His Word Today

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“The Old Testament covenant pronounced a curse upon any person who broke the law of God. On the cross, Jesus not only took that curse upon Himself, but He became ‘a curse for us’ (Galatians 3:13). He was forsaken by the Father and experienced the full measure of hell on the cross. “ Dr. R. C. Sproul 

 We now arrive at the climax of the Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). These final three verses in the fifth stanza, 53:10-12, provide a crescendo of praise for the person and work of Jesus Christ in providing atonement for sinners.

Today, we examine Isaiah 53:12. “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

 “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.” The word “therefore” is a common adverb indicating a conclusion. The Prophet Isaiah, and God Himself, come to a conclusion regarding the person and work of the Servant of Yahweh. The image conveyed in this portion of Isaiah 53:12 is one a conqueror dividing up the spoil among the enemy he has conquered. It pictures a general or leader dividing up the goods taken from an enemy. The enemy is Satan and the goods are those who become believers in Christ.

Dr. John Walvoord comments that, “Because He was numbered with the transgressors, that is, was considered a sinner (cf. Matt. 27:38) and bore the sin (cf. Isa. 53:6) of many, that is, everyone, He is exalted and allows believers to share in the benefits of that exaltation. And because He is alive (cf. v. 10), He now intercedes (prays; cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25) for … transgressors (related to the word peša‘, “transgression[s],” in Isa. 53:5, 8). This great passage gives a tremendously complete picture of what the death of Jesus Christ accomplished on behalf of Israel (John 11:49–51) and the whole world (1 John 2:2). His death satisfied God’s righteous demands for judgment against sin, thus opening the way for everyone to come to God in faith for salvation from sin.”

 “Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many.” The reason given for Jesus Christ to victoriously glean a harvest of souls from those dead in their trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1-3) is because He willingly went to the cross on behalf of sinners like you and me. While Jesus endured the humiliation of a criminal’s death on the cross, He was actually dying for the true criminal: me. Therefore, God’s justice was satisfied allowing Him to justify sinners like me (Romans 3:21-26).

“And makes intercession for the transgressors” Jesus’ intercession or help on behalf of sinners began at the cross (Luke 23:34) and continues to this day as He intercedes for believers from Heaven (Hebrews 7:25; 9:24). Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5). That is why salvation is solely by grace alone, through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

Dr. John MacArthur concludes by saying, “With Yahweh’s own words in Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,” this magnificent passage ends where it began in verse 13 of chapter 52, with the exaltation of Jesus Christ. He will return in order to defeat the world’s rebellion against God, judge the ungodly, and establish His glorious kingdom on the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6). He will receive the title deed to the earth (Rev. 5). The kingdoms of the world will become “the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). And at the name of Jesus every kneed [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Phil.2:10).”

 I encourage you meditate upon the following hymn by Charles Wesley: And Can It Be?

 And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam’s helpless race
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free
For O my God, it found out me!
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shoudlst die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine
Alive in Him, my living Head
And clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou my God, shouldst die for me?

May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“In receiving the wrath of the Father on the cross, Christ was able to make atonement for His people. Christ carried, or bore, the punishment for the sins of human beings. He atoned for them by accepting the just punishment for those sins.” Dr. R. C. Sproul 

 We now arrive at the climax of the Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). These final three verses in the fifth stanza, 53:10-12, provide a crescendo of praise for the person and work of Jesus Christ in providing atonement for sinners.

Today, we examine Isaiah 53:11. In this verse we not only witness the doctrine of substitutionary atonement but also the doctrine of justification by faith alone. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

 “Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied.”  It is a futile gesture to try and differentiate between the Father and the Son in vs. 11. Most commentators take the perspective that the personal pronoun “he” in vs. 11 pertains to Jesus Christ. There is no violation to the meaning of the text by taking that point of view.

Jesus’ hard difficult experience within His internal being, which includes His will, intellect and emotions, due to His atonement on the cross will be superseded by His contentment in bringing the salvation of many souls to fruition. The plan of redemption will succeed.    

 “By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities.” Jesus’ contentment in having experience all that He did will be because He understands that His work on the cross is the only means by which sinners will be counted righteous before God the Father. The Hebrew word Yas’dig means to be declared righteous. How can a sinner be justified before God? Only by faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. Likewise, the ability to exercise saving faith is because of God’s sovereign grace enabling the helpless sinner to believe the Gospel.

The heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that sinners are justified by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. Isaiah 53:11 declares and affirms justification by faith, imputed righteousness, substitutionary atonement and the Messiah’s death to provide propitiation before Yahweh.

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “Those doctrines were the very same principles that were recovered by the Protestant Reformers after nearly being smothered to death under centuries of accumulated error and stifling church tradition. The Reformers dusted them off, recognized their true importance and proclaimed them as essential gospel truths. They are the same truths that set the hearts of English and American Puritans aflame. They are the same doctrines proclaimed by the Puritans spiritual heirs—men like George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon and others. When taught clearly and fearlessly by preachers who truly believe in the authority of Scripture and proclaim it, ‘as it really is, the Word of God’ (I Thessalonians 2:13), those truths have always been used by God to draw people to Christ and transform whole communities—and sometimes to reform an entire culture.”

You know a church has become like the worldly culture when it no longer preaches the truths affirmed by Isaiah 53:11. The individual must question whether they are truly converted if they do not hold to and believe the truths affirmed by Isaiah 53:11.

Hymnist Edward Mote (1797-1874) wrote one of the most significant hymns regarding the theme of justification. It is entitled The Solid Rock.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

 May God’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“Because sin touches even our best acts, we are incapable of making a sufficient sacrifice. Even our sacrifices are tainted and would require a further sacrifice to cover that blemish, ad infinitum. We have no gift valuable enough, no work righteous enough to atone for our own sins. We are debtors who cannot pay their debts.” Dr. R. C. Sproul

 We now arrive at the climax of the Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). These final three verses in the fifth stanza, 53:10-12, provide a crescendo of praise for the person and work of Jesus Christ in providing atonement for sinners.

Today, we examine Isaiah 53:10. “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”

 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him.” The phrase “it was the will” means to take delight in, to take pleasure in and to desire. This act and behavior belonged to Yahweh regarding His Servant: Jesus Christ.

The Prophet Isaiah then informs us as to what Yahweh took delight and pleasure with respect to His Servant: it was “to crush Him.” The Hebrew word dak’keo means to beat, oppress and to bruise. This is what  the Father’s will was for His Son, the Servant of Yahweh: Jesus Christ.

John Calvin writes, “In Christ there is no fault; why, then, was the LORD pleased that He should suffer? Because He stood in our room, and in no other way then by His death could the justice of God be satisfied.”

 Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  

 “He has put Him to grief.” The pronoun “He” refers to God the Father. The pronoun “Him” refers to the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Servant of Yahweh: Jesus Christ. The Father has afflicted and physically wounded the Son for the sake of the sheep. This act of love and justice was for sinners like you and me.

Romans 5:8-10 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

 “When his soul makes an offering for guilt.” God the Father determined that the Son would be an atoning sacrifice. Dr. John Walvoord writes, “The statement, the Lord made the Servant’s life a guilt offering, does not mean that Jesus’ life satisfied the wrath of God but that His life which culminated in His death was the sacrifice for sins. As indicated in Isaiah 53:7–8 He had to die to satisfy the righteous demands of God. The word for “guilt offering” is ’āšām, used in Leviticus 5:15; 6:5; 19:21 and elsewhere of an offering to atone for sin.”

 What follows in the text are three prophetic statements of promise by the God the Father due to the atonement by His Servant, Jesus Christ. “He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.”

“He shall see His offspring” God the Father will see the offspring of God the Son: those who are believers in Jesus Christ. This is because the Son will rise from the dead. Jesus will have a people for Himself.

“He shall prolong His day.” As the risen Son of God, the Servant of Yahweh will live eternally thereby guaranteeing that His seed or descendants by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone will also live eternally.

“The will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” Those who belong and are the Servant’s possession will succeed or become many. The death, burial and resurrection of the Jesus Christ will not be useless or unprofitable but will yield an abundant fruit and a harvest of souls. It will be effective.

Meditate today upon the lyrics to the hymn Before the Throne of God Above.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

 May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7-9)

“Both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that all human beings are sinners. Al our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot even look upon sin. An atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God.” Dr. R. C. Sproul

Isaiah 53:7-9 is the fourth section of five in Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). In these three verses we witness The Obedience of the Suffering Servant. Today, we examine Isaiah 53:9: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

 “And they made His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death.” A place was set for the Servant of Yahweh, Jesus Christ, to be buried. We read of these efforts in all four of the New Testament Gospels (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:43-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42). The word “grave” means sepulcher, burial chamber, or burial site. It affirms that Jesus Christ would die on the cross and be buried. His grave was intended to be with the unrighteous, as was the situation with the other two criminals crucified with Jesus (John 19:31).

Roman executioners normally left the deceased bodies of crucified criminals on their crosses for days on end. The corpses would then become food for birds and wild animals. In the ancient world, to not bury a dead body was the ultimate act of dishonoring the deceased person (I Samuel 31:1-12) which God strictly forbid (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

Why did the Romans do this? Since crucifixions normally occurred on high- traffic areas, the victim’s remains would be seen by many people. This proved to be a strong deterrent to those who thought and sought to oppose Roman law. Crucifixion was the fate which awaited those who disobeyed the Empire of Rome.

Eventually, the remains of the dead would be buried in a mass grave site. It was located south of Jerusalem. It was called the Valley of Hinnom. This was the place where babies were burned to death in sacrifice to Molech, the false god of the Ammonites (I Kings 11:1-7; 2 Kings 17:17; 21:6; Jeremiah 32:35). This detestable act was forbidden by God (Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5; Jeremiah 7:31-32; 32:35).

The Valley of Hinnom became known in English as Gehenna. Other names used were Topheth, the Aramaic name for “fireplace.” Scholars believe Topheth could also refer to the word “drum” since drums were repeatedly beaten to drown out the cries of babies were who burned alive in the evil sacrifices.

During Jesus’ life on earth, the Valley of Hinnom was a garbage dump. The fires burned continuously (Isaiah 66:24; Matthew 3:12; Mark 9:48). The final remains of the crucified dead were thrown into that fire. The place became a fitting description of hell.

However, Jesus’ body would not be treated this way. Psalm 16:10 says of the Messiah, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” Due to the efforts by a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus was buried in the tomb of a rich man (Matthew 27:57-60; John 19:38-42).

“Although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” The sinlessness of the Servant of Yahweh, and His substitutionary death on the cross for sinners, is again affirmed by the Prophet Isaiah. Yahweh’s Servant was not a person who committed wrong or who was deceitful. He was righteous and truthful (I Peter 2:22). This was the Fathers’ testimony of the innocence of His Servant, the Son of God.

Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a contemporary of John and Charles Wesley. He was the author of the familiar hymn Rock of Ages. He also wrote O Fountain of Unceasing Grace. I encourage you to meditate today on the words of this hymn.

O fountain of unceasing grace,                                                                                                            Your saints exhaustless theme.                                                                                                            Great object of immortal praise,                                                                                                Essentially supreme.                                                                                                                            We bless You for the glorious fruits,                                                                                            Your incarnation gives.                                                                                                                          The righteousness which grace imputes,                                                                                            And faith alone receives.

In You we have a righteousness,                                                                                                        By God Himself approved;                                                                                                               Our rock, our sure foundation this,                                                                                            Which can never be moved.                                                                                                            Our ransom by Your death was paid,                                                                                             For all your people giv’n.                                                                                                                      The Law You perfectly obeyed,                                                                                                      That they might enter heav’n.

 As all, when Adam sinned alone,                                                                                                       In his transgression died,                                                                                                                  So by the righteousness of One                                                                                                     Are sinners justified.                                                                                                                             We to Your merit, gracious Lord,                                                                                                         With humblest joy submit,                                                                                                                     Again to paradise restored,                                                                                                                  In You alone complete.

May God’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7-9)

“Martin Luther called Christianity a theology of the cross. The figure of the cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. The concept of atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins. To atone is to make amends, to set things right.” Dr. R. C. Sproul

Isaiah 53:7-9 is the fourth section of five in Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). In these three verses we witness The Obedience of the Suffering Servant. Today, we examine Isaiah 53:8: “By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?”

 “By oppression and judgment he was taken away.” In the Hebrew, the phrase “By oppression (me’o’ser) means restraint and coercion. Within this text, it means a condition of hardship and trouble for someone. Judgement (mis’pat) means a legal action. Finally, “he was taken away” means to be seized.

Dr. John Walvoord says, “After His oppression (being arrested and bound, John 18:12, 24) and judgment (sentenced to die, John 19:16) Jesus was led to His death. He died not because of any sins of His own (for He, the Son of God, was sinless, 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5) but because of (for) the sins (transgression, peša‘; cf. Isa. 53:5) of others. To be taken away means to be taken to death.”

 “And for His generation.” The word generation (dor) means a class of persons. If refers in the immediate context to the Jews. It was Jesus’ human family line. This means that Jesus died and left no physical, human descendants. It could also mean that those who were related to Him (Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6) considered His death important.

 “Who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living.” This is an obvious description of Jesus’ death. However, “stricken for the transgression of my people” indicates that Jesus’ death was a substitutionary one on behalf of the people of God.

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “The Servant lost his life to be the substitute object of wrath in the place of the Jews, who by that substitution will receive salvation and the righteousness of God imputed to them. Similar terminology applies to the Messiah in Daniel 9:26.”

 Isaiah 53:7-8 was the portion of Scripture the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading when he encountered Phillip. This is the particular text Phillip explained was referring to Jesus Christ (Acts 8:32–33).

I encourage you to meditate upon the words from Matt Redman’s song Mercy.

I will kneel in the dust
At the foot of the cross,
Where mercy paid for me.
Where the wrath I deserve,
It is gone, it has passed.
Your blood has hidden me.

 Mercy, mercy,
As endless as the sea.
I’ll sing Your hallelujah
For all eternity.

 We will lift up the cup
And the bread we will break,
Remembering Your love.
We were fallen from grace,
But You took on our shame
And nailed it to a cross.

 Mercy, mercy,
As endless as the sea.
I’ll sing Your hallelujah
For all eternity.

 May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.

 I will kneel in the dust
At the foot of the cross,
Where mercy paid for me.

 May God’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7-9)

“The Apostle Paul that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:2). This was the apostle’s way of emphasizing the extreme importance of the cross to Christianity. The doctrine of the atonement is central to all Christian theology.” Dr. R. C. Sproul

Isaiah 53:7-9 is the fourth section of five in Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). In these next three verses we witness The Obedience of the Suffering Servant.

Scripture speaks not only of the active obedience of Christ, but also His passive obedience. The comments by Dr. Nicholas Needham, minister of Inverness Reformed Baptist Church in Inverness, Scotland, and lecturer in church history at Highland Theological College in Dingwall, Scotland, will prove most helpful.

“Passive” is not a complimentary word to apply to someone these days. It suggests an inert, sluggish, withdrawn soul that is lost in daydreams. So perhaps it sounds like a contradiction to speak of “passive obedience.” How can obedience be passive? I suppose if someone in authority commands you to be inert, sluggish, withdrawn, and lost in daydreams, then your passivity will be an act of obedience — although we are now descending into wild paradox with our talk of a “passive act”!

 “The passive obedience of Christ, however, doesn’t involve these contradictions and paradoxes. The word “passive” here suggests the older meaning of “suffering.” There was an aspect to Christ’s obedience to the will of His Father that embraced suffering, a submission to affliction and infliction. Hence the term “the Passion” is used to describe the last hours of the Savior’s life, from Gethsemane onwards.”

Dr. Needham continues by saying, “The counterpart to Christ’s obedience-as-suffering is His “active obedience.” This refers to the way He positively embodied in His character and deeds His Father’s precepts for human life. Since Christ is the True Man, and since God’s will for humanity is expressed in the Moral Law, Christ’s active obedience is His fulfillment of that Law. If we want to see the meaning of the Ten Commandments fleshed out in a human life, we must look at Christ.”

Dr. Nedham concludes by stating, “What theologians are trying to do when they distinguish between the active and passive obedience of Christ is point to a very real distinction between different aspects, or different dimensions, of the one life of Christ. Throughout His entire life, Christ fulfilled the Moral Law. But so would Adam have done if sin had not entered the world when he sinned. It’s the entrance of sin that brings in a new, darker dimension to the obedience required of Man: he must now submit to God’s holy judgment as a result of his transgression.”

Within these three verses, Isaiah 53:7-9, we witness what is referred to as the passive obedience of Christ while on the cross. Today, we examine Isaiah 53:7: ““He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

 “He was oppressed.” This three word phrase is one word in the Hebrew: “Nig’gas.” It means to cause hardship and trouble. It additionally means to demand or to obtain a payment for an incurred debt. This harkens us back to the biblical truth that sin is not only a crime against God, and an estrangement between sinners and God, but also a debt incurred by the sinner unto God. Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross was the means by which our indebtedness to God was paid.

“And He was afflicted.” This phrase is also one word in the Hebrew: “Na’aneh.” It means to suffer, to be wretched, emaciated, and also oppressed. In other words, to be mistreated. It also means to bear patiently. One commentary defines the phrase to mean, “He was made answerable.”

“Yet He opened not His mouth.” Jesus did not respond to the taunts and mocking of the crowd who crucified Him. Matthew 26:63 says, “But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” I Peter 2:21-23 says, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

“Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”  Dr. John Walvoord writes, “Seeing many sheep sheared for their wool or killed as sacrifices, Israelites were well aware of the submissive nature of sheep. Jesus, as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), quietly submitted to His death. He did not try to stop those who opposed Him; He remained silent rather than defend Himself (Matt. 26:63a; 27:14; 1 Peter 2:23). He was willingly led to death because He knew it would benefit those who would believe.”

 I encourage to meditate today upon the lyrics of this updated, classic hymn: Jesus Paid It All.

 I hear the savior say, thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thine all in all.

‘Cause Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find thy power and thine alone
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone.

‘Cause Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
My sin had left this crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

It’s washed away, all my sin
And all my shame.

And when before the throne I stand in him complete
“Jesus died my soul to save” my lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
(Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow)
(He washed it white as snow)

(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
Well praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead
Jesus.

You are the one
The son of god
Conqueror of death
King of kings
The sacrificial lamb.

(O praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead)
Well praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead
Jesus.

May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Isaiah 53:4-6 forms the middle section of the five portions of Isaiah’s fourth Servant Song of Yahweh (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). These three verses form what is arguably the most significant statement of substitutionary atonement contained in the Old Testament. Everything Isaiah has written thus far, and everything he will subsequently say, frames these three verses.

Today, we examine Isaiah 53:6. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

What was the proceeding cause which resulted in the corresponding effect for the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross on behalf of sinners? The reason given in Isaiah 53:6 is the fallen state of the sinner’s soul.

“All we like sheep have gone astray.” “All” refers to everyone. No exceptions. Within the context, it specifically refers to Israel. Within the broader context of the Scriptures, it refers to all sinners: Jews and Gentiles. “Like sheep” is a simile comparing sinners to sheep. The comparison of humans to sheep is one of the most common images found in Scripture. How are sinners like sheep? “Sinners “have gone astray.” They wander, they deceive themselves and they travel from place to place without any specific goal.

From whom have sinners, like sheep, gone astray? From God and His Word. It is living a life in rebellion against God. It is being a criminal, a debtor and one who is estranged before God. This first occurred in Genesis 3:1-7 and it continues to the present day.

Romans 3:10-20 says, “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

Isaiah continued by saying, “we have turned—every one—to his own way.” This statement infers a turning away from God while at the same time specifically stating that sinners have turned to their own way. This refers to their own way of living, believing, and worshiping, We see this every day.

Due to the fact that every person has sinned and is unable to redeem themselves before God, God chose before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-11) to redeem sinners.

“And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The LORD interceded by placing the penalty of our sin, the punishment for our iniquity, upon the sinless Lamb of God, the Servant of Yahweh. In other words, Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “Every person has sinned (Rom. 3:9, 23), but the Servant has sufficiently shouldered the consequences of sin and the righteous wrath deserved by sinners (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5–6; 4:10; 1 John 2:2). The manner in which God laid our iniquity on him was that God treated him as if he had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe, though he was perfectly innocent of any sin. God did so to him, so that wrath being spent and justice satisfied, God could then give to the account of sinners who believe, the righteousness of Christ, treating them as if they had done only the righteous acts of Christ. In both cases, this is substitution.”

This is what we are to celebrate each and every day, and especially each Lord’s Day. I encourage you to meditate today not only upon the words from Isaiah 53:6, but also from the lyrics to the song Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin.

He became sin, who knew no sin
That we might become his righteousness
He humbled himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing, love so amazing

Jesus messiah, name above all names
Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven
Jesus messiah, Lord of all

His body the bread, his blood the wine
Broken and poured out all for love
The whole earth trembled, and the veil was torn
Love so amazing, how can it be? Your love’s so amazing, yeah

Jesus messiah, name above all names
Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven
Jesus messiah, Lord of all

All I hope is in you, all I hope is in you
All the glory to you, God, the light of the world

All I hope is in you (no one else), all I hope is in you
All the glory to you, God, (you are) the light of the world

Jesus messiah, name above all names
Blessed redeemer, Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners, the ransom from heaven
Jesus messiah, Lord of all

Jesus messiah, lord of all
You’re the Lord of all
You’re the Lord of all

 May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!