For Crimes That I Have Done Series

Text:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (Amplified Bible) with my adaptations

13Behold, My Servant shall deal wisely and shall prosper; He shall be exalted and extolled and shall stand very high.

14[For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man’s, and His form beyond that of the sons of men--but just as many were astonished at Him,

15So shall He startle and sprinkle many nations, and kings shall shut their mouths because of Him; for that which has not been told them shall they see, and that which they have not heard shall they consider and understand.

Isaiah 53

1WHO HAS believed (trusted in, relied upon, and clung to) our message [of that which was revealed to us]? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed?

2For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no (majesty or) [kingly splendor], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.

3He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.

4Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy or AIDS].

5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needed to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

6All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has (laid) upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

8By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living [stricken to His death] for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

9And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

10Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief and made Him sick. (Lord, when you and your Servant) make His life an offering for sin [and He has risen from the dead, in time to come], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring, He shall prolong His days, and the will and pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

11He shall see [the fruit] of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; by His knowledge of Himself [which He possesses and imparts to others] shall My [uncompromisingly] righteous One, My Servant, justify many and make many righteous (upright and in right standing with God), for He shall bear their iniquities and their guilt [with the consequences, says the Lord].

12Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], and He shall divide the spoil with the mighty, because He poured out His life unto death, and [He let Himself] be regarded as a criminal and be numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore [and took away] the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors (the rebellious).

Introduction:

In this short powerful passage, God exposes the solution to the problem of our sin and guilt. The Servant comes to take our place, to receive our punishment, to purchase our pardon from sin.

Jesus clearly identified himself as the Lord’s Servant when he declared, “(I) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give (my) life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Thesis:

God gives the same promise every human being. “Your relationship with me that was destroyed by your sin has been resurrected by the death of my Son, Jesus.”

Key Question:

How did Jesus do this for us? What about his death on the cross gives new life to our relationship with god?

I. God introduces his servant as an unusual man. (52:12-15)

A. God says my Servant has unusual wisdom. “My servant will act wisely” means that throughout his entire mission he will do what it takes to secure its most complete success. The Servant will make no mistakes, no errors, and no accidents. He does everything according to God’s plan to reach the goal of restoring our relationship with God. Jesus said, “My food … is to do the will … of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work.” (John 4:34 AMP)