The Makings Of A Savior.
Isaiah 53:1-12AMP
What are the makings of a Savior? The world would tell us that it would take wit, wisdom, charisma, excellent rapport, a word smith, charm, personality plus. The world would automatically elevate Him while somehow profiting from their fame.
Tonight I want us to look at Isaiah 53, verse by verse. I call the book of Isaiah, the Messianic book of the OT.
Isaiah 53:1AMP Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]? And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the Lord been revealed?
Right off Isaiah asks the question, “Who has believed the report, or the Message?”
More than 700 years before the birth of our Lord, Isaiah prophesied both the birth and the crisis.
Why a crisis? Like then, as now, a crisis of faith.
Again, the question asked is, “Who believes the report that Jesus is Messiah?”
Prophetically, Isaiah anticipates at least two things here. First, he anticipates how strange and contradictory it seems that this suffering Messiah, whose visage is marred more than any man, is at the same time salvation and cleansing to the nations. Second, he anticipates the rejection of the Messiah, that many would not believe our report.
Isaiah 53:1TM Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
It is said of blind songwriter Fanny Crosby, she would’ve refused treatment to restore her sight if it had been available. Her reason? She wanted nothing to interfere with the clear vision she had of Jesus.
Think for a moment—Out of every person on the face of the earth, the Messiah’s arm and infinite power was revealed unto you.
The arm of the LORD is a picture of His strength, power, and might.
As for you—
You Believed.
You Trusted.
You Relied on the message of salvation.
The question still to answer is, “to whom was the Messiah’s arm and infinite power revealed to?”
Q&A—How much of Jesus’ outstretched arm will you receive? How far will you go? How much will you believe?
Romans 10:8-10NKJV “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Once more, whose report will you believe?
Isaiah 53:2AMP For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant), And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majestic splendor That we would look at Him, Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him.
As I thought of this, The birth of Jesus and his upbringing were very modest, his family had little wealth with little—education.
To the townspeople, they saw Jesus as Joseph's son, Jesus, the carpenter son.
He offered no royalty, he pledged to no man, his headquarters were more than likely, under the stars, at the time his pedigree or lineage was nothing special. He seemed very common.
Like Nathanael stated in John 1, can anything good come from Nazareth?
Isaiah 53:3AMP He was despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; And like One from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him.
The prophet Isaiah states, 3b…we did not— appreciate His worth or esteem Him.
Jesus was certainly a man of sorrows, He was very much so acquainted with grief.
The Apostle Paul from one of his prison epistle, writes and speaks of Jesus being our example.
Philippians 2:1-4TM If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
However His service to all of humanity didn’t stop oneness between Him and His Father. The greatest thing about, oneness, it always produces joy.
Listen to the love, Luke 10:21NKJV In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
Isaiah 53:4AMP But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him].
Notice, He bore—He bore our grief. He carried our sorrows. He carried our pains. We ignorantly assume, God did this, and Jesus deserved it.
Right before our next scripture reference, in Matthew 8, the demon possessed were cast out with a single word from Jesus. Peter’s mother-in-law is healed, and a faith-filled Roman army captain believed Jesus’ word and his son was healed.
Matthew 8:17TLB This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, “He took our sicknesses and bore our diseases.
Again, What did mankind do? We ignorantly assumed His demise was His fault. Blame.
Isaiah 53:5AMP But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.
Jesus became our sacrifice—Wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our wickedness. Our punishment for breaking God’s law fell upon Him, (Jesus). The stripes that were placed upon Jesus, heals us. 40 minus 1.
The Message Bible spells it out clearly. Isaiah 53:5, But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed!
Sing—
At the cross, at the cross?Where I first saw the light,?And the burden of my heart rolled away,?It was there by faith I received my sight,?And now I am happy all the day!
Isaiah 53:6AMP All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] To fall on Him [instead of us].
All of our fitly rags, all of our sin fell upon Him.
Isaiah 64:6ESB We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 53:7AMP He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself]; Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
Jesus never opened His mouth. He didn’t complain. He refused to defend Himself. Again, He was led to the slaughter…However- God’s word states, He never opened His mouth.
Isaiah 53:8AMP After oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the fact That He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death] For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due?
Always remember, Every person deserves the stroke of death. That’s our due…
2 Corinthians 8:9TLB You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus was: though he was so very rich, yet to help you he became so very poor, so that by being poor he could make you rich.
Isaiah 53:9AMP His grave was assigned with the wicked, But He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
Isaiah 53:9TM He was buried like a criminal, but in a rich man’s grave; but he had done no wrong and had never spoken an evil word.
Testimony—I had an aunt that it was said, no one ever heard her speak an evil word.
Isaiah 53:10AMP Yet the Lord was willing To crush Him, causing Him to suffer; If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin], He shall see His [spiritual] offspring,?He shall prolong His days, And the will (good pleasure) of the Lord shall succeed and prosper in His hand.
Verse 10 states, Because of Jesus, His— offspring shall prosper!
Again, Isaiah 53:10TLB But it was the Lord’s good plan to bruise him and fill him with grief. However, when his soul has been made an offering for sin, then he shall have a multitude of children, many heirs. He shall live again, and God’s program shall prosper in his hands.
Jesus defines winning in the kingdom of God by losing. Losing in this world, but gaining more of Jesus.
Part of our testimony is the fact that we are His children, and because of our Saviors example there are millions, (billions) of followers.
Isaiah 53:11AMP As a result of the anguish of His soul, He shall see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One, My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him], For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.
“Jesus bore our sins. We have been declared righteous, we are justified by Jesus taking our place.” P.H
The apostles Paul speaks of a believers who is ready for growth:
Philippians 2:5-11TM Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. 9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
Paul is stating, Like Jesus, our servants heart will win God’s heart.
Isaiah 53:12AMP Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death, And was counted among the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many, And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.
Parts of this verse are still ongoing. According to, Hebrews 7:25ESV Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
The Living Bible say’s, Jesus reminds His Father of His own blood. Thus He intercedes.
Several things are for sure:
His grace is deeper.
His love is higher.
His blood is enough.
His forgiveness is for sure.
His healing is eternal.
Your standing is for sure.
Your seating is in heaven.
Benediction.
