Grow With Pastor Joe

As I type this, we are approaching the last Sunday of the year. I was curious to remember  what I preached at the end and beginning of 2024-2025. I ended 2024 and began 2025 by preaching the need to draw near to Christ and His Church out of Heb. 10:19-25. The Lord then led us through a nine-month journey through Romans 12-16. Looking back while trying to look ahead, I see that the Lord has pressed upon my heart to preach the person and work of Christ. In other words, I have necessity laid upon me to preach the gospel. The gospel covers all of systematic, biblical, and practical theology. Now, as this year comes to a close and a new year is about to begin, I am burdened that we would continue to make Christ not only the primary, but the solitary focus of our hearts and homes. I am convinced that the greatest issue of our day in the life of believers and the church of Christ is that we are not satisfied with gospel preaching. We feel that we are either above it or beyond it. Therefore, most professing Christians and preachers seem to lose their gospel zeal. Woe is us.

            During the Christmas season we did a short series of looking at Christmas through the eyes and prophecies of Isaiah. My next passage to end the Christmas series was going to be looking at why Jesus was born in Isa. 53 which covers the biography of our Lord Jesus Christ from eternity to earth and back into the eternal glory of His being. Through prayer and study my heart is overwhelmed by the passage. We mustn’t take it lightly. Most believers are familiar with some portions of the passage or at least the concepts that are found in it. It is often quoted and perhaps even more often, misquoted or misapplied. However, the passage is perhaps one of the most helpful in understanding the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that many Christians today are not in awe of the Savior because our attention is given to a million lesser things. C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “This is one of the chapters that lie at the very heart of the Scriptures. It is the very Holy of holies of Divine Writ. Let us, therefore, put off our shoes from our feet, for the place whereon we stand is especially holy ground. This fifty-third of Isaiah is a Bible in miniature. It is the condensed essence of the gospel.”

The gospel of Isaiah found in this passage is indeed a “Bible in miniature.” The book of Isaiah is divided into two major sections. The first is Isa. 1-39 which covers the pronouncement of the coming judgment upon Judah (and Israel) for their rebellion and rejection of God’s word, work, and will. They had broken their covenant with the covenant making and keeping God of Heaven. The second section, which holds our passage of focus, is found in Isa. 40-66. The Bible itself is broken up into the Old Testament containing 39 books and the New Testament containing 27. Here, Isaiah’s literature is seen in the same light. Furthermore, the second half of Isaiah gives us the flow of the New Testament and in many ways the flow of redemptive history is seen throughout the book of Isaiah. Isaiah opens up with the pronouncement of God’s people rebelling against Him. This is seen for the first time in the Garden of Eden with Adam. Sin then continues to spread, and the curse covered every inch of God’s creation. Yet, the Lord made a people who weren’t yet a people (I Peter 2:10). He covenanted with them and sustained them by His grace and mercy. We see in the first section of Isaiah the pronouncement of just judgment and a coming captivity, but when God pronounces judgment upon His covenant people, He also promised deliverance. The second half of Isaiah opens up like the New Testament does with the ministry of John the Baptist (Isa. 40:3-5) paving the way for the long-expected Jesus who has come to set His people free (Mt. 1-3; Mrk. 1; Lk. 1-3; John 1); and then it ends with the establishment of the New Heavens and New Earth (Isa. 66) as seen in Rev. 21-22. Isa. 53 is at the heart of the gospel. Isaiah has been called the fifth gospel by some in that it shows to us the person and work of Christ over 700 years before Christ was born in Bethlehem. Isa. 53 is also in the heart of the second section of the book which is focused on giving comfort to God’s people. There are three sections that focus on God’s deliverance of His people. First, there is the promise of immediate deliverance from the coming Babylonian captivity which is their temporal circumstance that they must endure (40-48). Second, there is the promise of salvation and deliverance from their captivity to sin (49-57). This section deals with the far more important spiritual deliverance and salvation. Third, there is the promise of total deliverance and salvation from the curse of the earth with the New Heavens and Earth that will come at the end of all things (58-66). Interestingly, at the end of each of these sections is a warning to the wicked to repent and that there is no peace with God with the unbelieving wicked.

Isaiah 53 is a critical prophecy of the coming Messiah-King who will be God’s Servant to save His people from sin’s penalty, power, and presence. Praise the Lord that as New Testament believers we can see the fullness of our salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the heart of the gospel and at the heart of Isaiah’s gospel in Isa. 53 we see the penal substitutionary and satisfactory sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. Dr. John MacArthur writes of this chapter’s significance to our understanding and application of the gospel saying, “That brief but pivotal portion of Isaiah is a crystal-clear prophecy about the ministry, death, resurrection, and coronation of the Messiah, written more than seven centuries before he came. It is the gospel according to God. Of all the Old Testament’s messianic prophecies, this one stands out for its sublime richness and unparalleled clarity. In particular, Isaiah paints a precise prophetic portrait of Messiah’s sufferings. He also explains in vivid detail the true meaning of Messiah’s death as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people.” This chapter is being written from the perspective of eternity future where God’s people can look backward and see the Suffering Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ most clearly. Eternity will be nothing less than a glorious review of the person and work of Christ in redemptive history that will cause all of the redeemed to rejoice with an eternal, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!” What we will see in this passage is that Jesus is the Sovereign God who became God’s Servant. He alone could do so because He alone is the eternal and virgin born God-Man (Isa. 7:14, 9:6-7). To study the famous Isa. 53 we have to back up to Isa. 52:13-15. Please understand that our chapter and verse headings were not inspired when the books of the Bible were penned by Holy Ghost inspired authors. When we study a passage we must understand its context, which is why this overview of the context of this chapter is so lengthy. With that in mind, when you think of Isa. 53, I want you to think of Isa. 52:13-15 as well because the two should not be separated. There have been countless sermons and books written about this pivotal chapter of the Bible. I will have nothing new to say, but my prayer is that through this study my heart, the hearts at Victory Way Baptist Church, and all who study this monumental passage would slow down, be still, close our mouth, and simply behold Him.

Now, let’s take off our shoes and enter into this holy ground. Fix now your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Isa. 52:13-53:12 says, “¹³ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. ¹⁴ As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: ¹⁵ So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. ¹Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? ² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. 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. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. ⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 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. ¹¹ 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. ¹² Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Today, we will focus on Isa. 52:13-15 which will serve as an overview of the gospel of Isaiah. In these three verses we will behold Christ and see His revelation, His exaltation, His humiliation, and His expiation. All four of these truths will be covered in greater detail in Isa. 53:1-12 of which we may be more familiar. I will go ahead and say, there is a high probability of not making it through all four of these points in one sermon. I’m personally praying to just make it through the introduction to this passage. Studying and preaching the Bible always brings with it some anxiety, fear, and trepidation. Approaching this passage now brings even more for the seriousness of the passage, but as well as I am convinced of the necessity of God’s people to become reacquainted with their Savior. We will only grow as far in the Christian life as we go deeper into the mysterious and mighty waters of the gospel. Surface level Christianity may get you into Heaven, but you’ll miss the point of it all. What’s at the heart of the gospel? What’s the point? Simply, the grace and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s now behold Him as we study His word.

First, let’s behold His revelation in Isa. 52:13 which says, “¹³ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” The opening of Isaiah’s gospel immediately grabs the reader by the ears and heart. The word “behold” is the Hebrew word “henneh” which is used here and in many other cases as an interjection to arrest our attention upon what is to follow. Each time that you see it in your Bible and especially here, you should stop, give your attention, and give your admiration. To behold something is not merely to stop and see, but to stare, gaze, and focus. When we behold the Lord in the pages of scripture, it should mean that all of our attention, admiration, and affection are given to Him alone. Whatever has your attention and admiration will have your affection. Isaiah had a similar experience in Isa. 6 where he saw the Lord Jesus Christ on the throne. He was undone. Our problem today is that the news will undo us. Spilling coffee will undo us. Having the sniffles will undo us. Yet, the preaching of the gospel and the contemplation of Jesus Christ has little to no effect. Isaiah has used the interjection in other portions of His ministry. In Isa. 40:9-15 we are invited to behold God. It says, “⁹ O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! ¹⁰ Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. ¹¹ He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. ¹² Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? ¹⁴ With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” There, Israel is called to give God their undivided attention, admiration, and affection as Isaiah begins his comforting preaching of God’s salvation. The rest of the chapter goes on to show us that there is none like God. This same use of “behold” is seen in Zechariah 6:12 and 9:9 which say, “¹² And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: ⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Both of these verses speak of the Lord Jesus Christ who is “The Branch” (See Isa. 11:1, 10; Rev. 5:1-5) and the King who has come to bring salvation. The second verse mentioned in Zechariah of course was fulfilled in the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem to begin the Passion week of Christ. Sadly, on that very day, Israel had missed their King as Isa. 53 goes on to describe. By rejecting the King they rejected His Kingdom, but the point of Isa. 52:13-53:12 is that there is a coming day when Israel and Judah will be united together in and under the Lord Jesus Christ. They won’t miss Him when He comes again.

Next, notice that the subject that we are invited to behold is called “my servant.” This is key for us to understand. This phrase has been used of Isaiah (Isa 20:3), Eliakim (Isa 22:20), David (Isa 37:35), Israel (Isa 41:8,9, Isa. 44:1; Isa. 44:2; Isa. 44:21; Isa. 45:4); however, here, it is strictly of the Messiah which means the anointed one of God. This is one of Isaiah’s four “Servant Songs” which are almost Psalm like in their style. In our KJV, the ‘s’ is lower case, but because of the interpretive context it should be capitalized as it is a title of the Lord Jesus Christ. The NASB and NKJV rightly capitalize this title of Christ, but even more interestingly, the Geneva Bible which predates the KJV (same family of texts though and used by the reformers, puritans, and conservative Christians before the popularization of the KJV) leaves it lower case, but has a marginal note which gives the contextual meaning pointing to the identity of the “servant” being the Lord Jesus Christ and none else. The first “Servant Song” that speaks of Christ is found in Isa. 42:1,19 which describes the servant of God being God’s chosen and anointed one who will bring deliverance for God’s people. The second “Servant Song” is found in Isa. 49:1-13 which shows His authority over the Gentile nations. The third “Servant Song” is found in Isa. 50:4-11 which introduces the sufferings of the Servant of God, but also that He will be vindicated. The fourth “Servant Song” is the passage of focus in our study, Isa. 52:13-53:12. The word “my servant” is the Hebrew word “’ebed” which means servant or slave that does the will of another. Isaiah already established that the coming Messiah-King, the Lord Jesus Christ will be unique in that He is truly God and truly man. He is the one and only God-Man. When we speak of the will of God we speak of His sovereign will, His moral will, and His personal will. The Lord Jesus Christ shared the will of the Father as He is the eternal Son of God, but in His humanity, He had a will and submitted it to the will of the Father. Jesus declared that He came to do the will of the Father who sent Him (See Mt. 12:14-21 which quotes Isaiah and Jesus’ words in John 6:38). We see this clearly in Jesus’ suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prays, “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (See Mt. 26:36-46). Then, we see that as we behold His revelation in Isa. 52:13a, we see the description of the Servant in that He will “deal prudently.” This word is actually the same Hebrew word that is translated as “wisdom.” The Jewish people associated wisdom with success. Wise living is successful living. Those who are wise are successful in life while the fools fail in their ventures. The purpose of this description of the Servant is to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ is successful in all that He is and does. The mission for which Christ came is accomplished. He is victorious and triumphant from eternity past to eternity future.

            Second, let’s behold His exaltation in the second half of Isa. 52:13 which says, “¹³ Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” Our study of Isa. 53 is so often only associated with the vicarious death of Christ, but we must not forget His victory. We must remember that His cross came before His crucifixion, not just because of it. Jesus doesn’t wear the crown in Heaven simply because He earned by way of the cross, but because the crown of glory is of His very essence and nature. He is the King who wears the eternal crown who chose to wear a crown of thorns to save His enemies. What I want us to behold about His exaltation is that the Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted high, higher, and highest. Meaning, you can’t get anymore exalted that the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus acknowledges this in His prayer in John 17:1-5 saying, “¹These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: ² As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. ³ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. ⁴ I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” When Isaiah says that He shall be “exalted” we see that is a lifting up high. Then, he says that He shall be “extolled, and be very high.” What’s the difference between these three? I believe that what we are seeing here is a prophetic reference to Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, and coronation. Remember, Isaiah is writing this passage from the perspective of standing at the end of the age looking back at the person and work of Christ from an eternal perspective. All three of these come after His crucifixion, but God wants us to behold the exaltation of His beloved only begotten Son. He is the “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18). Jesus is the first to experience a bodily resurrection which exalts Him. Then, His ascension that is recorded in Acts 1:1-14 extols Him even higher as now He is ascended to the right hand of the Father where He ever lives to make intercession for His own (See Heb. 4:14-16; 7:1-28)). Then, we see that the Servant of God will be very high in His coronation as King of Kings and Lord of Lords upon His return to establish His Kingdom. Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost covered this in Acts. 2:21-36 and then Paul speaks of this Eph. 1:15-23. Famously, Phil. 2:9-11 says, “⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” When we behold His exaltation, we must do so without forgetting His birth, life, and death for our sins. Christ’s crowning and crucifixion go together. He is victorious and triumphant from eternity to eternity. The same is true of His crucifixion and crowning. He is the exalted Messiah-King and Servant of God who is Himself the Sovereign God.            

As we bring this part of the study to a close, we are reminded that there is so much more marvelous scripture to digest in this study. Isaiah’s gospel is incredible and reminds us that the gospel is God’s plan throughout the ages. There are a couple of things that we must deal with as we stop today’s study. One, do you know this Saving Servant? Do you know that He died in your stead for the crimes against God that you committed? If you don’t know Him, then come in repentance and faith to be saved by this Servant of God. Have you beheld Him? Do not look at how great your sin is; no, look at how mighty a Savior He is. Two, if you do know Christ, will you behold Him afresh in your heart and mind? Does He captivate your heart? Is your attention, admiration, and affection upon Him alone? Do you exalt Him in your life? Is your heart bowed before His throne? We must never move on from the person and work of Christ. We must never cease to behold Him in all of His grace and glory so wonderfully displayed and declared in the gospel! Behold Him! As you behold Him, there can be no other response than, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!”