Atonement Series

INTRODUCTION

- Last week, when we started this series, I said that the entire Bible was about Jesus. Sometimes, He sits under the surface of the page; other times, He is hidden between the lines, but this week, we will see Jesus jumping out of the page of the text.

- Our text today will illuminate yet another reason why we have no savior without Jesus as our Lord.

- Isaiah 53:5 helps us to see why Jesus can lay claim to the only way to get to God.

- Isaiah 53 is one of the four passages in Isaiah known as the Suffering Servant Poems.

- These poems describe the mission and the suffering of the "servant of the Lord," Jesus.

- In traditional Jewish interpretation, the "servant" is often understood to symbolize the nation of Israel itself.

- This interpretation views the servant as collectively representing the people of Israel, who have suffered oppression and exile throughout history but are ultimately vindicated by God.

- The suffering servant, in this view, is a metaphor for the trials endured by the Jewish people and their perseverance in faithfulness to God's covenant.

- From a Biblical Christian Perspective, Isaiah 53, especially verse 5, is seen as a messianic prophecy foretelling the coming of Jesus Christ.

- The suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus are seen as the fulfillment of the prophecy.

- Jesus carried the sins of the world, offering himself as a sacrifice to bring about salvation and reconciliation between God and humankind.

- Therefore, this verse plays a significant role in atonement and redemption.

- Today, we are going to dive into the issue of atonement!

Isaiah 53:5 (NET 2nd ed.)

5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

SERMON

I. Atonement defined.

- As we delve into the first point of our message, "Atonement Defined," it's essential to understand the meaning that the concept of atonement weaves within the biblical narrative.

- Over half the time this term is used in the Bible is found in the Book of Leviticus, where it describes the role of a sacrifice to cover the people's sins.

- The primary thought of atonement is you owe a debt, and someone else paid it for you.

- At its core, the word "atonement" conveys the idea of reconciliation, of making amends or reparations for an offense or a wrong.

- In the context of Scripture, atonement is the divine provision through which humanity's broken relationship with God is restored.

- Atonement encompasses not just the forgiveness of sins but the removal of sin's pollution and the restoration of harmony between the Creator and His creation.

- The roots of atonement stretch deep into the Old Testament, where the sacrificial system outlined in the Law of Moses provided a shadow of the ultimate atonement to come.

- Animals were offered as sacrifices to God, symbolizing the substitutionary atonement for the people's sins.

- However, these sacrifices were but a foretaste, pointing towards a more perfect, once-for-all atonement that was to be accomplished not by the blood of goats and calves but by the sacrifice of the Son of God Himself.

- The nation of Israel had a Day of Atonement.

- This was a day on which Israel fasted, cleansed to the sanctuary of impurity, and dealt with their sin through blood rituals and by sending a goat (the scapegoat) into the wilderness.

- The goat had Israel's guilt laid upon it (Leviticus 16:8-22) and was released into the wilderness.

- The sacrifices of the Old Testament were a shadow of what Jesus would bring to us.

Hebrews 10:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.

2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin?

3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

- Isaiah 53:5, our focal Scripture, paints a vivid picture of this atonement in prophetic brushstrokes.

- The passage speaks of one who was "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities."

- This clearly depicts the vicarious suffering of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who took upon Himself the full weight of humanity's sins.

- Through His suffering and death, Jesus absorbed the wrath of God that was rightfully ours, offering Himself as a perfect sacrifice to bridge the chasm sin had created between God and man.