"Many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations".
1. THE FACE OF THE LORD JESUS
The Psalmist often referred to the face of the Saviour e.g. Psalm 27:8 "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek". Psalm 31:16 "Make thy face to shine upon thy servant".
Our text speaks of the face of Jesus - "His visage was so marred more than any man". The Saviour’s beautiful face was disfigured from the punches and slaps of the rabble. Luke 22:64 - "when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face".
People were astonished at this disfigurement - "many were astonied at thee". We think of Simon Weston who received such terrible facial injuries in the Falklands war.
The disciples were slow to recognise Christ after His Resurrection - read John 20:14 & 21:4. Was this because of His disfigured face?
By and by when I look on His face
Beautiful face, thorn-shadowed face,
By and by, when I look on His face
I’ll wish I had given Him more.
More, so much more,
More of my life than I e’er gave before,
By and by, when I look on His face
I’ll wish I had given Him more.
2. THE FORM OF THE LORD JESUS
"His form more than the sons of men".
The word form refers to His body. The body of Jesus was marred, as well as His face. He suffered GBH - grievous bodily harm.
Think of His marred hands, feet, side, head and back.
The tempest’s awful voice was heard,
O Christ, it broke on Thee!
Thy open bosom was my ward,
It braved the storm for me.
Thy form was scarred, Thy visage marred;
Now cloudless peace for me.
3. THE FAME OF THE LORD JESUS
"So shall he sprinkle many nations".
The Saviour is loved by millions all over the world. The word "sprinkle" is significant. It occurs frequently in Leviticus, and it is always associated with blood. So Isaiah 52 teaches us that all Christians on earth have been sprinkled with the precious blood of Jesus.
Blood performs very important functions in the body e.g. carrying oxygen, cleansing away waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. But the blood of Christ is infinitely more important than the blood pulsing through your veins. It has the power to blot out all your sins.
Precious, precious blood of Jesus
Shed on Calvary;
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners,
Shed for thee!
Though thy sins are red like crimson,
Deep in scarlet glow,
Jesus’ precious blood shall wash thee
White as snow.
Precious, precious blood of Jesus,
Ever flowing free;
O believe it; O receive it,
’Tis for thee.
