Verse of the Day

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Five Words You Must Understand (series), Part Fifteen, "He shall bear their iniquities" (Is. 53:11)

Sermon Series:  Five Words You Must Understand

1 Corinthians 14:19
Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also,
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Part Fifteen:  Isaiah 53:11
“He shall bear their iniquities.”
   

Introduction:

On the old Daniels and Webster program on ROCK107 we often heard from one Walter Nepasky.  He would begin his commentary with either, “I'm Walter Nepasky and today I wanna talk about three things.”, or “Hi. My name is Walter Nepasky. How you doin? Today I want to talk to you about tree tings.”

What if we had a modern Christian radio station (“The Rock of Ages 316”) with a program that began, “Hi, I’m Paul of Tarsus, and today I want to talk about five words.”

This is Paul’s “druthers”! 

This is when 5 is better than 10,000!

Here Paul follows up his extreme personal example with an extreme preference framed as a mathematical proportion: 5 versus 10,000.

Here are “Five Words” that you need to understand![1]

If Paul were here, and you could pin him down to a literal selection of five words, what do you think he would choose?  “Gimme Five Paul!”

Review of the first 19 messages:[2]

            All 7 texts on "The Person of Christ - the Redeemer", including:

1)  four statements Christ makes about Himself,
2)  one Apostolic testimony to His Lordship,
3)  one testimony of God the Father to His Sonship, and
4)  one testimony of John the Baptist to Him as the Lamb of God

Part One:  John 8:58 - Before Abraham was, I am.
Part Two:  Revelation 1:8 - I am Alpha and Omega
Part Three:  John 10:11 - I am the Good Shepherd
Part Four:  John 15:1 - I am the true vine
Part Five:  Acts 10:36 - He is Lord of all
Part Six:  Matthew 3:17; 17:5 - This is My Beloved Son
Part Eleven: John 1:29, 36 – Behold, the Lamb of God

5 of the 9 texts on "The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) – Redemption Accomplished" including:

1)  Christ’s substitutionary death on the Cross
2)  Christ’s burial
3)  Christ’s resurrection
4)  Christ's intercession

Part Seven: 1 Corinthians 15:3 - Christ died for our sins
Part Eight: 1 Corinthians 15:4 - And that He was buried
Part Ten: 1 Cor. 15:12 - He rose from the dead.
      Part Twelve: John 17:17 - Sanctify them through the truth
      Part Thirteen: John 6:33 - I have overcome the world

1  of the 12 texts on "The Salvation of Christ – Redemption Applied"

Part Nine:  Mt. 16:23; Mk. 8:33; Lk. 4:8 - Get thee behind me, Satan

All 6 texts on "The Return of Christ – Redemption Revealed" including:

            Part Fourteen: Philippians 3:20 - we look for the Saviour

            5 messsages in the series on the Revelation:
Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is he that readeth
Revelation 1:3; 22:10 - The time is at hand
Revelation 1:7 - Behold, He cometh with clouds
Revelation 21:5 - I make all things new (“God wins in the end!”)
Revelation 22:20 - Even so, come, Lord Jesus

Outline:

I.  The Identity of the Sin Bearer - He

II.  The Nature of Sin Bearing - shall bear

III.  The Beneficiaries of the Sin Bearing - their iniquities

Transition:  Here are “Five Words” that you need to understand!

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:[3]
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities.

I.  The Identity of the Sin Bearer - He

In order to correctly identify who “He” is we must consider the “Servant Songs” of Isaiah.  The four “Servant Songs” of Isaiah are:  Is. 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12.  These songs begin in Is. 42:1 - “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”[4]

Observe that the beginning of this last “Song” has been obscured for many by the chapter break.  Ignoring the chapter break and beginning in Isaiah 52:13 reveals that this “Servant Song” is composed of 5 triplets with 3 verses each.      The answer to the question which must be asked, “Who is “He”?” may be found by examining the rest of this “Song” which begins in Is. 52:13.  Here in 52:13 is found the last usage of the singular “servant” in Isaiah!  “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”  He is the Servant of the Lord, and this is the last of His “Songs” in Isaiah, and the greatest of all of them!  Is. 52:13-52:12 is the Servant Song of Servant Songs!

It is as if these four songs were the four “Gospels” of Isaiah, to be followed now by the Acts and the Epistles in this “New Testament” portion of Isaiah!

Even as He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the Priest of priests, and Prophet of prophets, even so is He the Servant of servants,!

Phil. 2:7 - But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

II.  The Nature of Sin Bearing - shall bear

The nature of this reality of “sin bearing” directly and necessarily involves the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.

The heart of Christianity is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the heart of that Gospel is the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ the Savior for His People!

Notice how His sin bearing is amplified in the verbs in this Song in Is. 53:4-6, 8, 10, 12 -
“….he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows….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…. the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all….for the transgression of my people was he stricken…. when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…. he bare the sin of many….”

Jn. 10:14-18 - 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, becauseI lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Acts 13:38-39 - 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

2 Cor. 5:21 - For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

III.  The Beneficiaries of the Sin Bearing - their iniquities

The identity of “their”, i.e., whose iniquities He bears is clarified in the context in Isaiah 53 as: “my people” (53:8), “the wicked” (53:9), “his seed” (53:10), “many” (53:11-12), “the transgressors” (53:12).

Notice how the iniquities of His People that He bears are spelled out in the language of this Song in Is. 53:4-6, 8, 10, 12 - “….he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows….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…. the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all….for the transgression of my people was he stricken…. when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…. he bare the sin of many….”

The effectual nature of His atonement, His sin-bearing, is explicit in this greatest of all “Servant Songs”! “….with his stripes we are healed….he shall see his seed….he shall be satisfied….” (53:5, 10, 11)

Mt. 20:28 - Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  (Mk. 10:45 - For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.)

Mk. 14:24 - And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Rom. 5:19 - For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

1 Jn. 2:1-2 - 1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 Jn. 3:5 - And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Conclusion:

Here are “Five Words” that you need to understand!  He shall bear their iniquities.

That was then!  This is now!  He has borne our iniquities.

How about you? Can you say this by faith? He has borne my iniquities!

Resources:

Willis J. Beecher, "The Servant", in The Prophets and the Promise: Being For Substance the Lectures for 1902-1903 on the L. P. Stone Foundation in the Princeton Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969 reprint of 1905 original by Thomas Y. Crowell & Company Publishers, New York; reprinted in 2002 by Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR), pp. 263-288; available as a free download on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=axsWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 8 APR 2014].  reprinted in Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., ed., Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972; Portland, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008), pp. 187-206, s.v. Ch. XII: "Messianic Terms. The Servant".

Harry Bultema, Commentary on Isaiah, trans. Cornelius Lambregtse (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1981; from Dutch orig., Practische Commentaar op Jesaja; Muskegon: Bereer Publishing Co., 1923).

F. Duane Lindsey, "Isaiah's Songs of the Servant" (series of five articles), in Bibliotheca Sacra 139:553 (JAN-MAR 1982), pp. 12-27; 139:554 (APR-JUN 1982), pp. 129-143; 139:555 (JUL-SEP 1982), pp. 216-227; 139:556 (OCT-DEC 1982), pp. 312-325; and 140:557 (JAN-MAR 1983), pp. 21-36.[5]

F. Duane Lindsey, The Servant Songs: A Study in Isaiah (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985).

Allan A. MacRae, Studies in Isaiah, ed. Stephen E. Michaels (Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1995).

W. E. Vine, Isaiah: Prophecies, Promises, Warnings (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971).

C. von Orelli, The Prophecies of Isaiah, trans. J. S. Banks, in  Clark's Foreign Theological Library, New Series, Vol. XXXVIII (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1889); available online and as a downloadable PDF on the Hathi Trust Digital Library at http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89094598943;view=1up;seq=5 [accessed 8 APR 2014].

E. J. Young, The Book of Isaiah: The English Text, with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes, 3 vols., in The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, series ed. R. K. Harrison (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965, 1969, 1972).

Appendix:  “Five Words” Sermon Series Listing

The Person of Christ – The Redeemer:
“Before Abraham was I am.” (Jn. 8:58)[6]
“I am Alpha and Omega.” (Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13)[7]
“I am the Good Shepherd.” (Jn. 10:11)[8]
“I am the True Vine.” (Jn. 15:1)[9]
“He is Lord of all.” (Ac. 10:36) [“Jesus Christ is the Lord.”][10]
“This is My Beloved Son.” (Mt. 3:17; 17:5)[11]
“Behold the Lamb of God.” (Jn. 1:29, 36)[12]

The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) – Redemption Accomplished:
“He called His Name Jesus.” (Mt. 1:25)
“He shall bear their iniquities.” (Is. 53:11)
“Christ died for our sins.” (1 Cor. 15:3)[13]
"And that He was buried" (1 Cor. 15:4)[14]
“He shall prolong His days.” (Is. 53:10)
“He rose from the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:12)[15]
“I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33)[16]
“Sanctify them through the truth.” (Jn. 17:17)[17]
“He shall see His seed.” (Is. 53:10)

The Salvation of Christ – Redemption Applied:
“He shall save His people.” (Mt. 1:21)
“Ye have not chosen Me.” (Jn. 15:16)
“Peace I leave with you.” (Jn. 14:27)
“By grace ye are saved.” (Eph. 2:5)
“Ye must be born again.” (Jn. 3:7)
“We have peace with God.” (Rom. 5:1)
“My sheep hear My voice.” (Jn. 10:27)
“Continue ye in My love.” (Jn. 15:9)
"I am crucified with Christ." (Gal. 2:20)
"Buried with Him in baptism" (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)
"Ye are risen with Him" (Col. 2:12)
"Get thee behind me, Satan" (Mt. 16:23; Mk. 8:33; Lk. 4:8)[18]

The Return of Christ – Redemption Revealed:
“We look for the Savior.” (Phil. 3:20) [“Jesus Christ is coming again.”][19]
“Blessed is he that readeth.” (Rev. 1:3)[20]
“The time is at hand.” (Rev. 1:3; 22:10)[21]
“Behold, He cometh with clouds.” (Rev. 1:7)[22]
“I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:5) [“God wins in the end!”][23]
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20)[24]

as of 11 JUN 2013

KEY:
Red = preached
Green = Incarnation
Blue = Resurrection
Purple = Revelation
Green/Blue/Purple and footnoted = preached




[1] The five word statements from Scripture that follow may not be five word statements in the either the Hebrew or Greek originals, nor are they necessarily complete sentences or verses in the English language translations from the Hebrew and Greek, including the King James Version, from which these statements are drawn.  Nevertheless, they were selected for the fundamental truths and span of doctrine that they present.  This list of 34 examples is not intended to be comprehensive, and may easily be expanded or consolidated.
[2] See the Appendix to this sermon for the full list of sermons in this series both preached and planned.
[3] NKJV - “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied”; note “So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS LXX From the labor of His sould He shall see light”.
[4] See the resources listed following the conclusion for further study on these “Servant Songs”.
[5] Note: the pages numbers from the articles as posted to Galaxie Software's Theological Journal Library do not correspond to those listed by the author himself in his footnotes.
[6] Part 1, 20 MAR 2011.
[7] Part 2, 27 MAR 2011.
[8] Part 3, 3 APR 2011.
[9] Part 4, 19 JUN 2011.
[10] Part 5, 26 JUN 2011.
[11] Part 6, 17 JUL 2011.
[12] Part 11, 15 APR 2012.
[13] Part 7, 21 AUG 2011.
[14] Part 8, 28 AUG 2011.
[15] Part 10, 8 APR 2012.
[16] Part 13, 13 MAY 2012.
[17] Part 12, 22 APR 2012.
[18] Part 9, 18 MAR 2012.
[19] Part 14, 21 APR 2013.
[20] 20 MAY 2012, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 1.
[21] Ibid.; also 10 MAR 2013, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 39, and 17 MAR 2013, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 40.
[22] 27 MAY 2012, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 2.
[23] 20 JAN 2013, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 33, and 27 JAN 2013, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 34.
[24] 14 APR 2013, Revelation Sermon Series, Part 43.

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