Okay, let's go back to our text
in Isaiah 53. We'll read the three closing
verses to save time. We've already read and covered
the others. I would call our subject, or
our study today, an overview of Isaiah 53. I would subtitle
it, The Righteous Servant of Jehovah. And our study this evening
would be, The Closing Proclamation of Jehovah. So we look at it
in that three-fold light. Isaiah 53, verse 10, 11, and
verse 12. For our reading, please. of the
evening. Verse 10, 11, and 12. Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, will I divide him
a portion with the great, he shall divide the spoiled with
the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and
he was numbered with the transgressors, and bare the sin of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors. I told you already my deep admiration
for this great prophecy concerning our Lord. Thou go so far as to
say there could hardly be another set of verses anywhere in the
Old Testament that could match these three for the gospel truth
that is contained in them. Let me say it from the housetop. Here, indeed, is the gospel in
the 53rd of Isaiah. It is the gospel according to
the prophet Isaiah. It is the good news, and it is
confirmed by the authors and the speakers in the New Testament. So, first and foremost, let me
remind us something we said this morning. And that is that it
is a confession of the creed of those whose eyes have been
opened, but who first looked upon the suffering one, the lowly
born one, to be an object of divine displeasure. They took
it to be that he was a sinner, that God was displeased in him
in some manner. They judged him only by his outward
observation and in that they took him to be stricken and smitten
of God and afflicted. They thought him to be suffering
for something that he was guilty of in his own life. But then they are taught, they
are enlightened, their eyes are opened, they are converted, they
are given eyes to see, and ears to hear, and then some things
happen. First of all, they see, number
one, that God appointed him to these many sufferings. That these
are not simply from men upon him, but that God appointed him
to endure these many sufferings and even appointed him to die
at the hands of wicked men. Secondly, they now are cognizant
of the fact that his suffering and his death, all the misery,
all the indignity that were heaped upon our Lord were done in a
substitutionary nature. That is, they were not for His
sake, they were for the sake and good of others. In other
words, He died bearing the sin of His people. Because God, as
we saw in verse 5 and 6, did make all of their sin to light
in a hostile attack upon His blessed servant and the one that
He sent into the world. And He made him to be sin for
others, and when those sins are laid upon our Lord, then He willingly
submits and is led like a lamb to the slaughter, and there gives
up his life. But then this evening, here in
the final three verses of this great prophecy, we have what,
and I like to refer to John Brown, what John Brown called in verse
10, the statement and profession of converted Jews." Those who
at first called him a sufferer and even a sinner. Matthew Henry
said that these three verses that we have read for our text
this evening set forth the success of the fruits and the suffering
of our Lord in His death upon the cross, as well as the glory
that was to follow after our Lord had given Himself up in
death. For we're coming here to see
not only the resurrection of our Lord, but also the exaltation
of Christ to mediatorial sovereignty, that God is going to exalt Him. Again, another writer, E. W. Hingstenberg, wrote that we
have here in these verses the prediction of the glorification
of the righteous servant of Jehovah. Here is that same prediction
that Paul spoke about in Philippians chapter 3. Now in verse 10, we
look at it, We see two words regarding Christ. And those two
words are bruised and grief. He bruised Him and He put Him
to grief. We see the source of these. It is the Lord, that is, it is
Jehovah. For it is Jehovah that bruised
Him. It is Jehovah that put Him to
grief. and that for a specific end. Now, it is true indeed that the
Lord Jesus Christ suffered from two sources. It is true that
His many agonies and even His death were inflicted upon Him
by, if I may use the expression, two sets of hands. Number one, from human hands,
from the wicked hands, first of the Jew and then of the Romans,
wherein at their hands he was beaten, he was scourged, he was
flogged, he was chastised, his flesh was laid open by the wounds
that were given him in the flogging, A crown of thorns was pressed
down upon the blessed head of our Lord. His beard was plucked
out according to Isaiah chapter 50 and verse 6. It says, I gave
my back to the smiters, my cheeks to them, that plucked off the
hair, I hid my face from shame and spitting." Yes, they came
by and spat upon our blessed and holy Lord. And you can see
that in Matthew 26 and verse 67. Not only that, but He was
wounded in the house of His friends. Zechariah 13, And verse 6, all
of these our Lord suffered in the body, suffered in the flesh
at the hands of men. But secondly, and perhaps most
importantly, He suffered also at the hands of the righteous
Jehovah God. Our blessed Savior suffered at
the hands of the Heavenly Father. All of these pierced, not necessarily
into His body, but into the very soul and the very heart and the
very life of the God-man. But the Lord was pleased to bruise
Him and did put Him under grief. We hear our Lord yonder in the
garden on the eve of His crucifixion as He cried out in that agony,
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. But we draw
nearer. We hear our Lord there upon the
cross crying out in His agony, My God, my God, why hast Thou
forsaken me? Oh, I love Zachariah. chapter
13 and verse 7, for it forecasts or foretells or predicts that
God would, quote, awaken, O sword, against My shepherd, against
the man that is My fellow. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered, unquote. Yes, here's the picture of a
slumbering sword. It has long lain idle in the
scabbard, but then it is called out of the scabbard. It is sent
on a specific and a particular mission. And its target is not
the great sinners of the world. It's not those great and evil
men that were alive in that day. No, it is Jehovah's fellow that
is the target of this awakened sword. For God spared not his
son. He made Him to be sin for us. And our Lord endured the curse
of the cross in order that He might deliver His elect from
under the curse of that law. And then if you would, look at
the last part of verse 10, beginning with the words, When thou shalt
make His soul an offering for sin. You might notice also here
in the margin, it has it this way. His soul shall make an offering
for sin. Or when His soul is become an
offering for sin. So let us sharpen our attention
here. Because from here unto the end,
the prophet just rises higher and higher and higher, in His
setting forth the Lord before us. We have, as it were, a turning
point. After He has suffered, He would
enter into His glory. After He had given Himself in
death and suffered the death of the cross and lain in the
grave, He would yet enter into glory. Same thing, our Lord said
to the two on Emmaus Road in Luke chapter 24, and verse 26,
as they lamented the dying of their hope that Jesus should
deliver Israel. And our Lord said unto them,
Know ye not that Christ must suffer and die, and then enter
into His glory? Now, the words here seem hard
to put into words or to translate over into our English. And I think this can be seen
by all the different variation of the way that translators and
commentators have rendered this verse that we are looking at.
Here are some of the ways that you might see it in other versions
and commentators. The NIV has it this way. And though the Lord makes His
life a guilt offering. The ASV has it when thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin. The NAS has it if he would
render himself as a guilt offering. The N-A-S-V is basically the
same as the N-A-S. Calvin translated it this way,
quote, when he shall have offered his soul as a sacrifice, unquote. When he had endured his suffering,
when he had died that death that had been appointed by God for
him as the surety of the elect. John Brown, in his exposition
of Isaiah 53, said the word translated when, here in that verse, if
you might like to look at it, being a particle can also be
rendered if or when, so if or when He has made His soul an
offering for sin, His being made sin, the Lord having laid upon
Him the whole mass of the sin of all of the elect of God, of
all time from beginning unto the end. He made satisfaction
for those sins to the justice of Almighty God. In fact, as
the New Testament says it, He put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Paul says in Ephesians 5 that
he offered himself to God a sweet-smelling savor, a sacrifice well-pleasing
unto God. When he was on the cross, God
punished our sin in him. Our blessed Lord died bearing
our sin in His own body on the tree. Not the sin of the whole
world or everyone, the sin of us all, the sin of the elect. But God punished him. He died
and was laid in the tomb according to the appointment of God and
the duration. But the prophet shows us something
here in our text. This is not the end of the righteous
servant of God. This shall not be the finish. This shall not be the end of
the story of the righteous servant of Jehovah. And the prophet goes
on to speak of the glory that is to follow. Even after he had
suffered death, even after He had made His death with the rich
in His death, and even when that tomb had been sealed by the king's
authority, or the governor's authority, and had been guarded
by the soldier. There was a glory to follow even
after His death. For when? That is, if, or since,
or because He makes His soul and offering for sin. Then there are certain glories
and rewards that are to follow and are to be heaped upon our
Savior. Such as, look at the end of verse
10. A. He shall see his seed, or
his offspring, his spiritual children. B. He shall prolong
His days. That's important. And then see
the pleasure or the will of the Lord Jehovah will prosper in
His hand. Now, is it not very clear here
from what we have read that the prophet is telling us basically
the exact same thing that Paul is telling us in Philippians
chapter 2 and verse 5 through verse 12 concerning the Lord? And that is that after the Lord
had been obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,
Then he was exalted to highest glory, he's made Lord in Christ,
Acts 2.36, and he is given a name above every name that at him
every knee should bow. Thus, we look at verse 10, it
commences the foretelling of the glorification and the exaltation
of the Lord after His suffering and death. So we look at it.
A. He will have a numerous seed
or offspring. His death will not be a failure.
It will produce a numerous seed. His death, rather than preventing
Him from having a seed, his death actually secured it and guaranteed
it. Psalm 22 and verse 30, a seed
shall serve him. It shall be accounted to the
Lord for a generation." You have that in Psalm chapter 2 verse
7 and verse 8. Thou art my son, this day have
I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give you the heathen for
your inheritance. So he will have a seed and offspring. But then B, we notice, his days
will be prolonged. He will live again. The grave
will not hold him and destroy him. He will have an unending
life. Let me say this. He will be raised
up and have an unending life. It is He that has said in Revelation
1.18, Behold, I have the keys and I am alive forevermore. for he died one time and sin
has no more dominion over him." Romans chapter 6 and verse 9. His death, rather than stall,
or prevent or interrupt his saving work, rather than frustrate his
saving work, his death is actually a necessary part of the work
that the Father sent him into the world to do. He must die.
He must die that prescribed death that he is appointed to, but
he must not be allowed to see corruption. Yes, he died. Yes,
he went into the grave, but he will not be held or swallowed
up in corruption. And then C, we notice one more
thing. That is the pleasure or the will
of the Lord Jehovah will prosper in His hand. In other words,
the Father hath put all things into the hand of His righteous
servant. John 13 and verse 3 tells us
that. He has raised Him from the dead. He has set Him at His own right
hand in the heavenly places. He has made Him Lord and Christ,
as I said in Acts chapter 2 and verse 36. Now, Paul tells us
in that passage that I was referring to, that is Philippians 2 verses
9 through verse 11. what God has done after Christ
was obedient unto the death of the cross. He says He has exalted
Him. He has given Him a name that
is above every name. You know, we see this typified
in that good man Joseph in the Old Testament in the book of
Genesis from chapter 38 all the way unto the end. Joseph was
at one time locked up under condemnation in the dungeon. Joseph had been
cast into the dungeon, having been falsely accused by Potiphar's
wife, and cast into the dungeon. But that's not the end of it.
Joseph was brought out of the dungeon, restored, made prime
minister over all of the land of Egypt. In Genesis 41 and 41,
Pharaoh says to him, quote, I have sent you over all the land of
Egypt, unquote. There's the type. Joseph in the
dungeon. under condemnation. Will he ever
be free? But then released, not only free,
but given authority over Egypt. And when Joseph went out and
about in Egypt, one ran before him saying, bow the knee, bow
the knee. And all bowed the knee as Joseph
passed by on his way. Well, it is said here that the
Lord will recompense well our Lord's suffering and obedience
unto death. Now we come to the last two verses,
verse 11 and 12 of Isaiah chapter 53. And one has called, and I
think I agree, the closing proclamation of Jehovah. Verse 11 and verse
12. In fact, here's the quote from
that man. In the two concluding verses
of the chapter, they contain a declaration by Jehovah respecting
the honors which his righteous servant is to have and has merited
as the reward of his labor and his sufferings Now, the argument
that Jehovah is the speaker, he takes from the statements
in verse 11 and verse 12, that these are the words of Jehovah
himself. Look at verse 11. My righteous
servant. Who else could say that but Jehovah? Look at verse 12. I will divide
him a portion with the strong. Who else could say that? Now, let's take the first part
of verse 11. He, that is the Lord's righteous
servant, He shall see of the travail of his soul, that is,
he shall see what the travail of his suffering has brought
forth, and notice he adds, and shall be satisfied. According
to our men in theology, nobody, especially God, could ever be
satisfied with the result of the atonement of Christ, for
it has not saved all as it was intended to do, so that what
he sees is not his agony and his suffering, as he looks back
on. His focus is not upon the miseries
and the agony of his soul. These are not in his view. What he sees is the product Or,
I guess we could say, the fruit. That is, what is brought forth,
what is accomplished by the means of His suffering and His death. By means of His soul being made
an offering for sin. What His travail of soul has
given forth. He has travailed and His travailing
is indeed our great salvation. Though it is not exactly the
same, remember the illustration that our Lord used in the New
Testament, the Gospel of John chapter 16 and verse 21. Here
is something very familiar. It is, as our Lord speaks, of
a woman with child who then goes into her labor. She has travail,
she has pain, sometimes for hours, after hour, harder and harder,
more frequent contraction as the time draws near, and then
she delivers. And she counts the sorrow and
counts the travail well compensated when the Blessed One is laid
upon her bosom. All of us are the fruit of this
sort of travail. But the travail of Christ's soul
gives Him satisfaction. He is pleased with the fruits
and the end of His suffering. I saw it expressed this way in
the margin of one version of the scripture, quote, he shall
see and be satisfied with the travail of his soul, unquote. And again, the travail of his
soul is not to be restricted to what he suffered are felt,
are endured, but it refers to what the travail produced as
the fruit or the end. Remember the metaphor which Paul
used in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 19, telling the Galatians
that he was in labor pains, or travail, that Christ might be
formed in them. So exactly what is the travail
then of the soul of Christ? He will see what is brought forth
or out of or by means of his suffering, especially the souls
that are saved because of the suffering and the travail of
his soul. What's more? As our blessed Lord,
having prevailed, beholds His spiritual seed, He is satisfied,
He's pleased, He's delighted, it is joy unto Him. Because in
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2, who for the joy that was set
before Him endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set
down on the right hand of God. To them, those He redeemed, they
are His joy, they are His fruit, they are the fruit of the travail
of His soul, and their satisfaction gives Him great delight. Now, I'll not push the point.
Due to the constraint of time this evening, except to say that
the Lord is wholly pleased with the number of souls that are
saved by His death upon the cross. Those whom the Father gave Him
to die and to save. His sheep, as we read it in John
chapter 10. His people in Matthew 1 and 21. He shall save His people from
their sin. His brothers, His brethren as
it is in Hebrews chapter 2. And again in Isaiah 53 and 11,
look at this. By His knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. Now we need to ask ourselves
the question, what is meant here by those three words, by His
knowledge? For example, what do they refer
to? Do they refer to, number one,
the knowledge that He possesses and that He exercises unto our
salvation, knowing all things and How to order all things in
order that they meet their desired end. Is that what is meant? The
knowledge that he possesses by his knowledge. Or, I submit a
second one. The knowledge imparted by the
knowledge that is imparted unto the elect. when they come to
the knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. We would call this faith when
they are brought to believe upon Him. For faith is fed by knowledge,
is it not? And faith believes the testimony
of God, the knowledge of Him, which is none other than faith
in Him, as John Gill said, and which agrees with the New Testament
doctrine of justification by faith. that it is by faith that
we experience justification. So he experimentally justifies
by bringing to them, giving to them, or imparting unto them
the truth respecting himself, by believing the truth. as it is in Christ Jesus. Calvin, in fact, rendered it
like this, by his doctrine or by the knowledge of him, unquote,
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, imparting
the knowledge unto them. And what ground does he justify? Upon what ground does he justify
the elect of God? How is it that He can remit the
sin of those that believe upon Him? Saith the Lord, the cause
of this justification is stated there in the end of verse 11. His bearing their sin. That's the ground of His justifying
them and His death lays the foundation for their justification by faith. Though it is purposed from the
foundation of the world. Justification is purposed by
God from the very foundation of the world. There is an eternal
aspect to justification. But there is this inseparable
connection, a bond that cannot be cut or severed between the
atonement of Christ and the justification of the elect. In that, If His
bearing their sins, follow me now, if His bearing their sin
is the ground of their justification, then does it not follow, those
whose sins He bore shall be justified according to the justice of God. Those sins that He bore shall
be forgiven. Those that our Lord died for
their sins shall be put away." Which is the same as saying,
He died for them, this being the way of saving them and of
justifying them. Therefore, let me tell you, that
we have here another argument. and another case for particular
redemption in regard to the death of our Lord. All that He died
for will be justified. It is here that the free offer
and common grace people, I fear, do cast a dead fly in this precious
box of divine ointment, by teaching such things as, it is on account
of Christ, quote, and I'm quoting a man, it is on account of Christ
that God justifies any, and on His account He is ready to justify
all if they will but believe on Him, unquote. Let me give
you one more example of the free offer common grace doctrine and
some of their belief. I'm quoting again, verbatim,
a man. Quote, his righteousness is of
infinite value. It lays the foundation for an
offer of pardon and salvation unto all, but alas, all will
not accept the offer, unquote. There's the free offer, common
grace. Now, we finish out our study
with a look at verse 12 in Isaiah 53. It furnishes us with a very
grand and a very glorious view of the exaltation of our Lord
after he has given his soul an offering for sin. And we see
two things that I would like to call to your attention. Number
one, his exaltation. And number two, the basis of
it, the foundation of it. And notice, the verse has, as
it were, again, two has. First, we see two words in verse
12. each of them standing at the
head of the two halves of the verses. And the two words are,
number one, therefore. Look at therefore, or wherefore,
or as a result. Then secondly, we notice in the
middle of verse 12, the word because. Therefore and because. Because, that is, in lieu of,
on account Each of these words are common connectors of thoughts
and are hundreds and hundreds of times used in the Old Testament
Scripture. You can hardly speak without
using them, therefore and because. Now the word therefore or wherefore
often looks back to what has been said in order that we might
draw a conclusion or make an application or something of that
nature. So the therefore, in the beginning
of verse 12, makes an application or draws the conclusion. Look
at it. Therefore I will divide him a
portion with a great, he shall divide the spoil with a strong,
therefore looks back to all that he has endured. He was wounded,
bruised, led as a lamb to the slaughter. His soul made an offering
for sin, but now, having bound the strong man, he spoils his
house. Having won the victory, he takes
the spoils of the defeated, the most treasured spoil being the
souls that he died to save or to rescue at the cross. I saw
the first part of verse 12 translated like this, this week, the question,
or rather quotation, Therefore I will assign him his portion
in multitudes, and he shall have the mighty as his prey. The Lord uses an image here familiar
in the Old Testament scripture and the kings in their war and
their battles, as often David taking the spoil of the one that
he had defeated. Calvin said on the verse, thus
also Christ, as a valiant and illustrious general, triumphed
over the enemy whom he had vanquished. What's more, Paul said in Colossians
2 and verse 15, let me combine it from two or three versions,
if we might, as I move along for a fuller view of the account. Here it is, Colossians. 2 and
15, having spoiled principalities and powers, when He had disarmed
rulers and authority, He made a show of them, He made a public
display, a spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it by
the cross. Unquote. There's our Lord's great
victory. But in Isaiah 53 and 12, the
word because. Look at it in the middle of the
verse. He shall be so richly rewarded
and so highly exalted because of what he suffered and what
he did. He must, through suffering, enter
His glory. Luke 24, 26. And it is with a
Christian the same thing. Romans 8 and verse 18. Present suffering are not worthy
to be compared with the glory to be revealed in the children
of God. And so, because He poured out
His soul unto death, because he was numbered with the transgressor. He died between two condemned
criminals, crucified as if he himself had been an awful, awful
criminal. Even so, he was dying, not for
his sin or crime, but for others. He was dying, and even in His
agony, as verse 12 said, He made intercession for the transgressor,
and even then He promised happiness and life to a dying thief on
the cross beside Him. We can't help but notice how
much the passage in Isaiah has in common with Paul in Philippians
2, 5 through 11. that the one equal with God emptied
himself, taking on the form of a servant, being found in fashion
as a man, and gave himself obediently to the death of the cross. Then
Paul says in verse 9, wherefore, wherefore, much like Isaiah says
because, wherefore, God has highly exalted him. And if you look
at that passage in Philippians, Paul doubles it. Not just exalting,
but has highly exalted him, above and beyond any other. None ever so humbled himself
as did the Christ, and none has ever been so exalted as the Christ,
as he went from heaven to death on a gibbet. So he went from
the tomb to absolute sovereignty at the right hand of God, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. have the
authority over all things. He is the administrator of the
covenant of grace. Having died for them, He sends
forth His Spirit to quicken them. Having died for them, He effectively
calls them that they might come hearing His voice and following
Him. I disclose by saying the suffering
servant of Jehovah is sovereign over all souls whatsoever. He has authority power over all
men, John 17, 1-3, to give eternal life to as many as the Father
hath given Him. So we see our Lord ignominiously
suffering and put to death, but then is life prolonged and exalted
as a mighty, sovereign potentate. You know, you often hear people,
preachers exhort people, what are you going to do with Jesus?
That's not the question. The question is, what will the
sovereign Lord do with you? For He has sovereignty over all
souls whatsoever. And we rejoice in that. And it
gladdens our heart to hear it and our ears when it falls upon
it. Thank God for that great prophecy
and its fulfillment exactly in our Savior.