I was thinking on the drive here
this morning that had I not been to this area before, I would
think that your weather was always the same. We had the same thing
when I was here in December. But, bring our greetings again
from Kingsport and the folks there. and thank you for having
me back again. I had no idea I would be coming
back so quickly, but Jason and I were talking before, and this
passage we're going to read, what he read for scripture reading, was brought to my attention,
and I was like, I've got something, and I don't know where I'm going
to go to deliver it. He sent me some dates and station
I was like, well, the later we get into January and February,
the worse the weather's going to be, so let's go. And I was
like, okay, this is the message for them. And then we were talking
this morning and he told me what he brought last week and how
well I think we think this is going to fit together. Luke chapter
one, this isn't going to be our text. We'll turn to Isaiah 53
in just a moment, but I wanna jump off from here, Luke chapter
one. Gabe read this portion of scripture
not long ago in our service, and verse 36 and 37 just caught
my attention. Luke 1, 36. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth,
she hath also conceived a son in her old age, And this is the
sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God,
nothing shall be impossible. That word barren caught my attention. And as I started considering
it, I considered Elizabeth, this woman who was called barren. And I got to thinking about this
poor woman. All her life, she had been called
barren, lifeless, fruitless, destitute. No doubt, especially
as she grew older, She cringed and felt some heartache any time
the proverb was read that says, her children arise and call her
blessed. Or when the psalm was read that
says, lo, children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of
the womb is his reward. Knowing that in her heart she
knew Neither of those applied to her personally. She had no
children. She would never be blessed with
children. Then the miracle she conceived. She found by experience the same
that her cousin Mary would soon learn. With God, nothing shall
be impossible. Does that make your heart leap?
With God, nothing shall be impossible. Can you imagine the joy that
Elizabeth experienced? Can you imagine how her heart
burst into song when she knew she had conceived? Now, turn
over to Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54. As I considered Elizabeth in
her barren state, I was once more reminded of myself.
How much like my father Adam I am. How much I am just like
my brothers and sisters born of Adam. Barren. barren before God, lifeless,
fruitless, unprofitable. You know, a young man, a young
lady get married and they have a desire to have children. Our natural flesh can't even
produce life of ourselves. It is God that must give children. If he doesn't give that couple
the blessing of a child, they will not conceive. It's not possible. It's a mystery, great mystery. But beyond the physical, beyond
our natural abilities, looking to the one thing needful, no
one born of Adam is able to produce life, real life, the life of
God. We are barren. We preach the gospel, we witness
as we are in Able to, we yearn, we have a desire that the Lord
would save our loved ones. And all the while, we confess,
Lord, we are barren. We are unable. Will you please
do this work? Will you bring forth life? Will
you save them and us? Isaiah 54, verse one. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud, thou that didst not prevail with child. For more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord. Does that passage sound a little
strange to you? Sing, O barren. What do you have
to sing about? You are barren. You are lifeless,
fruitless, unprofitable. Singing goes with joy, not desolation. What is your song, O ye barren? Elizabeth was taught the song.
Do you know the song? Elizabeth said, Thus hath the
Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take
away my reproach among men. Said another one, Elizabeth said,
he did it. He gave life. He gets all the
glory. He gets all the praise. I didn't
do anything. For every barren sinner that
the Lord is pleased to have mercy on, we will sing the same song. We will tell the same story. And our story goes something
like this. The Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty,
came from eternal glory. He lived as a man. As a man, he lived in perfect
obedience to the law. Then he suffered, he shed his
blood, he died for my sin, and he took them to the tomb. and he left them there. He rode
to me in his righteousness, and one day, one glorious day, he's
coming back, and he's going to receive me to himself, that I
might be where he is. Isn't that the desire of our
heart, to be with him? To Him be all power, all majesty,
all glory forever and ever. In Isaiah 53, the reason that
the barren is able to sing with joy is recorded for us. May the
Lord be pleased this morning to reveal His glory as we read
his story and our story. Now, as I was thinking on our
barren state, as my study led me to this particular chapter,
a sense of dread fell upon me. Everyone I can think of to whom
the Lord's been pleased to redeem, Everyone that I've known, everyone
that I've read, seems to have a very special affection for
this chapter. When it comes to this particular
chapter, it seems that we all have this effect. This chapter has the effect on
us that Moses heard when God said to him, draw not nigh hither,
Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground. Somehow we can read in the various
accounts of the gospel of our Lord's actual suffering from
the garden of Gethsemane to when he gave up the ghost, and the
absolute awe of that event doesn't quite strike
like it does here. And all I can figure is in the
four gospels, we don't have recorded from point A straight through
point B. You have to go here and get a
piece and then turn over there and get another piece and back
to, You can't sit down and just read it straight through. But
in 12 short verses, Isaiah recorded the declaration of the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ from his incarnation to his glorious,
victorious ascension. And it's just overwhelming. but we're going to try to go
through it. Isaiah 53, verse 1. Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? The law and the prophets testify
of our Lord. He came in the flesh, and though
He did many miracles before them, before us, yet they and we believed
not on Him. Why not? Why will we not believe
on Him? Because we maintain in and of
ourselves that we are not barren. Elizabeth, as a child, never
thought she would be barren. As a young married lady, I'm
sure that she continued to think, I still have time. I still have
time. But at last, she was made to
know, I am barren. Not because someone told her
she was barren, but because it was revealed to her in herself. She knew it for herself. When she was emptied, when she
had nothing of herself to look to, then at the time appointed,
she conceived. As long as we are able to look
at ourselves, and find something that we can hope in, some work,
some response, some act, something that we look to and say, you
know what? I'm really not all that bad. We will never fall down and sue
Christ for mercy. As long as we have some false
refuge We reject the Word of God that says, all have sinned. Doesn't say all have sinned,
but you. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. To whom is the Lord, is the arm
of the Lord revealed? to all those sovereignly, lovingly
elected, all those chosen by God, who also declared to Moses,
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. Verse two, for he, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, shall grow up before Him. Who is Him? And aren't you thankful
that it doesn't say them? He didn't grow up under our observation,
under mankind's observation. He grew up before Him. He grew up before the Father
of God. We observed Him, we watched Him,
and we saw no beauty about Him. We despised Him, and we rejected
Him. But the Father of God declared,
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant, not as a great oak tree, not as a mighty cedar
of Lebanon, but as a tender plant, lowly, meek, mild, harmless,
undefiled. for he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground dry ground
barren ground he came to where we are we are barren and he came
in our likeness we are of the earth And he made himself of
no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men. 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. As that verse comes to a
close, does your heart break with mine? As you read those
words, and your mind recalls all the years that you wallowed
in sin and unbelief, finding in him no beauty whatsoever,
who is now made unto you altogether lovely. Verse three, 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. None of us, not one of Adam's
children, not one of us in this building are excluded here. He is despised and rejected of
men. We all cried out with our father
Adam, we will not have this man reign over us. He is a man of
sorrows. The sorrows that this man endured. Our sinful minds cannot comprehend
it. He laid aside his glory. He, the Ancient of Days, became
a baby. He, the Creator, the Sovereign,
submitted to the rule of sinful man. He walked, the holy God, who
hates all workers of iniquity, who is of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and can't not look on iniquity. He walked among
us sinners. 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. The Lord of eternal glory came
and walked as a creature among his creations. For what cause? Verse five. 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. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
us because peace could not be found. As by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for then all have sinned. Men loved darkness rather than
light. Sin and righteousness, sin and
holiness, life and death, light and dark, they're diametrically
opposed. One cannot exist with the other. There is no other. Mankind, in and of self, will
not and cannot bow to God's sovereignty, because the carnal mind is enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. But our Lord came to abolish
in His flesh the enmity to break down the wall of partition between
God and men. In short, he came to make peace. This peace was broken, necessitating
redemption by the creature, by us, not by him. As we see in
verse six, 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. It is glorious to think that
he came, but how did he come? Was he forced? Was there some
law that said you must go? No, he came willingly. Verse seven, he was oppressed
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. In eternity,
knowing what would be required of him, when the cry went out,
whom shall I send? And who will go for us? The Lord Jesus Christ went forth
and said, here am I, send me. When they came to Gethsemane's
garden to take him, the Lord Jesus Christ went forth and said,
I am. Verse 8, he was taken from prison
and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? When the false accusations came,
he didn't answer them. He didn't defend himself. He
didn't say, that's not true. I didn't. To this hour, he came. He held his peace that he might
make peace and heal his people. He came willingly and he came
purposefully. He came to make peace and to
heal his people. He who we read in verse nine
had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth,
was taken by wicked, sinful hands, nailed to a cross to shed his
blood, and he laid down his life. We read the wages of sin is death. Death can only come where sin
is found. So how does our Lord suffer?
How does he who had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth, hang on that cross and die? Verse four, surely he hath
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. As he hung upon
that cross, as we beheld him in our natural state, We did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Our Lord
and Savior, Christ Jesus, a man of sorrows, our sorrows. A man acquainted with grief,
our griefs. The man who grew up before God
in perfect righteousness, who alone declared, I do always those
things that please Him. This man who knew no sin, bore
our griefs, carried our sorrows, was wounded for our transgressions,
was bruised for our iniquities, endured the stripes we rightfully
earned, shed his blood that should have been ours. In verse 9, he made his grave
with the wicked. He laid down his life. How How
can it be that the Son of God, life himself, died upon a tree? Luke 137. For with God, nothing
shall be impossible, not even the salvation of this guilty,
wretched sinner. Verse 10, yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. Who
bruised him? The soldiers? Did they bruise
him? Oh yeah. The government of Rome? Indeed. The religious leaders
of the day? Yes, most certainly. The multitude
crying, crucify him, crucify him. We, mankind, soldiers, the government,
the religious leaders, the multitude, we were here. That's us. We did as we wanted. We bruised
him, but before we were allowed to raise a pinky against him,
it was the Lord who was pleased to bruise him. Peter declared, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain. Jesus Christ, our Lord, came
in our likeness. He walked in perfect righteousness
before God as a man. He took upon himself the sins
and griefs of his people. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter. He shed his blood. He laid down
his life. And somewhere, in the midst of
all that was going on on the cross. He, our atonement, satisfied
the law, justice, mercy, and grace on our behalf. Verse 10, yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. His precious name is
Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, sovereign, divine, God,
Jesus, man, savior, Christ, mediator between God and men. as the high
priest of old went in to the holy of holies once a year, with
the blood of the sin offering, our high priest, Lord, entered
into the presence of the thrice holy God, bearing the blood of
the man, Jesus, the man without spot or blemish, the innocent
substitute victim, and his sin sacrifice was accepted. The high priest, being a picture
of what Christ would accomplish, once he had gone into the Holy
of Holies, sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat, It was not when he went in that
the people knew atonement had been made for the year, but it
was when he came out from the Holy of Holies that it was shown
to the people atonement had been made for the year. So our Lord
entered into the tomb, and on the third day he arose, thus
signifying His sacrifice had been accepted. Verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath 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 and shall be satisfied. Having carried our sins far away,
having covered them with his own blood, he robed us in his
righteousness. And for Christ's sake, for all
that he accomplished, for Christ's sake, we are accepted in the
blood. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath 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, and 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 he bear the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. Having satisfied
the law and the prophets, having fulfilled righteousness, Enduring
the cross, despising the shame, having accomplished salvation
for his lovingly elected people, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
back to glory. 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 earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father. Isaiah 54, verse one, saying,
O barren, thou that didst not bear. Our Lord declared, Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Are you burdened? Does the weight
of being found acceptable in God's sight weigh heavily upon
you? Are you struggling with sin?
Come unto Christ Jesus. Sue him for mercy. Beg for his
forgiveness. Beg him to cause you to know
I am barren before you. For when he reveals to us that
we are barren, thank God he also reveals to
us what he has borne for us. And just in case you're like
me and you need it pointed out plainly, we cannot in this flesh please
God. But thank God the Lord Jesus
Christ pleased him. Listen to what he has borne for
us. What we barren before God did
not bear because he did. Isaiah 53, verse four. He hath
borne our griefs, my griefs. He hath carried our sorrows,
my sorrows. Verse five. The chastisement
of our peace was upon him. Verse 6, the Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all. Verse 12, he bared the sin of
many and made intercession for the transgressors, saying, O
barren, thou that didst not bear. For the Lord, your King, your
God, your Savior, has borne all away. Now unto Him that is able
to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God, our Savior, be glory and majesty dominion, and power,
both now and forever. Amen.