Grow With Pastor Joe

Philip P. Bliss was a gospel hymn writer and musician. You have either sung one of the hymns that he authored such as, “I will sing of my Redeemer,” “Wonderful words of life,” or my favorite, “Hallelujah, What a Savior.” Although he didn’t write the lyrics for the hymn, he composed the music for an all-time classic, “It is well with my soul.” “In 1875, gospel composer Philip P. Bliss (1838–1876) had a strong career trajectory. The previous year, he had decided to give his full attention to singing in the evangelistic campaigns of D.W. Whittle (1840–1901) and D.L. Moody (1837–1899), usually with his wife at his side, Lucy (Young) Bliss. Together with Ira Sankey, he launched a new series of songbooks, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs (1875). At some point during or between campaigns in Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington (March 1875), Nashville and Memphis (April), Syracuse (June), or perhaps at his home office in Chicago, he penned one of his most enduring hymns, “Man of sorrows, what a name” (“Hallelujah! What a Savior”). – (https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/man-of-sorrows-what-a-name) Bliss as well began to travel and preach as an evangelist. He helped compile hymnbooks and there is an incredible testimony at a meeting which he held at the state prison in Jackson, Michigan that he preached the gospel and sang “Hallelujah, What a Savior.” At the close of the service, it is said that two-thirds of the prisoners confessed Christ and marked down that date, November 19, 1876, as the day of their conversion. If you aren’t familiar, the hymn lyrics are as follows:

“1 Man of sorrows what a name for the Son of God, who came ruined sinners to reclaim: Hallelujah, what a Savior! 2 Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah, what a Savior! 3 Guilty, helpless, lost were we; blameless Lamb of God was he, sacrificed to set us free: Hallelujah, what a Savior! 4 He was lifted up to die; “It is finished” was his cry; now in heaven exalted high: Hallelujah, what a Savior! 5 When he comes, our glorious King, all his ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we’ll sing: Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

            These timeless words tell the eternal truth of our Redeemer, Savior, and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. This hymn is rich with doctrinal language that clearly proclaims the gospel with the heart of it being the penal substitutionary atonement in the death of Christ for sinners. When we consider the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ, how can we not exclaim, hallelujah, what a savior!? When we often think about the names or titles given to the Lord Jesus Christ, we rarely include “Man of Sorrows.” The One who gives us eternal joy was given the name, Man of Sorrows. Such joy flows from the One who experienced such sorrow that we can’t begin to compare or comprehend it. Jesus was born into sorrow as there was no room for him in the world that He created. He is born into a poor family without any accolades. The gifts of the Maggi even pointed to His impending suffering and death (myrrh). Throughout His life and ministry, He experienced great sorrow as the Holy One of God is now surrounded by sin and suffering. He walks around in the world that He created good and holy that is now corrupted by sin and under the curse. Of course, His death declares the greatest sorrow and suffering that there ever was. As the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” says, “See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?” There are countless examples of the sufferings and sorrows of Christ. I encourage you to read the gospels and mark those occasions, but here are a few for you to read, Mark 6:6; Mark 15:30-38; Luke 22:39-46; and John 11:30-44. Our sins caused His sorrow and suffering; why do we then not sorrow over our own sin? We experience sorrows in this life because we are born sinners living amongst sinners in a sin cursed world. Jesus, our great Redeemer, was born for the very purpose of bearing our sin and sorrows. Man’s greatest sorrow is that he is a sinner condemned to die without justification before God; yet, behold the Man of Sorrows who died to replace our great sorrow caused by sin with joy freely given by His gracious salvation.

            As we continue our study of the gospel of Isaiah, we must remember that the purpose of this in depth study of Isa. 52:13-53:12 is for the purpose that the riches of the person and work of Christ would cause our hearts to humbly bow and then leap up in worship with the words, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!” This passage is made up of five stanzas with three verses in each. Isaiah has written four “Servant Songs,” this being the fourth and final one, prophesies, proclaims, and praises the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the greater and more direct purpose is to show the profession of faith in a coming generation of Jews who will lament, repent, and be saved upon the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation period (See Zech. 12-14; Rom. 9-11). Last week, we began studying Isa. 53:1-3 which says, “Who 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.” We examined the revelation and rejection of the Arm of the Lord who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the majesty and might of God, but the nation of Israel rejected their King; therefore, they rejected the Kingdom as they crucified their King (See Mark 15; Acts 3:13-19). Today, we will behold the Man of Sorrows in Isa. 53:2-3 keeping in mind that this is being sung by a repentant and lamenting future remnant of Israel as they see their Savior-King whom they rejected at His first coming.. As we behold the Lord Jesus in these two verses, we will begin to see the sorrows and sufferings of our Savior for our sin and salvation that is expressly described in this passage.

            First, behold the unlikely Man of Sorrows in Isa. 53:2. Here, in the first half of the verse, we see that “he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.” The growing up before him is speaking of the eternal and earthly relationship that Jesus has with God, the Father. Everything is done within His sight and approval. Jesus is the only man who ever lived and only trusted, obeyed, and pleased God. Matthew 3:17 records this at Jesus’ baptism saying, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus also recognized this in His life and rested in His Father’s approval as He prayed in John 17:1-6 which says, “These 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. ⁶ I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” Adam failed as the federal head of the human race in the garden, but the Lord Jesus Christ has succeeded. He is the perfect spotless Son of God, the God-Man who lived in perfect obedience even unto the death of the cross for sinners who deserved death and Hell. There are a couple of key phrases to look as we behold the unlikely Man of Sorrows.

One, we see that He is growing up as a “tender plant.” The Hebrew word for tender shoot is “yoneq” which is a Hebrew noun describing a suckling shoot growing off of the main branch or main stalk, such suckling usually being pruned because they sucked life out of the tree or plant. When the Jews saw the life of Jesus, they believed Him to be the most unlikely and unnecessary of Messiahs. Jesus was viewed as a sucker branch that was not cultivated or expected; therefore, the Jews then and now continue to see Jesus as a false Messiah. After all, Jesus was born in a manger to poor people in the little town of David, Bethlehem which was viewed as an insignificant place (Micah 5:2). Furthermore, Jesus grew up in Nazareth which was disdained by the rest of Israel (John 1:46). In other words, Jesus was viewed as a nobody from nowhere Nazareth that needed to be pruned from the rest of the self-righteous and self-reliant Israel.

Two, we see that He is “a root out of a dry ground.” The idea of this phrase is to show the confession of Israel that they believed that Jesus was unlikely and unvaluable. However, who has more eternal value than Him? The same word for root here is also the same word used earlier in Isa. 11 which describes the Lord Jesus who is the One who has the right to rule from the throne of David. He is called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (Rev. 5:5). The dry ground is a descriptor of parched, dry, destitute ground that has experienced drought. This sort of land is also described in the Old Testament as a place of judgment such as the “wilderness” which stands in contrast to the Promised Land. Interestingly, the Promised Land of Israel had become a dry ground because of their idolatry and immorality. Jesus was surrounded and opposed by self-righteous, self-reliant Pharisees who didn’t think they needed to be saved from their sins. Jesus placed Adam in a garden paradise, but Jesus was placed into a parched ground surrounded by sin, sorrow, and unbelief. Had there been a job interview for the Messiah, Jesus wouldn’t have been called back for a follow-up interview. They would have heard of his background and immediately dismissed him as unlikely or unqualified for the job.

            Second, behold the unremarkable Man of Sorrows in Isa. 53:2 which continues to say, “he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Have you ever seen the pictures of long-haired, blond eyed, handsome Jesus? Yeah…throw them away. Now. Please. Now, I am not nor are other commentators on this passage saying that Jesus was some sort of Quasimodo hunchback of Notre Dame. When the Jews of Jesus’ day saw Him, this passage shows us that they saw nothing remarkable about Him. They viewed Him outwardly as extraordinarily ordinary. The word “form” deals with one’s appearance or beauty. It was previously used in describing the horrible humiliation of Christ as He endured the wretchedness of the cross as a slaughtered sacrifice for sinners. The Hebrew word used is “toar” which is used to describe someone who is good looking, handsome, beautiful, or in other cases someone who is royal or dignified. Jesus was a man of the people, not the palace or the Temple. He was a friend of sinners and those who carried sorrows and sicknesses. Royalty doesn’t do that. Royalty can’t be bothered to be touched by sinners or sick people. Jesus did the opposite and it floored the Pharisees time and again; yet, in reality, there is none more royal or dignified that Christ. The verse also tells us that He had no “comeliness” which is the word “hadar” which is a noun meaning glory, splendor, majesty, ornament, honor. It is used to describe the quality of a person and the response of reverence from others who behold them. Often, this word is used in describing the majesty of God. The Jews then and now believed that He had no glory, splendor, or honor whatsoever. They were unimpressed by Jesus and viewed Him as unremarkable. They had no reverence for the Holy King of the Universe who stood before them in the flesh covered with plain ordinary clothes of their day. To better describe this opinion of the Jews that Jesus was unremarkable, read the following from Messianic Jewish writer David Barron who says, “Israel’s attitude to our Lord Jesus may be gathered also from their literature. In the filthy legends about Him in the Talmud and more modern productions, the very names by which He is called are blasphemous. The precious name Yeshua (“Jesus,” Saviour) has been changed into “Yeshu,” made up of initial letters which mean, “Let His name and His memory be blotted out.” The Holy One who knew no sin nor was guile found in His mouth, is often styled “the Transgressor;” and another term frequently in the mouth of the Jews is “Tolui” (“the hanged one”), which is equivalent to “the accursed one.”” Essentially, what we see today is what was expressed by the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Lord describes in a parable in Luke 19:14 the people respond, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” Later on, crowds will want the murderous instigator Barrabas released and cry out to crucify Jesus as they reject Him as their King. The reason that they couldn’t see Jesus as their savior is because they couldn’t see their sin. Their hearts were under the judgment of God (See John 12:37-50). Self-righteousness and self-reliance always lead to self-destruction. That is what the Jews chose and still do but remember that this blessed chapter of Isaiah is a repentant remnant as they turn to the One who they turned away. He may have been unremarkable at His first coming, but at His Second Coming nothing will be brighter as Jesus will outshine the sun and His glory will be revealed throughout the world.

            Third, behold the unwanted Man of Sorrows in Isa. 53:3 which says, “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.” Why was Jesus called the Man of Sorrows? He is the Man of Sorrows because He beheld sin and suffering all around Him from His birth until His death. He is the Man of Sorrows because He bore sorrow over sin, sickness, and suffering that surrounded Him throughout His days. He is the Man of Sorrows because He bore in His suffering and sacrifice our sin and sorrow as the rest of Isa. 53 describes in such humbling detail. Jesus was “despised” which is the word “bazah” which is used to describe something as worthless garbage. 2 Cor. 8:9 says, “For ye 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.” Everything but Christ is the real useless garbage as Paul put it as he testified of his past self-righteousness in Philippians 3:4-11. The Jews viewed Barabbas as more valuable than the Lord Jesus Christ. He was as well “rejected” which is the word “hadel” meaning to be utterly abandoned or forsaken by others. Jesus was utterly abandoned as he alone went to the cross and died there in agony (See Mark 15). He is the “man of sorrows.” Jesus’ sorrow was continual. The Bible tells us that He wept, mourned, sorrowed, and groaned, but never records laughter. This doesn’t necessarily mean that He never laughed; however, this is a reminder that the gospels, like Isa. 53 recount the sufferings and sorrows of the Savior, God’s Servant, who suffered deeply for our sins. Jesus was a beast of burden who carried the burden of humanities’ sin in His own body there upon the bloody rugged cross. Jesus was also “acquainted with grief.” The word “grief” is the word “challah” which means pain, suffering, or sorrow. Jesus was not a sinner, but sin affected Him more than anyone. Jesus is more acquainted with your sins and sorrows than you are for He bore them for us on the cross. He took them upon Himself as His own, though He never could or would sin. He is the sinless substitutionary satisfactory sacrifice for sin who bore our sin and sorrow upon Himself. Hallelujah, what a Savior! Why did Jesus do this? Jesus did this to become a sympathetic High Priest for His people according to Heb. 4:14-16 which says, “¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ¹⁵ For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Other references to note are 2 Cor. 5:21 and 1 Pet. 2:21-25. Although Jesus was the Man of Sorrows, He endured the cross because of an eternal joy that He saw beyond the shadowy judgment of the cross. Heb. 12:1-3 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Jesus went willingly to the cross as He alone is the only worthy and willing sacrifice for our sins. Each step carried an eternal sorrow for the sins and sufferings that were placed onto Him; yet, with each step Jesus walked onward to victory, glory, and to the joy of having accomplished the redemption of His own by His perfect sacrifice.            

We see as we close the study of Isa. 53:1-3 that the future repentant remnant will look on Jesus and be saved, but they will mourn their past rejection of Him. The reason that they had rejected Him then and now is because He was the unlikely, unremarkable, and unwanted Man of Sorrows. Israel then and now desires a superman who will not save them from their sins but will congratulate them for their righteousness and will establish a kingdom of peace. Have you beheld Jesus? Have you beheld the Man of Sorrows who suffered for your sin? Can we behold Him and not sing, “Hallelujah, What a Savior!”? Jesus has beheld and bore sin and sorrow so that those who behold Him in faith can know eternal joy. Jesus was touched by sinners, sin, and sorrows so that those who are touched by His saving grace can be saved from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. Our greatest joy is found in the most sorrowful moment and most sorrowful Man in human history, the Lord Jesus Christ there upon the cross bearing our sin and sorrows suffering alone. Behold the Man of Sorrow, what a name!