Today, we begin the final stanza of the fourth and final Servant Song of Isaiah. Isa. 52:13-53:12 acts as a Bible in miniature. The eternal story of redemption is recorded in these five stanzas. It is the eternal exclamation and explanation of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternity is contained within these verses. Here at Victory Way Baptist Church, we celebrate and partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember the satisfactory sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption. We honor Him for His all-sufficient work, and we rest in the promise of His future coming. When we think of the Lord’s Table, we see visible elements and partake of those elements (bread and wine – in our case, a cracker and grape juice). These elements were established by Jesus in John 13 and we see Paul’s record in 1 Cor. 11. For many, this is just a tradition, but the Bible is very clear that this is a special time for the local assembly to rest in the satisfactory work of Jesus Christ as we remember our eternal redemption purchased by His sacrifice. The bread and wine were symbolic of Jesus’ body that was broken on the cross as He bore “our griefs and carried our sorrows,” and as 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,” and the Lord lays “on him the iniquity of us all.” His blood is poured out as an offering as He willingly and lovingly gives His life a ransom for many. Let’s think about the elements in front of us today. We have no bread without the crushing of wheat berries. We have no juice without the crushing of the grape. You can’t drink grapes. They must be crushed. Just as the grape must be crushed to produce juice, Christ must be crushed to produce our justification in the sight of God. The Lord Jesus Christ was crushed for our salvation and forgiveness of sin. He was crushed as He ate and drank our guilt. He partook of the bitter awful load of our guilt as He alone in the darkness of Calvary bore the weight of God’s wrath against sinners. We enjoy the sweetness of salvation because He endured the bitterness of suffering as our satisfactory substitute for sin. It is the death of the sinless Servant that delivers sinners from death.
In the greater passage that we have been working our way through; we must remember and see that in the first and last stanzas we hear the voice of the Lord. God is speaking in Isa. 52:13-15 and then again in Isa. 53:11-12. The final stanza of this Servant Song once more focuses on the exclamation, explanation, and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Servant of Jehovah. These two stanzas act as summaries of the whole passage, but in many regards, they serve to show us the big eternal picture of eternity. In Isa. 53:1-10, we hear the future confession of the repentant remnant of Israel after His second coming as they confess their rejection of Jesus at His first coming. Our passage today is Isa. 53:10-12 which says, “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 the satisfactory Servant as seen in verse 10. Within this verse we will see the eternal plan and pleasure of God. There is much to unpack here as we enter the home stretch of this study. This verse in particular is very impactful as we prepare our hearts to partake of the Lord’s Supper. We are reminded today of the guilt of sin, but even more so that Jesus made Himself our guilt offering to be the satisfier of God’s justice so that God can be just and the justifier of repentant sinners.
First, we must see the eternal plan of God. Just typing that thought sounds too daunting to touch. However, the Bible and this passage in Isaiah gives to us in plain language the eternal plan of God regarding the redemption of sinners. When it comes to the accomplishment of the redemption of sinners, our mind cannot fully grasp the depth or height of eternity, let alone the eternal plan of God to redeem us through the satisfactory work of His Son. Isa. 55:8-11 says “8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Although God has given to us a glimpse of His eternal plan in this passage of Isaiah, we are still like worms trying to comprehend a child that picks it up from the mud puddle. Yet, the mystery of eternity is a wonderful thing. It gives us the assurance that God is God and He is indeed the author of eternity. Everything, especially our redemption is mapped out by almighty God from eternity past. Rom. 11:33-36 captures this thought as well saying, “33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” God’s eternal plan is all about His glory. Eternity and our redemption are all about His glory. The eternal plan of God essentially deals with God’s will. God’s will is seen in Isa. 53:10 in the word “pleased.” This word not only deals with delight, but it deals with His will. When we say God’s will, we must think of it in these three ways. God’s eternal will involves His design (sovereign will – everything in eternity is under this), His desire (moral will – everything that God deems good or evil including the choices of man), His decrees (specific will – what God decrees cannot be undone). Was the suffering of Jesus Christ God’s plan? Yes. Why? How? Because it is through Christ’s substitutional suffering that God’s justice is satisfied and that save sinners who trust in Christ, the satisfactory Servant. Nothing else can save. Nothing else can compare. There is no other plan, and the cross was never God’s back up plan. Jesus is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Furthermore, Peter preaches this truth on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:21-24 saying, “21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; 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: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” The eternal plan of our salvation demonstrates the triunity of the godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father acts as the architect of Redemption, the Son as the achiever, and the Spirit as the applier. Your redemption is as much a part of God’s eternal plan as the creation of the universe.
Now, notice as well that this final stanza of this passage begins with the phrase, “yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” The phrase “yet it” shows us that God is satisfied by the sacrifice of the Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is satisfied to bruise His own Son who is silent and sinless as the substitute for sinners. This is God’s perfect plan of salvation. It is perfect because it is God’s plan. This eternal plan of God is seen not just in this greater passage, but specifically, and most clearly, in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross. In Jesus Christ, the satisfactory Servant of Jehovah, we see the revelation of God’s glory, the redemption of the guilty, and the resounding of His glory throughout the ages of eternity. The entirety of this passage shows a timeline of glory to glory, with the glory of God being revealed in, through, and by Jesus Christ as He redeems the guilty through His satisfactory sacrifice. All of the sufferings of Jesus Christ are directly done to achieve every detail of God’s eternal plan of redemption. Suffering and glory are inseparable. The Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah spoke of both His glory and suffering. Isa. 52:13-53:12 shows us His glory, then His suffering, and return to glory. God is glorified through Christ’s suffering to redeem the guilty and bring them home to glory with Him. The eternal plan of God is His perfect design, desires, and decrees. God delights in His designs or will being accomplished because it is for our good and His eternal glory. In Isa. 53:10 we see the eternal plan of God, but we also will see that it not only involves the salvation of sinners through Christ’s suffering, but as well the exaltation of Christ through His resurrection and coming return to reign.
Second, we must see the eternal pleasure of God. As we established, the will of God involves His plan and His pleasure because the two are linked. God takes pleasure in His plan because it is for an eternal good of His people and the eternal revelation and reception of His glory. Think about your own level for a moment. Don’t you love it when your plans come together? Rare, yes, I know that all too well. However, on rare occasions when everything goes according to our plan or expectations we are over the moon with joy. When we think about God’s eternal plan we must think of His eternal pleasure because God takes pleasure in the execution of His expectation. Ps. 115:1-3 says, “1Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” Then, Ps. 135:1-6 says, “1Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. 2 Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 3 Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. 4 For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. 5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” As we look at Isa. 53:10, we must ask, what pleases God? There are two things that we see please God that are according to His plan.
One, God is pleased by Christ’s offering and redemption. God was “pleased” to “bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” To “bruise” is to crush with affliction. This is not to say that God was pleased in the Christ’s pain, but in the purpose and purchase that His sufferings provided. God was pleased at the outcome of the offering of the Son. What wondrous love is this? This bruising is not only a prophecy and pronouncement in this passage, but it is seen in Gen. 3:15 as well. Jesus is the Seed who would have His heel bruised, but the Serpent would be crushed. The Servant was crushed under God’s divine eternal wrath in the place of sinners so that Satan would be crushed by and under the feet of the Son. Christ still wears the eternal crown as He is crushed wearing a crown of thorns. It is said that not only Jesus was “bruised,” but that God “put Him to grief.” This phrase means to make one sick or wounded. It is used to describe the excruciating nature, not merely of the physical pain of the cross, but the eternal load of wrath and guilt being placed on Jesus on the cross. All of this is alluded to in the Messianic Psalm 22 which shows the depth and breadth of Christ’s offering and suffering. In the Old Testament (Lev. 6-7), there were five particular offerings listed. There was the burnt offering which was for worship, the peace offering for reconciliation and fellowship with God, the meat offering for sanctifying consecration, the sin offering for atonement, and the guilt offering for reparation or payment for sin. John MacArthur comments on the importance of the guilt offering mentioned in Isa. 53:10 saying that the offering, “added the dimension of restitution, or satisfaction or propitiation, which is a verb that means to be satisfied. It is the last of the offerings in Leviticus in the first seven chapters. It is an advance from the others. The sin offering and the guilt offering were offered every day in the morning and evening sacrifices. The guilt offering advanced the ideas in the sin offering. In the sin offering you had repentance communicated. In the sin offering you had the recognition of sin bringing death and the hope of a substitute. But in the guilt offering, because the whole animal was put on the altar, there was the picture of completion or complete satisfaction.” The offering of Christ’s blood is satisfactory; therefore we are assured that God is satisfied with us because He is satisfied with His Son.
Two, God is pleased by Christ’s offspring and resurrection. The second half of Isa. 53:10 says, “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.” Jesus did not have literal biological children. He was unmarried and had been killed in the prime of life. Instead, Jesus has a Bride and Body, the Church made up of the redeemed, both Jew and Gentile. How can someone who has been crushed by crucifixion and buried have prolonged days? The answer is simple. Isaiah’s gospel doesn’t just tell us of Christ’s redemption through suffering, but it speaks of His resurrection unto glory. We who were once sheep who were straying have been made sons and share in the eternal riches of Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ provided for the spiritual offspring who are adopted by God through the Son the promise of a future resurrection and glorification. Jesus knew that He would return to glory after His death for He already knew of His resurrection. It was He Himself who foretold of this in John 10 and 17. He even declared Himself to be the “resurrection and life” in John 11 as he raises Lazarus from the dead. For further study, read Rom. 4:25, 1 Cor. 15, Eph. 1,2. The book of Hebrews gives two major sections that further show the wonder of Christ’s offering and offspring. In Heb. 2:9-18; 10:1-18 we see that His offering is satisfactory for redemption and that we are His offspring through His resurrection. God is pleased to save us by the satisfactory work of Christ. This is God’s eternal plan and pleasure.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we see God’s eternal plan and pleasure declared and demonstrated. God is pleased to save sinners, adopting us as offspring because of Jesus’ offering of suffering in our place. Our eternity is staked on Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. This is the gospel of Isaiah and the theme of the whole Bible. All of eternity is centered around God’s pleasure (His glory) through the execution of His plan. This wonderful passage and verse that we have studied today not only gives us God’s eternal plan and pleasure, but God’s eternal plea. Come to Christ and live. Bow before the sinless silent satisfactory substituted Servant and be saved! He is sovereign in all things including and especially our redemption. God pleads with you to come and be saved in Isa. 55:1-7 saying, “1Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. 5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Those that find their salvation in Christ are then satisfied in, by, and with Christ. Are you satisfied? God is satisfied in Him, shouldn’t we be? Shouldn’t we take pleasure in what pleases God and shouldn’t we take pleasure in His plans? Jesus came the first time to redeem us through His suffering, but He is coming again to reign in glory. Be satisfied today in the perfect work of the satisfactory Servant. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Grow With Pastor Joe 
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