GOD PROMISES THE MESSIAH
Gifts of all kinds and for all occasions are given with an element of anticipation and excitement.I just took my youngest granddaughter out shopping for gifts for her seventh birthday. We went to Old Navy and Toys R Us, and then we went to Ci Ci Pizza to eat. This was obviously a gift for me of a different kind, but sometimes we receive an even more perfect gift. When we were married, we could consider our spouse as a real gift. The idea of getting a person as a gift could be considered in a theological context. This lesson is important because the culmination of everything we have looked at to this point in God’s Story is wrapped up in the coming Messiah. Jesus is the One who fulfills the law for us. One who reigns over God’s eternal kingdom, and the One who restores us and makes us His own. As a result of this lesson, we should be able to speak with greater confidence about Jesus as the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ is the indescribable gift offered to all.
Read Isaiah 53:2-3 The Messiah Became One of Us
Isaiah is generally considered the greatest totally human prophet. Isaiah provides the Old Testament perspective of the coming and the work of Christ. The first part of the Book of Isaiah is 39 chapters, with the message of judgment for sin. The second part of the book is 27 chapters that brings a message of forgiveness, comfort, and hope of the coming Messiah. Do you see the parallel? The key verses of Isaiah 52:13- 53:12 are called the fourth Servant Song. A brief review of the Servant Songs in Isaiah will help set the stage for our study. Here are four Servant Songs:
- The Establisher of Justice (Isa. 42:1-4; Matt. 12:18-21).
- The Bringer of Worldwide Salvation (Isa. 49:1-6; Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47).
- The Tormented Teacher (Isa. 50:4-9; John 8:29; 15:10).
- The Suffering Servant (Isa. 52:13- 53:12).
Some scholars have added a fifth servant song (Isa. 61:1-2) – primarily because Jesus read it at the synagogue (Luke 4:18-19).
Isaiah introduced the concept of calling Jesus the Suffering Servant. First, Matthew indicated Jesus’ healing ministry fulfilled Isaiah 53:4 (Matt. 8:17). Second, and most dramatically, Philip interpreted Isaiah 53:7-8 as a prophecy about Jesus (Acts 8:32-35). Third, Mark 15:28 and Luke 22:37 reference Isaiah 53:12, seeing Jesus’ death between two sinners as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Fourth, John quoted Isaiah 53:1 as being fulfilled in the rejection of Jesus (John 12:38). Fifth, Peter tied Isaiah 53:9 to Jesus life, Isaiah 53:5 to Jesus’ death, and Isaiah 53:6 to Jesus’ atoning work for our sins (1 Peter 2:22, 24-25).
A key aspect of the fourth Servant Song is the idea that the Messiah became one of us (Isa. 53:2). Jesus became human and dwelt among us (John 1:14). In verse 2, the analogy is “a young plant” needing to establish a good root system to draw moisture and nutrients from the soil. Yet, unfortunately, the young plant has its roots in “dry ground”, meaning the plant will be less than well-nourished or hearty. The analogy is then applied directly to the Servant in the words, “He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty”. The phrase “impressive form” renders the same Hebrew word used in 1 Samuel 16:18 to describe David as a handsome man.
However, this Servant was not handsome. Nor from all appearances did He possess majesty, meaning “splendor” or “grandeur”. In Samuel 16:7, God told Samuel that man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord sees the heart. So Isaiah described the Messiah (Servant) as possessing no extraordinary physical features that made Him stand out from the crowd. Why do you think that was true? (It emphasis that the heart- not appearance- is the real value of a person. It also makes it very clear that the message, miracles, and spiritual attraction is what made Jesus so important.) In God’s Story, the most unassuming people are the real stars; never is this truer than when applied to Jesus. Jesus completely fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies about the suffering Servant. Those of us who “know” Jesus in the pardon and forgiveness of our sins can praise Him for all eternity. How are the promises God makes different from the promises we make? (We often break our promises and many times make them in haste. God never makes His promises and they are every lasting, well thought out promises.)
Read Isaiah 53:4-9 The Messiah Suffered for Us
As God’s suffering Servant, Jesus suffered for us. Jesus did not merely succumb to the overwhelming deceit of the Jewish leadership of His day. Nor did He fall victim to the irrepressible might of the Roman government. He suffered deliberately, on purpose, as the central figure in God’s Story. Verse 4 juxtaposes two contrasting realities; the realty of Christ’s suffering for us and the realty of our misjudgment of Him. As we read Isaiah, we must be amazed of how accurate, with so many details, his prophecy is. How could an Old Testament person understand the idea of Christ dying for our sins- actually bearing the punishment that we deserved? The sacrifices suggested this idea, but it is one thing to kill a lamb, and something quite different to think of God’s chosen servant as that lamb. But God was pulling aside the curtain of time to let the people of Isaiah’s day look ahead to the suffering of the future Messiah and the resulting forgiveness made available to all people. Isaiah even foresaw that the Messiah would be put on trial and buried in a rich man’s tomb.
Isaiah speaks of Israel straying from God and compares them to wandering sheep. Yet God would send the Messiah to bring them back into the fold. We have hindsight to see and know the identity of the promised Messiah. But if we know all Jesus did and still reject Him, our sin is much greater than that of the ancient Israelites, who could not see what we have seen. We must give our life to Jesus Christ, the “good shepherd” (John 10:11-16), or we would be going our way like a wandering sheep. Jesus is the Lamb (53:7) offered for the sins of all people (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6-14). The Messiah had to suffer for our sake, bearing our sins to make us acceptable to God. Revelations 4:1-2 tells us that John actually went up to heaven and says that he was “instantly” in the Spirit. What does that tell us? (It tells us that we cannot enter heaven in our current form and state of sin. It tells us that no sin can enter heaven. It also tells us that John really went to heaven as stated in Rev. 4-1-2.) So Isaiah was telling all, even in 680 BC, that the Messiah would come and make us without sin and be acceptable to enter heaven!
Read Isaiah 53:10-12 The Messiah Rescues Us
Verse 10 could be completely misunderstood because it sounds harsh and cruel. We might question how the Lord could delight in crushing or bruising His innocent Servant. The proper understanding spotlights God’s delight in the Servant’s death as the path of salvation for sinners. Do we think that God did not know that Jesus would be resurrected? God loves us so much He took delight and was pleased His Servant submitted to being crushed so we might regain life. Jesus was not the helpless victim. Rather, He laid down His life of His own accord (John 10:14-18). Thus the Servant became a “restitution offering”- a specialized sin offering that included making restitution to the offended party, whereby guilty sinners could find atonement through offering sacrifice. The Servant served as our “restitution offering”. Verse 10 is the only place in Scripture a person served as a restitution offering. The promise that the Servant “will see His seed” and “prolong His days” indicated the Servant’s death would not be the final chapter of His Story. The Lord’s “pleasure”, that sinners have guilt removed and receive atonement, will succeed because of the Servant.
Verse 11 tells of the enormous family of believers who will become right with God, not by their own works, but by the Messiah’s great work on the cross. They are justified because they have claimed Christ, the righteous Servant, as their Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9; 2 Cor. 5:21). Their life of sin is stripped away and they are clothed with Christ’s goodness (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Then in verse 12, the Servant is said to receive from God “the many as a portion” and “the mighty as spoil”. The terms “portion” and “spoil” refer to rewards of military conquest. People’s souls are at stake in the spiritual warfare between Satan and the Lord. “Because He submitted Himself to death”, the Servant became the conquering Redeemer of human kind. God’s long-term plan mandated His Servant bear “the sins of many”. This was God’s gift to the Servant, per Isaiah. However, the real, magnificent gift is to us, the true believers of Jesus. Think about how we should express our thanks to God. Normally we would make a phone call or write a note to say thanks for a gift, but that is not possible with God. We must find our heartfelt way to thank God for all He has done for us. So Isaiah was a true servant of God, and was used as a prophet to tell of the Suffering Servant to others who would believe. Isaiah was a vital part of God’s Story and we all have the choice to claim our portion in God’s Story.