Whenever I hear the word religion,
many thoughts run through my head. Many thoughts of joy and
happiness from the realization that I've been blessed with ears
to hear and eyes to see the true Christ. Along with that are many
thoughts of sadness as I realize that there are so many people
out there who will never rest on Him and Him alone. I think
of believers and I think of non-believers. I think of the multitudes who
walked down that broad road described in Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14. And I think of that narrow road,
that road, the narrow road, the straight gate, for the believer
can sometimes be a lonely road here on earth. When we invite
our family members and our dear friends to hear the good news,
the gospel, and we get shut down. It can get discouraging to say
the least. My last message I shared with
you, you'll remember, it contained a lot of bad news for non-believers. It also contained some really
good news. At some point in most people's
lives, they will come several questions. Questions such as,
where's your hope? What will your plea be at judgment?
And most importantly, who is your substitute? When I say that,
a lot of people will sit there and think, what in the world
is he talking about? Because these are not necessarily
a lot of the words that people come across in the religious
world out there today. But these are biblical truths.
These are biblical words and terms. So most people are just
interested in how they need to be acting. And they ask questions
like, what do I need to do to get to heaven? What's my part? And that's works-based religion.
In the past, I've defined several of the key words that you will
hear in true gospel preaching. I've covered the word election.
And I've covered the word grace. And the word I'll be addressing
today is substitution. I've titled this message, Substitution. As we've read in scripture, the
penalty of sin is death. We are all sinners and come short
of the glory of God. And God requires perfection in
order to get into heaven. No one out of Adam's fallen race
is perfect. We cannot produce by our own
merit what is required, perfection, to get into heaven. So we need
a perfect substitute to stand in our place. And that's where
Christ comes in. He is that perfect substitute.
And people will agree when I talk to them about this, and they
will say, yes, that is my Christ. I believe the same thing. But
when they start describing their Christ, the person that they
believe in, Salvation is dependent on something other than Christ. It's based on something that
they do, or something that they can do, or something done in
them. The Jesus they talk about isn't a substitute at all. So
today, I'm gonna deliver a message to you on substitution. The scripture
today will come from Isaiah chapter 53. And there are 12 verses in
Isaiah 53. I'm going to read through and
comment on each verse as I go through. I've actually read and seen where
people have said that Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament
more times than any other Old Testament prophet. I've actually
read some articles that refer to this book, the book of Isaiah,
as the gospel according to Isaiah. The book of Isaiah clearly points
and refers to the finished work and the person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And here's a little more information.
As I read through Isaiah 53, 1 through 12, I saw the words,
the pronouns he, him, and his used in those 12 verses. It was
used About 50 times, counted it several times, came up with
52 and then 51, so I'm just gonna say it's approximately 50 times.
And Isaiah 53 is talking about a person. Isaiah is talking about
Christ. Let's look at Isaiah 53 and start
with verse one. The first part of verse one says,
who hath believed our report? And what does that mean? What
is our report? Our report is our message. You
know, there's never been a preacher of the gospel or a believer of
the gospel who has experienced sadness, who has not experienced
that point over the fact that not too many people believe our
report, our message. Not many people believe the message
that we know and love. Not many people see the news
we deliver and are excited when we deliver our good news. So
what is our message? Our message is that Jesus Christ,
the Lord, was born and walked among us and established a perfect
righteousness and satisfied God's law and justice. That is what
the angels announced on the hillside of Judea. Luke 2.11 says, For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which
is Christ the Lord. It is the record that God has
given us eternal life through his Son. That is our message. Now the second part of verse
one says, And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? What
is the arm of the Lord? Well, the arm of the Lord is
Christ. Now Isaiah 59 1 says, surely
the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too
dull to hear. Isaiah 40 10 goes on to identify
further what the arm of the Lord is. It says, see, the sovereign
Lord comes with power and he rules with a mighty arm. Following
in verse two of Isaiah 53, is a description of His arm, Christ,
and His finished work of redemption. Isaiah 53, 2 says, For He shall
grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a
dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness,
and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him. It says he will be born of a
woman, a helpless child, made flesh, dependent on his mother's
care, a tender plant. He will grow up, this Redeemer,
this arm of the Lord, this Savior. Then it says, and like a root
out of dry ground, or rather, as a branch from a root out of
a dry ground. Isaiah 11.1 says, And there shall come forth a
rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of
his roots. Also look at Romans 1, verses
1 through 3. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which
he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures
concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh. So when Jesus Christ came
into the world as a tender plant, he came as a root out of dry
ground. The kingdom of David was down
to nothing. It was dry ground. And here,
Jesus, the son of Mary, the heir to the throne of David, was born
in a manger. The king of kings is in a manger
because there is no room for him anywhere else. Even though
he came out of dry ground, he will grow up a tender plant.
And it says at the end of verse two that there is no beauty that
we should desire him. Everybody that was anybody turned
thumbs down on Jesus. Look at verse three of Isaiah
53. It says, He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid it as
it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. That verse first says he was
despised. Now why was he despised? There
are several reasons that Jesus was despised. First, because
of the poverty of his parents. and the poverty of the town he
was born in. John 1, verses 45 and 46, it
says, Philip found Nathanael and told him, we have found the
one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets
also wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nazareth,
can anything good come from there? So he was despised because of
where he was born. Because of his friends he was
despised. They said he is the friend of
sinners. The scribes and Pharisees said in Luke 5.30, but their
scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples saying,
why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? He was
despised because of the truth he preached. Christ said in John
10.30, I and my father are one. People despised him for that.
and they took up stones to stone him and then nailed him to the
cross. In John 8, 56, Christ said, your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was
glad. And in the next verse it says,
then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet 50 years old
and hast thou seen Abraham? They're asking Christ right here,
how did you see Abraham? You aren't even 50 years old.
And in verse 58, Christ responded to them and said, barely, barely,
I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. And Christ also said
in John six, verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come
to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
And in Matthew 27 verses 41 and 42 says, likewise also the chief
priests mocking him with the scribes and elders said, he saved
others, himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel,
let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. They mocked him while he died.
And next in Isaiah 53, The next part of Isaiah 53 says, he was
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was despised and
rejected of men. He's referred to here as a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And then Isaiah 53, four, It
says, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. The Lord Jesus, as he hung on
the cross of Calvary, he bore all our iniquities and all our
transgressions. Now that is a substitute. This
is what substitution is all about. Christ taking the place of all
those that the Father gave Him in the everlasting covenant of
grace. So Christ bore our griefs and our sorrows. They were literally
laid on Him. And the second part of verse
4 says, Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted. Because Christ bore our sins,
the law of God found Him guilty and the justice of God executed
Him. All of our sins, our griefs,
our sorrows were transferred to Him and He bore them in His
body on the cross and died. Next, Isaiah 53, 5 says, but
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. He made peace for us by His death
on the cross. We had no peace with God until
Christ put our sins away. And when He bore our sins and
carried our griefs and our sorrows and paid the penalty, we were
set free. The prison door is open. There
was a man called Barabbas who was in prison that day that Jesus
was there, and he was scheduled to die. He was condemned. There
were three thieves there scheduled to die that day. One who died
on the right hand of cross, one who died on the right hand of
Christ, and one who died on the left. And Barabbas was scheduled
to die a criminal. And Pilate asked the crowd, Who
shall I release to you? Jesus, which is called the Christ,
or Barabbas?" They said, give us Barabbas. And he said, well,
what shall I do with Jesus, which is called the Christ? Their answer
was crucify him. So they took our Lord out there
and nailed him to the cross. Barabbas walked out of that prison
a free man. That's a picture of what Christ
did for us. He bore our sins. He died our
death, that substitution. He paid our penalty so that we
can go free. By his stripes we are healed.
And since Christ bore and paid for our sins, God's justice doesn't
require a double payment for sins. He bore our sins so that
we don't have to bear them. He paid the debt. We don't owe
it. Justice is satisfied. Ravus is
free. Because Christ died, we live. That's substitution. And that's what that is saying.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities,
so that we have peace with God. Moving on to Isaiah 53.6. It says, all we like sheep have
gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. That's the reason that non-believers
don't believe our report, our message. They don't see because
they turned their own way. They want salvation their way. Substitution is God's doings.
This is the Lord's doings. The Lord laid on him the iniquity
of us all. And I'm going to mention two
words to you. Please remember these words when
we leave. This will sum up the Lord's redemptive
work. First word, of course, is substitution. And in order for you to get a
good idea of what substitution is really all about, I'm gonna
go in to Isaiah 53 verses four and five that we just read, and
everywhere that you see the word our, put your name in there. I'm gonna do that with my name
so that you can hear exactly what it says. It makes it a lot
more clear when we do this, so listen closely. It says, surely
he hath borne Jason's griefs, and carried Jason's sorrows.
Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for Jason's transgressions. He was bruised
for Jason's iniquities. The chastisement of Jason's peace
was upon him. And with his stripes, Jason is
healed. That is substitution. That's
exactly what it is. And the next word that goes with
substitution, this is word number two. Please remember. The next
word we need to talk about is satisfaction. At the end of that
verse there in verse five, it says, by his stripes we are healed.
He didn't come to attempt to save us. He came to save the
lost. He didn't come to attempt to
put away sin. He put away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself. I wish we could get people to
just look to Christ and Him alone. Quit looking at preachers and
churches out there and start looking to Christ. Stop looking
at rock bands and all the music out there. Stop looking at the
buildings and the symbolism. Look to Christ alone. Read with me in Isaiah 42 verse
1. It says, 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. Further down
in Isaiah 42, verse four, it says, he shall not fail nor be
discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the
isles shall wait for his law. The substitute has died, and
those that he died for are set free. Let's move on to verse
seven of Isaiah 53. It says, he was oppressed, and
he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her, Shearer's
is dumb. so he openeth not his mouth. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth. He's brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, not one word of objection, not one word asking to be set
free. In John 10, 18, Christ said,
no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down for myself I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father. He is our willing
sacrifice. In John 10, verse 15, Christ
said, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and
I lay down my life for the sheep. Christ is the willing Savior. Moving on to Isaiah 53.8, it
says, 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. Our Lord by himself purged our
sins by the sacrifice of himself and by himself. He was alone
as no other human being has ever been alone. And then Isaiah 53
verse 9 says, 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 died between two thieves and
then he was laid in a rich man's tomb. It says that he had done
no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Christ was
perfect. And in verse 10 of Isaiah 53,
it says, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
in offerings for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. You know, our Lord's sufferings
were not only physical sufferings. Most of the time we all get caught
up thinking about the physical suffering and the pain that he
endured physically. But what we don't think about
is the pain that Christ's soul endured. His greatest suffering
was that he made his soul an offering for sin. In Matthew
27, 46, Christ said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? But it pleased God to bruise
him. What does that mean that it pleased God to bruise him? It was God's will that the father
made him our surety before the foundation of the world. He is
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world by the will of God.
It pleased God to do that. It pleased God to make him the
savior. It pleased the father to send him into the world and
have him born of a virgin and take this abuse and humiliation
and suffering It pleased God to put him here as our substitute
and our savior, to take what we rightfully deserved. It pleased
God to determine the death that he would die. God was pleased
with Christ's obedience. He said, this is my beloved son
in whom I am pleased. The sacrifices in the Old Testament
never pleased God. They never gave him any satisfaction.
They never honored His law and justice, but Christ's death and
substitutionary work on the cross pleased God the Father. I'm going
to go over the last part of verse 10 and then verse 11, and here
you'll find the success of Christ's substitutionary work on the cross.
You'll see what He accomplished with His death. Last part of
verse 10 says, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. There's some words in there that
I really want you to pay attention to, and those are the words,
shall. These statements do not say might,
maybe, or perhaps. They all say shall. That means
it is sure and certain. No question, no doubt. And you'll
see shall used here in verse 11 also. It says, 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. What is the travail? Is pain,
agony, and torment. He sees the pain of his soul
for his people and he's satisfied that what Christ accomplished
did satisfy all of his requirements for salvation and eternal life
for all those that Christ died. Then it says, by his knowledge
that many shall be justified. He knows them and they know him.
Then it says that for many he shall bear their iniquities.
His soul was tormented, and God was satisfied. And here's the
last verse, Isaiah 53, 12. It says, therefore will I divide
him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil
with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul into death,
and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. That's
representation. He bore the sins of many, the
many that Christ represented, the many that deserve eternal
damnation. Then it says that he made intercession
for them. He stood in their place. Christ
was the perfect representative, the perfect substitute. And for
all of those that he is standing in their place, all of those
sheep will be led home. Amen.