Several have commented to me how it has been interesting to look through baby pictures of Jesus. I’ve enjoyed it and I hope you’ve taken away some good, practical things to do about it.
Baby pictures are a look back. They’re kind of fun, looking back at how things were and remembering what used to be. It’s a record of your past self.
But can you imagine, for a moment, if you had a photo album of your future self, what that would be like? Here’s the house you’ll be living in. Here’s what you’re going to look like after middle age. Here’s what your kids will look like. Here’s the car accident where you’ll die, or here’s you in the hospital the day before you die. I’m not sure we’d want to look through those pictures. Would you be able to handle that kind of information? I think most of us would have a hard time facing each day if we knew that much about it.
When Jesus read the OT, it’s like He was looking through a photo album of His future self. When Jesus looked at all those baby pictures of the Messiah, He was looking at His future. That means that Jesus went through His years here fully aware that He would be the Snake handler, the Rock, the Lion and the Lamb, and the Mediator. And learning all that as He grew up from infancy, He went ahead with all of it.
I wonder what it was like for Him to read the part of Isaiah that we’re looking at today – a chapter that’s usually titled “The Suffering Servant.” Ch 53. It’s so significant that it is quoted 7 times in the NT. I know for me, taking such an incredible chapter of the Bible and trying to help us apply it to our lives is intimidating. So, please, bear with me, and don’t let me get in the way of this wonderful chapter from God’s word today.
Around 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah wrote:
(Starts out simple and plain)
Vv1-2
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
There has been much speculation about what Jesus looked like. No one can tell you for sure, because the Bible doesn’t give us anything specific about His appearance - except right here. I can tell you that there was nothing about His physical appearance that made Him stand out. There was nothing special about the way He looked. Jesus started out very vulnerable, simple and plain, the ordinary-looking firstborn child in a 1st-century human Hebrew family that lived in poverty.
(Grows up to know sorrow)
Vv3-4
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
Despised, stricken, smitten, and afflicted. That’s what has happened to you when someone despises you, strikes you, smites you, and afflicts you.
Imagine reading a description of your future life and reading this! I’m not sure at what age exactly Jesus came to understand that He was the Messiah and what that would be like, but I’m guessing it wasn’t easy to think about. It doesn’t say that Jesus never laughed. But He would be a person who understood how it feels to be totally rejected by people, and He’d be very well-acquainted with suffering.
(Suffers everyone else’s wrongs)
Vv5-9
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
We have a tendency to get caught up in what’s fair in life. That’s probably why the whole idea of grace is so hard for so many to accept. 12X this chapter of Isaiah speaks about the unfair way that Jesus took upon Himself what mankind actually deserved.
he took up our infirmities…carried our sorrows…he was pierced for our transgressions…he was crushed for our iniquities…punishment that brought us peace was upon him…by his wounds we are healed…the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all…for the transgression of my people he was stricken…the LORD makes his life a guilt offering…my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities…he bore the sin of many…made intercession for the transgressors.
I could offer to do that for you. I could offer to take the punishment that your sin deserves. The problem is I could do that for only one person. The other problem is, I already deserve the same thing you deserve! Jesus is different! That’s why the fact that Jesus never sinned is so important! And His sacrifice covers more than just one person. That’s why it’s so important that He is God. No one else could suffer for everyone’s wrongs.
(Accomplishes our forgiveness)
Vv10-11
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
This baby picture of Jesus helps us realize the reason He came to earth. He came to rescue us – to be a ransom that would save us from certain destruction. Then, in the last verse, it ends on a high note:
(Has the glory of the Victor)
V12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
When someone engages in a contest, or a war, and is 100% successful, we call it a victory. Jesus won a great victory, so the language here describes it that way, and then the whole chapter gets restated in one sentence: For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. By His suffering, by His death in our place, Jesus took our sins on Himself; Jesus stepped in between us and the wrath of God that was headed straight for us.
What does this have to do with the Christmas story?
Everything!
In case you ever wonder, the way that Christmas has become what it is in our consumer-driven society has nothing to do with the cross at all. That’s why it’s so easy to market the season without even mentioning Jesus. That’s what happens when you make a big deal of Christmas without Isaiah 53.
The only way the story of Jesus’ birth will have any significance at all is if there is a cross on the other end of it. There are plenty of interesting stories about babies being born.
Take away the cross, and what about the Christmas story are you left to think about? An unusual birth. A lot of predictions that never come true. Another man growing up a long time ago until He died and was gone.
There are thousands of stories from the same year about interesting births; about men who grew up and worked, and then died. Thousands of stories, but you can’t think of one, because only the story of God coming to earth, growing up, and giving His life for us stands out among all of them.
I told you I really felt overwhelmed just to open this part of the Bible and try to say something about it. This is a bit of Scripture that tends to bypass my head and go straight to my heart. It doesn’t take much thought to get it. It’s so unfair that these words would describe God when He comes to earth. It seems so out of place that the Majestic King would be described by words like “despised, rejected, man of sorrows, pierced, crushed, oppressed, smitten, stricken, afflicted, taken away, cut off.” And all the while, He allowed this to go on. “He poured out His life unto death…He made intercession for the transgressors.”
So we get to the “Oh yeah, so what?” part of this message, and here it is. I don’t know about you, but when I read this description of Jesus and all He did for me, it humbles me, like when someone does some extreme act of kindness for me – only times 1,000.
Have you had moments like that in your life - where someone did some extreme act of kindness for you? I’ve had plenty of them. They started early in my young adult years, in the form of friendly church family members, Carrie’s foster parents, and other Christian people. They involved gifts of all kinds, use of property, recommendations – unselfish things that were done to help us in some big way, and they did.
My parents always taught me to work hard and earn my own way. I think I learned that lesson, but my Dad also taught me later, “Son, sometimes, when someone is trying to do you a favor, the thing you need to do is accept it and say, ‘Thank you.’ That’s because God takes care of you that way, and because that person receives a blessing in giving it to you.” Not always easy, is it? It’s humbling, and you feel obligated to pay back when something is done for you.
I make it a habit to thank our military vets and those who serve in law enforcement. I really am thankful to them for what they have done and what they do. I was at the agent orange dedication ceremony over here at the LZ Peace Memorial a couple years ago. Several family members of deceased veterans came to the podium to speak. Many of them were older and needed a little assistance to get there. I remember one veteran who was there to help that day. He was decked in full formal uniform. He was there, escorting some of those widowed ladies and other family members to the podium. Some of them choked up as they spoke, and this vet, who was standing behind them, would put his hand on them and just give them his reassuring presence. I was seated behind all this, so I saw it all. And I remember how impressed I was by this guy who was the picture of dignity and honor. I also noticed that his feet were a bit heavy – like he either had been severely injured, or perhaps had prosthetic legs. The man who was helping people up to the podium had to work hard to be steady himself, although he covered it well. So I made it a point to talk to him afterwards. I said to him, “Sir, you’ve been in combat, haven’t you?” He smiled and said, “Yes, I’ve seen combat.” I said, “You did that for me. Thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice. You’re a class act.”
When I read in Isaiah 53 about what Jesus really did for me, I’m humbled. It makes me want to say to Him, “You would do that for me?” What can I do about it? I can accept it and say thank you, but that seems so little. And that’s when I remembered I John 3:16
1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
This is how we know what love is. When we think about what Jesus did for us, we go, “Oh, I get it. That’s what it looks like when you love someone.” But to understand what love is doesn’t finish the picture. This is how we know what loves is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And what?
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
From there it goes on to tell how that means taking care of each other, and not just saying things but actually doing things that help people.
If you want to really get Isaiah 53, you’ll need to do 2 things:
1. Thank the Lord! Think about what it meant for Him to come to earth, to live the way He did, and to take upon Himself all of the unfairness and injustices that He took so you and I wouldn’t have to. Today, during the Lord’s Supper, thank Jesus that He would do that for you. If that brings you to tears, then cry tears of thanks to Him. Don’t allow an opportunity to meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice to just slip by today.
2. The 2nd thing then is turning around and acting the same way toward others. “We ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” This is how we apply Isaiah 53. We put our interests behind the interests and needs of others. It may mean encouraging someone who’s hurting. It may mean meeting a physical need. It may mean something extreme. There are 1,000 ways you can lay down your life for someone else. None of them will equal the way that Jesus did, but all of them can reflect your gratitude for what He did. Great love is meant to be passed along.
Conclusion
A couple years after Jesus went back to Heaven, a treasurer for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia was returning home from a visit to Jerusalem. This man was a seeker. He was interested in a relationship with God and had been in Jerusalem to worship. To pass the time of the long journey, he was reading out loud from a scroll – a copy of Isaiah – maybe one that he had acquired during his visit in Jerusalem. He was reading in the middle of this part we read today when Philip came running up alongside his chariot. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” So Philip joined him in the chariot. He was reading about someone being led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and who can speak of his descendants? The Ethiopian asked, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
Then, it says in Acts 8, Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and he preached to him Jesus. Very soon, that Ethiopian understood the good news about Jesus, and right away, he wanted to be baptized. It became the day that man went from looking for God to becoming one of His children. Hearing the good news about Jesus started in Isaiah 53 for that man.
Maybe it will for you today.
OK. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Maybe today, you’ve had it explained to you a little better and now you understand and you believe it. Maybe today you’re like that Ethiopian official who said, “Look, here is water! Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” I hope you’ll have that kind of response before we leave today.
