The Conquering Christ Series

HoHum:

Been on Friday the past few months in Isaiah 53. Love this rendition from S.M. Lockridge:

It’s Friday, Jesus is praying, Peter’s a sleeping, Judas is a betraying, But Sunday’s a comin’

It’s Friday, Pilate’s struggling, the council is conspiring, the crowd is vilifying, they don’t even know that Sunday’s comin.' It’s Friday, the disciples are running, like sheep without a shepherd, Mary’s crying, Peter is denying, but they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin. It’s Friday, the Romans beat my Jesus, they robe him in scarlet, they crown him with thorns, but they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin.' It’s Friday, see Jesus walking to Calvary, His blood’s a dripping, his body a stumbling, and his spirit’s a burdened, but you see, it’s only Friday, but Sunday’s a comin. It’s Friday, the soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the cross, they nail my Savior’s feet to the cross, and then they raise him up next to criminals. It’s Friday, but let me tell you something, Sunday’s a comin.' It’s Friday, the disciples are questioning, what has happened to their King, and the Pharisees are celebrating, that their scheming, has been achieving, but they don’t know, It’s only Friday, Sunday’s a comin.' It’s Friday, He’s hanging on the cross, feeling forsaken by His Father, left alone and dying, can nobody save him? Oh, It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a comin.' It’s Friday, the earth trembles, the sky grows dark, My King yields his spirit, It’s Friday, hope is lost, death has won, sin has conquered, and Satan’s just a laughin’; It’s Friday, Jesus is buried, a solider stands guard, and a rock is rolled into place, But It’s Friday, It is only Friday, Sunday is a comin’. This is not Friday- church today is Sunday

WBTU:

We have many questions on a bad Friday. Few things in life are more difficult than the sudden death of someone we love. The mind wrestles with so many unanswerable questions, chief among them why. Why did things happen the way they did and when they did? Why should a young man just starting out have his life so quickly cut short? Why did Jesus die? Who did this and why? What purpose could be served in crucifying Jesus of Nazareth?

When Isaiah comes to end of this fourth verse of the servant song, he devotes last stanza (Isaiah 53:10-12) to a consideration of what the death of the Servant really means. Since Isaiah wrote 700 years before Calvary, he put his words in the future tense. Do same thing as we consider:

Thesis: Why did Jesus die? Each verse gives part of the answer

For instances:

I. He will be crushed- Isaiah 53:10

Who is ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus Christ? According to the bible, God takes responsibility for the death of his Son. The New King James gives that phrase a slightly different feel: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief.” Both versions say the same thing, but the NKJV emphasizes that it pleased the Lord to “crush” his only Son. As a father of 4 sons, I cannot fathom, cannot imagine doing this to one of my sons. Jesus died because the Father willed that he should die. Some like to call this cosmic child abuse. The angry Father unfairly abuses his Son. Need to understand that God the Son is a member of the Godhead and not an abused child. The Son of God had full discloser of the plan and the Son of God agreed to the plan. “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” Revelation 13:8, NIV. Jesus willingly went to the cross. He wasn’t a child, he was an “adult” who made the decision in collaboration with the Father. The more biblical picture is that God the Father sent his only begotten Son, and the Son willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice, and made atonement for the world. “The Lord makes his life a guilt offering”

Isaiah goes on to talk about the great results that will flow from Christ’s suffering:

1. He will see his offspring. My aunt Lynnette wanted to see her grandchild before she died. She saw that grandchild and within a few days she died from ALS. How precious this blessing:

“and may you live to see your children’s children” Psalms 128:6, NIV. What a minute, so Jesus has children and grandchildren? Well, not in the biological sense but definitely in the spiritual sense. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12, 13, NIV. We live and die and maybe see our offspring beyond a generation or two. But Jesus, because he is the eternal Son of God, sees all