Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

This final stanza brings us back to our point of embarkation: the ‘Servant’ triumphant. These last three verses refer to His suffering and death, but they emphatically show Him coming out the other side in glorious victory.

‘This unanticipated and massive reversal of his situation is what causes the consternation of kings and nations with which the song began. None of them would have foreseen that this is how the story would end.’ Derek Tidball: ‘The message of the Cross’, p.113.

”But we…see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death…” Heb.2:9.

Verse 10a sums up the central idea of Is.53, and in everyone of the last three verses the suffering of the Messiah is emphasised. But the predominant outlook is beyond His death towards a magnificent future.

Over the next few days we are going to look at some of the things which will happen in the wake of the death of Jesus.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

The Hebrew of verse 9 is singular, and refers to ‘a rich man’. This verse was a puzzle until the events described in Matthew 27:57-60:

”As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”

Barry Webb points out: ‘He was an innocent man who had been done to death like a criminal, and his burial was a mixture of honour and dishonour. If his career ended at that point it would be hard to tell what even God’s final verdict on him had been. Was his work finished to God’s satisfaction or not?’ ‘Isaiah’, p.212.

Well, we already know the answer.

If there is a glimmer in verse 9, it is going to develop into the full light of day

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

He ”does nothing and says nothing but lets everything happen to him” (David Clines).

The voluntary nature of Jesus’ death distinguishes it from all Israel’s animal sacrifices offered up to this point. In the Old Testament sacrificial system the victims chosen for slaughter had no choice in the matter.

We are again reminded that Jesus died for the sins of others (8c), whereas (8a) points to a miscarriage of justice, and (8b) refers to a violent death.

David Pawson, preaching on this chapter in 1975, entitled this particular stanza: ‘The great restraint’. He made the point that it is hard to keep quiet in the teeth of unfair treatment, as Jesus did before Pilate. His silence also impressed Herod. It was common for crucified victims to curse and shout, as the thieves who died alongside Jesus did. But the Lord did not defend Himself. Rather, He sought divine vindication. When you think what Jesus could do with His voice, argued Pawson, for example commanding a storm to cease and driving out demons, just think how great His restraint was.

”Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:18-23.

Barry Webb notes that the presence of Jesus is all pervasive in this fourth ‘Servant Song’, but He doesn’t speak a word.

Today I have come back to prayer and the Bible like a hungry man!

Let me explain:

You see, I have been ‘on holiday’ for just over a week, and I recognise that I have neglected my regular times alone with God. Yes, I could start to make excuses, but none of them will stick.

What I now see so clearly is how easy it is to drift spiritually with just a little neglect; how easily one can become spiritually lethargic.

I know the Bible does not set out a rule that you must have a ‘quiet time’. But think of it in other terms: if you keep on skipping meals, what happens to you?

Spiritual growth is indissolubly linked to a diligent use of ‘the means of grace’: (these include prayer, Bible reading, fellowship etc).

A little neglect may quickly take you a long way in the wrong direction.

If we find a way back, it is the mercy of God.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

It’s been said that if we want to enter into the benefits of all that Jesus has done for us (as described in verses 4,5), we must come to this place of confession.

Here is the heart of the gospel.

We have first a definition of sin (and an admission that we are sinful/sinners). Sin is both going ‘astray’ and turning ‘to our own way’. It is falling short – like when an arrow misses the target, and it is positive rebellion. It is trespassing: the deliberate crossing of a known boundary. In the church we have regularly spoken about sins of omission, and those of commission. We both miss the mark and we cross the line.

Secondly, we have a declaration of what ‘the Lord’ has done with our sin. He has laid it all on the Servant – the Messiah, Jesus. In the context of the third stanza (53:4-6) we see that Jesus died in our place taking our punishment.

”He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

But we are not automatically saved because He did this. We must come to this place of confession/repentance.

‘Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.’ Prov.28:13

‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ 1 John 1:8,9.

Here is a quote, and a prayer from Ray Stedman:

”Frank Sinatra made a song popular a few years ago, I Did It My Way. When you hear that it sounds like something admirable, something everybody ought to emulate. How proud we feel that we did it our way. But when you turn to the record of the Scripture, you find that that is the problem, not the solution. Everyone is doing things their way, so we have a race that is in constant conflict, forever striving with one another, unable to work anything out, because we all did it our way.

The way to lay hold of the redemption of Jesus is to admit that All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way; and then to believe the next line, But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He bore our punishment and took our place.

Thank you, Lord, for taking my own punishment upon yourself. Forgive me for those times that I still seek to do things my way rather than yours.”

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Once again I can hear Handel, and his chorus based on this passage, with its ‘Surely…surely…’ like great hammer blows. Here is something to be clear about, to be certain of: Jesus died for us; Jesus died for me.

If we view this fourth ‘Servant Song’ in terms of concentric circles (see the post from two days ago), here we are in the central circle, and it brings us to the centre of the gospel: the substitutionary death of Christ. He was substituted for us in His death on the Cross. He died in our place taking our punishment. (Note the repetition of the words ”we”, ”our”, ”us” throughout this middle section).

They (we) were correct to ‘consider’ that Jesus was punished by God, but wrong to imagine that it was because of any wrong-doing on His part. His punishment was all for us. ‘…their view of him was a dangerous half-truth. The true half was that God was involved: God was the active agent in the suffering. The untrue half was that this man had done anything to deserve punishment from God.’ Derek Tidball: ‘The Message of the Cross’, p.106.

We are on Holy ground here. Indeed, it is the Holiest of Holies. We can only remove our shoes in wonder and worship and profound gratitude.

‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

As I write this I can hear in my head Handel’s sad, but beautiful, musical setting of the words of verse 3: ‘He was despised…despised and rejected’

What a contrast with the previous stanza (52:13-15) and its vision of ‘many’ being impacted by Jesus (see also vv.11,12, where there is a further reference to ‘many’ – x2).

There is nothing contradictory about this, but it is an example of a paradox, which is an apparent contradiction. There is a balance and realism in the Bible’s presentation of the response we can expect from people towards Jesus. Yes, there will be ‘many’ who will believe, but there will also be widespread rejection. Whilst believing for the first outcome, we should in no way be surprised when we meet up with the second.

Who can believe this message without a gift of divine revelation (v.1)? Derek Tidball makes the point that the Servant ‘had an unpromising beginning’ and an ‘unimpressive appearance. He says God’s ‘strength and power were at work. But who would have guessed it? His work could not be judged by any of the normal measurements of power…People’s minds are so distorted by sin that they would never come to the right conclusions about the servant except by divine revelation.’ ‘The message of the Cross’, p.104.

See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53 is a remarkable prophecy of the suffering and death of Jesus. Written more than 500 years before the Lord died, it almost feels like Isaiah stood at the foot of the Cross and was an eyewitness to the events surrounding it.

But in fact, the fourth and final ‘Servant Song’ begins at Isaiah 52:13, and then goes through to the end of chapter 53. Barry Webb says that this is ‘the jewel in the crown of Isaiah’s theology, the focal point of his vision.’ (‘Isaiah’, p.209).

The fourth song is divided into five stanzas, with three verses in each. These may be seen as a series of concentric circles. The outer circle (52:13-15/53:10-12) is about the resurrection, exaltation and enthronement of Christ. There is a story told about a preacher who kept repeating his theme throughout his Easter sermon. Over and over he said, ‘It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a comin’!’ While the middle part of this ‘Servant Song’ is undoubtedly about ‘Friday’, it begins and ends with the affirmation of ultimate victory: ‘Sunday’s a comin’!’ The inner circle concerns Jesus’ rejection (53:1-3/7-9), while the central circle (53:3-6) is all about His substitutionary death. It is as though the whole piece is structured to draw us into the centre.

This first stanza is full of missional promise. It encourages us to expect an international impact for the gospel, with ”many” being affected by it. There will be ”kings” and ”nations” who are impacted, and in our praying we should not settle for less. It may well be that the ultimate fulfilment lies in that day when ‘every knee’ will ‘bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10,11). But I believe that, even in the short term, these words can inspire and encourage us in our evangelism.

‘His truth and grace

Fill time and space;

As large His honours be,

Till all that live

Their homage give,

And praise my God with me.’ Henry Francis Lyte.

Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

This, it appears, is what Ezra did: he stood on the promise of God. He said:

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

There are echoes of the Exodus story here, but perhaps the contrasts are greater than the similarities. The great similarity is that God will be with them: He will go before and behind them.

Tom Hale makes the point that many of the Jewish exiles had become comfortable in Babylon. Now they were being called to return to Judah, and to a life of uncertainty and hardship. They were hesitant and fearful. He says, ‘It is the same for us when the Lord calls us to step out into new and uncertain ventures – into missions or into new ministries – let us not hold back. Let us remember that the Lord will go before us; we need not fear. We need only to obey.’ Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1054.

Derek Kidner writes: ”…behind the literal departure from Babylon, Rev.18:4 sees a greater movement, the withdrawal of the church from the embrace and judgment of the world, ‘so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues’.” New Bible Commentary, p.662. (See also Paul’s exhortation in 2 Cor.6:14-18).