Isaiah 53
Suffering servant despised: Jesus Christ verse 1- 3
Who has believed our report?
And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
for HE shall grow up before HIM as a tender plant
and as a root out of a dry ground
HE has no form nor comeliness
and when we shall see HIM
there is no beauty
` that we should desire HIM
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
Suffering servant stricken: Jesus Christ verse 4- 5
SURELY HE has born our griefs – and carried our sorrows
YET we did esteem HIM stricken
smitten of God – and afflicted
BUT HE was wounded for OUR transgressions
HE was bruised for OUR iniquities
the chastisement of OUR peace was on HIM
and with HIS stripes we are healed
Suffering servant covers iniquity: Jesus Christ verse 6
All we like sheep have gone astray
we have turned everyone to his own way
and the LORD hath laid on HIM
the iniquity of us all
Suffering servant silent: Jesus Christ verse 7- 8
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 shearers is dumb
SO HE opened not 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
Suffering servant buried: Jesus Christ verse 9
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
Suffering servant caused many
to be saved: Jesus Christ verse 10- 12
YET it pleased the LORD to bruise HIM
HE has put HIM to grief
when YOU 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
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
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 to death
and HE was numbered with the transgressors
and HE bare the sin of many
and made intercession
for the transgressors
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 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. (2803 “esteemed” [chashab] means hold in high regard, respect, think much of, impute, or think.)
DEVOTION: Isaiah is describing how people were going to treat Jesus when HE came to the earth in the future. We realize that his prediction came true. People followed Jesus around while HE was giving them blessings or healing or saying what they wanted to hear but when HE told them to take up their cross and follow HIM it was different.
The same people who praised the LORD when HE entered Jerusalem just before the Passover were there a few days later calling out for HIM to be crucified.
Today we haven’t changed very much from what Isaiah said would happen. It happened while Jesus was here on this earth and even now we see people who are looking to Jesus for all they can get but don’t want to totally commit to HIM.
If there are bad times in these individual’s lives they will give up on Jesus real soon. If they don’t get all the promises they will turn their back on the LORD.
There are those who don’t care what the Bible says needs to be done if they want to be blessed by the LORD. These individuals are the ones who despise Jesus. These are the individual who are teaching in our schools and colleges that tell their students that religion is bad and that they shouldn’t be involved with any religion. In fact, they are trying to get laws passed where the name of Jesus should be a crime.
The only time the name of Jesus is mentioned in their circle is to take HIS name in vain. The Bible says that we will be held accountable for our use of the name of Jesus. If we don’t confess HIM as our Savior we will spend eternity in hell with the devil and his angels.
Our attitudes and actions are being watched by the LORD every moment of every day of our life. Are we following the example of some of the Israelites in Isaiah’s day? Are we following the example of those who rejected Jesus when HE came in person? When someone uses the name of Jesus in vain, what do we do?
CHALLENGE: Our daily goal should be to put Jesus in high regard in our lives and speak out for HIM every chance we get.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 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. (7495 “healed” [raphah] to mend, be cured, make whole, make healthful or be repaired.)
DEVOTION: We find a description of the sacrifice the Messiah would do for all those who are followers of HIM in the future. At present the children of Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah. Isaiah had a fresh vision of this Messiah. He was told that HE would suffer for HIS people.
The children of Israel would not respect HIM when HE came to this earth. HE would face judgment for things HE had not done but would not open HIM mouth in defense of HIMSELF.
HE would be buried in a rich man’s tomb. HE would die on the cross with the wicked. HE would become an intercessor for those who would be followers of HIM.
The message of the cross came to the Gentiles because of the rejection God foreknew would happen. The Gentiles are the other nations that are going to be blessed by the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah is described in this passage just like Christ is described in the New Testament.
This is the final sacrifice for those who are called “transgressors” in this chapter. The sacrifices that the priests offered on the altar would end. The yearly bringing of blood into the Holy of Holies in the Temple would end. The sacrifice on the cross of Christ would end this relationship. The veil at the entrance of the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom when Christ declared “It is Finished.” The final sacrifice was offered.
We are transgressors. The Messiah or Christ died on the cross for our sins or iniquities or transgressions we have committed and will commit. We are the sheep that have gone astray. HE was our substitute. The Father accepted HIS sacrifice, so that, we can have salvation from our sins.
What are we being healed of in this verse? If we look at the words we see: our transgressions, our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace. HE is healing us of our broken relationship with God. Christ died on the cross to heal our relationship with the Father. We are brought back into the family of God.
The blood of the Lamb redeems us. We can have peace with God because of this sacrifice. HE took all the shame on the cross for us.
Has your relationship been made whole by the blood of Christ? If not, that can change now. We have to repent of our sins and confess Christ as the only way to heaven and chose to follow HIM.
Then we can believe on HIS name. Remember that those who are not followers of the LORD are in the family of Satan. They will spend eternity with him in the lake of fire called Hell. Christ told the Pharisees, that they were doing the work of their father, the devil. Many are religious “Christians” but not Biblical Christians!!! We need Biblical Christians!!
CHALLENGE: Understand the difference between being religiously Christian and being a true follower of the LORD. It takes more than a prayer in church or somewhere else to make you a believer. It takes repentance and faith.
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: 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on HIM the iniquity of us all. (3942 “turned” [laphath] means to twist, grasp, turn, grasp with a twisting motion, to turn oneself away, to turn the back, or head in a particular direction.)
DEVOTION: If you have ever tried to move sheep that have wandered out of the pen you understand that it is hard to get them back into the pen. I had been called by a teenager in my second church to help her get sheep out of the road. I was never a farmer but someone who grew up in the city.
Once I arrived at the house they were on a main road and between the two of us it was not easy to get them off the road. You can’t push them, you can’t call them, you can’t lead them. We did finally get them out of the road but I understood this verse from that point on.
God wants us to head in a particular direction with our life once we have made a commitment to follow HIM. However, as the saying goes, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
We are heading a way that we have learned from birth and once we make our decision to follow Jesus it is another direction altogether. We are telling the LORD that we want HIM to lead us but our old human nature is fighting that direction tooth and nail.
It is only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can move the way the LORD wants us to move.
Again, the problem is our old human nature tends to hate change and so the battle is real. The LORD is able to give us victory ONLY when we yield to HIM and HIS Word as it is found in the Bible. HE gives us the strength to change.
CHALLENGE: Fighting our old sinful nature is not easy but it can be done with the help of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Prayer is essential. Daily Bible study is essential. The help of stronger believers is essential to our growth.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 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. (6293 “intercession” [paga] means encounter, meeting, to cause to light upon, to reach the mark, plead, or urge.)
DEVOTION: In the New Testament book of Jude we find the devil and Michael the archangel discussing the body of Moses. They are communicating and Michael does nothing in his own power as an angel but uses the name of Jesus instead to defeat the devil.
We are in a position of needing someone to plead our case before the Throne of God. The only one who could do it is a person who was sinless. That person is Jesus Christ who is the only one who lived on this earth that never sinned. Satan tempted HIM. People tempted HIM. HIS disciples tempted HIM. In all of these temptations or trials HE succeeded. HE was God. HE was man.
On HIS final days in this world we find HIM on the cross between two thieves. One was making fun of HIM but the other asked to be with HIM. Christ granted his request by saying “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” HE cared for those who were willing to repent of their sins and confess HIM as LORD.
HIS sacrifice on the cross was for the many who would follow HIM in the future. Notice that it says many. HE shed enough blood for the entire world but most will reject HIS sacrifice. They would not be healed of their sin.
Those who became followers have HIM as an advocate before the Father in the third heaven. Each time our enemy the devil tries to tell the LORD of all our sins, Jesus shows HIM HIS hands. That settles the matter as far as the Father is concerned. We are forgiven.
Does this mean that we should go out and sin as much as we desire? NO!! If this is our thought process, than we have never become a follower of the LORD. Our attitude should be that we want to serve HIM to the best of our ability.
CHALLENGE: How much effort do we show the LORD regarding our desire to say thank you by serving HIM?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Christ’s prayers for the transgressors verse 12
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 6, 10
Jesus shall grow up before HIM verse 1
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 4
LORD laid on JESUS the iniquity us all verse 6
Pleasure of the LORD verse 10, 11
to bruise Jesus
put Jesus to grief
make Jesus soul an offering for sin
see travail of Jesus soul
shall be satisfied
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Servant death described verse 1- 12
Grow up
Root out of a dry ground
No form
No comeliness
No beauty that we should desire HIM
Despised
Rejected
Man of sorrows
Acquainted with grief (2x)
Not esteemed
Borne our griefs
Carried our sorrows
Smitten of God
Afflicted (2x)
Opened not his mouth (2x)
Brought as a lamb to the slaughter
As a sheep before her shearers
Wounded for our transgressions
Bruised for our iniquities (2x)
Chastised
HIS stripes healed us
LORD laid on him the iniquity of us all
Oppressed
Stricken
Grave with the wicked
With the rich in HIS death
Done no violence
No deceit
Offering for sin
Justify many (2x)
Bear iniquities of others
Portion with the great
HE shall divide the spoil of the strong
Poured out HIS soul unto death
Numbered with transgressors
Bare the sin of many
Made intercession for the transgressors
Righteous servant verse 11
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Men verse 3
Hid faces from Jesus
Despised Jesus
Didn’t esteem Jesus
Sheep verse 6
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
No desire toward HIM verse 2
Transgressions verse 5, 8
Iniquities verse 5, 6, 11
Gone astray verse 6
Turned everyone to his own way verse 6
Wicked verse 9
Violence verse 9
Deceit verse 9
Transgressor verse 12
Sin verse 12
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Believe verse 1
Arm of the LORD revealed verse 1
Healed verse 5
Satisfied verse 11
Justify verse 11
Bear [bare] verse 11, 12
Intercession verse 12
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
God’s people verse 8
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
12. Great is actually ‘many’, and again refers to those whom the Servant designed to save; but among the great … with the strong cannot be correct. It cannot be that this Servant who will ‘prosper’ with a threefold exaltation (52:13), before whom kings are stunned into silence (52:14), who is alive from the dead and the Executor of the Lord’s plans (53:10) will, in the event, share the supreme place with any other. In the light of this, a closer glance at the Hebrew yields, ‘Therefore I will apportion to him the many’ (cf., again, John 6:37), ‘and the strong he will apportion as spoil’. Because: this great victory rests on four facts. (a) He poured out: the Servant’s voluntary self-offering even to the point of death (Phil. 2:8ff.); (b) was numbered: his identification with those in need of salvation (we could translate, ‘He allowed himself to be numbered’); (c) he bore the sin of many (i.e. of all whom he designed to save): his effectiveness as substitute; and (d) made intercession, probably better as ‘interposed’ but, of course, it could refer to his mediatorial intercession whereby he ‘saves to the uttermost’ (Heb. 7:25): his work as mediator. The latter verb, however, is used in verse 6 for ‘caused to meet’ (niv ‘laid’). Just as the Lord placed him in the mediating position, so he personally took it as his own. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 382–383). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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The adjective “righteous” and the verb “will justify,” coming from the same Hebrew root (ṣdq), are placed next to each other in the Hebrew, as if to stress their relationship. Calvin stressed that the obedience of Christ was the chief circumstance of his death. His righteousness and therefore his innocence of sin furnished a basis for his substitution. The final clause of v.11, with its reminder of v.6 (see comments there), states the objective grounds of this justification, which is of course a new position before God, the righteous Judge, on the basis of what the Servant has achieved in his sufferings and not of what we have ourselves done or will do.
The opening statement of v.12, reminding many commentators of Philippians 2:9, shows God honoring the Servant for his faithful work and the Servant in horn distributing the spoils of battle to others. In fact it introduces a new note into the passage; for 52:13, to which in other ways it answers, contains no military language. The NT however does; and Christ’s work there is presented as a victory over spiritual foes, resulting in a distribution of the spoil to those made strong in him (cf., e.g., Eph 4:8; 6:10–17). J. Jeremias (in W. Zimmerli and J. Jeremias, Servant of God [London: SCM, 1957], p. 97), L.S. Thornton (The Dominion of Christ [Westminster: Darce, 1952], pp. 91–95), and others have argued that the words heauton ekenōsen (“made himself nothing”) in Philippians 2:7 are a translation from a Semitic original meaning “he poured himself out” and are based on this verse. Thornton further points out that the clause can in fact be completed by the words “to death” from v.8. Here, in both passages, is the ultimate in self-abnegation in dedication to the will of God.
The last three clauses of v.12 sum up the matter. The Servant was numbered with the transgressors, not only in the outward circumstances of his death (Mark 15:27 NIV mg), but as a general description of the meaning of his sufferings (Luke 22:37). Innocent, he was charged with human sins and so bore their penalty. Beyond this as the Epistle to the Hebrews proclaims, he has an intercessory ministry based on the finality of his sufferings. This means that even when vindicated by God, he is still concerned to minister to his people. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 305). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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53:12. Having willingly followed God’s plan, the Servant is exalted (cf. 52:13). To have a portion and divide the spoils pictures a general, after winning a battle, sharing goods taken from the enemy (cf. Ps. 68:18; Eph. 4:7–8). Because He was numbered with the transgressors, that is, was considered a sinner (cf. Matt. 27:38) and bore the sin (cf. Isa. 53:6) of many, that is, everyone, He is exalted and allows believers to share in the benefits of that exaltation. And because He is alive (cf. v. 10), He now intercedes (prays; cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25) for … transgressors (related to the word peša‘, “transgression[s],” in Isa. 53:5, 8).
This great passage gives a tremendously complete picture of what the death of Jesus Christ accomplished on behalf of Israel (John 11:49–51) and the whole world (1 John 2:2). His death satisfied God’s righteous demands for judgment against sin, thus opening the way for everyone to come to God in faith for salvation from sin. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1109). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Ver. 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, &c.] The great ones of the earth, the kings and princes of the earth: these are the words of God the Father, promising Christ that he shall have as great a part or portion assigned him as any of the mighty monarchs of the world, nay, one much more large and ample; that he would make him higher than the kings of the earth, and give him a name above every name in this world, or that to come; and all this in consequence of his sufferings, and as a reward of them; see Phil. 2:8, 9 and whereas the Lord’s people are his portion, and with which Christ is well-pleased, and greatly delighted, Deut. 32:9; Psal. 16:6 they may be intended here, at least as a part of the portion which Christ has assigned him. For the words may be rendered, therefore will I divide, assign, or give many to him; so the Vulgate Latin version; and which is favoured by the Targum, “therefore will I divide to him the prey of many people;” and by the Septuagint version, therefore he shall inherit many, or possess many as his inheritance; so the Arabic version. The elect of God were given to Christ, previous to his sufferings and death, in the everlasting council of peace and covenant of grace, to be redeemed and saved by him; and they are given to him, in consequence of them, to believe in him, to be subject to him, and serve him; and so it denotes a great multitude of persons, both among Jews and Gentiles, that should be converted to Christ, embrace him, profess his Gospel, and submit to his ordinances; and which has been true in fact, and took place quickly after his resurrection and ascension. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; or the strong as a spoil; that is, he shall spoil principalities and powers, destroy Satan and his angels, and make an entire conquest of all his mighty and powerful enemies. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render the words, he shall divide the spoil of the strong; of Satan and his principalities; those they make a spoil of he shall take out of their hands, and possess them as his own. The best comment on this version is Luke 11:22. Or rather the words may be rendered, he shall have or possess for a spoil or prey very many; for the word for strong has the signification of a multitude; and so the sense is the same as before, that a great multitude of souls should be taken by Christ, as a prey out of the hands of the mighty, and become his subjects; and so his kingdom would be very large, and he have great honour and glory, which is the thing promised as a reward of his sufferings. Some understand, by the great and strong, the apostles of Christ, to whom he divided the gifts he received, when he led captivity captive; to some apostles, some prophets, &c. Ephes. 4:10, 11 and others the soldiers, among whom his garments were parted; but they are senses foreign from the text. Because he hath poured out his soul unto death; as water is poured out, Psal. 22:14 or rather as the wine was poured out in the libations or drink-offerings; for Christ’s soul was made an offering for sin, as before; and it may be said With respect to his blood, in which is the life, that was shed or poured out for the remission of sin; of which he was emptied, and made bare, as the word signifies, when his hands, feet, and side, were pierced. The phrase denotes the voluntariness of Christ’s death, that he freely and willingly laid down his life for his people. And he was numbered with the transgressors; he never was guilty of any one transgression of the law; he indeed appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, and was calumniated and traduced as a sinner, and a friend of the worst of them; he was ranked among them, and charged as one of them, yet falsely; though, having all the sins of his people upon him, he was treated, even by the justice and law of God, as if he had been the transgressor, and suffered as if he had been one; of which his being crucified between two thieves was a symbolical representation, and whereby this Scripture was fulfilled, Mark 15:28. And made intercession for the transgressors; as he did upon the cross, even for those that were the instruments of his death, Luke 23:34 and as he now does, in heaven, for all those sinners for whom he died; not merely in a petitionary way, but by presenting himself, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; pleading the merits of these, and calling for, in a way of justice and legal demand, all those blessings which were stipulated in an everlasting covenant between him and his father, to be given to his people, in consequence of his sufferings and death; see Rom. 8:33, 34; Heb. 7:25 and 9:24; 1 John 2:1, 2. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 316–317). London)
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The prophet now explains the Cross from God’s point of view. Even though Jesus was crucified by the hands of wicked men, His death was determined beforehand by God (Acts 2:22–23). Jesus was not a martyr, nor was His death an accident. He was God’s sacrifice for the sins of the world.
He did not remain dead! “He shall prolong His days” (Isa. 53:10) means that the Servant was resurrected to live forever. In His resurrection, He triumphed over every enemy and claimed the spoils of victory (Eph. 1:19–23; 4:8). Satan offered Christ a glorious kingdom in return for worship (Matt. 4:8–10), which would have meant bypassing the cross. Jesus was “obedient unto death,” and God “highly exalted Him” (Phil. 2:8–10).
Another part of His “reward” is found in the statement, “He shall see His seed [descendants]” (Isa. 53:10). To die childless was a grief and shame to the Jews, but Jesus gave birth to a spiritual family because of His travail on the cross (v. 11). Isaiah’s statement about his natural family (8:18) is quoted in Hebrews 2:13 and applied to Christ and His spiritual family.
The Servant’s work on the cross brought satisfaction (Isa. 53:11). To begin with, the Servant satisfied the heart of the Father. “I do always those things that please Him [the Father]” (John 8:29). The Heavenly Father did not find enjoyment in seeing His beloved Son suffer, for the Father is not pleased with the death of the wicked, let alone the death of the righteous Son of God. But the Father was pleased that His Son’s obedience accomplished the redemption that He had planned from eternity (1 Peter 1:20). “It is finished” (John 19:30).
The death of the Servant also satisfied the Law of God. The theological term for this is “propitiation” (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2). In pagan religions, the word meant “to offer a sacrifice to placate an angry god”; but the Christian meaning is much richer. God is angry at sin because it offends His holiness and violates His holy Law. In His holiness, He must judge sinners; but in His love, He desires to forgive them. God cannot ignore sin or compromise with it, for that would be contrary to His own nature and Law.
How did God solve the problem? The Judge took the place of the criminals and met the just demands of His own holy Law! “He was numbered with the transgressors” and even prayed for them (Isa. 53:12; Luke 22:37; 23:33–34). The Law has been satisfied, and God can now graciously forgive all who will receive His Son.
Grace is love that has paid a price, and sinners are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8–10). Justice can only condemn the wicked and justify the righteous (1 Kings 8:32), but grace justifies the ungodly when they trust Jesus Christ! (Isa. 53:11; Rom. 4:5) To justify means “to declare righteous.” He took our sins that we might receive the gift of His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:17). Justification means that God declares believing sinners righteous in Christ and never again keeps a record of their sins. (See Ps. 32:1–2 and Rom. 4:1–8.)
On the morning of May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mt. Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world. Nobody has yet “conquered” Isaiah 53, for there are always new heights to reach. The important thing is to know personally God’s righteous Servant, Jesus Christ, whose conquest of sin is the subject of this chapter. “By His knowledge [i.e., knowing Him personally by faith] shall My righteous Servant justify many” (v. 11).
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 139–140). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Instead of the offering of His body as a sin offering ending His days, He shall prolong His days. And He shall come back from the grave in resurrection life. How wonderful is that promise, “Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong.” Evidently the strong one here refers to Satan as man’s great enemy. The Lord Jesus said, “No man can enter into a strong man’s house … except he first bind the strong man.” He used that expression as typical of Satan himself, a wonderful encouragement here for those who try to preach the gospel. “He shall divide the spoil with the strong.” Many people have an idea that there will be far more people in hell than in heaven, but God’s Word does not warrant that. Someone at once thinks of the question of the disciples, “Are there few that be saved?” But that was a question which the Lord did not answer by saying, “Yes, there are only a few that will be saved.” He said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” In other words, Be in earnest about it, because many will strive to enter when it will be too late.
But what is the testimony of the Scriptures? Will there be few saved? There will be far more in heaven than will ever be in hell, because all the little ones will be in heaven—all the millions who have died in immaturity before coming to the years of accountability—they will all be in heaven. Jesus said, “It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish,” and all those who have been mentally defective and never have been capable of accepting or rejecting Christ will all be covered by His blood. And then in addition, all those who have turned to Him in repentance and trust in Him as Saviour. So he divides “the spoil with the strong.” God rewards the Lord Jesus according to His own thoughts of that which His Son has accomplished. Men may think lightly of His glorious work but God never does. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 305–306). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray, &c.] Here the prophet personates all the elect of God, whether Jews or Gentiles; whom he compares to sheep, not for their good qualities, but for their foolishness and stupidity; and particularly for their being subject to go astray from the shepherd, and the fold, and from their good pastures, and who never return of themselves, until they are looked up, and brought back by the shepherd, or owner of them; so the people of God, in a state of nature, are like the silly sheep, they go astray from God, are alienated from the life of him, deviate from the rule of his word, err from the right way, and go into crooked paths, which lead to destruction; and never return of themselves, of their own will, and by their own power, until they are returned, by powerful and efficacious grace, unto the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls; see 1 Pet. 2:25 where the apostle has a manifest respect to this passage: we have turned every one to his own way; and that is an evil one, a dark and slippery one, a crooked one, the end of it is ruin; yet this is a way of a man’s own choosing and approving, and in which he delights; and it may not only intend the way of wickedness in general, common to all men in a state of nature, but a particular way of sinning, peculiar to each; some are addicted to one sin, and some to another, and have their own way of committing the same sin; men turn their faces from God, and their backs upon him, and look to their own way, and set their faces towards it, and their hearts on it; and which seems right and pleasing to them, yet the end of it are the ways of death; and so bent are men on these ways, though so destructive, that nothing but omnipotent grace can turn them out of them, and to the Lord; and which is done in consequence of what follows: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all; that is, God the Father, against whom we have sinned, from whom we have turned, and whose justice must be satisfied; he has laid on Christ, his own son, the sins of all his elect ones; which are as it were collected together, and made one bundle and burden of, and therefore expressed in the singular number, iniquity, and laid on Christ, and were bore by him, even all the sins of all God’s elect; a heavy burden this! which none but the mighty God could bear; this was typified by laying of hands, and laying of sins upon the sacrifice, and putting the iniquities of Israel upon the head of the scapegoat, by whom they were bore, and carried away. The words may be rendered, he made to meet upon him the iniquity of us all; the elect of God, as they live in the several parts of the world, their sins are represented as coming from all quarters, east, west, north, and south; and as meeting in Christ, as they did, when he suffered as their representative on the cross: or he made to rush, or fall upon him the iniquity of us all; our sins, like a large and mighty army, beset him around, and fell upon him in a hostile manner, and were the cause of his death; by which means the law and justice of God had full satisfaction, and our recovery from ruin and destruction is procured, which otherwise must have been the consequence of turning to our own ways; so the ancient Jews understood this of the Messiah. R. Cahanat on these words, binding his ass’s colt to the choice vine, Gen. 49:11 says, “as the ass bears burdens, and the garments of travellers, so the King Messiah will bear upon him the sins of the whole world; as it is said, the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” Isa. 53:6. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 313). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Numbers 14
The children of Israel reject God’s signs.
INSIGHT
By nature, we are sight-walkers, not faith-walkers. We tend to have confidence in that which we can see, that which we have known. We fear that which we can’t see and haven’t known.
Not only does Israel refuse to go into the land because of the giants-the Israelites want to return to Egypt! Do they not remember that they were slaves there? Do they not remember that they cried out in tears to God for deliverance from Egypt? You can’t go back to your old life. There is nothing there but bondage. Your hope lies in following the Lord by faith. Walk forward.
(Quiet Walk)
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Sweet Naamah
“Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.” (Song of Solomon 1:16)
These words begin King Solomon’s tender expressions of love to his beautiful young wife. Solomon wrote a thousand and five songs (1 Kings 4:32), but apparently this was his favorite, for he called it his “song of songs” (Song 1:1), and it clearly centered on his beloved, whom he called “my sister, my spouse” no less than four times (Song 4:9-12; 5:1), thereby intimating both their spiritual and marital relationship.
Rehoboam was Solomon’s only son, as far as recorded, and his mother’s name was Naamah (2 Chronicles 12:13), meaning “pleasant.” Since he was 41 years old when he inherited Solomon’s throne and since Solomon had only reigned 40 years (2 Chronicles 9:30), the marriage of Solomon and Naamah must have been formalized when Solomon was quite young, long before he was married to Pharoah’s daughter or any of his other 700 wives. Naamah was then and always his one real love, in spite of his spiritual defections in old age. His counsel to young men near the end of his life was: “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days . . . of thy vanity” (Ecclesiastes 9:9).
Note that Solomon called her “fair” and “beloved” in our text, and then “pleasant.” The Hebrew word for “pleasant” is very similar to “Naamah,” as though Solomon were calling her by a shortened form of her name as a term of endearment. The same word is occasionally translated “sweet.” Naamah was surely a sweet, pleasant maiden, but also a capable woman in mind and heart, fit to become a queen.
Solomon’s song for and about her is an inspired ode to true marital love and thus can even be a figurative testimony to the love of Christ, the “greater than Solomon,” for His church. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Do We Need Spring Training for Followers of Jesus?
Baseball fans countdown the day until pitchers and catchers report like a kid impatiently marking off calendar days til Christmas. The teams arrive in Florida and Arizona as the nation grows weary of gray and gloom. Spring Training is the first hope of Spring.
Today begins the annual six week period of teaching, training, and repetitious fundamental drills. It seems almost silly for uber talented and well paid athletes to be reviewing the same fundamentals they learned in youth baseball.
Yet you watch the very best players focus on repeating proper fundamentals over and over. Superstars hit off a tee. Gold Glove fielders practice footwork repeatedly. Pitchers constantly repeat correct throwing motion. The message is clear. Talent is important but even the best can be derailed by forgotten or sloppy fundamentals.
Perhaps we should co-opt that idea of fundamental training for followers of Jesus. Today I am starting a movement for “Preachers and Christians” to report for Spring Training. For a few weeks we can forego theological nuances to focus on the fundamentals of faith.
We can do drills that reminds us who God says we are in Jesus.
I am a brand new creation.
Forgiven.
Adopted.
Redeemed.
Sealed.
Loved.
A saint.
Righteous.
Accepted.
A child of the living God.
All these gifts of grace are ironclad contractual deals because of Jesus and every single thing on that list happened at the moment we joined His team. Believing who God says He is, understanding that you have been changed because of Christ, and living out of those two fundamentals is a game changer that can weather the toughest season.
Next we could do some gratitude exercises. Gratitude resets the motivation to live for God and trust Him in the darkness. Philip Yancey reminds us why it makes perfect sense in his wonderful book What’s So Amazing about Grace?
“If we comprehend what Christ has done for us, then surely out of gratitude we will strive to live “worthy” of such great love. We will strive for holiness not to make God love us but because he already does.”
Another thing I love about Spring Training is the fresh start. Every team has hope as they enter the new season. What used to be true about the team doesn’t matter. Only what happens from Opening Day to the final pitch matters. Spring training means all things baseball are a new creation. The same is true for followers of Christ. What used to be true of me has changed.
I have had some bad seasons during my career as a follower of Jesus. Some pretty ugly slumps. That doesn’t matter if I focus on Christ in this next season of my life. There can be freshness in the journey and real joy and freedom. I can realize that I am a child of God and be grateful that I can call Him Father. I can believe that hope for the future is real. I can understand that I must (by His grace and the power of the Spirit) be a better teammate. I should not expect my team to be perfect. I am pretty sure they will boot some easy chances and strikeout in some key situations. But I will trust God to help me love them and encourage them because we are on the same team known simply as the Body of Christ. Paul gave us a good reason for hope in his letter to the Roman Church. It also fits into the discipline required to survive the marathon of a baseball season.
And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5, NLT)
The magic of a fresh start happens once a year in baseball. It can happen everyday for a follower of Jesus.
“Preachers and Christians” report! It is time to remember the fundamentals and the hope of what Jesus has done.
Waking Up Slowly is a 21 day journey to connect more completely with God and one another. (David Burchett)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT APPLIES CHRIST’S WORD
When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin. John 16:8
The Holy Spirit not only reveals Christ—He also applies His Word, which convicts us of sin. I have met people who said to me, “I do not understand this teaching about sin. I do not feel I am a sinner.” Well, if you do not feel you are a sinner, it is simply because you do not know yourself, and you do not know yourself because the Holy Spirit has not convicted you. Some of the best people who have ever trodden this earth have been those who have been most conscious of their sinfulness. I cannot imagine a worse state for anybody to be in than for him or her to say he or she does not feel he or she is a sinner. The Holy Spirit convicts and convinces of sin, and if He has not done it for you, if you value your own soul, ask Him to do it. Christ came to die for sinners, not for the righteous, and the first work of the Spirit is to convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We come to Christ for salvation after the Spirit has convinced us of sin, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the answer to our need.
The Holy Spirit then gives us assurance of our acceptance and our forgiveness. He is a seal given to us to show that we belong to God. He testifies with our spirits that we are the children of God. No Christian has a right to be uncertain about his or her salvation; the Holy Spirit has been given in order that we might be certain, for “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). If any Christian who is reading this is uncertain or is lacking in assurance and in happiness, let me urge this upon you—ask for the gift of the Spirit in His fullness, ask for this blessed assurance, tell God you long for it, do not give yourself rest or peace, and in a sense do not give God rest or peace until you have it.
A Thought to Ponder: No Christian has a right to be uncertain about his or her salvation. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 91-92, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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In 1957, the social psychologist Leon Festinger coined the term “cognitive dissonance” to describe the stress that results from holding two or more contradictory beliefs at the same time.
According to Festinger, people will attempt to alleviate the stress by either changing their minds about one of the ideas or, more commonly, convincing themselves the ideas really aren’t contradictory. The latter usually results in an incoherent mess, something a recent Barna report amply demonstrates.
The report, entitled “Reviving Evangelism,” found that virtually every practicing American Christian believes that “part of their faith means being a witness about Jesus.” Similarly, virtually all of them agree that “the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to know Jesus.”
This sounds like a solid foundation for “reviving evangelism,” doesn’t it? Yet, the same study found that “nearly half (47 percent) of practicing Christian millennials—churchgoers who consider religion an important part of their lives—believe that evangelism is wrong.”
Specifically, they believe it’s “wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes they will one day share the same faith.”
If you’re wondering how one can simultaneously believe that knowing Jesus is the best thing that could happen to a person and that telling that same person about Jesus is somehow wrong, you understand what cognitive dissonance means.
Making matters even more, well, dissonant, is that the same group “is more likely than any other generation to say they are gifted at sharing their faith.” Nearly three-quarters of them describe themselves that way.
At this point, it’s tempting to talk about how participation trophies and self-affirmation statements have ruined the millennials. But the problem isn’t our misguided strategies of boosting this generation’s self-esteem. The problem is theological anemia.
Specifically, it’s a failure of catechesis.
Evangelizing like you mean it requires going against the cultural grain. As Barna president David Kinnaman told Christianity Today, “Cultivating deep, steady, resilient Christian conviction is difficult in a world of ‘you do you’ and ‘don’t criticize anyone else’s life choices’ and emotivism, the feelings-first priority that our culture makes a way of life.”
Notre Dame philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre has suggested that emotivism is at the heart of our current post-truth culture, and turns all statements about the good and the true into mere claims of personal preference.
Overall, the church has done a poor job of catechizing both ourselves and future generations against emotivism. In fact, as writer Samuel James argued, “The data here strongly suggests that Christian millennials are being catechized by their colleges, not churches.”
Actually, I would argue that across our culture, emotivism is pushed on us way before college, and too often, it’s even pushed by churches when they talk about “knowing Jesus.”
What is meant by “knowing Jesus” by so many Christians is closer to “I love Swiss Almond Vanilla ice cream” than it is what the Apostles meant by it. It indicates a strong preference, but not a life-altering conviction.
The late biblical scholar Francis Martin used to tell his students “Christianity is a way of knowing, not a warm fuzzy.” By “way of knowing” he meant something akin to what we at the Colson Center mean by “worldview”: the truth about God, creation, and ourselves as ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ.
That’s not to say our faith isn’t personal. Of course it is, but for the New Testament writers, “knowing” God and Jesus Christ whom He sent isn’t about making us feel good. It’s about being rescued from the dominion of darkness for the kingdom of Christ.
When was the last time you heard Christianity described this starkly? If we can’t remember, then we ought not be surprised by the cognitive dissonance described by the Barna report.
BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.
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