He Who Endured Hostility
(Isaiah 50:4-11 with Hebrews 12:1-3)
1. Who we are is either a great blessing or a great curse. "You can be pleased with nothing when you are not pleased with yourself." Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
2. When I have to deal with grouchy, negative people, I console myself as follows: "When I go home, I take myself. I can joke, laugh, read, pray, study, or enjoy life in a variety of ways. When they go home, they have to take their negative selves."
3. But how did Jesus console himself when he was beaten and abused for us? The New Testament only gives us a glimpse, but Isaiah 50 is the best source of information about what Christ actually thought.
4. But first, I need to explain why a study of Isaiah 50 is relevant to a study of Isaiah 53.
5. Isaiah 42 begins a section that contains 4 "Servant Songs," of which Isaiah 53 is last.
6. Chiasmus: Isaiah 50 is the parallel to Isaiah 53
a. restoration of Mother Jerusalem and her children through the servant (49:1-26)
b. the suffering servant and Israel’s sins (50:1-11)
• the servant is beaten
• he did not hide his face
• Israel punished for its iniquities
• Yahweh will help and vindicate the servant
• ends: behold and who
c. almighty Yahweh will rescue his people (51:1-16)
d. CENTER: Mother Jerusalem, bereaved of her children, will be restored (51:17-23)
c’ almighty Yahweh will rescue his people (52:1-12)
b’ the suffering servant and the forgiveness of Israel’s sins (Isaiah 53:1-12)
• the servant is beaten
• he is "as one from whom people hide"
• he was wounded for our transgressions
• Yahweh will help and vindicate the servant
• begins: behold and who
a’ restoration of Mother Jerusalem and her children (54:1-17)
[source: David Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, an INVALUABLE book]
8. Hebrews12:1-3 is a Midrash on our portion from Isaiah, I believe.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
Main Idea: Jesus Christ is so much at the center of everything that we can sometimes learn more about him from the Old Testament than we can the New!
I. Jesus’ TEACHING Ministry (4)
A. No man ever spoke as JESUS did (John 7:46)
B. He was the founder and "PERFECTER" of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)
C. He was taught by the Father through the SPIRIT
1. Jesus had something to say (esp. note teachers of the Word)
2. Where did he get his teaching from? Had to learn: The Kenosis
3. Before Christ was a teacher, he was a learner.
NIV vs. 4, "the instructed tongue" in the ESV is, "the tongue of those who are taught," the NASB, "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples."
4. He taught the spiritually hungry.
D. He was eager to obey without RESERVATION
• Serving the Lord is important, but how you serve the Lord matters too.
• He was joyful; it was a treat to learn the Word
• He felt great pleasure when he taught and ministered to the weary
It was not a chore
Application: Have you discovered the joy of a life filled with God? I do not know that any of us have a life like this, but we can get a taste of it – and that taste can get bigger and bigger and turn into a feast! But a feast is worthless if you are not hungry!
II. Jesus’ CALLING to Suffer (5-6)
A. Gethsemane’s CHOICE (5)
He struggled, but he did not draw back
He swear drops of blood
B. He was a VOLUNTARY victim (6)
John 10:17-19, "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
1. It is here, not in the OT, they we find out that Christ’s beard was plucked
2. In that region, a beard was a sign of dignity and respect; plucking it was an ultimate insult
3. The Roman guards usually hated the Jews, and so took out their rage…
4. Beating, mocking, spitting – it was all foretold
5. But here we see Jesus thoughts…
C. He ENDURED the cross (Hebrews 12:2)
Application: The Christian life is not all feast; it is also a battle ground, a war with casualties and losses. We can avoid the losses by not fighting, but you don’t win wars that way. Abraham Lincoln and his generals…
III. He DESPISED the Temporary Shame (7-11)
A. He RELIED upon the Father (7a)
B. He set his face like FLINT (7b)
Luke 9:51, "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem."
John 11:16, "Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ’Let us also go, that we may die with him.’”
C. He knew he would be VINDICATED (8)
• It was this vindication, the "joy set before him" that helped him endure
• He was vindicated by the Resurrection; then he was declared to be the Son
D. He remembered the mortality of his ENEMIES (9)
• Believers and atheists, dictators and peasants, wise and foolish: all of us die
• We all know it, but only some of us life in light of it
E. We are to look to his EXAMPLE and do likewise (10) "looking to Jesus"
F. He CONSOLED himself by God’s retribution (11)
1. The light of their own wisdom or perhaps Jesus’ arrest…ARREST
2. John 18:3, "So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons."
3. The NT tells us not to take our own vengeance, but to leave vengeance to the Lord.
4. Some of you have been abused, mistreated, cheated, slighted, undermined…
5. Feel guilty if you responded wrongly; don’t feel guilty by consoling yourself with the belief that God will one day right all wrongs and call us all to account!
6. Sometimes we may be on the wrong side of the equation; repentance and apology and reconciliation is the right response; "amending our sins"
Application: Once again, if we draw into our own world, our family, our friends and cower in a corner, we can avoid some of the bitter feelings that come from doing spiritual combat.
Just did not redeem our souls by staying in heaven. Jesus did not just hang around those who agreed with him. Jesus did not say, "Here I am elect; come to me. You know where to find me." He participated in life and community; he went to the people; he associated with all types.
We are not saviors; we are not God incarnate; but we are to be like Jesus in character. Are you willing to be misunderstood, to suffer shame because you know Jesus? Or is your calling in life to get people in the office to stop swearing and talk about how awful the world is?
