The Savior: Surrendered for Us
Isaiah 53:7-10a
1. John Anselmi said, "On October 19, 1987 the stock market declined in a sudden, surprising plunge that left many investors much poorer. The day was quickly named Black Friday. It has always seemed to us that Good Friday should be called Black Friday." [source: Sermon Central]
2. The original meaning of the word "good" was "holy," and the Eastern church refers to the is day as "holy Friday." Still, good is a good description of Good Friday.
3. On Good Friday, a Good God received the self-sacrifice of the Good Son for the Good of those who would believe in him. The personal price of that good is beyond our ability to comprehend as our Messiah suffered both physically and spiritually.
4. Though evil men committed the ultimate evil crime, God meant it for good.
5. Jesus chose to passively take the brunt of our sin and abuse when he could have actively refused to do so. He was completely surrendered to the Father's will and the purpose for which he was born.
6. Although our text was written at least 600 years before Jesus' birth, it accurately and in detail describes the surrender of our Lord Jesus Christ to the indignities he suffered.
Main Idea: God usually calls us to be active, but sometimes passive. Passivity can be the more difficult of the two, because it means we accept what God brings without grasping for control. And nowhere do we see surrender to the Father's will exemplified as we do when Jesus surrendered himself to the indignities of the cross.
I. His Surrender to Impending SLAUGHTER (7)
A. Silence suggests refusal to DEFEND himself
The idea is that Christ was passive. He could have told his disciples to rally the troops, he could have called 10,000 angels. He could have avoided praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and be hidden in a remote house. But he was out to do the Father's will.
B. Before PILATE and others, he attempted no defense
Mark 15:2-5, "'Are you the king of the Jews?' asked Pilate.
" 'You have said so,' Jesus replied.
"The chief priests accused him of many things. So again Pilate asked him, 'Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.'
"But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed."
C. He is as quiet as lamb because he is the LAMB
D. Application: We can expect to suffer for doing GOOD
Notice Peter's application of this principle to us in I Peter 2:20b-21:
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
II. His Tolerance of a SHAM Trial (8)
A. It was OPPRESSIVE, not fair
"Critics deny the accuracy of the description John gives. They cite the Mishnah requiring that trials be held in the daytime, that several days are required to try a capital crime, and that the accused not be directly questioned, among other details. However, exceptions were made when a riot might occur. This was certainly the case with Jesus. In addition, Pilate only tried cases from dawn to mid morning. Jews would not execute a man on the Sabbath, and therefore , if they were to get the deed done before the Sabbath, they had to have the sentence in time for Pilate to try Jesus in the morning.
"Josephus gives us some insight into a trial by Sadducees. 'The school of the Sadducees…are indeed more heartless than any of the other Jews…when they sit in judgment" (Ant. 20:9.1 & 199)." [from John's Rabbi, by Paul Wallace (Kindle)]
Probably involved a selective representation of the Sanhedrin, particularly those plotting; Gamaliel, for example, was probably absent
B. AGENDA reigned over objectivity
C. The result: DEATH, but death with a PURPOSE
1. VICARIOUS and substitutionary death
2. PROPITIATORY (He bore God's penalty for our sins)
D. Even UNGODLY determination can be used of God
What nonsense do you have to tolerate in life?
III. His Willingness to Suffer Post Mortem HUMILIATION (9-10a)
A. In our culture, we take BURIAL lightly
B. He was due a DISHONORABLE burial, testifying he was a criminal
1. In Eastern cultures, honor was and is important.
2. Like a man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and later proved innocent through new DNA test, Jesus' vindication began with his burial.
3. Joseph, Jacob's son, was despised by his brothers and they sold him into slavery; later, during the famine, when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
C. He received an HONORABLE burial, testifying to his innocence
1. The SACRIFICES of Joseph and Nicodemus
2. Real faith must be PROFESSED
3. Will Calvary bring you out of the CLOSET?
D. The Theological SIGNIFICANCE of his burial
E. The LORD was pleased to receive Christ's death as a SIN offering (10a)
For family devotions, Martin Luther once read the account of Abraham offering Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His wife, Katie, said, "I do not believe it. God would not have treated his son like that!" "But, Katie," Luther replied, "He did."
W. Wiersbe, The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 191.[Sermonillustrations.com]
F. Jesus did this for you. Have your RESPONDED to him?
Conclusion
1. So what does God call us to do? Receive the sacrifice of Jesus.
2. Honor Jesus by putting him above ourselves, as Joseph of Arimathea did.
3. Come out of the closet and share the good news with others.
4. Be willing to surrender ourselves to God's will. If God the Son surrendered his will for us, certainly we who owe everything to God – should surrender our wills to him.
5. The Bible calls this being a living sacrifice, living to walk with God.
