Alright brethren, let's turn
to Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52 verse 13. Isaiah 52 verse
13. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. he shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. As many as were astonied at thee,
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more
than the sons of men. So shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths
at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see. and that which they had not heard
shall they consider. Behold my servant. That's the will and purpose of
God the Father, is to exalt his dear son, the Lord Jesus. He says, behold my servant. Hebrews 1 verse 8, it says, Unto
the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. That's the will of God the Father,
is to exalt his Son, to make all his people behold his Son,
his servant. He said in John 13, 31, it says
when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, now is the son of man glorified
and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God
shall also glorify him in himself and shall straightway glorify
him. Christ glorified the father and the father glorified the
Lord Jesus. He says, behold my servant. And not only does the
Father glorify him, but the Spirit of God glorifies him. John chapter
16. Listen to what our Lord said.
This is important to get right here because there's a lot of
folks in this world that make a big show claiming they're doing
it by the Spirit of God. That's not what the Spirit of
God The Spirit of God's not putting on a show. He's not causing people
to put on an external show to impress people. The Spirit of
God is bringing his people to behold Christ, the servant. He's
exalting Christ Jesus, the servant of God. Look here, John 16, 13. Christ said, howbeit when he,
the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will
show you things to come. He shall glorify me. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine and shall show it unto you. The Holy Spirit's
not, he's not, he's not, you know, you see the Pentecostals
trying to act like they're healing folks slapping people on the
forehead and making them get up out of a wheelchair and all
that stuff. That's not what the Spirit of God sent to do. Look
there in verse 14, John 16, 14. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine and shall show it unto you. All things that
the Father hath are mine, therefore said I that he shall take of
mine and shall show it unto you. That's what the Holy Spirit in
the hearts of God's people, he reveals Christ. He exalts Christ
in our hearts. God the Father's will is to glorify
his Son. The will of the Holy Spirit is
to glorify the God-man mediator. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. No man comes to the Father but
by Christ. And that's the will and purpose
of God the Father is to exalt his Son, give him all preeminence. The Holy Spirit reveals to us
that Christ finished the work of redemption. He accomplished
the work of redemption, and he makes us to behold, he is our
life. He is the way, he's the truth,
he's the life. There's no coming to God but
by him. That means that excludes every
other work, every other means, every other effort, everything
else is excluded. That definite article, Christ
said, I am the way, the truth, the life. That means there is
no other. There is no coming to God but by him. That's the
work of God, is to glorify his son. The purpose of God, to glorify
his son. And listen, God doesn't try,
he's not trying. God does. God does. God never tries. God performs
his counsel. Whatever his eternal counsel
is, his purpose is, he brings it to pass. The son of God never
wants to do something. Whatever his will is, that's
what he does. I hear preachers speak of some
other God that wants to, and tries to. He wants to save, He's
trying to save, but the sinner's not letting Him. That's not the
God of this book. God's sovereign. And the Son,
the Lord Jesus, is sovereign. Notice here in this text now,
let's read this again. Notice here, the true and living
God, He's not trying. Look at the shalls in this. My
servant shall deal prudently. That means he shall prosper.
Isaiah 52, 13. He shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. As many were astonished at thee,
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more
than the sons of men. So shall he sprinkle many nations. The king shall shut their mouths
at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see,
and that which they had not heard shall they consider. You see,
God, he worked, look back there at Isaiah 45. We've seen this,
Isaiah 45. Look at this, verse five. I'm
the Lord and there's none else. There's no God beside me. I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me. Look, that they may know
from the rising of the sun and from the west there's none beside
me. I'm the Lord and there is none
else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with
his maker. Let the partridge strive with
the partridge of the earth. Shall the clay say to him, the
fashionate, what makest thou or thy work? He hath no hands.
You let the broken shards of this world deprave sinful men. You let them debate and strike
and protest and strive and all that. That's not your business,
child of God. We trust in the Lord. Don't strive
against God. Bow down to him and trust him.
Look at Isaiah 46, 10. Whatever his will is, he's sovereign
to bring it to pass. Verse 10, he said, I declare
the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46, 10. I declare the end from
the beginning and from ancient times that things are not yet
done, saying my counsel shall stand, I will do all my pleasure. calling the ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country.
Yeah, I've spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I've purposed
it, I will also do it. That's the true God. That's the
God, and that's what he says in our text here in Isaiah 52. He's telling us what Christ shall
do, what he shall do. So today we're gonna behold God's
righteous servant, the Lord Jesus. All right, first of all, God
the Father commands, this is His command. He says, behold
my servant. You know when we're gonna look
to Christ and believe on Christ and bow to Christ and cease trusting
in our own works and looking to ourselves? You know when we'll
do that? When God speaks into the heart and says, behold my
servant. Man can't do it any other way.
Man won't do it any other way. It's only by God speaking affectionately
in their heart, behold my servant. The son of God, equal with God,
took flesh like unto his brethren and became the servant of God. Go back to Isaiah 42. Isaiah
42. We're just gonna compare scripture
with scripture, spiritual things with spiritual. Here's what he
said. Isaiah 42, one, behold my servant. whom I uphold, mine elect, and
whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry nor lift up or cause his voice to be heard in the street.
The bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall
he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he has set judgment in the earth and the Isles shall wait
for his law. Why does the Lord say there that
he shall bring judgment to the Gentiles? Why didn't he say he's
gonna bring judgment to the Jews and to the Gentiles? Well, before
God formed Israel, there was nothing but Gentiles. We're all
just fallen, depraved sons of Adam by nature. And when Christ
came and fulfilled all the law for his people and took it out
of the way, the Lord had made Israel to illustrate who his
people are. He had made the law to show us
our need of Christ. And Christ came and fulfilled
all of it. And really, all there are now is just lost, dead Gentiles
who God sends the gospel to. who were his, he sends the gospel
and creates life and makes us to know we're the true Jews of
God, circumcised in the heart, the true Israel of God. And God
says here that his servants shall not fail till he has set judgment
in the earth. He did it on the cross, he gonna
set it in the hearts of his people. He was in the form of God, equal
with God, And he came down and took flesh and made himself the
servant of God, willingly, to serve God, for God, to declare
God's glory, to manifest God's righteousness, and he became
the servant of God to serve God in place of his people. In place
of his people. Next time you and me start thinking
like we saw this morning, you start looking at yourself and
your works and acting as if your life's in this world, Just remember,
Christ came to serve God for his people, in place of his people,
in the stead of his people, and he did not fail. He did it perfectly,
and that is our, that's our only acceptance with God. Christ did
that. He took upon him the form of
a servant, and he obeyed God. He humbled himself and was obedient
to God all the way to the death of the cross, all the way to
the death of the cross, the holy, infinite God of glory humbled
himself, likened to his brethren, and became the servant of God.
Do you think God is going to let anybody else have any glory? He's not gonna let anybody else
have the glory, but his son. His son came down and became
the servant of God, and he served God perfectly. He did constantly,
all the time, every moment, only that which pleased the Father. That's what Christ did. And yet,
proud sinners won't come down. Proud sinners won't bow. Proud
sinners won't humble ourselves and bow to Christ and trust Him
only. He came down, the Son of God,
equal with God, came down and became God's servant. And yet
us sinners, proud, arrogant, on a dung heap, won't come down
and just trust the Son. We have to be given a new heart. We have to be given a new heart.
He declares here, Christ is the wisdom of God. He said in verse
12, He shall deal prudently, wisely, and He shall prosper
prudently. We preach Christ crucified, unto
the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto
them which are called, both Jew and Greek, Christ, the power
of God and the wisdom of God. He'll deal prudently. He's the
wisdom of God. These were the first recorded
words in the scripture that our Lord Jesus spoke. He said, wished
you not that I must be about my father's business. Do you
not know I must be about my Father's business? That was his first
word. He came to deal wisely, to deal prudently, to prosper
in doing the work the Father sent him to do. And he is the
wisdom of God who fulfilled and magnified God's holy law for
his people. Over in Psalm 40 in verse six,
he said, sacrifice an offering thou didst not desire, Mine ears
hast thou opened, burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not
required. Then said I, lo, I come, and the volume of the book is
written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my
God, yea, thy law is within my heart. This is how he dealt,
this is how he dealt prudently. He came to do the will of God. Did he accomplish it? Absolutely. He fulfilled the will of God.
He did the will of God perfectly, perfectly, perfectly. And Hebrews
10.10 says, and by his will, by him doing the will of God,
we are sanctified. Everybody he was representing
was sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all time. He did it. The first words he
spoke was, I must be about my father's business. He shall deal
prudently. He shall deal wisely and prosperously. And he said, I must be about
my father's business. And the last recorded words was,
it is finished. He did the work of God. He said,
I've glorified thee on earth. I finished the work which thou
gavest me to do. What did he finish? He magnified
the law of God perfectly. He fulfilled the whole law of
God He manifests the righteousness of God, how God is just and how
he is the justifier of those he's given faith in Christ. That's
the wisdom Christ did, to manifest the righteousness of God, the
righteousness of God. And Christ fulfilled the law
of God for his people. He did everything that was required
of you and me, who were his. He did it by bearing our sin
and our curse and making his people the righteousness of God
in him. One more time, let's go back
to Isaiah 42. This is that chapter we just read. He said, behold
my servant. Look what he says in verse 21.
He said, the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He
will magnify the law and make it honorable. That's what he
did. That's how he dealt prudently.
He magnified the law and he made it honorable. If you're his and
you trust him, he did that for you. He did that for his people. Do you think that holy God who
knows us better than we know ourselves, do you think he would
look at you and me and say, you have magnified the law and made
it honorable? He wouldn't say that of us in
ourselves, but because of what Christ did, He looks at you and
me who are in Christ and says, you have magnified my law and
made it honorable. That's so, that's so. And God the Father has exalted
Christ to his throne of glory. He said in Isaiah 52 and verse
13, he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Hebrews 10 goes on to say, He
said all these priests are standing daily and they're offering oftentimes
those same sacrifices that can never take away sin. But this
man, this one right here we're talking about, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down, and you know where
he sat down? At the right hand of God. He is exalted. Everything he did highly exalted
God the Father, and in due time, When he finished that work and
he said it's finished in due time, God highly exalted him
and he sat down at God's right hand. From henceforth expecting
to all his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering
he's perfected forever them that are sanctified. And this is what
the Holy Ghost bears witness of in our heart. Listen, let's,
I'm gonna say this. Like it's an easy thing, but
the Spirit of the Lord, may he help us and make us do this.
Let's stop looking to ourselves. Let's stop looking at one another.
Let's stop looking at ourselves and let's look only to Christ.
And that's what God said, behold my servant. Behold my servant. Look to him. He's our acceptance. He's our righteousness. In him
we have honored the Lord, magnified it. No man but the God man ever
fulfilled the law. He did it. The Spirit of God
now is gonna, not only is He gonna be exalted and extolled
and be very high because God exalted Him, He's gonna be so
in the heart of His people. The Spirit of God's gonna exalt
Christ in the heart of His people. He's gonna make us see Him as
high and extol Him and glorify Him. He's the only one who fulfilled
the law, and by Him. It's what Scripture said, by
him all that believe are justified from all things from which could
not be justified by the law of Moses. He justified his people. The just shall live by faith
and the laws not of faith. Behold my servant, God said.
This is what he did. He dealt wisely. He fulfilled
the will of God. He magnified the law of God and
he saved his people by his life and by his death and by his resurrection. Now, go back to Isaiah 52. How
did he do this? He did it in a way that no man
would have imagined it would be done. The Lord Jesus fulfilled
the law by suffering more than any other man, by giving justice
exactly what justice demanded. He says in Isaiah 52, 14, as
many were astounded at thee. Astounded means to be appalled. It means to be awestruck. It
means to be stunned. Why? His visage, his appearance
was so marred more than any man in his form more than the sons
of men. On the cross, the Lord Jesus
suffered the living eternal death equivalent to hell. That's what
he suffered on the cross. Justice, the second death, it's
not a death that's like when the physical body dies and it
doesn't live anymore. That second death is a living
death. It's the worm that never dies. It is a living death that
goes on and on for eternity. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
suffered on the cross. While he was yet alive, he was
suffering what justice demanded of all his people. That's what
Christ was suffering. Hell will be a place where God
takes the restraints off men. They're going to be restrained
and there's a great go fix between God and his people. and everybody
that's in hell, and they can't get away from hell. But as far
as in that place, he will take the restraints off and men will
be able to do whatever they want to do to one another. That's
not so in this life now. As bad as it is, it looks like
it's that way sometimes, but it's not that way. God does restrain
men, not right now. But hell will be a place where
men can do what they will. to one another. Well, on the
cross, the Lord Jesus, as he hung there on that cross and
on his way to the cross, even as there before they nailed him
to the cross, God took the restraints off of men and let them do what
was in their heart. And what you see there is what's
in your heart and what is in my heart. The depravity of man
is what you see in what men did to the Lord Jesus. That's what
hell will be, that's what he suffered. Look at Isaiah 53 verse 3, he's
despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. is whatever man he is by nature,
the carnal mind is enmity against God. That's what was on display
in how men treated the Lord Jesus. Our own depraved hearts is what
we see. Man stripped him, stripped him
naked, stripped him naked, and beat him with a whip 39 times. You know why they only beat him
39? You know why they didn't beat him 40? Because the law
said don't beat him 40. 39 saved one, and they wanted
to keep the law, so they beat him 39 times. That's hypocrisy. We're going
to keep the law, only going to whip him 39 times, the son of
glory. Plucked out his beard by the
roots, just snatched the hair out of his beard, out of his
face. put an old dirty purple robe
on him and stuck a crown of thorns on his head and put a scepter
in his hand and bowed down and mocked him and said, hail, king
of the Jews. Blindfolded him and slapped him
and said, if you're a prophet, tell us who slapped you. Pierced his hands. Can you just
imagine, pierced his hand, nailed spikes through his hands and
his feet to a wooden cross, lifted it up and dropped it in a post
hole. That's the depravity of the human
heart. That's what hell will be. That's
part of what hell will be. Men doing whatever they want
to do, whatever is in their heart. Christ bore that in a place of
his people. This is how he dealt wisely.
This is how he magnified and honored the law. Well, what else
will hell be? The devil will be able to do
what he will. And for a time, the devil was
permitted and all his wicked hosts to assault our substitutes. And Luke 22, 53, when they came
to arrest our Lord, he said, I was daily with you in the temple.
You stretched forth no hands against me. He said, but this
is your hour and the power of darkness. This was the hour of
the devil right here. And God gave him permission.
In the garden, God said of Christ what Satan would do, he said,
He said, the seed of woman shall bruise thy head. He said, and
thou shalt bruise his heel. And God took the restraint off,
and it was the hour for the power of darkness to assault the heel
of our Savior. And that's what the devil did
on the cross. Well, what else caused this marring,
his visage to be marred more than any man? More than any man
ever. What else caused it? He was bearing
the sins of his people and his own body on the tree. Isaiah
53 verse four says, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows. That means what causes our griefs
and our sorrows he was bearing. the sin of all his people. Look
at verse six. All we like sheep have gone astray,
we've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid
on him the iniquity of us all. Verse 11 says, by his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Verse 12 says, he bear the sin
of many. Paul said, He hath made him sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Peter said, who his own self
bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Sin is what makes
you age. Sin is what makes us age. They
said, he's not yet 50 years old, and yet he was only 30. He thinks sin made our Savior
be marred on the cross, makes us age. He really bore the sin of his
people in his body on the tree. That's beyond me, but he did. He did. What else caused this marring?
Ultimately, And above all else, it was God, the justice of God,
the wrath of God poured out upon him. This was the justice of
God poured out on him in place of each individual chosen child
of God. He bore the curse, that's what
he was bearing, the curse, God's wrath, the condemnation that
his people would have had to bear. That's what he was bearing. Zechariah 13, 7, Awake, O sword
against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith
the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd. That's what God did
to our substitute when he bore the sin of his people. Lamentations
1, I want you to look at this. Lamentations 1. And this is Christ speaking. Behold my servant, God said,
this is what we're beholding. Now look, Lamentations 112, this
is Christ speaking. Now listen to this. Is it nothing
to you, all you that pass by? Behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, now we'll catch
this next word, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the
day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire
into my bones, and it prevaileth against them. He hath spread
a net for my feet. He hath turned me back. He hath
made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. The Lord laid on him the iniquity
of his people. He said, the yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They're wreathed and come up
upon my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. The Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whom I am not able to rise up. He said in Psalm
22, he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He
said, my strength is dried up like a pox or to my tongue cleaveth
to my jaws. Thou, speaking to God, thou,
has brought me into the dust of death. It's either going to
be Christ bearing that place for his people, or it's going
to be you, his child, bearing that. And there's the wisdom
of God and the wisdom of his servant. His servant came and
bore it, bore the stroke of God's hand of justice in place of his
people. He said, day and night, thy hand
was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into the
drought of summer. And don't miss this either. One
more thing I wanna say that marred his soul, marred his appearance
more than any man. One more thing. Christ himself willingly given
himself to bear it. That's what marred him. See,
if he hadn't been willing and he hadn't done this willingly,
It would have been no benefit to us. He willingly laid down
his life to bear the sin and the curse and the hell that his
people would have had to bear. Look at Isaiah 53, 4. He says
at the end there, he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows,
yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted,
but he was wounded for our transgression. That's why he was willing. He
was willing to be wounded for our transgression. He was bruised
for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. He did that for His people. Look
down at verse 12. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the small with the
strong, because he hath, he willingly did this, he hath poured out
his soul unto death. Brethren, Christ willingly poured
out His soul. unto death for us. He willingly
did this. He willingly bore this marring
more than any other man to save his people from our sin. You
talk about perfect love, perfect love, that love that really is
the fulfillment, the righteousness of the law. Do you see it's Christ
loving God and his people so that he poured out his soul unto
death for us? He was numbered with the transgressors. And He bared the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors. You see, our Lord
Jesus, the servant of God, to truly serve God, if He'd have done everything
else to serve God up to this point and then stopped short,
He would not have been the servant of God. But He went, He was humble
and obedient even to the death of the cross. And he had to suffer
the equivalent of eternal hell to satisfy divine justice. And
because he's infinite God, eternal God, what he suffered on the
cross satisfied eternal justice for us and brought in everlasting
righteousness for us so that we shall never, ever, ever taste
what he tasted. Death has no more sting for us
because He put away our sin and He conquered death and hell for
us and gave us the victory freely, freely. Now lastly, Christ has accomplished the redemption
of His people and it's this blood by which we're made to believe
him. It's his blood. Look here in
verse 15. It says, so shall he sprinkle
many nations. Now listen, on the cross, he
sprinkled his, he washed us clean on the cross in his blood. His
blood justified us on the cross, but through the preaching of
the gospel, he sends this gospel and he sprinkles our conscience
through the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 9. I want you to see
this now. This right here was a blessing. Hebrews
9, look at verse 13. If the blood of bulls and of
goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood
of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God." Now hold your place right there. Actually, yeah,
hold your place right there. See, we think ourselves kings. We think we're king. We're so
powerful and so strong and so able to work righteousness ourselves.
We don't need Christ. Just proud. That's what we think
by nature. And the way that He's going to save His people is He
sends this gospel and He sprinkles our conscience with His blood.
He makes you hear this word and behold Him on that cross and
purging, putting away the sin of all His people, but He makes
you see it personally for you. And when He does that, when He
does that, God says, Behold My servant. Behold the wisdom of
God. and he makes you seek Christ,
and when he does that, us who thought ourselves kings, he shuts
our mouth from boasting. Look here in Isaiah 52, 15. He says, so shall he sprinkle
many nations, and here's gonna be the result, when he sprinkles
your conscience, the kings shall shut their mouths at him. For
that which had not been told them shall they see. And that
which they had not heard shall they consider. This is by Him
making this gospel effectually in your heart. Now go back to
Hebrews 10. Here's what He does when He does it. The Holy Ghost
bears witness of Christ in our hearts. And this is what God
declares to us. Hebrews 10 verse 17. He says,
Your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Where remission
of these is, there's no more offering for sin. He says, now
therefore, having boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated
for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having
Christ our high priest over the house of God. God says, now you
come to me with this true heart I've given you. You come to me
in full assurance of faith, having your heart sprinkled. from an
evil conscience and your body washed with the pure water of
my son and his word. And he says to you now, hold
fast this profession of faith that I've given you and hold
fast without wavering because God says I'm faithful that promised.
And consider one another and provoke unto love and a good
work not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the
manner of some is, but exhorting one another so much to more as
you see the day approaching. That's how we're made to behold
his servant. That's how we're made true kings. We thought we were kings, and
we were going around with our mouth open, boasting about ourselves
and what we'd done. But when he makes you see him
and sprinkles your conscience from all your dead, vain, self-righteous
work, he shuts our mouths. And then God says, now you can
come to me. Come to me in my son. And that's when he makes
us truly begin to follow Christ. That's when Christ becomes all
to us. Now brethren, let's remember
our Savior at his table as our Lord has commanded.