ISAIAH 53 SERIES: SMITTEN
ISAIAH 53:4 | #Isaiah53
PERSON IN THE CONGREGATION READS ISAIAH 53
READ ISAIAH 53:1-12 (ESV)
“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4 Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on a Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
NARRATIVE
Our story takes place in Dusty Creek, Indiana. Dusty Creek is a town so small that the local gossip traveled faster than the morning paper. In Dusty Creek lived two characters whose names alone might have foretold a love story as peculiar as their very existence. Billy Bob was a downcast burly man with a feisty mustache that looked like it was trying to start its own country. Lucy Loo was a lady whose zest and enthusiasm for life was matched only by her collection of colorful hats. They were destined to meet and their meeting was destined to be memorable.
Billy Bob had been an ordinary man by all accounts. He ran the town’s only hardware store. His days were filled with fixing leaky faucets, untangling extension cords, and giving unsolicited advice on how to handle a stubborn squirrel in the attic. His life, though comfortable, lacked a certain sparkle and pizzazz, until the fateful day when Lucy Loo waltzed into his store. Her entrance into his store and into his life was announced by the chime of the bell on the door.
Lucy Loo was a bit of a constant whirlwind. She had recently returned to Dusty Creek after a stint as a traveling hat saleswoman in Ohio County, Indiana. Her hats ranged from the practical to the absurd: from sun hats large enough to provide shade for an entire picnic to feathered fascinators that seemed to have been plucked straight from a flamingo’s dreams. She was known for her vibrant personality, her love for spontaneous dance-offs in the middle of Main Street, and her rather unorthodox habit of naming her hats. She often introduced them to strangers as if they were beloved family members.
It was on a particularly sweltering August afternoon when Billy Bob first laid eyes on Lucy Loo. He had been in the middle of organizing a new shipment of duct tape when the bell rang and in breezed Lucy, wearing a hat that looked like it was made entirely out of autumn leaves, with a fluffy, oversized bow on top. It was the kind of hat that made people turn their heads, either out of sheer confusion or admiration.
“Good afternoon!” Lucy announced to the whole store, twirling dramatically in the doorway. “I’m here to bring a little sunshine and a lot of hats!”
Billy Bob, who had never seen anything quite like her, blinked in bewilderment. “Uh, can I help you find something?”
Lucy eyed the rows of hammers and screwdrivers as if she were perusing a menu. She didn’t know what any of the things were that she was looking at. “I’m looking for something to fix a loose doorknob, but I’m also in the market for some inspiration. My hat here says it’s a day for adventure!”
Billy Bob, whose idea of adventure typically involved fixing a leaky pipe without getting drenched or trying out a new flavor of hot pocket, scratched his head. “Well, we’ve got some doorknobs in the back, but if you’re looking for inspiration, you might be in the wrong place.”
Lucy’s eyes sparkled: “Oh, I think I’m in exactly the right place. What’s your name, by the way?”
“Billy Bob,” he replied, still trying to make sense of her hat. “And you’re Lucy Loo?”
“The very same!” she said with a dramatic flourish and a bow. “You know, I think this is going to be the start of something extraordinary.”
Billy Bob wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but he found himself smiling despite himself. It was as if Lucy’s enthusiasm was a contagious force that infected everything around her. “Well, if you’re looking for a doorknob, let me show you our selection.”
As Billy Bob led Lucy Loo to the back of the store, he couldn’t help but notice how the hat bobbed and weaved with every step she took. It was as though the hat had a life of its own, dancing in rhythm with Lucy’s every move.
Lucy Loo picked out a doorknob that seemed to have no practical value. It had been sent to his store by mistake, but she loved it. Billy Bob found himself captivated by her energy. They chatted about everything from the best way to hang a picture frame to the merits of wearing a hat that resembled a fruit basket.
Days turned into weeks and the town of Dusty Creek, Indiana witnessed a romance unfolding with all the subtlety of a marching band in a library. Billy Bob and Lucy Loo were inseparable. They were seen everywhere together: at the local diner where Lucy insisted on ordering everything on the menu just to see which dish complemented her hat the best to the town’s annual parade where Billy Bob proudly marched beside Lucy’s hat-topped float, which was a tribute to “The Great Adventure of Hats and Hardware.”
One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, Billy Bob finally mustered up the courage to express the busting emotions that had been growing in his heart. They were sitting at a local ice cream shop. Lucy’s latest hat—a combination of neon feathers and sparkles—took center stage.
“Lucy Loo,” Billy Bob said, his voice slightly trembling, “I don’t know what it is about you and your hats, but I’ve never been happier. I reckon I’m smitten.”
Lucy Loo looked at him, her eyes twinkling like the stars that had just begun to emerge, and responded with eyelashes flittering: “Well, Billy Bob, I’m pretty smitten myself. I’ve never met anyone who could make a doorknob selection feel like a grand adventure.”
The next day, Lucy Loo and Billy Bob met for breakfast at the local diner. She came in with a hat that looked like two kangaroos boxing each other. She sat down even more excited than her normal self. They ordered even as Lucy Loo brimmed with excited energy.
“What has you so excited?” Billy Bob asked; thinking it was him. He knew why his heart was full. He had found the love of his life. He was smitten with Lucy Loo and was imagining a future with her in Dusty Creek.
“Floyd County wants me to come and sell hats!” She was very excited. “The mayor heard about all the people in Ohio County who love their hats and she invited me to come and sell my hats all over Floyd County. She even will give me a storefront on the square next to the Lease-a-Puppy store. I am so excited!”
Billy Bob sat there a bit shocked and could not even speak.
“I leave today and I can’t wait!” Lucy Loo then went on to share about her dreams to cover every head in Indiana with a bright creative hat. She talked about her plans for the store and her vision of the future which may or may not include providing hats for all the dogs leased to people in Floyd County. After a few minutes, Lucy Loo got up in excitement, kissed Billy Bob on the cheek, and breezed out the door of the diner having not even waited for her food to arrive. The bell on the door of the diner announced her departure. Lucy Loo, the constant whirlwind, was gone.
“I reckon I’m smitten,” Billy Bob said to no one in particular. His feisty mustache that looked like it was trying to start its own country hid his frown. The sadness, hurt, and unexpected powerful feelings pressed on his chest to such a degree that when his biscuits and gravy arrived he could not eat. He was hit hard. The plate of eggs with orange slices and a touch of imported rose petals across from him got cold as he sat there in shock.
“I reckon I’m smitten,” Billy Bob said to no one in particular.
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:4 (ESV)
“Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
THE WORD: SMITTEN
The word “smitten” is a strange word. Like many words in English, the meaning can change over time and can have a literal meaning and also a figurative meaning.
The word “smitten” is a form of the word “smite” which means “struck hard with the hand” or “visited with disaster.” It means “to strike with any sort of weapon.” It comes from an Old English word that means “to smear” and an Old German word that means “to fling.” The idea behind “smitten” is that someone slings a hard strike at you and disaster and damage is the result.” That is one meaning of the word.
The word “smitten” can also mean… somehow as a metaphor… "inspired with love." This meaning came about in the 1660s from the notion that love comes upon a person "suddenly and powerfully” and impacts them hard. The figurative meaning of “smitten” "to touch the heart” and “to strike with passion or emotion" is one that we also use.
“Smitten” means both “struck hard bringing about disaster” and also “inspired by love.”
I find that interesting.
I find that interesting because of Isaiah 53:4.
TRANSITION
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:4 (ESV)
“Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
“Smitten” means both “struck hard bringing about disaster” and also “inspired by love.”
DOES “SMITTEN” IN ISAIAH 53:4 MEAN “STRUCK HARD BRINGING ABOUT DISASTER”?
YES.
“Smitten” means “struck hard bringing about disaster.”
Mark 15:13-14 and Luke 23:21 both remind us that the crowds called for Jesus’ crucifixion over and over again. It was the chant of the masses! Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 all record for us the crucifixion of Jesus. The procedure of crucifixion may be summarized as follows:
The patibulum was put on the ground and the victim laid upon it. Nails, about 7 inches long were driven in the wrists. The points would go into the vicinity of the median nerve, causing shocks of pain to radiate through the arms. It was possible to place the nails between the bones so that no fractures or broken bones occurred. Studies have shown that nails were probably driven through the small bones of the wrist, since nails in the palms of the hand would not support the weight of a body. In ancient terminology, the wrist was considered to be part of the hand.
Standing at the crucifixion sites would be upright posts, called stipes, standing about 7 feet high. In the center of the stipes, was a crude seat, called a sedulum, which served a support for the victim. The patibulum was then lifted on to the stipes. The feet were then nailed to the stipes. To allow for this, the knees had to be bent being left in a very uncomfortable position.
Having suffered from the beatings and flogging, Jesus suffered from severe hypovolemia from the loss of blood. He would have been dehydrated and would have lost much blood. When the cross was erected upright, there was tremendous strain put on the wrists, arms and shoulders, resulting in a dislocation of the shoulder and elbow joints.
The arms, being held up and outward, held the rib cage in a fixed end inspiratory position which made it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. The victim would only be able to take very shallow breaths.
As time passed, the muscles, from the loss of blood, lack of oxygen and the fixed position of the body, would undergo severe cramps and spasmodic contractions. Due to the shallow breathing, the victim's lungs begin to collapse in small areas causing hypoxia and hypercarbia. From the numerous beatings, strain on the heart was present. Fluid builds up in the lungs.
A person can die from shock.
A person can have a heart attack.
A person can die from collapsed lungs.
A person can die from blood loss.
Make no mistake, Jesus was smitten. Everything about crucifixion is meant to hit hard. Pain, agony, hammer, and nails are all hard-hitting and bring disaster.
The other part of that small phrase in verse 4 is also important. Isaiah 53:4 not only says that Jesus was “smitten,” but that He was “smitten BY GOD.” The picture we get as we look at the whole of Scripture is that Jesus became sin for us and was our substitute on the cross. We should permanently be separated from God because of our sin, but Jesus takes our punishment on Himself. He is smitten by God for us!
Sin is a spiritual debt that must be paid. When Jesus Christ died, He suffered as a substitute in the place of sinners. Jesus’ death made it possible for men and women to be declared righteous based on their faith in Him. Jesus’ death was payment that satisfied God's demand.
Sin alienates us from God. Christ's willing death on the cross made (and makes) peace with God possible for anyone who believes in Him. Christ came, not just to provide us with a godly example, but to die on our behalf and to bear the cost for sin. He was smitten by God for us.
God is holy. God's holy character requires that sin be punished. Sin makes us the objects of God's wrath because we sin. By willingly laying down His own life, Jesus paid the price on our behalf, satisfying God's demand. He was smitten by God for us.
Sin renders us helpless in many ways. We cannot save ourselves. We do not want to pay for our own sins. We do not have the will or the ability to offer anything acceptable to God on our own behalf. We not only suffer from the penalty of Adam's original sin in the Garden of Eden, but also from the guilt of our own sinful actions. He was smitten by God for us.
The Apostle Paul describes it this way in 2 Corinthians…
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21 (ESV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, Who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
TRANSITION
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:4 (ESV)
“Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
“Smitten” means both “struck hard bringing about disaster” and also “inspired by love.”
DOES “SMITTEN” IN ISAIAH 53:4 MEAN “INSPIRED BY LOVE”?
YES.
As we think about all that Jesus endured and all that willingly subjected Himself, we might wonder about His motivation. Why would Jesus die on a cross for us? Why would Jesus endure nails and beatings and ridicule and being ignored? Why would He accept taking on the sin of the world when most people don’t even care? Why would He bear our griefs and carry our sorrows?
The answer is love.
The answer is that He was smitten.
Now I know that the word “smitten” is a word that is associated with romantic love, but I could not help but reflect that the reason why Jesus was smitten by God on the cross was because Jesus was smitten with us. He loved us therefore He sacrificed Himself for us. Smitten is “struck hard bringing about disaster” and also “inspired by love” which applies to Jesus on both counts.
How do we know love was His motivation?
READ JOHN 3:16-17 (ESV)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
READ 1 John 4:10 (ESV)
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
READ Romans 5:8 (ESV)
"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
READ Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)
"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Please understand that God loves you which is why He created us knowing that you and I would turn away from Him and sin. God loves us which is why His plan before He created us was to send His Son to die in our place. God was smitten with us which is why Jesus was smitten. Jesus was smitten with us which is why He was smitten by God. The motivation for God saving us was His love.
NARRATIVE
“I reckon I’m smitten,” Billy Bob said to no one in particular. His feisty mustache that looked like it was trying to start its own country hid his frown. The sadness, hurt, and unexpected powerful feelings pressed on his chest to such a degree that when his biscuits and gravy arrived he could not eat. He was hit hard. The plate of eggs with orange slices and a touch of imported rose petals across from him got cold as he sat there in shock.
“I reckon I’m smitten,” Billy Bob said to no one in particular.
The questions you are asking are:
Does Lucy Loo turn around and realize that she loves Billy Bob?
Does she move to Floyd County and realize what she left behind?
Does Billy Bob get over Lucy Loo?
I don’t have the answers. I could, but I don’t.
The questions you should be asking are:
Will you repent, turn to God, realizing that He loves you?
Up to you.
In all your wandering in life, do you realize in Christ what you have left behind?
Up to you.
Will God ever get over you?
No, He won’t.
PRAYER
INVITATION
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:4 (ESV)
“Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
Whatever griefs you carry and whatever sorrows you have brought into your life, I hope you believe that Jesus carries them all and can make all things new. Jesus paid it all. All to Him we owe. Sin has left a crimson stain, but the smitten Christ washes us white as snow.
