Turn me, if you will, back to
Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 has been called the
Gospel according to Isaiah. The gospel. Oh, this text is
so full. It's the fullness of Christ.
Of Christ Jesus. Christ is the fullness of God. This gospel is so rich. This text is so rich. You know,
when we go to someone's house for dinner and we've had the
meal and then they bring out the dessert. Sometimes it's so
rich we can hardly eat it. It just fills up our senses. Taste and texture, smell. This gospel and this text is
the cream of the crop. It doesn't get any plainer than
Isaiah 53. And you know, when someone milks
a cow and The pail sits a while, well, the cream raises up to
the top. And I hope that we can just skim
a little cream off the top of this because I'm not sufficient. First one, who hath believed
our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Our
report is the gospel of how God became a man to save men from
their sins. And it's all according to his
word, according to the scriptures. And thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up to glory. The gospel is the testimony of
God concerning His Son, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. which was made of the seed of
David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead. Our God, our great Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, is mighty to save. He is able to save to
the uttermost. Who hath believed thy report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? When we was growing up, when
you and I was growing up, did your father ever show you his muscles? When I was a little boy, my dad
used to lift weights. And he got so big, big shoulders,
big arms, and he would let me feel his muscle. You want to
feel my muscle, John? And I would take my little hand
and feel that muscle. It was so big, and it was hard
as a rock, solid as a rock. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the arm of the Lord. The Lord hath made bare his holy
arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of God. O sing unto the Lord a new song,
for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand, his holy arm,
hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his
salvation. His righteousness hath he openly
showed in the sight of the heathen. Salvation is not a what. Salvation is a who, the Lord
Jesus Christ. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach
Christ and Him crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block. Unto the Greeks foolishness. but unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Who hath believed this report? Well, the natural man receiveth not the
things of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned or
understood. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself
is judged of no man. When Adam disobeyed God in the
garden, he died. spiritually. Y'all turn to Ephesians chapter
2. And while you're turning, I'll
quote a verse here from Romans chapter 5. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men, for all have sinned. Man's understanding was darkened
and is alienated from the life of God. In Ephesians 2, And you hath
he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, Where in
time past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We was always going about to
grab the gusto, grabbing all the gusto we could get. That
came from an old beer commercial years ago. Grab all the gusto. Everybody's going after this
world with both feet and both hands. Wine, women, song, sex,
sports, politics, making money, and spending money. That's all
this world is all about, and that's us by nature. But God. But God, who is rich
in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ. By grace,
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ. Man is dead, the Lord
Jesus Christ is life. Back to Isaiah 53 and in verse 2. For he shall
grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry
ground. form, or comeliness, and when
we shall see him, there is no beauty that we shall desire him. He grew up as a tender plant. A tender plant signifies his
lowly coming into this world. He came not full grown. He didn't
come with pomp and glory of men, but as a tiny,
frail, helpless infant born of a woman. But when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons,
God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. As a tender plant, he was without
spot or blemish. No disease or sin. You think
about a seedling that comes up out of the ground. It's young,
it's tender, it has no blight, it has no disease. The bugs haven't
eaten it up. You know, it's delicate. Our
Lord had no disease, no sin. When we plant a garden, we till
the ground, plant the seed, and water it, and wait for the seed
to sprout. Paul said, I have planted, Apollo's
watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth
anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. The kingdom of God is like to
a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown,
it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Our Lord Jesus Christ as the
Passover lamb had no spot or blemish. He shall grow up before him as
a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
root of the matter. He is the whole root of this
matter. Isaiah 11, and there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow
out of his roots. And in that day there shall be
a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a ensign for the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek,
and his rest shall be glorious. Shall be glorious. As Moses lifted up that serpent
on the pole, so shall the Son of Man be lifted up. It's like that brazen serpent made
like unto sin. All who look to it shall be saved. All who look to the Lord Jesus
Christ shall be saved. As a root out of dry ground,
this world is a dry ground, a dry and thirsty land where no water
is. This is the land of Lodabar,
a place of no bread. The gospel is not preached in
most places, no bread of life. Ichabod. is another name for
this world. The glory is departed. Mankind
does not seek the glorified God. Men, they like the glory in their
way, their wisdom, their free will, their works, their sin,
and their shame. In Isaiah 53 too, he said, He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. In sending our Redeemer into
the world, the Lord rejected and refused all fleshly human
attraction. He had no outward beauty. Anything
that would attract the eye of the natural mind was refused. He was not beautiful. His visage
was marred more than any man. He was just a plain man. Kind
of like a plain rapper. Kind of like that tabernacle in the wilderness.
A plain brown skin. Because of the lowliness of his
birth, he was born in a manger, in a cattle trough. The poverty
of his parents, his hometown, Nazareth. Can anything good come
out of Nazareth? His vocation, he was a carpenter. Just an ordinary man, a blue-collar
worker. He had no formal education. The people with whom he associated,
sinners. His personal habits, he was holy. The doctrine he preached, his
claim to be one with the Father and his condemnation of their
tradition, everybody who was anybody turned
their face from him, esteemed him not and despised him. He was in the world and the world
was made by him and the world knew him not. He came unto his
own, and his own received him not. But as many as received
him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but God. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty. and base things of the world,
and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence but God. But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. The common people heard him gladly. I hope you're hearing him gladly
too. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by, Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto
my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger. And we hid as it were our faces
from him. And they heard the voice of the
Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence
of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Man likes to hide
himself in this world. They don't want to see God. They
don't want to hear God. They're afraid of God. The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the Lord God called
unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said,
I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked, and I hid myself. And this is the condemnation,
that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness, rather
than light, because their deeds are evil. For everyone that doeth
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins. You know, instead
of hiding from God, we should just go to Him. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. If we would just come to him,
come unto me all ye that labor and heavy laden, I will give
you rest. Sinner. He came in the world to save
sinners. Go to him. Come to him with your
sin. Don't bring yourself righteousness.
Don't bring your good works. Come to him with your sin. That's
who Christ came to save was sinners. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did extreme him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. Have I got your attention? 2 Corinthians 5.21, this is the
gospel. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. substitution. For such an high priest became
us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens. All of the sins of God's elect
were transferred, imputed, to the Lord Jesus Christ. He paid
the debt that we owe. Turn to Exodus chapter 12. In verse 3 it says, Speak ye
unto the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this
month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to
the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. Verse 5, your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from
the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it until the
14th day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they
shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and
on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat
it. Verse 12, for I will pass through
the land of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the
gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you
for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see the blood,
I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you
when I smite the land of Egypt. May our Lord apply His blood
to our hearts this morning. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. If we would learn
the Gospel, we should learn these two words, substitution, satisfaction. He was wounded for our transgressions. actually became our substitute
before the law and justice of God. I don't know what I owe, and
I know I can't pay it, but the Lord Jesus Christ did for His
people. In our place, in our stead, bearing
our transgressions and all of our sins, he took upon him all
that justice could afflict. He made full satisfaction, for
by his stripes we are healed. God is reconciled, the debt is
paid, justice is satisfied. He fully reconciled us to God
by his obedience and death. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Be ye reconciled unto God. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his
own way, And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go astray as soon as they
are born. There is a way which seemeth
right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Men think
they can please God for what they do. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. To be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. If we're going
about to establish our own righteousness, that's the carnal mind. That's
what natural man does. He thinks he can clean up his
life. Change his dress, change his speech, change his works.
That's death. Jesus Christ said, I am the way,
I am the truth. No man come unto me but by the
Father. Let's all turn to Romans chapter
3. Romans chapter 3. Romans 3, starting in verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested. Be witness by the law and the
prophets. even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe. For there is no difference, for
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Our works, our religious works
and duties cannot save us. is Jesus Christ and Him crucified
alone. But God, in verse 24, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in His blood, He was a bloody sacrifice. To declare His righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say at this time,
His righteousness that He might be just and the justifier of
them which believeth in Jesus. It's not our righteousness which
saves us, it's the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So, where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nope. But by the law
of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. He was
oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth. in Matthew 27. And Jesus stood
before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Art
thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, You
said it, thou sayest. And when he was accused of the
chief priest and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto
him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never
a word, insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. Our Lord would
not speak because he was made guilty of our sins. He shut his
mouth and became guilty before God. Have we shut our mouths to the
accusations of God against ourselves? For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me. Against thee and thee only have
I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me." Do you see yourself like
this? This is who our Lord came to
save, sinners. He came not to call the righteous,
those who think they're good before God. Oh, no. 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. We deserve to be cut out of the
land of the living, but he was cut off in our stead. For Christ also once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit.
And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his
death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit
in his mouth. He made his grave with the wicked. He was assigned to die between
two thieves. And when he was buried, he was
laid in a borrowed tomb of a rich man. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. God
takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but when God saw
the travail of Christ's soul, he was satisfied. When thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. That seed is Christ. He is the woman's conquering
seed in Genesis chapter 3. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Therefore, my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine only one to seek corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. In thy presence is fullness of
joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures
forevermore. Our Lord is satisfied. Our Lord is raised for our justification. If our Lord had not risen from
the dead, we'd still be in our sins. But God saw the travail
of His soul and was satisfied. He shall see the travail of His
soul and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God stand assured, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity, for he shall bear their iniquity. Therefore, I will divide a I
will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide
the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto
death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare
the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. He ever
liveth to make intercession for his people. He's at the right
hand of God, expecting to his enemies be made his footstool.
By nature, we are his enemies. By grace, he'll call us to his
footstool and calls us to worship. Every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. My little children, these things
I write unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Let's all stand.