I want you to take your Bibles,
if you would, and turn with me to the book of Isaiah chapter
53. Isaiah 53. Before we look at a verse here,
let's ask our Lord's blessing. Our Father, we call upon you
this evening in the name of the Lord Jesus, and we thank you
that we can call. In his precious name, we ask
your blessing. We pray that this evening grant
unto us an ear to hear, a heart to worship. And Lord, forgive
us where we failed you for Christ's sake. Amen. Isaiah chapter 53 verse 1 says,
Who hath believed our report, our doctrine? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ? revealed. When he came into this world, he was absolutely not known. There were some that it was revealed
to, that he was the Christ. But by and large, when men looked
upon Him, the Scripture says, verse 2, He shall grow up before
Him, before His Father, as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry
ground. He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him. He revealed who he was. And men looked at him by and
large and said, we know who you are. You're Joseph's boy, the carpenter's
son. And you say you're the Christ?
You're the Messiah? This one walking around with
these followers, this one that was hanging on
a cross, beaten, visage marred more than any man, didn't even
look like a man, the one they spit on He pulled his beard out,
naked, hanging there. You're God? He was despised and rejected
of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And look at this. Have you ever done it or have
you ever had anybody else do this to you? You see somebody
and you really didn't want to say anything to them, or they
didn't want to say anything to you, and they just kind of pretend
like they didn't see you. And if you catch them, you know,
hey, so and so, hey, I didn't see you. This is what they did. This is
what we did. We hid as it were our faces from
Him. He was despised and we esteemed
Him not. Now you listen to what is being
said. I'm going to look at verse 6
is where I'm going. But the scripture says, surely
I looked at that verse again this afternoon, going over my
notes, and I looked at that word surely. Now, this is a great comfort, because
it's a miracle of God's grace that we believe this. We struggle,
we struggle. And our old man, at wars against
our new man, doesn't believe this. And there's a nature within
that's fighting and despising this truth right here. But, surely,
surely, He hath borne our griefs. This was real. He actually bore
in his own body our griefs. Really, God Almighty made him
sin. We've looked at that scripture
so many times, and I looked at it again today and I thought,
Lord, if I truly believe this, it's going to be by your grace.
Surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God. I thought the Romans
nailed him to the tree. They were the means but he was
smitten of God according to God's determinate counsel and afflicted
but he was wounded because of for our transgressions he was
bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was
upon him And with His stripes, we are healed. Now I've got three questions
I want to ask. I heard someone this week, and
they were saying that there's no way under the sun that the
Lord Jesus Christ didn't die for everyone. This proves it. Right here. Scripture proves
it. Surely he has borne our griefs,
carried our sorrows, wounded for our transgressions, bruised
for our iniquities, chastisement of our peace, With His stripes
we are healed. Now here's my first question.
For whom did the Lord die? For whom did the Lord die? Of whom were these words spoken? Just hold your finger right there
and turn to Isaiah 1. If you want to understand the
scripture, Let me tell you the first thing you want to do, find
out to whom was it written? Who was it written to? Look at
Isaiah 1, 1-3. The vision of Isaiah, the son
of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens,
and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I have nourished
and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
The ox knoweth his owner. and they ask his master's crib,
but Israel does not know my people doth not consider." I know this
first of all. I know this was written to God's
people. I know that. To whom was this written? I know
it's to God's people. Now flip back to look at Isaiah
52 verse 1 to 3. Isaiah 52, 1 to 3. Awake, awake,
put on thy strength, O Zion. Put on thy beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city. For henceforth there shall no
more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself
from the dust. Arise and sit down, O Jerusalem. Loose thyself from the bands
of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the Lord,
you've sold yourselves for naught. and you shall be redeemed without
money. I know this. It was written to
the captive daughter of Zion. I know that. Well then here's my second question.
To what does Zion refer? Now this is important because
men will read these verses and they will apply them to everybody
without distinction. He borne our grief. He bore everybody's
grief. They said, now wait a minute.
Who did he write this to? If I write a note to my wife
and I put down there, I love you, and someone picks up that
piece of paper and it's not her and says, oh, look here. Marvin
loves me. Well, I didn't write it to you.
I wrote it to her. Who'd the Lord write this to?
He wrote it to His people. Zion. Look at Psalm 87, 2. Psalm 87, 2. Psalm 87, verse 2 and 3. The Lord loveth the gates of
Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are
spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. I'll tell you who Zion
is. It's the church. The church. The city of God. Zion is the
bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Psalm 46. Psalm 46, 4
and 5. Psalm 46, 4 and 5. Psalm 46, 4 and 5, there is a
river, the streams whereof, the streams of God's mercy, the streams
of God's blessings. There's a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that
right early. Who is Zion? Who is the people
of God? It's the bride of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look back at Isaiah 53, and
I'll answer that first question I asked. For whom did Christ
die? Look at Isaiah 53, verse 8. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation For he
was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. I'll tell you who Isaiah 53,
all of Isaiah, but I'll tell you who this book is written
to. It's written to the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
written to the church. Now, knowing that, having established
who Zion is, who the Lord's people are, the holy city of God. Now, Isaiah 53, 6. All we, like sheep, have gone
astray. Now that state right there is
common to all men, without doubt. All men have gone astray from
the womb. When we fell in Adam, by one
man's transgression, by one man's sin and rebellion against God,
the whole mass of humanity fell in Adam. So here's a truthful
statement. All we, and the brides in that,
The bride of the Lord Jesus Christ fell in Adam just like everyone
else did. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Even God's elect, that's right,
they fell in sin. Romans 3.10 says there's none
righteous. There's none righteous. No, not
one. Isaiah 64, 6 says, but we're
all as an unclean thing and all of our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. God looked to see if there were
any that did good. There was none. Every imagination
of the thought of man was evil continually. That's all he thought
was evil, evil. All we like sheep have gone astray. Men are depraved. They're born
dead. They're dead in trespasses and
sins. But to those who by the grace
of God have been made to see that state and to know that state,
in Adam's fall, there's a special confession that they make. That's
the next one. We have turned everyone to his
own way. Now I know everyone fell in Adam,
I know that. But I'll tell you that only a
believer is one that'll admit it. Now he'll try to justify,
a man by nature will kind of justify himself, well I know
I'm not as, you know, I know I'm probably a sinner, I'm sure
I am. I heard Brother Henry preaching
a message one time, a woman called him, I may have told some of
you this, a woman called him there in Ashland and she said,
my husband has been in an accident there at the plant, one of the
refineries there in Ashland. And she came, a very faithful
lady, and she said, would you come see my husband? He wants
to talk to you. He never would come, never would
come to the services. She said, would you come talk
to him? Brother Henry said, I'd be glad to. We came by, he said,
and I began to talk with him. He said, I asked him, I said,
well, what's your thoughts? What are you thinking? He said,
well, I feel as though I need to get right with God. Brother
Henry said, OK. He said, well, let's just open
the Bible here. And he said, let's see what God
has to say about somebody wanting to get right with God. He said,
let me ask you something. You see yourself as a sinner,
a rotten, no good, good for nothing, low down, stinking sinner. The man said, well, no, I wouldn't
say that. I wouldn't say that. He said,
you wouldn't say I am, would you, honey? And she said, well,
I guess if you say you're not, I guess you're not. Brother Henry
said, I just closed my Bible. And I told him, I said, well,
till we get past this point right here. He said, we can't go any
farther than this. Here's the problem. Man by nature. Now let me ask you something.
Those that you know that don't know him, do you feel as though that they
see themselves as low-down, rotten, good-for-nothing, hell-deserving
sinners. Scripture says they don't admit
it. There was a Pharisee that prayed thus with himself, God,
I thank Thee that I'm not, I am not as other men are. But you let the Spirit of God
reveal to a man or a woman what they are, being born in Adam. And let me tell you, here's the
admission of a believer. Romans 7, 24, Oh, wretched man
that I am. Listen to Isaiah, in the year
the king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne.
Then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of
unclean lips. David said in Psalm 51.3, For
I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Job said in 9.20, If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall
condemn me. All men truly are sinners, but
I'll tell you this, there's a peculiar admission. of guilt that is realized
by the objects of God's mercy who have been regenerated by
the grace of God and called out of the darkness of unbelief.
They know. And the older you get, the older
you get, it just seems like to me that the more you realize
it. You just think, I get so tired
of myself. I get so tired of seeing what
I see in me. By God's grace, that admission
is drawn out and they confess what they are asking for mercy
because God has shown them mercy already and delights to show
them mercy. I'll tell you this, that right
there, that second phrase in Isaiah 53-6, we have turned everyone
to his own way. I am a rebel, I see it. There's an old man in me that
hates God, that does not want to pray, that
does not want to read, that does not want to hear. But there's
a new man there that does, and he delights after the law of
God. He delights. That old man's there,
has a mark of true repentance. I'm the sinner. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I'm chief. That confession,
is a giving up of all self-righteousness. You don't, you will not, you
will not hear a believer bragging on what he's done to merit salvation
before God. Here's what you're going to hear
him say, we've all turned everyone to his own way. I am what I am
by the grace of God. The Lord saved me. I was doing
the rebellion, God saved me. Save me by grace, but to those,
those, it can truthfully be said, and the Lord, and the Lord, Jehovah,
capital L-O-R-D, the Lord, according to that eternal covenant of grace,
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Who'd Christ die for? He died for God's people. The
Zion of God and Jehovah caused to meet. That's why when
it says laid, it caused to meet. Now, last week, I think it was, there's
when Paul was saying, I'd be separated. I could, I could be
separated if it meant salvation to my people. Couldn't be, because
nothing can separate us from the love of God. But there are
certain things that we just really often lose the glory of it, the
more we try to explain it. But the glorious truth is this,
the Lord laid, by my margin says, made the iniquity of us all to
meet on Him. Now here's what the scripture
sets forth, all of the iniquity, All of the debt, all the iniquity,
I just, let's just stay with exactly what he's saying. All
of the iniquity of all God's elect for the entirety of this
world's existence, all of the iniquity Every thought, every
intent, every ill word, every act of rebellion, whatever it
was, word, thought, or deed, all of it, all of it. I mean,
there's a group of people here, I can't even imagine how much
if we tried to collect all of the iniquity of everybody here,
but of all of God's sheep, all of God's elect, for all of time,
all of the iniquity He hath laid on Him, the iniquity of us all. It all met on Christ. For whom did He die? Look at
Ephesians 5. I love, I talk about for whom
did the Lord die. Let me tell you, I love this
verse of scripture. I quote it all the time. John
10, 15. I lay down my life for the sheep. I lay down my life
for the sheep. That to me is so plain, it's
so straightforward. Look at this one. Ephesians 5,
25, 27. Ephesians 5, 25, 27. Husbands, love your wives. Even as Christ also loved the
church, and look at this, and gave himself for it. Who did he die for? He died for
the church. That he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Who did he die for? Whose iniquity
was laid on him? Zion's, his people, the church,
the bride. Are they going to be saved? Are
all of God's sheep going to be saved? John 10, 16, And of the
sheep the Lord said, I have which are not of this fold, them also
I must bring. They shall hear my voice. There
shall be one fold, one shepherd. It was the Father's will that
all that He gave the Son be saved. It was the Father's will, John
6, 39. This is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all
which He hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. That was the Father's will. And
listen to this, Psalm 33 to 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth
forever. Is the Lord's will going to be
done? Yes, it is. That truth is taught to a believer. Faith is given, and by faith
given to them, because all men have not faith. They come to
Christ, they find their rest in Him, and they have no confidence
in their flesh. There's the gospel set forth.
The gospel set forth. Beautiful. You take Isaiah 53.
and preach the gospel as clearly as it's ever been preached. We've all gone astray, especially
me. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. Oh, while we were yet in trespasses
and sins, God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us, that quickened us together with
Christ, by grace you're saved. He undertook the debt of his
people, that debt that was owed to the broken law of God, and
bore, the scripture says, in his own body, their sins. Made them to be his own. I'll
take that. You know, talking about me writing a letter
to Glenda or something like that, you know what? If she goes down to Penny's and
buys something, Do you know whose responsibility
that is to pay me? They send me the bill, I write
them a check, pay that bill. Why? Because I'm responsible. Responsible. Listen to the responsibility
that He took to Himself. Psalm 40, 12. He says, mine iniquities. I thought He was without sin.
He is. Always has been. But he bore our guilt and carried
our sorrows and said prophetically through David, who penned this,
and he said, mine iniquities, mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me so that I'm not able to look up. Those are the words
of the surety. I'll make good on them. You give
them to me. I'll bear them, I'll pay the
debt, I'll put them away." Our debt charged to him and he accepted
it and put it away by his broken body and shed blood. And the father who bruised him
saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied, and was satisfied. And now, when we sin, and we
do, the sin that we have committed
right now, right now, He paid the debt of
that sin. And in Him, for His people, For
the city of God, the bride, the elect, the church, in Christ,
God is satisfied. The Lord has reconciled us back
to God. And there is therefore now no
condemnation to them which be in Christ Jesus. who walk not
after the flesh, trusting in the flesh, looking to the flesh,
but after the Spirit. Lord, bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake.