THE PASSION OF CHRIST
Isaiah 53:1-12
How many people have already seen The Passion of the Christ? I went to see the movie this past Thursday. I had one thought during the movie and one though after the movie. As tears filled my eyes, my first thought was, “I should be the one punished. I sinned, not Christ.”
My second thought came after the movie. The thought was this, “How would people who are not familiar with the Bible interpret this movie?” Would they interpret the final hours of Jesus’ life as a tragedy produced by the religious and political powers of his day? Would they understand why Jesus purposed himself to suffer and die? And if they understood why Jesus had to die, would they know how Jesus’ death on the cross could make a difference in their lives today?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a movie may be worth 10,000 words. But many words do not guarantee accurate interpretation of the painting. Two people looking at the same panting can have very different interpretations. Two people watching The Passion of the Christ can have very different interpretations of the movie, especially if they are not familiar with the biblical context of the final 12 hours of Jesus life.
So I want to bring biblical context to the suffering of Jesus’ life. Some of you will go see the movie and others of you will invite non-Christian friends to go with you. When they ask, “Why did Jesus have to suffer?” how will you answer that question? And will you be able to connect the passion or suffering of Jesus Christ to their lives today?
Before we continue, let me clarify the terms, “Messiah” and “Christ.” Both words refer to God’s chosen One to rescue us from our sins. “Messiah” is a Hebrew word, while “Christ” is a Greek word. The Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language, while the New Testament was written in the Greek language. The Bibles we use today are translations from these original languages.
Our text this morning comes from Isaiah 53:1-12.
Isaiah, the Prophet, foretells of God’s servant as a suffering Savior. More than 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah saw the sufferings of Christ and the purposes for his sufferings. If you read Isaiah 53 before watching The Passion of the Christ, you will understand the suffering of Christ was not a tragedy but a triumph for God and mankind. Let’s look together.
First, the suffering of Christ reveals to us the power of God. Verses 1-3
We think God only uses the wealthy, the celebrity, the powerful and the educated. But Isaiah saw 720 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, how God chose One who contradicted our worldly values. None of us would recognize God’s chosen One, if God had not revealed him through prophecy.
And that is why Jesus was overlooked by the authorities of his time and by many today. He was an outcast in the eyes of others. He was called an illegitimate child, whose mother was Mary and whose father was unknown. Those who followed him were sinners, rebels, prostitutes and social outcasts. Jesus said he came not for the healthy and righteous but for the sick and sinful.
But those who followed Jesus eventually rejected him. Even his disciples fled when he was arrested. His birth was ridiculed and his death was tragic, a good man sentenced to death on a cross. But God’s power to rescue mankind from sin would come through the person of Jesus Christ.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
This is good to note: “God’s wisdom and power are not the same as the world’s wisdom and power.” If God chose an educated, wealthy and respected individual, we might think the wisdom and power came from the person’s education, wealth and respectability rather than from God. God’s power is not dependent on the one He chooses to use. The suffering of Christ reveals to us the power of God.
Second, the suffering of Christ reveals to us the provision of God. Verses 4-6
We live in a world and with a philosophy that says, “We get what we deserve.” If we do good, we expect to receive good in return. If we do evil, we expect to receive evil in return. That’s why when God’s chosen One was mistreated by others and permitted a tragic death, the world interprets this event as God giving him what he deserved.
This is a good note to make: “In relationship with this world, we get what we deserve, but in relationship with God, we get what we need.”
Jesus said in Luke 6:33-36, “And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners’ lend to `sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
We deserved judgment and punishment for our sin and foolish disregard of God and His ways. But we needed God’s mercy and favor. Thank God He gave not what we deserve, but what we need. The punishment we deserve was not put on us but put upon God’s chosen One, Jesus Christ.
If you go see The Passion of the Christ, you and others may find yourselves in tears at the suffering of Jesus Christ. Don’t only cry tears of sadness for the suffering of Christ. Cry tears of sadness for the sins you and I committed that are placed on him. A God of justice must punish wrongdoing, and in this case, the punishment was taken by one who loves you and me.
Third, the suffering of Christ reveals to us the preeminence of God. Vs. 7-12
Isaiah saw ahead of time how God’s chosen One would respond to mistreatment by the people he came to save. When people tried to arrest him, he did not resist. When people slandered and scourged him, he did not retaliate. He did not provoke those who harmed him; neither was he afraid of them.
1Peter 2:23 tells us, “When they hurled their insults at [Jesus Christ], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to [God] who judges justly.”
Jesus Christ endured the slander and the scourging because he understood two truths about God. We might want to take note of these two truths for ourselves also. First: “Nothing happens without God first allowing it to happen.” Jesus had a quiet confidence, not in the goodness of mankind, not in the legal system of his time nor in his own abilities to endure. Jesus had a quiet confidence in God, whom he trusted was in control of the whole situation.
Here is the second truth that allowed Jesus to endure: “What God requires of us, He restores much more.” God required of Jesus to suffer on our behalf and to carry our sins on the cross. God raised Jesus from the dead, restored his place in heaven and made him Lord over all.
Philippians 2:6-11 reads, “[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Let me close with Alister McGrath’s quote excerpted from a play titled, “The Long Silence”:
At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God’s throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly – not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.
“Can God judge us? How can he know about suffering?” snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured terror, beatings, torture and death!” In another group, a Negro boy lowered his collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. “Lynched – for no crime but being black!” In another crowd, there was a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes. “Why should I suffer?” she murmured. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Far out across the plain there were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he had permitted in his world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure in this world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said.
So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered the most…. In the center of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.
Before God could be qualified to be their judge, he must endure what they had endured. The decision was that God should be sentenced to live upon earth – [not as God, but] as a man!
“Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury, and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured. At the last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a host of witnesses to verify it.”
As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throngs of people assembled. And when the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. For suddenly all knew that God had already serve his sentence [in Jesus Christ].”
What did God accomplish through the suffering of Christ? He revealed his power, his provision and his preeminence. We can either challenge his wisdom and justice or we can humbly receive His provision and peace through Jesus Christ.
