Okay, I want to start with the first paragraph of our handout and then we'll begin to look at our text in Matthew chapter 27. But let's open with these words from Isaiah 53 verses 3-5. He is despised and rejected of men. This is the top paragraph of page 1. He is 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. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted. 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.

That's Isaiah 53, 3-5, and that's the title for tonight's subject, With His Stripes We Are Healed. Now would you look with me at Matthew 27, verse 26, and we'll just look at that first verse at first. We looked a little bit at it in the following, in the previous Friday night.

Then released he Barabbas unto them. Remember, the pilot had been trying to convince the Jewish leaders and the Jewish people, what has this man done wrong? He actually washed his hands in front of them and said, his blood will be upon you. So he released Barabbas. the murderer, the censure, and when he had scourged Jesus, and that means whipped. He delivered Him to be crucified. Now, with that in mind, when He delivered Him, when He had scourged Jesus, He delivered Him to be crucified.

With that in mind, look with me back at our handout again, if you would. We'll come back to the rest of our verses in a moment, but I wanna consider that one verse at first. John Trapp, a man who has gone from this world and gone on to be with the Lord, he wrote this, he said, Christ was scourged when he had offended, that he might free us from the sting of conscience and those scourges and scorpions of eternal torments, that he might make us a plaster of his own blessed blood. For by his stripes we are healed, by the bloody wells or welts made upon his back we are delivered. We must remember, folks, before I go on to the third paragraph of page one there, we must remember the beatings and everything that our Lord went through before he was crucified were just as important as him being crucified.

Luke tells us, back in our handout, third paragraph, page one, Luke tells us that Pilate tried to appease the Jews by scourging the Lord Jesus rather than crucify him. That's recorded in Luke 23 verse 22. But the Jews wanted his death. They cried out, give us Barabbas. Crucify him, crucify him.

Therefore, we read here that the order was given first for our Lord to be scourged and then crucified. And the treatment the Lord Jesus received as a prelude of his crucifixion must never be taken lightly. These things were also a part of his physical sufferings and deep anguish of soul as our substitute and they demand our sincerest attention. Our Lord declared back in Matthew 20 verse 18 through 19, We go up to Jerusalem. He's telling His disciples what His purpose on this earth is for. We go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests. This has happened already. We've been looking at that. And unto the scribes.

And they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles, to the Roman army, to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him, and the third day he shall rise again." So we see the prophecy of our Lord's beating, he was mocked, he was scourged, he will be crucified, and when we see all of that come true, does that not help us to look at this last saying, that in the third day he shall rise again. Doesn't that give you some encouragement there, that yeah, that's going to happen. He's going to rise again. Death will not hold him. Last paragraph, page one.

May God the Holy Spirit fill our hearts Fill our hearts with gratitude as we are again reminded of all that our Redeemer endured at the hands of wicked men, and as we are reminded again that He endured it all for us. according to the will and the appointment of God. Listen to Titus 2 verse 14, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a people zealous to good works.

The Lord of glory was humiliated, scourged, and mocked by men, that we might be exalted, embraced, and honored by God." Don Fortner. This act of scourging was almost as cruel, inhumane, and barbaric as crucifixion itself. Now remember, crucifixion, they would take the... nail you or tie you to the tree and then they would stand it up and they would drop it into the hole that it would keep it standing up on it and you would literally be yanked either with the nails in your hands or the ropes around your hands, your bones would be separated. So that's just, I mean, if you take that into consideration plus this scourging, we see just a glimpse of what our Lord went through, reminding ourselves that this is God himself. This is the Almighty God that is going through this for us.

It was done with a whip, the scourging. It was done with a whip with multiple strands. The cores were made of something like a rawhide and each strand had numerous pieces of bone or glass or fragments tied into it. And when the whip was dragged across a man's back, when it was snapped and dragged, it would literally plow into your back. One lash would be indescribably painful.

Our Lord Jesus received 39 lashes of that. 39 lashes from the scourge. Thus the scriptures were fulfilled. Listen to these words from Psalms 129.3. The plowers plowed upon my back. They made long furrows. That's discouraging. Listen to these words, Isaiah 50 verse 6. I gave my... excuse me. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting, but he was wounded.

These are the verses of Isaiah 53, 5, 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. And then lastly, Matthew 20, verse 19, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock and discourage and to crucify him, and the third day he shall rise again. Again, I quote from our brother Don Fortner, this scourging of Christ was an emblem of the scourges and strokes of divine justice, which he endured in his soul as our surety. when he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by the sword of divine justice as our substitute.

But scourging was not enough. We could never be saved if our Lord had only been scourged for us. He must be slain, and slain in a manner identifying him as one cursed of God. Therefore Pilate had scourged Him. He delivered Him to be crucified. Now listen to these words from Colossians 1, 20-22.

And having made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated in enemies in your own mind by wicked words, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. No peace could be made except by the blood of his cross." End of quote.

Page three. Now let's look at the remainder of our text. If you would, turn back in your Bibles again to verse 27, Matthew 27, 27. Matthew 27, 27, we read, then the soldiers and the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band. Now, I wanted to say that slowly. I want your mind to grasp a hold of this. They took him out into the main courtyard. And the whole band, that'd be about 50, probably about 50 soldiers is what some are saying.

Verse 28, and they stripped him and put him in a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. And they spit upon him. And they took the reed, and they smote him on the head. And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own remnant on him, and led him away to crucify him." Back in our handout. We'll spend the rest of tonight. Well, I don't know. We might look at a couple of other verses as well. But for the moment, we'll spend the rest of our time here in the handout. First paragraph, page 3.

The Lord of glory became the object of torment for a band of deprived men. Yet even this was according to the will of God for the fulfillment of scripture. We've already read several places where the Lord predicted in, well, right there in Matthew 20, where the Lord predicted exactly what they would do to him. Yet even this, according to the will of God, is the fulfillment of scripture, both to assure us that Jesus is the Christ and that he has ransomed our souls by his great sacrifice for sin. These things are written for our comfort and learning. May God the Holy Spirit both teach us and comfort our hearts by them. We are specifically told by Matthew of seven things, seven acts that these soldiers did to the Son of God.

And the first one we're going to address is they stripped him, is what we read there in Matthew 27, 28. It appears that the only thing in this world that belonged to him were the clothes on his back. But now he was stripped even of them. The shame of nakedness came into the world with sin.

Listen to these words from Genesis 3, verse 7. And the eyes of them both were opened. Now you remember, this is Adam and Eve. This is talking about Adam and Eve. It's a recording of right after they ate of the forbidden fruit. And the eyes of both of them were opened. And now listen to this. And they knew they were naked. They knew they were naked.

Therefore, the third paragraph, page three, therefore when Christ came to be made sin for us to satisfy the justice of God for it and to be put it away, it was fitting that he was stripped naked and put to public shame. He was put to shame that he might be given honor, that we might be given honor. He was stripped that we might be clothed with the white remnant of his perfect righteousness. Revelation 3, verse 18, we read, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich with white remnant, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.

Our nakedness, the nakedness that we came into this world with was laid upon our Savior. He took everything, folks. Everything that you and I could do in this world against our God, which we will and have done and shall do, was laid upon our Savior. Even our nakedness. That's what this is pointing us to here.

So, secondly, it says over in verse 28, it says they put a scarlet robe on Him. They took some old red coat of one of the soldiers possibly, or some old red blanket of some kind, and they draped it over Emmanuel in mockery. Here's the robe of the king, this old robe we have here. Because he claimed to be the king, thus they ridiculed him. Yet in their intense sarcasm of him, they fulfilled the will of God and the word of God.

This is he of whom the prophet declares he was red in his apparel. That's in Isaiah 63 verses 1 and 2. Who washed his garments in wine. That's in Genesis 49 through 11. Folks, our sins are described as being both scarlet and crimson. Thus, as he was to be made sin, our Lord was here providentially draped. in the red scarlet robe of him as our sin bearer. Page four.

Thirdly, they plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Matthew 27, 29. Continuing to mock his claims of the Messiah and the King of Israel, they made a crown for his head, but a crown of thorns designed by them to torture him. Had they made a crown merely for laughter, they would not have chosen thorns.

It was made specifically to cause our blessed Savior as much pain as possible. The horrible pain it must have caused when it was shoved onto his sacred head. Yet this too was done according to the purpose of our God. Thorns are the result of sin. and part of God's curse upon it, upon the earth, is what I should have wrote there.

And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee. Genesis 3, 17 and 18. Therefore, because of that, when Christ was being made a curse for us and would remove the curse from us, he wore the emblem of the curse, which is thorns.

This was the fulfillment of the typical ram that was caught in a thicket that Abraham sacrificed for Isaac in Genesis 17.3. You recall that? He was going to sacrifice his son Isaac, and he said, the Lord shall provide himself a sacrifice. And he turned, and there was a ram in the thicket, in the thorns.

These thorns drew forth blood upon the brow of our great high priest, which flowed down from his head as precious ointment. It's like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard of Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirt of his garments. That's in Psalms 133 too. Fourthly, they put a reed in his hand, as it states in Matthew 27, 29. Again, this was mockery of our master. They gave him a bamboo scepter, as if to imply that his claim to the throne and his kingdom was no more than a reed shaken in the wind. Remember in Isaiah 53, it talks about what they came out to see.

Do you come out to see a reed shaking in the wind? Isn't it funny how, you know, as I was thinking about this as we were putting this study together, how often have you heard me say this? exactly what Mike Giolatti was bringing went right along with the message I was going to bring too.

Neither one of us collaborated. Or exactly what Kathy put in for songs for the bulletin or an article for the bulletin that goes right along with it. Folks, these are not accidents. There are no accidents with our God. These are all things that he has purposed. When I was down in San Diego two weeks ago, the scriptures that Mike read went so perfectly with what I had thought and put together to bring for a message. Those are things of God's purpose. Those are things of God guiding His people in the direction that He wants us to go, causing us to do things that please Him and give praise to His name.

Put a reed in his hand, not even realizing. Not even realizing how it comes together with everything there is in God's Word. How mistaken they are who fail to see Jesus Christ as King forever. Listen to Psalms 45.6, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. a right scepter, even if it's a reed. Page 5. Fifthly, they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Again, verse 29 of Matthew 27.

Like Joseph's brethren, They said, shalt thou indeed reign over us? That's what they were doing. They were mocking the Lord Jesus. They were shaking their hands, saying, are you going to be the one to rule over us? Like multitudes today, they mocked His claims to sovereignty and dominion. But man's mockery will not last for long.

Listen to Philippians 2 verses 9 through 11. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Sixthly, they spit on him. Matthew 27, 30.

Robert Hawker wrote this. He said, their spitting on him was intended to manifest the highest indignation and contempt. You ever wonder why people get so mad when they get spit in the face? You ever see somebody get spit in the face? They get videos of that kind of stuff now. Man, I'll tell you, I've never had it happen, but I could imagine I'd get pretty upset and be fighting mad if somebody did that to me. Spitting in the faces, that's just as low as it can get.

Among the Jews, it was the greatest indignity imaginable. If a father spit in his daughter's face, so filthy was she considered thereby that, like a leper, The law enjoined the being shut out of the camp seven days, as stated in Numbers 12, verse 14. I do not know, which is more shocking, that men should dare spit upon his holy face, or that the Son of God should stoop to being spit upon as one who is utterly contemptible.

Yet to this great depth, Our God condescended for the salvation of our souls. That's what I've been saying right from the beginning. Consider the depth of our love, of God's love for us, of what He would go to just for us, just for us. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. that ye through his poverty might be rich.

2 Corinthians 8 and 9. And the seventh thing is they took the reed and they smote him on the head. Matthew 27 and 30. This is page 5 of our handout. They beat him on the head while he was wearing the crown of thorns, inflicting all the pain they could upon him.

Why? Why would they do this? Why was all this done? Why did the Lord of Glory submit to this for you and I, for us? The Son of God endured this misery, this shame, this torture that He might purchase you and I everlasting life, everlasting joy, everlasting peace and glory. But these things were not sufficient to save us. Those torments could never satisfy the justice of God.

He must be crucified. Page 6. Therefore we read in verse 31 of Matthew 27, and after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him and put his own remnant on him and led him away to crucify him. They put his own clothes back on him that all might recognize him, and they led him away as a lamb to the slaughter to crucify him. Brother Don suggests that we carefully read what the Lord Jesus said by the spirit of prophecy in Psalms 22 and 49 about the sorrow of his soul. in suffering these things and worship Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. I want you to turn over in your books to Matthew.

We have time. Or to Psalm 22. Turn over to the 22nd Psalm. I find it interesting while you're turning there that our Lord expresses all that He went through in the 22nd Psalm and then in the 23rd Psalm we read the comfort. The comfort that you and I have because of all these things that our Lord has gone through for us. In Psalms 22, we read these words.

I don't think we'll read the whole psalm, but notice over there verses 18, 17, 16, 13, 12. Do you have a little star next to those verses in your Bible? That star is a fulfillment. It's a marking that of a prophecy that would be fulfilled. And we'll look at that a little more carefully there, but I want to start with verse one.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Did we not hear our Lord say those very same words? Do we not hear him say those very same words from the cross? He says, why art thou so far from helping me? and from the words of my roaring." Remember when he was in verse 46, when he was in the garden, and he was sweating great drops of blood? Most of the commentators, and I would have to agree as best as I can, believe that that was when the Lord was made sin. That when He was made sin, the curse of all of our sin was laid upon our Savior. He cried out, My God, My God!

Why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou so far from me? Verse 2, O my God, I cry in the day that thou hearest not, and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praise of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee. They trusted in thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were delivered. They trusted in thee and were not confounded.

But I am a worm. and no man of reproach of men, and despised of the people." That's got the star right there. That's exactly what the Lord is going through here. Verse 7, And all they that see me laugh me to scorn, they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver him, let Him deliver him, seeing He delight in him. But thou art He that took me out of the womb. Thou shouldst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon me from the womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls, many strong men have compassed me. Strong bulls of Bashan have beset round about me. They gapped me with their mouths. and they're ravening with a roaring line. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a poster and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws and now has brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me.

They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell All my bones, they look and stare upon me. They may part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord. O my strength, haste thee to help me." Now, I wanted to go all the way to there because I want you folks to understand something. When we are feeling at our lowest, when our sin in this flesh is overcoming and just pushing down on us. I know we go through it, we all go through that. We see our sin as ever before us, just like David. And when we get to that point, look what the Lord Jesus does there in verse 19 again.

He says, but be not thou far from me, O Lord. O my strength, haste thee, help me, deliver my soul from the sword of my darling, from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. Back in our handout.

What sorrow our Lord's soul is in, suffering these things to inspire the psalmist to write these things of himself. John Trapp suggests this. He says, we should read with regret for our sins, the weapons and the instruments of all his sufferings, and see through his wounds the naked bowels, as it were, of his love to our poor souls. as our blessed Savior was led away to suffer for us, that He might sanctify us with His own blood, suffering without the gate, let us go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. Philippians 2 verses 5 to 11, we read this.

This is again on page 6. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. As the result, and the result of this, Hebrews 10 verse 14, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

Last paragraph, page six. 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. Page seven. All that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, he suffered as the sinner's substitute. Because he was made sin for us, This is a matter of most importance.

Until we understand the purpose of our Redeemer's sufferings and death, we can never understand why He suffered and died, or what He accomplished by His sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ died in the room and stead of chosen sinners, that sinners loved by Him from everlasting might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He died the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God in perfect reconciliation and perfect righteousness.

He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. The Holy Lamb of God was made a curse for us, that He might redeem us from the curse of the law. He was once offered to bear the sins of His elect that He might bear them no more. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities because the Lord God laid upon Him all the sins of His people.

Listen, I put some verses in here, the remainder of page seven. 1 Peter 2, verse 24, who His own self bear our sins in His own body on the tree that we, Being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed. Here's 1 Peter again, chapter 3, verse 18. For Christ also had 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 by the Spirit.

Here's Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Hebrews 9 verse 28, So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that looked for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. And one last one, if you would, Isaiah 53, 5 and 6.

But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of earth's peace was upon Him, and His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Page 8. As we read of His sufferings, Let us follow our Savior through all His agony, viewing Him as our sin-atoning substitute and surety, who voluntarily undertook from eternity the redemption of our souls.

Was He scourged? It was that through His stripes we might be healed. Was He condemned, though innocent? It was that we might be acquitted though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? It was that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped? It was that we might be clothed in his perfect righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It was that we might be honored and blessed. Was he reckoned a sinner and numbered among the transgressors? It was that we might be reckoned righteous and numbered among the holy. Could he not save himself? It was that he might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did he die the painful, shameful death of the cross? It was that we might have eternal life and be exalted to the highest glory.