“NO PAIN, NO GAIN”
ISAIAH 52:13—53:12
PALM SUNDAY APRIL 8, 2001
INTRODUCTION: Victor Yap writes, The parents of a ten year old public school boy who was failing fifth grade math decided to enroll their son in a private Catholic school after exhausting all efforts to help. The youngster stormed home the first day of school, walked right past them, charged straight to his room, and locked the door. Two hours later, he emerged for a quick meal, announced that he was studying, and went straight back to studies until bedtime. This pattern continued until the end of the first quarter. After school, the boy walked home with his report card, dropped the envelope on the family dinner table, and went straight to his room. His parents cautiously opened the letter, saw a bright red “A” under the subject, MATH, and rushed excitedly into their son’s room! “Was it the nuns?” the father asked. The boy only shook his head and said, “No.” “Was it the one-on-one tutoring? Peer –mentoring?” asked the mother. Again, the boy shrugged, “No.” “The Textbooks? The teacher? The curriculum?” asked the father. “No, no, no.” the son finally spoke. “From the very first day of school, I knew that these folks were serious about math. When I walked into the lobby, and I saw a guy nailed to the PLUS sign, I knew they meant business!”
TRANSITIONAL THOUGHT: Who could believe it? Who would have ever thought it would have come to this? Such a powerful and glaring historical spectacle, nothing has gone as it seemed…. All of the professionals and most of the amateurs got this one wrong. In fact as I read the record, no one suggested at any time that this would have happened. And maybe you thought you figured it out, only to see the situation change again. Of course, I’m talking about the Messiah.
I know many of you, like me were glued to your televisions and radios during the last election, but I wanted for just a moment to contrast the election with the confusion about our Messiah. You do remember him… Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the only one in whom we place our hope and trust. Yea, now you remember.
Well for what its worth, this is not the first time in history we’ve been confused. It has happened before. It’s true in politics. In 1876 we didn’t have a president until 2 days before inauguration. 16 years earlier Abraham Lincoln was elected with no electors from the South.
And you know, I have no intention of making light of this past political crisis, but I suppose we have also been confused about weightier matters. At the turn of the 20th century, progressives fully expected the rapidly growing technologies, and the freedoms that had been found through the growth in literacy and humanitarian efforts would diminish the use of war and violence. In fact, Christian progressives were absolutely sure that the 20th century would be the end of such things and would that these efforts would usher in the kingdom of God. They were sure of it… and they were wrong. We just ended the most violent and destructive century in human history.
There were lots of folks who predicted that the second coming would occur around the turn of this century this time and the time before. One fella predicted it with such accuracy that he climbed up a tree and at 9:04am, on June 21, 1896, he lept out to meet the Lord in the air. Surely he met the Lord that day, but not in any way he expected. He was so sure of the outcome… and he was wrong. But at least he knows he was wrong. [POSSIBLE USEAGE? (Our Jehovah’s witness friends will to this day debate you that Jesus did return in 1917 and did set up his kingdom on Earth. They are sure of it… and they are wrong.)]
And just so you don’t think I’m picking on current folks missing the Messiah, I need to note that we weren’t the first ones who missed him. The people of God, the chosen ones, the children of Israel, and the scribes and Pharisees who know the songs of the prophets best missed him too. In fact, they were warned to look out before hand. That the Messiah may not be exactly what they expected, that he may not come from the right family, that he may not have your axe to grind.
Our text for this day talks about the stages humanity has gone through in discovering the reality of the coming of the Messiah and what it mean’s to all of us. Isaiah prophesies concerning this “SUFFERING SERVANT” as to just what it will look like when He comes and the outcome of HIS appearing.
THESIS SENTENCE: HIS GREAT PAIN CAUSED OUR GREAT GAIN OF SALVATION.
ISAIAH TAKES US THROUGH FOUR GREAT MOVEMENTS OF THE SALVATION EXPERIENCE TO GET US TO THE PLACE WHERE WE CAN UNDERSTAND GOD’S GREAT DESIRE FOR HIS “SUFFERING SERVANT” AND MORE SO, WHAT IT WILL MEAN TO US. This is the Gospel according to Isaiah!
[One note about Palm Sunday: Next week we will celebrate the Great Joy of the Resurrection and the hope and life that we can all find because of it. But, Palm Sunday is also a great celebration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the Shouts of Hosanna. It is not until this coming Friday that we focus on the Crucifixion and horrible death of Jesus, if we follow the Church Calendar. If we were to go from Palm Sunday to the Easter Celebration, we could totally miss the destructive cause of our Great Salvation. I choose to focus on the passion of our Lord this week before the Resurrection Celebration.]
NOW, WHERE DOES ISAIAH START US ON THIS GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF OUR SALVATION THROUGH THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
I. WE JUST COULDN’T UNDERSTAND GOD’S PLAN [CAN’T GET IT!]
A. Misunderstanding comes from face value impressions
1. Isaiah 53: 1-2, “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.”
2. The Lord made promises about a coming Messiah, but everyone had in their own mind what it would be like, but not what God had in mind.
3. Once Jesus and Peter were talking and Jesus predicted his own death, to which Peter took Jesus to the side and began to rebuke Him. “But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (Mark 8:33).”
ILLUSTRATION: There is a country song that has been out for at least a year. It is called “SHE’S MORE!” I like blue eyes, hers are green, not like the woman of my dreams; and her hair’s not quite as long as I had planned. Five foot three’, isn’t tall. She’s not the girl I’d pictured at all, In those paint by number Fantasies I had. So it took me by complete surprise when my heart got lost in those deep green eyes. She’s not at all what I was lookin for; She’s more.
4. Jesus didn’t look like anything “The World” thought He would look like!!!!
B. Misunderstanding does not change the outcome of the action
1. Isaiah 52: 14-15, “Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness – so will He sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.”
ILLUSTRATION: Dr. H. C. Wilson loves to tell the story of the first time he came to the south. He said that he was taken out to breakfast by a group of men and the waitress asked him what he wanted for breakfast. He replied, “Two eggs and some bacon.” When his meal came to the table, there where two eggs, bacon, and some gooey looking white stuff. He informed the waitress that this was not his order, he did not order any gooey looking white stuff. She must have picked up his Canadian accent and told him that here in the south, “Grits come with all breakfast order, now shut your mouth and eat your grits.”
2. How could he have known that Grits come with all the orders? How could he have known that waitress would put him in his place? How could he have realized that he would be on the losing end of the stick? He couldn’t have known, but he found out real quick!
3. Our text tells us that the People who saw Jesus there at Calvary just couldn’t figure Him out. They did not know what was about to happen and they could not even recognize His appearance, HE was so badly beaten.
4. BUT, the text also says that He will shut the mouths of many Kings because they will figure out just WHO he is!!
II. GOD’S STRATEGY COMES FROM GOD’S UNDERSTANDING [GOD’S GOT IT!]
A. GOD KNOWS
1. God knows the hearts of men. He knows how they will react. He knows what we are about to do, and He is watching us.
2. Bette Middler had a popular song a few years back, which said, “God is watching us from a distance.” The reality of it is that though distant, HE IS PRESENT!
3. Isaiah 53: 10-11, “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 se the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities (wrongs).”
4. There is so much here. God knew what would happen to his son and he allowed it, because He can see the big picture. God works everything together for good to those that love him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)!
5. God allowed Jesus to be crushed for us, because he had a plan. Though Jesus was crushed, IT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY, AS PAUL HARVEY WOULD TELL IT!
B. JESUS KNOWS!
1. Isaiah 53: 7-9, “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.”
2. Remember that text from Mark 8:31ff. “He (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this…”
3. How do we learn to stay silent? Some have said it would be impossible for me. One of my former Pastor’s wives said that there will be no women in heaven, for the scripture says, “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (Rev. 8:1).” And she said she knew that women couldn’t be silent for half an hour. Me either! Jesus did not have to open His mouth, because HE KNEW THE TRUTH!!! He knew God’s plan, God’s strategy!
III. HINDSIGHT IS 20/20! NOW WE UNDERSTAND! LOOKING BACK BRINGS UNDERSTANDING! [NOW WE GET IT!]
A. WE ARE TO BLAME!
1. ISAIAH 53:3-6, “HE WAS DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN, A MAN OF SORROW, 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 strickn by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our trangressions, 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 won way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
2. Who caused His pain? Why did He have to suffer?
3. We despised and rejected him! We hide our faces from Him! We refused to esteem Him, to give Him Honor! We considered Him stricken by God! We considered HIM Smitten by God and afflicted by God! We pierced HIM! We crushed HIM!! We Punished HIM! GOD laid OUR SINS ON HIS BACK!
B. HE WAS INNOCENT!!
1. He did not sin!
2. Remember verse 9, “though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
3. Jesus was without sin! II Corinthians 5: 20-21, “We are therefore Christ’ ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
IV. GOD’S UNDERSTANDING LEADS TO OUR SALVATION! [GOD’S GOT IT TO GIVE IT!]
A. GOD KNEW IT WOULD BE A SUCCESS BEFORE IT STARTED!
1. “See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted (Isaiah 52: 13).” Foreshadowing!
2. Do you see the two-fold imagery here?
3. “My servant will act wisely.” “He did not open His mouth (v. 7 X2)!” 4. “He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” “Surely this was a righteous man (Luke 23:47)!” Mark records the Centurion saying “Surely this man was the Son of God,” after he heard his cry and saw how he died (15:39)
5. Think about the Crucifixion! Raised and lifted! HIGH!
B. GOD REWARDS US FOR HIS DEATH!
1. ISAIAH 53: 12(a-d), “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.”
2. Jesus was willing to die, to subject himself to the will of God, even to death on a Cross. Philippians 2:8, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!"
C. GOD FORGIVES OUR REBELLION/ SIN BECAUSE OF HIS DEATH!
1. “FOR HE BORE THE SIN OF MANY, AND MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS (V. 12E).”
2. Jesus has paid it all, all to Him I owe, Sin had left a Crimson stain, He washed it white as SNOW!
3. Jesus has the authority to forgive sin!
CONCLUSION: ACTS 8:32-35, “The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open His mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For His life was taken form the earth.’ The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him thd good news about Jesus.”
You have heard the Good news. HOW WILL YOU RESPOND? Will it be “Can’t get it!” Will it be, “God’s Got it.” OR Will it be “Now We Get it.”
