He Will See the Light of Life
(Isaiah 53:10-12)
1. It is hard to know who to trust these days. Even technically honest people can have evil motives:
Two brothers were getting ready to boil some eggs to color for Easter. "I’ll give you a dollar if you let me break three of these on your head," said the older one. "Promise?" asked the younger. "Promise!" Gleefully, the older boy broke two eggs over his brother’s head.
Standing stiff for fear the gooey mess would get all over him, the little boy asked, "When is the third egg coming?" "It’s not," replied the brother. "That would cost me a dollar."
[source: Sermon Central]
2. The world of religion is a lot like that older brother – you don’t know who to trust. That is why instead of trusting churches or personalities, we need to point our hearts toward the only one we can trust without reservation, Jesus Christ Himself.
3. His Resurrection from the dead declared him to truly be the Son of God and thus completely and totally dependable and trustworthy.
Main Idea: The Messiah’s Resurrection is a key element to his saving work and without it, all would be lost.
I. The Messiah’s Vicarious SUFFERING (10-11)
• When someone watches reality shows on TV but has no social life, we say they are living "vicariously."
• That is one definition of vicarious: ": experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another "
• But vicarious has another definition: "performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the benefit or advantage of another : substitutionary" [source: M-W.com]
A. Crushed, caused to suffer, an OFFERING for sin (10)
• literally, instead of makes "his life," the Hebrew says, "if he makes his soul" (nephesh)
• Although the Father causes the death of the Son [My God, my God, why have you forsaken me"], the Father is not the one making the offering, the Son is. In verse 12, it is the Son who is rewarded for making the offering.
B. SUFFERED (11)
Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote: "The sufferings of Christ were infinite. They came from two sources…What Christ suffered from the Father, in which no other can share… [and] What Christ suffered from men, in which others may share…"
II. The Messiah’s Amazing RESURRECTION (10-11)
A. See his OFFSPRING (10)
1. Did you know that, as a believer, you are an adopted child of God the Father?
2. Did you also know that you are considered a descendent of Jesus Christ?
I Peter 1:23 "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."
Hebrews 2:13-14, "And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—"
John 12:24, "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."
B. PROLONG his days (10)
C. He will see the light of LIFE (11)
The word "light" which is understand as "light of life" is not the Masoretic text. But it is in both the LXX (Septuagint) and, more importantly, the Dead Sea Scolls which predate the Masoretic text copies we have by a thousand years.
III. The Messiah’s Bountiful REWARD (10-12a)
A. Personal fulfillment
1. God’s will PROSPERS in his hand (10)
ESV Study Bible notes: "The servant becomes the executor of God’s will and plan."
2. Messiah is SATISFIED (11)
• No regrets, complete satisfaction in a job well done, amazing accomplishment.
• Even for us, fulfillment comes from doing the will of God
• Many of us feel badly about ourselves simply because we are not doing God’s will (both negative and positive)
B. Awesome: those who know HIM are justified (11)
"The only satisfactory construction is the passive one which makes the phrase mean by the knowledge of him upon the part of others…involving faith and self-appropriation of the Messiah’s righteousness…" [Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, quoted in The Book of Isaiah by Edward J. Young, p. 357]
Christ’s death does not secure our salvation, it provides for it. We must respond to the good news of Christ’s atoning death and resurrection by repenting and believing.
Isaiah 30:15, "This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ’In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’"
C. Declared GREAT and greatly rewarded (12a)
A conqueror… we born-again believers are the "strong" who will reign with him
IV. The Messiah’s Sacrifice SAVORED (12b)
A. Why we need the hear the Gospel OVER and over
1. There is power and motivation in hearing the old, old story
2. Some of you today in this room do not understand salvation and are bound for a Christless eternity; hearing you do not hear. You are trusting in your good behavior or religion rather than depending upon Jesus Christ. You are blind and you do not know you are blind.
B. Why he POURED out his life
C. Why he chose to be NUMBERED with sinners
D. Why he bore the sin of MANY
E. Why he made INTERCESSION for sinners
CONCLUSION
1. Have you received his salvation?
2. Do you know the Risen Christ?
