Series: Isaiah
Title: My Servant Shall
Text: Isaiah 52: 13-15
Date: August 11, 2013
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
God never “tries;” God
does! God the Son never “wants” to do
anything; Christ does! Men speak
strangely of some other god who “wants” to save. Some other jesus who is “trying” to save,
“trying” to teach all men. Yet their jesus is frustrated by the sinner. That is
not the God of the Bible! But the God of the Bible does describe their god:
Isaiah
46: 7: They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his
place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry
unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
That is the exact
description they give of their god, “He has no hands but your hands, no feet
but your feet.” They have prayer teams: prayer captains, prayer warriors. Yet,
they say he cannot save, “For he has done all he can do.” God says, “yea, one shall cry unto him, yet
can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.”
Our text is in Isaiah 52:
13-15. I want for you to read the text
with me. As we read it, notice that the
true and living God never describes his Son as making a frustrated attempt at
anything. Pay close attention to how many times God says he “shall.”
Isaiah 52: 13: Behold, my servant SHALL deal prudently, he SHALL
be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14: As many were astonied at thee;
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of
men: 15: So SHALL he sprinkle many nations; the kings SHALL shut their mouths
at him: for that which had not been told them SHALL they see; and that
which they had not heard SHALL they consider.
Title: My Servant Shall
Divisions: 1) First, notice the certainty of
Christ’s dealings—v13: Behold, my
servant SHALL deal prudently, he SHALL be exalted and extolled, and be very
high. 2) Secondly, notice, in direct proportion to how MANY were astonished
at Christ’s humiliation so shall he wash MANY in his blood—v14: As MANY were astonied at thee;…15: So
shall he sprinkle MANY nations; [Let’s read it all together now] 3)
Thirdly, notice the certain triumph of our exalted Redeemer over men—v15:…the kings SHALL shut their mouths at
him: for that which had not been told them SHALL they see; and that
which they had not heard SHALL they consider.
Proposition: In direct proportion to the depth of
suffering that Christ willingly endured in his humiliation so is he highly
exalted and so shall he save his people from among many nations.
I. FIRST, LET’S HEAR GOD’S DESCRIPTION OF THE CERTAINTY OF HIS
SON’S DEALINGS.
My Servant
God says in verse 13, “Behold,
my servant.” The Son of God became the
servant of God the Father. Spurgeon said, “Servant is a title as
honorable as it is condescending.” It is
honorable because Christ was chosen by God the Father to be his servant.
Isaiah
42: 1: Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul
delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the
Gentiles. 2: He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in
the street. 3: A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4: He shall not fail nor
be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall
wait for his law.
“Servant” is a condescending
title, because Christ willingly came so far down, so low, to serve his Father.
Philippians 2: 6: Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7: But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made
in the likeness of men:…
Application:
Brethren, think of that. The holy,
infinite, immaculate God of glory condescended to be made in our likeness, and
to take the form of a servant; from being in the form of God—to the form of a
servant; from being equal with God—to being made in the likeness of men. And vain
sinners won’t condescend to come down off the dung heap!
Christ
came down to manifest the GLORY of God—his being and his divine perfections, to
fulfill his own law—to honor and magnify his own law. The Son of God came down
to save worthless sinners like you and me!
That is astounding! No wonder God the Father says, “Behold, my servant!”
Shall Deal Prudently
Next, notice the certainty.
God says, “My servant shall deal
prudently.” The marginal reference says, “shall prosper.” In
Proverbs 8: 12, Christ is described by the habitation in which he dwells,
"I Wisdom inhabit Prudence"
Christ Jesus dealt wisely,
prudently in how he called his apostles and taught them. He dealt prudence to
them—he makes men “wise unto salvation.”
Everything our Savior did was wise and prudent.
Primarily, this has to do
with Christ fulfilling the law for God and his people, with putting away the
sin of his people and with making his people the righteousness of God in him of
which we see a picture in Joshua 1. Christ
is our Joshua, Savior. God the Father said to his Son, Christ his Servant, what
he said here to Joshua.
Joshua
1: 6:
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an
inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7: Only be
thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to
all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the
right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper [same word as “prudent]
whithersoever thou goest. 8: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy
mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Jeremiah
23:5: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth.
These were the first
recorded words of God’s servant, Christ Jesus, “Wist ye not that I must be
about my Father’s business?” (Lk 2: 49)
Psalm
40: 6: Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou
opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 7: Then said I,
Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8: I delight
to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Hebrews
10: 8: Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and
offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are
offered by the law; 9: Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He
taketh away the first, [the curse of the law under the covenant of works] that
he may establish the second. [that everlasting covenant of grace for his
people] 10: By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11: And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins: 12: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13: From henceforth expecting till his
enemies be made his footstool. 14: For by one offering he hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified. 15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to
us: for after that he had said before, 16: This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17: And their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. 18: Now where remission of these is, there is no more
offering for sin.
Christ said that is what he
came to do:
Matthew
5: 17: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled.
Isaiah
53: 10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11: He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
The first words he spoke
were, “I must be about my Father’s business.” His last words were, “It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (Jn 19: 30) God the
Father said,
Matthew
17: 5:…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Isaiah
42:21: The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify
the law, and make it honourable.
Application: Sinner, stop looking to you! Cease looking to your imaginary law-keeping
for acceptance with God—and that includes your morality—being a moral person is
what you ought to be—BUT never imagine it
will gain you acceptance with God. By Christ Jesus “all that believe are
justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Moses.” (Acts 13: 39) And believer, once you have come to Christ, keep coming
to Christ—do not go back to the law—“For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth.” (Rom 10: 4) “The just shall live by
faith and the law is not of faith.” (Gal 3: 11-12)
II. SECONDLY, IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO HOW SHOCKED MEN WERE AT THE
DEPTHS OF CHRIST’S HUMILATION ON THE CROSS—SO THAT IS HOW HIGHLY HE SHALL HE BE
EXALTED AND HOW MANY HE SHALL WASH IN HIS BLOOD—v14: As MANY were astonied at thee;…15: So
SHALL he sprinkle MANY nations;
In direct proportion to the
astonishment, the shock, the way men were struck dumb, when they beheld Christ
on the cross. In proportion to the depth to which Christ bowed himself, in
proportion to how deeply and profoundly the Savior suffered in the room and
stead of his people on the cross wo shall he be exalted, so shall he purge his people throughout many nations; so shall
every last knee bow, dumb and shocked at the appearance of him in his
exaltation.
So how low did Christ lower
himself? Verse 14 says, “his visage was so marred more than any man, and his
form more than the sons of men.” In the
history of this world, there has never been a man whose appearance was marred
as badly as Christ’s appearance was marred on the cross, “his visage was so marred MORE than ANY man.” In all of history, no man at any time ever
had his bodily form more disfigured than Christ’s on the cross, verse 14 says, “his
form more than the sons of men.”
Note: God does not exaggerate! What God says in this verse is so
because the shock of men at our Savior, the marring and disfigurement of our
Savior is in direct proportion to his exaltation and to the salvation of his
people—and no man has ever been exalted to the heights Christ has—no man! His work of fulfilling the law is so thorough
and complete that nothing can be added or taken away.
Therefore, it means exactly
what it says, no man has ever been so marred and so disfigured as our Savior on
that tree! This is not some preacher
reaching for dramatic effect or to be sensational as men like to accuse God’s
faithful preachers. GOD wrote this!
What caused this marring and
disfigurment? Chapter 53 tells us. God states the fact in our text then tells
us what caused it.
Sinners
Isaiah
53: 3: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
Sinful man—men like you and
me in our natural state—stripped him totally naked and slashed him with a whip
39 times. Man plucked out his beard by
the roots by the handfuls. We crowned
him with thorns, put a dirty rug over his bleeding back, and put a reed in his
hand for a scepter the bowed and mocked God!
Sinners blind folded him then punched him in the face, saying, “Who hit
you?” We pierced his hands and his feet
with spikes, nailed him to a cursed tree then dropped that tree down into a
posthole. Then sinners sat to watch him
slowly drown in the fluid of his own lungs.
That is the enmity against God that is in your child and mine, in your
flesh and in mine! “The carnal mind is
enmity against God”—that is a noun, not a verb or an adjective. That is what the carnal mind is—enmity
against God.
The Power of Darkness
Secondly, this is not in the
chapter, but the power of darkness had a hand in buffeting him, too.
Luke
22:53: When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands
against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
God foretold of Christ and
of Satan, he said, “[the Seed of Woman-Chrhist] shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen 3: 15) Every
devil that asked permission to go into the swine, every devil he cast out, had
unlimited access to do to Christ what they would on the cross. I said Thursday—“he shall not leave my soul
in hell”—does not mean that Christ
went to the place of the damned. But he
certainly endured hell in place of his people on the cross.
Our Griefs and Sorrows
Thirdly, this marring and
disfigurement was because he bore in his body the griefs and sorrows caused by
our sicknesses.
Isaiah
53:4: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
Matthew
8: 16: When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed
with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that
were sick: 17: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
For all whom Christ healed,
he took and carried the griefs and sorrows.
It obviously aged his appearance even before the cross. They said, “He is not yet 50 years old”—but
he was only 30 years of age. (Jn 8:
57) The commentaries say it was because
he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.
The Wrath of God
Fourthly, this marring and
disfigurement was from the wrath of God who forsook him in justice.
Isaiah
53: 4:…yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5: 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.
Unbending justice required
God to say,
Zechariah
13:7: Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my
fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd,…
Christ acknowledged it was
God who was pouring out justice on him, saying,
Psalm
22: 1: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me...14: I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in
the midst of my bowels. 15: My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Psalm
32:4: For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into
the drought of summer. Selah.
Our Iniquities
Fifthly, this marring and
disfigurement—his bearing these bruises and this punishment—was because he bore
the sin of his people.
Isaiah
53: 6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all….v11:…by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their
iniquities.,,,v12…he bare the sin of many,
Christ’s apostles quoted
Isaiah 53 this way:
1
Corinthians 5: 21: For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
1
Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye
were healed.
Galatians
3:13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
By Christ Himself
Sixthly, Christ was marred
and disfigured because Christ himself willingly gave his body, which was
prepared for this purpose, to be the Sin-bearer and Substitute of his people,
and he poured out his soul unto death.
Isaiah
53: 12: Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto
death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Application: If the scriptures did not say these
things, I would not say them. I never want the glory of my Redeemer dimmed in
any way. But God says the depth of his suffering is directly proportionate to
the height of his exaltation and glory and the sureness of his salvation. Before
showing us all these causes, God said here is the result of it all—“his visage
was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.”
Lamentations
1:12: Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath
afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. 13: From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth
against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath
made me desolate and faint all the day. 14: The yoke of my transgressions is bound
by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my
strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am
not able to rise up.
BUT GOD GAVE HIS ONLY
BEGOTTEN SON, AND CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF, SO THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD NOT EVER HAVE
TO BEAR THIS HELL; SO GOD COULD SHOWER HIS PEOPLE IN GRACE WHILE GOD’S OWN
JUSTICE BE UPHELD! Child of God you can say, “I'm forgiven, because he was forsaken; I'm accepted, because he was condemned.”
Amazing
love, how can it be
That thou my God shouldst die for me
So Shall He Sprinkle Many Nations
GOD SAID, “HE SHALL NOT
FAIL!” (Is 42: 4) And Christ was victorious! Our text says that as astonied, as
shocked, as men were, as disfigured and marred more than any other man that
Christ became, “So shall he sprinkle MANY nations.” (Is 52: 15)
“Sprinkle” means he shall wash each of his elect,
purge us of all our sins. By his blood
all his redeemed shall be washed in the washing of regeneration (Ti 3: 5) and washed
in his word (Eph 5: 25-27).…
Titus 3: 5: Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6: Which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7: That being justified by
his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Ephesians
5: 25: Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26: That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27: That he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or
any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Hebrews
9:14: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God?
“Many nations” does not mean
everyone in every nation; it means his elect whose sin he bore away to a land
not inhabited. HE SHALL NOT FAIL!
III. LASTLY, THE CERTAIN TRIUMPH OF OUR EXALTED REDEEMER—every
knee shall bow and praise him—v15:…kings
SHALL shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them
SHALL they see; and that which they had not heard SHALL they consider.
In Romans 15:20-21 this verse is applied to the preaching of the
gospel to the Gentiles. Paul said I preach where Christ is not named that this
scripture might be fulfilled. Not only does Christ have a people among the Jews
but also among the Gentiles—
Romans 15: 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel,
not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: 21
But as it is written, To whom he was not
spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
Isaiah 49:6: And he said, It
is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the
earth.
And it may be applied to
every rebel—for all shall shut their mouth and confess him Lord in the day of
judgment. God said this, in verse 13: “He shall be exalted and extolled, and be
very high.” By serving the Father, Christ Jesus, God our Savior highly exalted
God the Father, declaring his righteousness.
He declared how God can be a
just God and a merciful Savior to his people. In what appears to men as utter abasement, as undignified,
disgraceful, shameful, bloody death, God says it exalted him in the highest!
Wherefore every knee shall bow and confess Christ to be the greatest.
Philippians
2: 9: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name: 10: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11:
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
It is “To the glory of God the Father” because God the Father
choose his servant, God the Father sent his servant, God the Father upheld his
servant, and God the Father delights in his servant! His servant is “the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person,” (Heb 1: 3)
John
5:22: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the
Son: 23: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He
that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
God said “He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”
Revelation
5: 6: And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts,
and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth. 7: And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne. 8: And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and
golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9: And they sung
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10: And hast made us unto
our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11: And I beheld,
and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and
the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands; 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour,
and glory, and blessing. 13 And every
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb for ever and ever.
Application:
Now, sinner—you shall meet God’s Righteous Servant one day. But you’ll not meet him this way but he will
adorned as the King of kings—not as a servant but as Judge. You can try to ignore the fact, but sooner or
later, you will do business with the Son of God!
“Be
wise now therefore, be instructed, Serve the LORD with fear, rejoice with
trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
(Ps 2: 10-12)
And brethren—rejoice—for we
shall meet him too! What joy! What
praise!
Matthew
25: 34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world:
Matthew
13: 43: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father!
Amen!