SUFFERING BY GOD’S SERVANT FOR OUR REDEMPTION - PROPHESIED AND EXPLAINED
In the classic, “Alice in Wonderland”, the king says to the rabbit, “Begin at the beginning, and go on until you come to the end, then stop.”
In our quest for answers to questions about suffering, we haven’t gotten to the end yet, so we won’t stop - but suppose we take the king’s advice and begin at the beginning.
“In the beginning God” . . . created mankind for fellowship with Himself and with each other, but, sin caused expulsion of the first human beings from Paradise, with the consequence of separation from God’s Presence - spiritual death.
Because of sin’s consequence, God’s work of atonement became operative in human history so that the perfect fellowship broken by sin could be restored, and, Paradise regained.
Central in the teaching of the Scriptures is the fundamental doctrine of atonement – which literally means what it says: at-one-ment – the basic idea being to make two as one . . . bring together two persons at odds . . . reconcile differences . . . remove a barrier of separation . . . regain something precious that has been lost . . . restore a broken relationship.
God’s love would not allow the relationship to remain broken. So, even before creation, due to His foreknowledge, God had planned a way for mankind to be saved from the inevitable consequence of sin.
However, since God is righteous, He could not just ignore sin and continue to be righteous. How then could this breach in fellowship be bridged?
As much as the first human beings might have wanted to, nothing they could do would be possible to heal the breach. With God all things are possible! Even so . . . the problem was: how could God remain just (righteous) and be the justifier (the One forgiving sin and imparting righteousness to the one forgiven).
Since the wages of sin is spiritual death – eternal separation from God and the suffering that would go along with it – only by the suffering and death of a go-between (redeemer) could the debt of a sinner be paid and the breach in fellowship healed!
The sufferer (the one paying the debt for the sins of the guilty) must be, in accordance with Jewish legal precedent, sinless. Thus, the verdict of the Triune God was that God Himself would pay the price! Hence the Incarnation of God in Jesus (John 1:14)! Now hear this:
Many centuries prior to His coming as the God-man Christ Jesus . . . the Savior of all who repent and receive God’s forgiveness . . . the Redeemer of sinners who needed a go-between to pay their debt and set them free --- Job, in a moment of enlightenment, after suffering multiple losses, saw the light at the end of the tunnel and declared with prophetic certainty: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that . . . he will stand upon the earth.”
Fast forward 5 centuries after Job’s declaration but 5 centuries before the Incarnation: Suffering by God’s servant for our redemption was prophesied and explained by Isaiah - in one of his four poems – Isaiah 53:2-12 . . .
Recall for a moment Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian who was sitting in his chariot reading this very Scripture from a copy of the Scroll of Isaiah. When asked, who IS this sufferer about whom the prophet is speaking, “Philip preached unto him JESUS” (Acts 8:27)!
Jesus willingly offered Himself as a substitutionary atonement for repentant sinners - for our sins . . . our suffering . . . the sake of our salvation! Jesus did so by fulfilling His Messianic role as the Suffering Servant.
Jesus suffered from rejection. It appeared to people he grew up with that he had little potential to amount to anything - not only because of his Nazareth roots but also his unattractiveness. Something about Him was repulsive, so folks did not want to have anything to do with Him. The popular notion was: A person like this must be getting from God just what he deserves! But no, not at all, Isaiah explained:
Surely! A transitional word in this poem, “surely” sets the stage for a new way of thinking about this despised person whose presence was shunned - and thoughts of whom were dismissed.
Surely! When folks realize Who He is and why He came, the perception of Jesus will change drastically because their eyes will be opened and they will see: All that the Servant endured was not because of His own sins but because of the sins of others!
Surely! Mature folks will see that the infirmities, sicknesses, diseases, pains, sorrows, sufferings and burdens which Jesus picked up of His own free will - and carried to the Cross - were ours!
He did not fit the popular notion and perception of the Messiah . . . so, He suffered from rejection. One thing we can be sure of: Since Jesus knew what suffering was, He understands ours.
Jesus suffered from affliction on His way to crucifixion - for us. Name any form of suffering . . . Jesus endured it. Name any form of sinning . . . Jesus bore it at Calvary. Name any form of affliction . . . Jesus was subjected to it - aggressively and repeatedly. One atrocious event, however, none of us need name because none of us knows about it firsthand – crucifixion!
Jesus was punished for the sins of the world. He took upon Himself pain and suffering - the punishment - sinners deserve. He did so as a lamb about to be slaughtered – stood in silence to die for “the many” even though “the many” willfully deny His sovereignty and defy His authority.
Jesus suffered and died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world! The fact that it “pleased” the Lord to crush Him severely should not upset us. Such phraseology is a poetic way of expressing the fact that the suffering of God’s Son was God’s Will . . . in keeping with God’s Plan . . . for the redemption of God’s People because God knew they would go astray like sheep who wander away from the fold and have to be brought back.
Thank God! He made a Way for His people called by His Name to humble themselves, to pray, to turn from their sinful ways and to return unto the Lord their God -- Who made them, loves them and desires to restore fellowship with them now and forevermore!
God’s righteous servant Jesus accomplished two tasks assigned to Him:
Jesus justified many – all who repent and believe. Jesus made things right between repentant sinners and the forgiving Father. He did so by His atoning sacrifice on the Cross.
Jesus restored repentant sinners to favor with their Maker. He satisfied God’s requirement of an atoning sacrifice by substituting Himself for us.
Isaiah was a master of insight! In his poetic style Isaiah promised that, after all the suffering the servant must go through, He would “see the light” -- and be fully rewarded. Q: What greater reward can there be than resurrection unto eternal life in Heaven!
That’s not all! God will give Him (has given Him) “the many” as His very own!
Precious in the sight of the Lord, therefore, is the death of His many saints! We shall behold Him, yes, but also we shall serve Him!
Even rebels who gave God a hard time, but were saved, will be part of the company we shall keep when we all get to heaven - in the sweet bye and bye!
A verse from this poem by Isaiah we must inscribe on the chalkboard of our minds – Isaiah 53:5c – KJV – “By His stripes we are healed!”
Healing is the outcome we all want! “Wilt thou be made whole” is one of those recurring themes in the New Testament.
If we could only regain our health we say to our medical doctor - knowing that the best we can hope for is for the decline in our health to be slowed down.
We love life. We cling to it. We dread the thought of dying – even though we know we will one day – so we prepare (should prepare) for the inevitability of it.
Yet, here we are – and aren’t we glad! Why not make the most of it, knowing that the best is yet to be!
We will be healed – someday. We will be made whole again – someday.
We will be free of pain and suffering – someday. But THAT will not be the end – only a new beginning.
Talk about the best of both worlds! Some folks say that’s not what we ought to strive for, but I say, why not?
As children of God the Father . . . we can have it both ways - which is what I intend to do! Would you care to join me? Amen.
