The Lord Jesus Christ asked the
disciples one day, whom do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? The disciples replied, well,
some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets.
And the Lord said, But whom do you say that I am? The apostle Peter answered, We
believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And
the Lord replied, Blessed art thou, Simon. Flesh and blood
did not reveal that to you. but my Father which is in heaven. Blessed are your eyes, for they
see, and blessed are your ears, for they hear. The world has
eyes, but they do not see, ears, but they do not hear, hearts,
but they do not understand. And that's what Isaiah is talking
about in Isaiah 53, when he says, Who hath believed our report? Who hath believed our message?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Who hath believed
our doctrine? Who hath believed this message
that we declare? Unto the Jews, it's a stumbling
block. Why, they said to Christ, You're
not fifty years old. You claim to have known Abraham.
You claim to have seen Abraham. You're not even fifty years old.
How could you have seen Abraham? How could you have known Abraham?
Is not this the carpenter, whose mother we know and whose brothers
and sisters we know, and yet he claims to be God? They took
up stones to stone him, and he said, Many good works have I
done among you, for which of these do you stone me? Why they
said, we're not stoning you for a good work, we're stoning you
because you're a man and you claim to be God. How can a man
be God? Nobody believes that. To the
Greeks, foolishness. Standing before the governor
pilot, dripping blood, the very essence of human weakness, standing
there in bonds with a crown of thorns pressed upon his brow,
rejected even of his own people, forsaken of his own disciples,
rejected by his own family, alone, deserted. And Pilate looked at
him and said, Are you a king? Are you a king? And then he turned
to that mob of Jews howling for the blood of Christ and said,
Behold your king. Here he is. Here's your king. And I'm sure everybody laughed.
The natural man receives it, not the things of God. Paul said
in 1 Corinthians, they're foolishness to him. He cannot understand
them, he cannot know them. Who believes this message? Who
believes this report? He's a root out of dry ground.
Verse 2, Isaiah 53, he hath no form, he hath no vigor, He hath
no strength, despised, hated, rejected of men, a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief. A little old Jewish maiden gave
birth to a baby. They were too poor without influence,
so they put him in a stable, laid him in a manger. He grew
up in a carpenter's shop. worked with his hands, sweated
and tore. He had no education, no recognized
education. He never owned a piece of property.
He never owned a horse. He never owned a lot. He never
owned a home. His friends were fishermen, publicans,
prostitutes, sinners. Anybody who was anybody turned
thumbs down on him. He was arrested. When he was
arrested, his own disciples deserted him. The people who had followed
him by the thousands, whom he had healed, who had proclaimed
that he was the Messiah, deserted him. He was alone. He was nailed to a cross outside
the city wall between two thieves. He was taken down, and because
he had no money, he was buried in a borrowed sepulcher. And people say that this man
is the son of God. People say that this man is God's
own son, sent into this world to be the redeemer of sinners.
People say that this man is the creator of all things. He was
before all things, and in Him all things live and move and
have their being. His disciples said He arose from
the tomb. and that He ascended to heaven
in their own presence, and that He's seated at the right hand
of God from which He will come again, that He's the King of
the universe, that He has a name exalted above every name, and
at His name, the name of the despised Jesus, the name of the
despised carpenter, at His name every knee shall bow in heaven,
earth, and hell, and every tongue shall confess that He is the
Lord of Lords and King of Kings. That's our message. And don't
many people believe it? Because it's difficult to believe.
In fact, it's impossible to believe, apart from the divine revelation
of the Holy Spirit. Who hath believed this report?
Take your Bibles and turn to the book of 1 John, Chapter 1. Who hath believed this doctrine?
who hath believed this message." John said in I John, Chapter
1, that which was from the beginning, in the beginning God, before
the world, before the creation, before the stars, before the
angels, in the beginning, that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life, all physical life,
all natural life, all spiritual life, for the life was manifested,
made flesh, incarnate, and we've seen it. And we bear witness
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested unto us, that which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with
us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto
you, that your joy may be full." And this is the message. This,
then, is the message which we have heard of him and declare
unto you. This is that message. Now, who
hath believed it? Who hath believed it? In Isaiah 53, here is the message,
beginning with verse 4. Christ Jesus, the suffering substitute. It says in verse four, Surely
he hath borne our griefs. Now I want you to take the word,
our, in these next four verses, three verses, and I want you
to change the word, our, to my. Christ hath borne my griefs and carried my sorrows. My friends, man cannot make Christ
sin. Man cannot make Christ's sin.
We can't transfer our guilt to anybody. We can't transfer our
guilt to another. But the Father could, and the
Father did. He laid on Christ my iniquities. He laid on Christ my sins. That's what it's saying here.
Surely He, because the Father purposed it, because the Father
ordained it, and because the Father effected it, he hath borne
my grace, and he hath carried my sorrows. And yet I did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded
for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities,
for the chastisement of my peace. The chastisement of my peace
was upon him, and with his stripes I am healed. Like a sheep I have
gone astray, I've turned to my own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him my iniquities." Our Lord Jesus Christ was not sin. He was not sinful. He was not
guilty. He was pure and perfect and holy. but he was treated by his father
as if he had not only been sinful, but as if he had been sin itself. The father actually transferred
my guilt and my iniquity and my transgression from me to Christ. Down here in verse 12, when I
was reading the scripture a few moments ago, I paused and deliberately,
slowly read this statement in verse 12, the latter part, and
he was numbered, and he was numbered with the transgressors. He was
identified with us. He had no guilt of his own, he
had no sin of his own, but he took my sin. And Martin Luther
said, and this statement must be carefully guarded because
it'll be misunderstood by the profane. But Martin Luther said
Jesus Christ was the greatest sinner who ever lived. He never committed a sin. He
was not sinful. He had no transgressions. But
he was treated by the Father not only as if he had been sinful,
but as he was sin itself. When the judge of the earth says,
where is sin? that it may be punished. Where
is sin that it might be dealt with? Where is sin that it might
be purged? Christ Jesus presented Himself. He was made sin for us. Turn to 2 Corinthians 5. This
is one of the most important verses in all of this Bible. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse
21. For He, that is the Father, hath
made Him, the Son, to be what? To be sin. He hath made Him to
be sin for us. He knew no sin, Christ had no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. God looks on Christ as being
sin. He was made sin for us, and sin
must be taken without the It's a leprous thing. Like the scapegoat,
sin must be driven away. Like the leper who cried unclean,
he must be put away. And so they take him out, they
cast him out, they run him out of town because he was made sin. God looks on Christ as being
sin. And God cannot look on sin with
fellowship and communion. So at the cross the Father turned
his back, and even Christ must cry, My God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Because you're sin. God looks on Christ as sin, and
sin must bear the punishment of the cross. Therefore he is
punished, he is nailed to a tree, he is bruised, he is humiliated,
he is put to shame, and finally he's put to death. In that moment
at Calvary, no wonder Christ cried in the Garden of Gethsemane,
"'If it be thy will, let this cup pass from me.'" No wonder
He wrestled with the Father all night in prayer. No wonder His
blood came through the pores of His skin, for in that moment
at Calvary, all sin of all believers of all ages and generations was
gathered in one mass all the murder, all the theft, all the
lies, all the hate, all the adultery, all the jealousy, all the covetousness,
all the incest, all manner of crime, all evil in one heap,
in one mass, in one person, at one time. All the sins were laid
on Christ. It's no wonder the Father turned
His back. It's no wonder the sun refused
to shine. It's no wonder the earth trembled
and the graves opened and the rocks rent. It's no wonder, for
at that moment Christ became S-I-N, sin. He didn't die a nice death. He
died the death of a criminal. He didn't die only as a martyr. He died as a criminal. He didn't
die only as an example. He died a dirty, filthy, humiliating,
shameful, guilty, naked, horrible, hellish, God-forsaken death,
because He was made sin. Take all of the hell of all believers,
and all of the shame of all believers, and all of the vileness and filthiness
and guilt of all believers, of all ages, and pile it in one
mass, in one heap, upon one person. He bore our sins, all of them
in his body, and sin's not a nice thing. Sin's not a nice thing. It's
a dirty thing. It's a filthy thing. Christ Jesus, the suffering substitute. Now look at verse 7. we have Christ Jesus, the silent
substitute. In verse 7 it says he was oppressed. Oppressed by God, oppressed by
Satan, oppressed by men, and he was afflicted. Oh, how afflicted! Hated, rejected, despised, not
loved, and yet He was lied about, false witnesses gathered against
him. He was mocked. You need a Christ,
save yourself. You called on God, let's see
if God will have you now. Here's your king. They mocked
him, ridiculed him. They lied about him. They brought
false accusations against him, and yet he opened not his mouth. in all these accusations and
under all of this persecution and hatred and ill-treatment,
all of it, undeserved, totally innocent, and yet he offered
no defense. He offered no reply. Turn to
1 Peter 2. I want you to read this scripture
with me. 1 Peter 2, verse 23. It says in verse 22, he did no
sin, we know that. There was no guile in his mouth,
we know that. Who, when he was reviled, he
reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not. He said to Peter there in the
garden, when Peter drew his sword and would have cut off the high
priest's servant's head, He said, put away your sword, Peter, don't
you know that I could call on my father? And he'd send legions
of angels. But our Lord never called for
any help. Our Lord offered no resistance.
Our Lord offered no defense. He gave no reply, though all
the accusations were false and all the punishment was undeserved.
Why? Well, first of all, because he
willingly, willingly voluntarily came into this world for the
very purpose, for the very cause, for the very death that he was
now dying. That's why he came here. No man taketh my life from me,
he said, I lay it down. I have the power to lay it down,
I have the power to take it up again. No man taketh my life
from me. Jesus Christ was never helpless
before men. He was submissive, but not helpless. He surrendered. He committed
himself. Jesus Christ the Lord gave his
life. It was not taken from him. He
yielded up the goats. He willingly, lovingly, voluntarily
gave his life. That's the reason he offered
no reply. That's the reason he offered
no resistance. That's the reason he offered
no defense, because that's why he came down here to be our substitute. And secondly, he so loved his
people, and his love sealed his lips. Our sins deserve punishment. He took our punishment. Our guilt
deserved the wrath of God. He took that wrath. He came down
here to die. He must die. They cried out,
he saved others, himself, he cannot save. Right, that's our
doctrine. Because he gave himself, then
he saved us. If he had saved himself, he would
have committed us to eternal damnation. He wore my crown,
the crown of thorns, that I might wear his crown, the crown of
glory. He wore my nakedness on the cross
that I might wear His robe of righteousness. He wore my shame
and my guilt and my filth that I might bear His honor and His
praise and His glory. He endured my suffering that
I might partake of His joy, and He died my death that I might
live His life. The sinless became sinful, that
the utterly sinful might become sinless. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us in order that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Now verse 9, Jesus Christ the
suffering substitute, Jesus Christ the silent substitute, And verse
9 tells us about Jesus Christ, the sinless substitute. Verse
9, "...and he made his grave with a wicked." That is, he died
between two thieves. He was crucified between two
guilty men, and on that center cross, as Luther said, the guiltiest
of men. They bearing their guilt, he
bearing our guilt. those thieves bearing their shame,
Christ Jesus bearing all shame, multiplied by thousands and thousands
and thousands. And with the rich in his death,
that is, this rich man Joseph of Arimathea provided him a grave. Though, the word because is though,
he had done no violence, neither with any deceit in his mouth."
Now, my friends, it's easy to understand that if one is going
to be the substitute for another, if one is going to work out a
righteousness for another, if one is going to suffer sin's
penalty for another, then that one, that substitute, must himself
be totally, absolutely free from all sin. If he has sins of his
own, then the suffering that he bears will be for his own
sin. If he has guilt of his own, then the suffering and condemnation
he bears will be for his own sin. But Christ had no sin, therefore
he could be our substitute. He's the only creature in God's
creation who is totally free from all sin and the possibility
to sin. No corruption entered into his
incarnation. He was the seed of woman. He
was not of the sinful seed of his father, Joseph. He was brought into this world
immaculate. In him, that black blood received
from Adam never flowed. Through his heart, that evil
nature received from Adam never lived. Christ Jesus, in His incarnation,
in His conception, in His birth, being born of the Holy Ghost,
was totally, absolutely free from every stain of sin. No sin
ever marked His life. His eyes never looked upon anything
with covetousness. His lips never uttered in any
way any deceit or any wrath. His heart never harbored one
evil thought. His mind never conceived one
evil imagination. His hands never reached out in
one evil deed, only in mercy. His feet never walked except
in paths of absolute, immaculate righteousness. And I want you to go back to
2 Corinthians 5 one more time, and I want you to note this very
carefully. In 2 Corinthians 5.21, He hath made Him, Christ, to
be sin for us. He was identified with the transgressors,
numbered with the transgressors. Our sins were laid on Him. He
was one of us, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, but He knew
no sin. Underscore that word, K-N-E-W. He knew no sin. It does not say only that he
did no sin, he didn't. It doesn't only say that he thought
no sin, he didn't. It doesn't only say he committed
no sin, he didn't, but he didn't even know sin. He was a stranger
to sin. He walked through this world,
and he saw sin, and he understood sin, and he beheld sin. and he hated sin, and he condemned
sin, but he never, any time, ever had any fellowship with
sin. He knew no sin. Christ Jesus was not a pretty
good man. He was goodness personified. Christ Jesus was not only a holy
man, he was holiness in the flesh. Christ Jesus was not only a righteous
man, Christ Jesus was righteousness itself. He knew no sin. He couldn't sin. And then verse 10, we see Christ
Jesus, the successful substitute Christ Jesus, the successful
substitute God had shown. Who hath believed this message?
Impossible to believe. To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? Now then, it's possible to believe.
When God's arm, God's power, God's might, God's wisdom is
revealed by God's Spirit, it can be received. Flesh and blood
didn't show that to you, Peter. My father showed that to you. Christ Jesus, the successful
substitute. Verse 10, it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. Who is the Lord here? The Heavenly
Father. My friend, it says in the last
line here, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. David said, whatsoever the Lord
pleased. They said, David, where's your
God? Our gods are down in our temple. Our gods are made of
stone and wood and marble. We know where our gods are. We
can touch them and feel them and take them with us. We move
to another house, we take our god with us. We move to another
town, we pack up our gods in our suitcases and take them with
us. Where's your god? He said, My god's in the heavens. What's your god like, David?
My god does as he pleases. in heaven, earth, and the seas,
and all deep places. What does it please your God
to do?" Well, it pleased God to make you His people. He didn't
have to. He didn't owe you anything. It
pleased God, Moses wrote in Deuteronomy, to make you His people. It pleased
God to make Christ our surety. That's what the Bible says. It
pleased God. that in him Christ should all
fullness dwell. It pleased God to bruise him
on a cross. That's what it says here in our
text. Christ Jesus didn't come down here by accident. Christ
Jesus didn't go to the cross by accident. Christ Jesus didn't
die by accident. It pleased the Father to bruise
him. It pleased God to reveal Christ
to you. You go through life blind, deaf,
dumb, with darkened understanding. But God, Paul said, who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, it pleased
Him to reveal His Son in me. It pleased God. It pleased God
to exalt us, and all of this because Christ suffered for us. Look at it. It pleased the Lord
to bruise Him. He, the Father, hath put him
to grief, when thou shalt make his soul, not just his body,
but his soul, an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he
shall see his people, he shall see this beloved nation, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper, be
successful in his hands." He said, I come to do the will of
him that sent me, and when he died he said, It's finished.
I come to do the work of him that sent me, and when he died
he said, It's finished! I come to redeem my people, and
I shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins, and when he died he said, It's finished!
It's finished. 2 Corinthians 5.21 again. Let's look over there one more
time. Listen to this. 2 Corinthians 5.21. For God the
Father, it pleased Him to make Him, Christ, to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made, watch this now, the
righteousness of God in Christ. God looks on every believer not
only as being a righteous person. Now listen to this. You say God's people, because
Christ died, are righteous. You're right, but it's more than
that. You're just in the first grade.
Want to graduate? Want to get promoted? It doesn't say God's people are
righteous. It doesn't say that he made them
righteous. It says more than that. That's
just first base. It says they are the righteousness
of God. That's what it says. Now, if
I have a box in my hand, and that box is covered with gold,
I have a golden box. But if I have in my hand a box
not only covered with gold, but filled with gold, I have a box
of gold. If a man is covered with righteousness,
he's a righteous man. But if a man is filled with righteousness,
he's not only a righteous man, he is righteousness. He is holiness. Can you conceive
of that? Can you fathom that? Can you
just catch the hem of that garment? Can you just enter into it a
little bit? That we might be made not only
righteous, but that we might be made in him the very righteousness
of God. That's what it says. That we
might be made the righteousness of God. Not just covered with
it. Not just applied to our account. not just imputed unto us, but
we are actually in Christ, the very righteousness and holiness
of God. And that's the only way a man
can enter glory. A man can't enter glory with
a robe on covering his dirty flesh, because God's eyes don't
stop with the outer garments. God's eyes pierce the heart.
That's what the average preacher is preaching, that at the cross
Christ draped our dirty flesh with a robe of holiness. But
Christ did more than that. Christ so purged and cleansed
and put away guilt and shame and sin that the very essence
of our being is righteousness. See what I'm saying? How good
does a man have to be to go to heaven? He has to be as good
as God. He has to be as holy as God.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Only the
righteousness of God, only the holiness of God could survive
in that holy atmosphere. And that's what Christ is made
of, the righteousness of God, the successful Savior. He didn't
take a shot at it. He didn't take a swing at it.
He didn't make an attempt at it. He did it! He shall see the
travail of his soul and be satisfied. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hands. He did what he came to do. He
purified and cleansed and sanctified and made the righteousness of
God everybody he set out to redeem. That's right. That's right. The pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hands. Back yonder in the council
halls of eternity, the Father laid the covenant of mercy in
capable hands, in the hands of Christ. And He said, Adam's race
is polluted and corrupted and permeated with sin and shame
and guilt. Man is fallen, man is nothing,
man is sin. Bring my people home pure! And Christ came down here to
do it. And He did it. He did it. He's going to take
them home, and the Father's going to gather together in one, all
things in Christ, in that great day. And there's not going to
be a stain, not a spot, not a mark, not even a jot or a tittle of
rebellion anywhere in it. Because we are the righteousness
of God in Him. And everything about us that
is identified with Adam is going to be left here. And everything
about us that is marked with Adam's transgression is going
to be left in the grave. And everything about us that
even has the slightest mark or stain of the old world and old
creation is going to be left. That new man which is created
in righteousness in Christ Jesus is going to live eternally. Who
has believed that doctrine? Who believes that? You believe
that? I tell you, if you do, you better sing all the way home.
You believe that? Not many people do. Those who
believe it have died for it. Those who believe it have burned
for it. Those who believe it is, are
consecrated to it. Those who believe it want to
hear more of it. Those who believe it, it's first
in their hearts. It's before wife and husband
and children and friends and job and the world and everything
else. Those who believe it are dedicated
to it. Those who believe it, it is the
heartbeat of their very existence. Those who believe it, it is the
thought of their mind. Those who believe it, it's the
anticipation of their soul. Those who believe it, All right,
last of all, verse 11. Christ, the satisfied substitute,
he shall see in his omniscience, in his omnipotence, he shall
see in his foreknowledge, he shall see in his ability to declare
the end from the beginning, he shall see the travail of his
soul. You see, he made his soul an
offering for sin. And he's going to see the results
of it. And he's going to be perfectly satisfied. Perfectly satisfied. Turn to John 6. John 6, chapter
verse 37. And the Lord Jesus speaks to
this crowd. John 6, 37. And this is that
gang that walked off and left him. Five thousand of them. He'd fed them. He'd healed them. Preached to them. They walked
off and left him, and he knew they would. He foresaw their
exodus. But he says in verse 37 of John
chapter 6, All that my Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I'll
in no wise cast out. It grieves our hearts to see
people depart from the so-called religious faith. It breaks our
hearts to see people turn their back upon the only Redeemer of
the soul. It breaks our hearts to see people
put first that which is really last and unimportant and insignificant,
and neglect that which is most important, and sell their souls
for a mess of porridge. But Christ saw And Christ comforted
his heart with this promise, all that my Father giveth me
will come to me. They'll come. If they ever believe
that report, they'll come. If God ever opens their hearts,
they'll come. If God ever does a work of grace
in their soul, they'll come. For verse 38, I came down from
heaven not to do my own will. That's not why we're here today.
We're not here to do our own will. We're not here to try to
see how big we can make the 13th Street Baptist Church. We're
not here to see how many decisions we can get folks to make under
our high-pressure evangelism and mass psychology. Christ said,
I didn't come down here to do my will. I came to do the will
of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me. that of all which he hath given
me I'll lose nothing, but I'll raise it up at the last day. That's my Father's will, and
that's why I came, and that's why I'm here. I'm here to call
out a people for his name. The Holy Ghost is here to call
out a people for his name. The gospel is preached to call
out a people for his name. We won't compromise it. We won't
keep back anything that's profitable to that purpose. We won't shun
to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. But if you can't
receive Christ as he is, you can't have him. If you can't
bow at his feet as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, you
can't have him. If you can't see him and believe
on him and receive him as the suffering substitute, as the
silent substitute, as the submissive substitute, as the successful
substitute, as the satisfied mediator, you can't have him.
You can't have him. The Jews would have made him
king, but he didn't come down here to be the king. He came
down here to be the savior. They would have put him on a
material throne, but he didn't come down here to reign over
men's bodies. He came to reign over their hearts.
Over their hearts. You render to Caesar the things
that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. You
believe that report? Bless God if you do. If you don't,
that's all right, too. But I come to do my Father's
will. I come to do my Father's will.
Our Father anoint the message with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Leave us not to ourselves. We can reach the ears, we cannot
reach the heart. We can paint the picture of redemption,
but we cannot make the eye behold it. We can preach the gospel,
the mystery of godliness, but to the darkened foolish heart
it's foolishness. It's a stumbling block. It's
a scandalous thing. But oh, to them who are being
saved by Thy grace and by Thy power, it is the power of God
unto salvation. Thank Thee, Lord, for saving
our soul. Thank You, Lord, for making us
whole. Thank You, Lord, for giving to
us Thy great salvation, so rich and so free. In the name of our
Lord, we pray. Amen.