My message this morning will
be taken from the book of Isaiah. I'd like you to open your Bibles
to the book of Isaiah, chapter 53. Now, we're going to, the
Lord willing, look at every verse. They're just 12 verses, but we're
going to look at all of them just briefly, if the Holy Spirit
enables us to have that kind of liberty. But Solomon once
wrote these words. He said, of making many books,
there is no end. And much study is a weariness
of the flesh. We're literally covered up with
creeds and catechisms and confessions of faith and instructions in
religion. Every time we turn around, there's
a new book coming off the press written to explain the book of
books. Someone asked an old preacher
many years ago this question. They said, is your creed in print? We'd like to find out where your
creed is printed. I'd like to see the book that
contains your beliefs, your doctrine, your creed." And he replied in
this fashion. He said, yes, sir. You'll find
my creed in print. You'll find what I believe summed
up in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. There you have it. There you
have a condensed Bible in one chapter. There you have the whole
gospel of God's free grace and God's mercy as it's revealed
in Jesus Christ our Lord. The 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Let's
turn to that scripture, Isaiah 53, and let's see if we can find
out something of what this old man was talking about. His creed,
his catechism, his confession of faith, his doctrinal position,
his confidence, his foundation, all in one chapter, Isaiah 53. Now, you may be startled to learn
that someone has called Isaiah the gospel of the Old Testament.
You may be startled to learn that just about everything that
God reveals concerning his son, Jesus Christ, is touched upon
in this 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Look at verse 1, for example.
Verse 1 says, Who hath believed our report. Who out there among
the sons of men believes our gospel? Who believes our message? It's a message of God's love.
It's a message of God's grace and God's mercy to sinners in
Christ Jesus. It's a message about Christ's
work and his person and his office. It's a message about his sacrifice. It's a true message. And it's
the only message of hope. It's the only message of comfort,
it's true, and it's the only one. Paul wrote over in 1 Timothy,
this is a faithful saying, that is a true saying, and it's worthy
of all acceptation, that is, it's worthy of acceptation by
all men, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners
of whom I'm chief. That's our message, but who believes
it? Isaiah begins that way. Before
he runs through this chapter and lays down this foundation
of mercy, he asks this question, who believes it? Who believes? Who hath believed our report?
And then he says, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Now this I know. This I know,
that no man will believe our message. No man will believe
our gospel unless this message and this gospel is revealed to
him by the Spirit of the living God. Our Lord said, no man can
come to me except my Father which sent me draw him. In 1 Corinthians
2, verse 8 and 9, Paul said, I hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered the heart of men the things that
God has prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed
them unto us by his Spirit. Who hath believed our report?
to whom is the arm, the power, the person, the glory, the gospel
of Jesus Christ revealed. When we talk about the arm of
God, we talk about the power of God. When we talk about the
arm of God, we talk about the gospel of God. Because the gospel
is the power of God and the salvation. And before Isaiah writes about
this gospel, he said, who believes it? Do you believe it? Has God
revealed it to you? God hath revealed it to us by
His Spirit. Paul wrote again in Galatians
1.15, it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb to reveal
His Son in me. The gospel comes by revelation.
It is revealed to the hearts of sinners by the Spirit of God. And then our Lord Jesus Christ
one day asked the disciples, He said, whom do you say that
I the Son of Man am? And Peter said, Thou art the
Christ, Thou art the Messiah, Thou art the Son of the living
God. And our Lord said, Peter, blessed are you. Flesh and blood
didn't reveal that to you, but my Father which is in heaven.
Blessed are your eyes. They see. What do they see? They
see more than just a man standing here. They see the God-man. They
see more than just a prophet. They see the priest. They see
more than just a leader, teacher, they see the king. They see more
than just a religious person, they see the substitute, the
redeemer. Blessed are your eyes, they see.
In your ears, they hear. You hear more than just a man
speaking, you hear God speaking through that man. You hear more
than just words, you're hearing the word of God, the word of
power, the word of life. Blessed are your hearts, for
they understand. Yes, this is what Isaiah is saying, who hath
believed this report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Now look at verse 2. For he,
and he begins right away talking about Christ. And this is the
message. Who believes it? To whom is it
revealed? For he shall grow up before us
as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground, having no
form nor comeliness. And there's no beauty about him
that we should desire him. Now here are four things. that
Isaiah says about Christ. He says, first of all, he shall
grow up as a tender plant. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. That is, he had no human father.
But he was born just like any other baby. And he came forth
from his mother's womb, and he was washed and swaddled and cared
for and nursed on his mother's breast. And he grew up as a little
infant, as a child, a tender plant, a frail little baby. that just the slightest thing,
it seems like, would snuff out his life, snuff out his existence,
a tender plant. That's the way he started, as
a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. What's that
talking about? Well, he's the Messiah. He's
the King of Israel. He shall sit upon the throne
of his father David. But the family of David was all
but forgotten. And the kingdom of Israel was
at its lowest state. It was like a dry, parched, ground,
and here was a little root that came out of this dry, parched
ground. It didn't look like it had any
hope, any life, any strength, any power. What possibly, what
possibly can materialize from such a situation? Here is a man
who is going to be the king, but he's born to people who had
to go to a stable because there was no room for them in the inn.
And his father was a carpenter, and his nation was in slavery. And there was no throne any longer
in Israel. You see what he's saying? Who
believes this? Who's going to believe this?
To whom is this revealed that this little baby nursing on a
mother's breast is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the
Messiah, the Christ? Who's going to believe that this
is truly the heir to David's throne, the eternal throne that
God promised in the covenant to David? Who's going to believe
that this root out of a dry ground of Israel will ever amount to
anything? And there was no form or comeliness about him. He was
a peasant. Why, they said, we know who you are. You're the
carpenter. Anybody knows that. We know your mom and daddy, and
we know your brothers and sisters, and you came out of Nazareth,
and nothing good can come out of Nazareth. There was no form
of royalty. There was no comeliness about
him. There was no silk or satin or crown on his head, no signs
of deity, no signs of glory. This the Messiah? Well, there
must be some mistake. He can't be the Messiah. No form
of comeliness. No beauty. No beauty that we
should desire Him. Nothing grand or majestic about
Him. Nothing that would even suggest
that He's the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You'd have
to have different eyes to see any beauty in Jesus Christ. But
some people do. You'd have to have different
eyes to see any form of comeliness in this man of Nazareth. You'd have to have some different
eyes to see any future in following him. But some people had eyes. Blessed are your eyes, they see,
and blessed are your ears, they hear. That's right. Is not this
the carpenter? Is not his mother Mary? Are not
his brothers and sister Josie and Judah? Well, we know his
family. Who is this man? He's an imposter. He can't be the Messiah. He can't
be the king of kings. You see, that's what Isaiah said. Who believes this report? And
to whom is this power, this wisdom, this glory revealed? Why, he
grows up as a tender plant, so easily bruised or stepped upon
or snuffed out as a root out of a dry, forgotten nation. No
form, no beauty, no comeliness that we should desire him. And
not only that, but look at verse 3. He's despised. and rejected
of men. Rejected. The scripture says
in John 1 10, he was in the world and the world didn't know him.
In verse 11 it says he came into his own, that is his own nation,
his own people, his own tribe, and they received him not. And
John 7 verse 5 says, and neither did his brethren believe on him. That is the members of his own
household. did not believe on him. He was
rejected by anybody that was anybody. He was rejected. He was despised. He was despised
because of the lowliness of his birth. He was despised because
of the poverty of his parents. He was despised because of the
people with whom he associated. Why, this man's the friend of
publicans and sinners. He's not received in the temple.
He's not welcomed in the temple. He's not approved by the keepers
of the temple. He was despised because of the
company he kept. He was despised because of his
lack of education, formal education, their kind of education. Why,
they said, do you teach us? Do you teach us having never
learned? Where did this man learn letters? This man has no credentials. He has no approval. He has no
authority. He was despised because of the
gospel he preached. He was despised because of the
way he died. He was despised because he died
on the cross between two thieves. Despised and rejected of men.
Look at the next line. A man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. Lamentations. I believe it's
chapter 3. It says, Behold all ye that pass
by. Is there any sorrow like unto
my sorrow? Is there any grief like my grief?
His life was a series of sorrows from the cradle to the grave.
And grief was his constant companion. A hymn writer wrote it like this.
Rejected and despised of men, behold the man of woe. Grief
his close companion still through all his life below. I saw him
condemned of men and outcast from his God, while for my sin
he groaned and bled beneath the Father's rod, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. Jesus, our Lord, wept. He wept because of the sorrows
that gripped his heart and the grief that gripped his soul.
And look at the next line, and we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. That's right, everybody deserted
him. His brethren didn't believe on him. His disciples wouldn't
stand with him. He bore all the sorrows and the
griefs of our sins all alone. He walked the winepress of God's
wrath alone, deserted by all men, and in the end, finally,
deserted by God the Father Himself. No man ever died as alone as
the Lord Jesus Christ. No man ever suffered as completely
and totally alone as our Lord died alone on that cross. One sold him, one betrayed him,
the rest forsook him, and all men denied him, despised and
rejected, not of one man, not even of a nation, but of all
men, even by the Father alone. Do you believe this report? Has the arm or the power of God
been revealed to you? Look at the next line, verse
4. It says, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows,
we did esteem him." And someone says, we did ignorantly esteem
him smitten of God and afflicted. Oh, there's a little light here,
and I want you to listen to it. Man made two great mistakes at
Calvary, two great mistakes. First of all, he rejected and
crucified his Lord, and I should say we. rejected and crucified
our Lord. We cried at Calvary, we will
not have this man reign over us. The man ordained to reign,
the man appointed to reign, the man given the Lordship by the
hand of God himself, we refused and rejected and denied him and
cried, crucify him. But you know what else we did?
We believed that he was an imposter. And when he suffered and died
on that tree, we believe that he was dying under the judgment
of God for blasphemy. That's what they said. He's a
blasphemer. He's a devil. He's the prince
of devils. And he's dying because he's blasphemed. They stood there and they said,
if you're the son of God, come down from the tree. He trusted
in God. Let's see if God will have him.
And that's what it is saying there in verse 4. It says, "...surely
he hath borne our grace, and carried our sorrows, and we did
esteem him stricken of God, and afflicted." We did ignorantly
believe that God's judgment was upon him for his sins. But God's
judgment was upon him not for his sins, but for our sins. There's a difference. If you're
the son of God coming, what we fail to see, what we fail to
understand is the gospel of substitution. This is the gospel. It's substitution. He bore not his sorrows, but
our sorrows. Yes, he was suffering under God's
wrath. Yes, he was suffering under God's
judgment, real wrath and real judgment, infinite wrath and
infinite judgment, but not for his sorrows. He bore our sorrows. He bore not his griefs, but our
griefs. He was wounded not for his transgressions,
but for our transgressions. He was bruised not for his iniquities,
he had none, but for our iniquities. Yes, he was stricken and smitten
of God and afflicted, but it was as a substitute in our place
and in our state. It was as a representative bearing
our guilt and our sins. We did esteem him stricken, 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 by his stripes
we are healed." If you would learn the gospel, you get acquainted
with words like these, substitution, satisfaction, and reconciliation. Substitution, Christ bore my
sins in his body on the tree. Satisfaction, By one offering
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." Reconciliation. God was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself. The just died for the unjust
that he might bring the unjust to God. The sinless was made
sinful that the sinful might be made sinless. Sin made us
God's enemy. Christ made us God's friend.
That's what happened. Yes, he was wounded all right. And he was bruised, and he was
chastised. But not for his sorrows, griefs,
transgressions, or iniquities, but for mine and for yours. By his stripes we are healed. Listen to this song. Once it
was mine, this cup of wrath, but Jesus drank it dry. Now not
a single drop remains. It's finished. That was his cry. No tongue can tell the wrath
that he bore. That wrath was due to me. Sin's punishment, my punishment,
he bore it all to set this center free. Look at the next verse,
verse 6. 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. Now I want you to listen to some
words here. All we, we all turn to our own
way. My friend, don't talk about what
you would have done if you had lived in those days. Don't talk
about what you would have done if you had been at Calvary. You
too had a part in Adam's fall. You too are a part of Adam's
fallen race. You too were at Calvary when
they crucified Jesus Christ. The we and the our and the us
in these verses mean all of us. We despised him. We esteemed
him not. We hid, as it were, our faces
from him. We went astray. We turned to
our own way. In Adam, all died. All have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone
astray. There's none good, no not one.
There's none that understand it. There's none that seek after
God. They're all together become unprofitable. My voice is heard in Eden's garden
crying, I'll be like God. Can't you hear your voice? I'll
be like God. My voice is heard by the fire
when that girl said, why, you're one of them, and Peter said,
I don't know that man. My voice, I can hear my voice.
I can see me under the same circumstances. I don't know him. My voice is
heard there in Pilate's hall, give us Barabbas and crucify
Jesus Christ. My voice is heard walking around
that cross as they shoot out their lips and mock him and say,
he trusted God, let's see if God will If you're the son of God, come
down from the cross. I hear my voice, and I hear your
voice. All we like she have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way, but God has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And
I hear my voice in Eden's Garden and Pilate's Hall and Calvary's
Hill. I hear my voice, but thank God
for his voice. In that awful agony, he cried,
Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Look
at that next verse, verse 8. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth.
They called him a winebibber. They called him a glutton. They
called him a devil. They called him an imposter.
He was accused of treason. He was afflicted by man and by
God, and yet it says he opened not his mouth. Like a sheep is
led to the slaughter. He opened not his mouth. There
are two reasons why he was silent under this treatment. There are
two reasons why he made no plea. He made no defense. There are
two reasons why Jesus Christ did not reply against his accusers
and the false witnesses that were hired to witness against
him at the trial. Do you know what they were? The
first reason was this. He laid down his life willingly.
He said, no man takes my life from me. I lay it down willingly.
His death was ordained of God and his death was purposed by
God. He was a substitute dying for
his people. He said, I came to the earth
for this cause. For this cause came out of this
house. It was ordained that he should die on the cross. He was
born crucified. He came into the world with his
face set like a flint toward Calvary's cross to die for his
people. The whole Old Testament prophesies of the death of the
Lamb of God. The second reason Why he didn't
open his mouth was this. All of the charges made against
him were true. You say, but he had no sin. He
had no iniquity. Everything was false. Yes, about
him it was false. But when he was bearing my sins
and my guilt, they were all true of me. You see now, my friends,
listen to me. The innocent legally can't die
for the guilty. The law can never be satisfied
and justice can never be satisfied if John Smith commits a murder
and John Brown dies in his place. The law is not satisfied, the
man who committed the crimes got to die. Jesus Christ, now
listen to me and learn some gospel. He was made sin for us. He became sin. He actually took
our sins in his body on the tree. He was numbered with the transgressors. And when the accusations came
his way, being me, he didn't open his mouth because they were
true. When all the charges were leveled at him, he didn't open
his mouth because all the charges were true, and many fold more,
because he was me. You see that? He was wounded
for our transgressions. Look at the next verse, verse
8. For the transgressions of my people was he stricken. Sin
must be punished. The guilty must die. As Moses
lifted up the serpent and the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up. There's no other way. There's
no other route. There's no other plan. There's
no other way that God can be just and justify the ungodly.
Christ must suffer. The Son of Man must be lifted
up. There's no other way. Without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission for sin. Christ
didn't die as an example, or as a martyr, or as a reformer.
He died as a substitute. He was me, and he was you, and
he was every believer. All of the elect were in Christ.
In Adam we died, in Christ we're made alive. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken. He made his grave with the wicked,
that is, he died between two thieves. And with the rich in
his debt, that is, he borrowed a tomb from a rich man. He borrowed
it because he wasn't going to keep it very long. He's coming
forth. He made his grave with the rich, although he had done
no violence and there was no deceit found in his mouth, but
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. Yes, we crucified him with
our wicked hands, but we did what God the Father determined
before to be done. Yes, Herod, Pontius Pilate, with
the people of Israel and the Gentiles, were gathered together
to do what God determined before to be done. Christ was the Lamb
slain before the foundation of the world. Everything that took
place in Jerusalem, on Golgotha's hill, and the Mount of Olives,
and Gethsemane's garden, all were foreordained. All were prophesied
and typified in the Old Testament. It's all right there. Even the
plucking of the beard and the piercing of the hands and the
feet and the denial and the sale by Judas for 30 pieces of silver,
it's all right there. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. But now watch verse 11. He shall
see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. What's travail?
Birth pains, bringing forth children. What soul prevailed? He made
his soul an offering for sin. Not only his body suffered, but
his soul. And he shall be satisfied. He shall not fail. He was numbered
with the transgressors. He bore our sins. And right now,
the last line in this whole chapter, he makes intercession for the
transgressors. He intercedes. He's our mediator.
We come to God through Christ because Christ has something
to offer. Not something we bring, but something that he performed
on that cross. for our sins. He died. That's my creed. You see what
that old man meant? My creed, right there. Now, if
you want this sermon on tape, cassette tape, write to me. It
costs $3 for two messages. The one I preached this morning,
our creed in print and person, Isaiah 53. And next week, I'm
going to bring you a message on two things that are good for
me. They're both on that tape. Until next week, 11 o'clock,
God bless you, everyone. You have just heard a sermon
by Henry Mahan, pastor of the 13th Street Baptist Church of