there was none with me and I looked and there was none to help and I wondered that there was none to uphold he stood alone and the people reckoning was that he must have reserved all that he suffered they went away from the cross of Golgotha convinced that he got what he deserved it is said that there was a custom among the Jews in the case of trials for life to call upon all who had anything to say in favour of the accused to come and to declare it or to plead on the accused behalf some think that this is what
[34:42] Jesus referred to in the palace of the high priest as recorded by John in chapter 18 Jesus answered to my spoke openly to the world I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple whether the Jews always resolved and in secret have I said nothing why askest thou me ask them which heard me what I have said unto them behold they know what I said but there was none who came to plead his cause the disciples had fled there was none found that would plead his cause he was all alone one of the Jewish writings called the Talmud has a legend in it of this being done for Jesus and that no one appeared in his favour now we know that if this was a custom that it was not observed in the case of
[35:47] Jesus because we have no record of it in the Bible however we do know that no one dared to appear in his favour and that in the great crisis when Jesus stood on his trial before the Jewish court and then before the great Roman power installed in Pilate no one came forward to that justifying plea for fear of the Jews they were afraid to come and to plead for Jesus we know that that is why the disciples fled for fear it was a dangerous time for anyone to be associated with Jesus a dangerous time and here he says he was cut off out of the land of the living the cut off is a term which conveys that it was by wicked and violent hands that the servant dies
[36:50] Peter on the day of Pentecost said to the people about Jesus ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened out his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her she or his thumb so he open his mouth he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken substitution as we noted last week is an essential part of this song that we have in Isaiah we have it in verse 5 and 6 but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the
[37:59] Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all substitution then we have it here in verse 8 for the transgression of my people was he stricken substitution and we come across it in verse 10 there shall make his soul an offering for sin and verse 11 by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities and in verse 12 and he bear the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors substitution the servant is not suffering for his own sins but the servant substitutes himself for his people and he suffers for them the same part of verse 8 for the transgression of my people was he stricken the servant had inflicted on him the penalty that was associated with the rebellious nature of his people the penalty that was due to him is to them is reckoned to him
[39:10] God ordained the servant suffering the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all what great provision this is what a gracious provision this is that what was due to me and you as a sinner was reckoned to the sinless son of God to God manifest in the flesh oh everything God says will come to pass even the death of the servant by wicked hands as we have already noted that itself was under the determined counsel of God but as was true of his sufferings and death so also of his burial and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth in his other versions we have the pronoun they instead of he here in verse 9 it says and he made his grave in other versions there is the word they for example the ESV says and they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death and the same in the new
[40:47] King James version and they made his grave with the wicked and that is because the word in the original it can be translated or interpreted impersonally rather than specifically he made his grave or they made his grave with the wicked who are they spoken of then it is evident that it refers to the enemies of the servant who wanted him to be buried with the wicked and they made his grave with the wicked but perhaps we could be more specific here does this refer to the soldiers or to the Roman authority it could but unlikely as the soldiers probably did not care where the body would be buried and
[41:51] Pilate would not have released the body to Joseph if he were concerned as to where it should be buried this is probably a reference to the Jewish leaders and they made his grave with the wicked probably reference to the Jewish leaders who wanted the servant even in his burial to be so identified with the wicked that was the enmity of their hearts towards the son of God towards Jesus on the cross they were such enmity in their hearts against him that they wanted his burial to be with the wicked who are the wicked they are the condemned criminals criminals who have been crucified once they died the custom was that their bodies would be thrown into a common pit and forgotten about sometimes their bodies would just be thrown on the rubbish tip of
[42:57] Jerusalem where the wild animals would consume them where they would rot on the rubbish tip of Jerusalem and that is where the Jewish leaders wanted the body of Jesus to be buried thrown on the heap thrown into the pit in the original there is another intriguing plural as we said and they made his grave with the wicked that is a right translation and with the rich in his death but in the original it says with the rich in his deaths there is a plural there are various explanations given some say that it is to make us understand the supreme quality of the servant's death his magnificent death others that it points out to us the reality of the servant's death others that it points out to us the awful nature of that death to which the servant submitted himself now I think all these are valid points it was a magnificent death it certainly was a real death and it certainly was an awful death but one of the commentators by the name of Alec
[44:30] Mortar in his commentary writes this the only remarkable thing about the plural is our surprise at finding it since the servant was condemned as a criminal the natural expectation was that he would be brought to a criminal's grave but on the contrary following a superb real and violent death he was found with a rich man and he goes on and he says the enigma of chapter 52 verse 13 to 15 how could such suffering lead to such exaltation and of 53 1 to 3 how could one so plainly human be the arm of the Lord as therefore they are compounded or they come together how could a condemned man receive a rich man's burial three interesting things is it not we looked at the first two before when we looked at chapter 52 verse 13 to 15 at the beginning of this song how could such suffering lead to such exaltation that we find in these verses and then chapter 53 verse 1 to 3 how could one so plainly human be the arm of the
[45:55] Lord and now we have another one and that is how could a condemned man receive a rich man's burial well Alec Montere says like the other enigmas of this song this too is written so that when the turn of events provides the explanation we shall know for certain that we stand in the presence of the servant of the Lord in other words what he is saying he says when these things have been fulfilled then we know that we are standing in the presence of the servant of the Lord in other words he is saying as Joseph of Amatheia comes and takes the body of Christ a rich man and buries it in his own grave that the prophecy has been fulfilled and therefore we know that we are standing in the presence of the servant of the Lord the body of
[46:58] Jesus is taken care of he made his grave with rich in his death when we read the gospels we see how this was fulfilled when Joseph Amatheia a rich man and a ruler of the Jews obtained permission from Pilate to take the body of Jesus and to bury it which he did by putting it as we noted in his own grave everything God says will come to pass even the death of the seven by wicked hands were under the determined counsel of God and so was his burial God can move the most unlikely people such as a sacred disciple a government official to act in certain ways because he is in control he is sovereign although the Jewish authorities the Jewish leaders had assigned his body to be placed along with other criminals in the common pit on the rubbish heap God over rules and the body of the servant was placed in a rich man's grave and as we noted already
[48:04] Joseph showed his love to the servant at a crucial time when it was extremely dangerous to be identified with Jesus and yet here is an example of those who may be in the background spiritually but who comes to the fore when the cause of Christ seems to have been abandoned by everyone else Joseph of Armathia a sacred disciple a government official comes all the disciples had fled there seemed to be no one to take care of the body of the servant but the sovereign God overrules and makes sure that the body of the servant is buried in a rich man's grave he makes sure that the body of his servant is not left in the hand of wicked men but in the hands of a believer everything done to the body of Christ since the moment of his death is done by believers it is all in the hands of the church it is all in the hands of believers
[49:12] God saw to that he didn't leave the burial to the wicked but he left it to a believer the believers had a hand in his burial but the servant being placed in the grave shows us the irregularity of his death and burial Paul tells us whoever as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned see death and death and burial is in the world because of sin yet here is the servant of whom the rest of this verse testifies was sinless in action and in speech it says it it says he could cause he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth and yet he dies and yet is buried burial after all is the final proof of death it is a proof of the completion and final penalty of death if there is any doubt whether a person has died or not you obviously do not bury that person until you are absolutely certain that death has taken place burial as it is it's a final event which proves to a person a certainty of the fact of death and all for gospel brings before us the fact that
[50:47] Jesus was buried and his burial is absolute proof of the fact that he died in the fullest sense of the word on the cross of Golgotha his death was true his death was real he died and was buried a sinless man dies and is buried the grave on that day had an unexpected guest when the servant of Jehovah was placed in the rich man's grave he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth he was sinless and yet he died and he was buried we die and we are buried but we are sinners we receive the wages of sin but here is a man and he was sinless and yet he died and was buried his burial was the final stage of his humiliation as the catechism puts it wherein did
[52:01] Christ's humiliation consist and the catechism answers Christ's humiliation consisted and has been born and that in a low condition made under the law undergoing the miseries of this life the wrath of God and the curse of death of the cross and been buried and continuing under the power of death for a time who is this this is the servant of Jehovah this is the sinless son of God this is the darling of heaven this is the beloved son whose place is in the father's bosom this is God manifest in the flesh this is God manifest in the flesh making a way for life for me and you a life for sinners like me and you by taking upon himself what our sins deserve he took it upon his own body on the cross of
[53:03] Golgotha making a way for sinners like me and you to eternal life friend how can you despise such action how can you despise the son of God how can you reject the offer of the gospel today Jesus offers you salvation today how can you reject it when he suffered so much that horrendous death how can you despise and reject it how can you stand at the judgment seat of Christ having despised the offer of salvation freely offered to you today how can you leave this place still rejecting that offer and my dear friend if you have accepted that offer surely today it is a you brought to a place of amazement a place of amazement at the love of God for you that he sent his son to the cross of
[54:13] Golgotha that he delivered him up by laying upon him this was God's action laying on him what your sins deserve on his son on the son of his bosom it wasn't on an animal it wasn't on any other person but his own beloved son he laid on him the iniquity of us all dear Christian friend does that not leave you humble does that not leave you in amazement in amazement oh what love what mercy what a gracious provision my dear unconverted friend how often you've heard it for the last 22 years I have proclaimed it and yet sadly I see people who have despised the message and as
[55:13] I come to the end of my ministry among you I still plead with you accept this salvation accept Jesus Christ today follow him because it is only in him that there is salvation and when we meet at the judgment seat of Christ as we shall meet let us meet there as friends and companions of Jesus Christ let my eye and your eye when they meet let it not be a means of condemnation but let it be a means of joy of entering into the joy of the Lord here is a man who was afflicted here is a man who bore the punishment that was due to sinners oh how can you not love him how can you not follow him may the Lord bless our thoughts let's pray eternal and ever blessed
[56:18] Lord we are dependent upon thine own spirit to take our words and to apply to the hearts of our dear people to our dear and converted friends that they may see their great need that thou Lord would enable them to take a hold of the salvation by faith to come to experience thy salvation and the joy of thy salvation oh Lord we pray that for thine own people that we may once again as we survey the wondrous cross be lost in amazement at the gracious provision that thou hast made for us and through thy beloved son we ask oh Lord that thou would continue with us may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more amen