THE SUFFERING SERVANT
Isaiah 53:1-12
Key Verse: 53:5
“But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah delivered the first Christmas message 680 years before the birth of Jesus. We can divide the book of Isaiah into two parts. Part one is chapters 1-39. It describes the prophetic history of Israel. Part two is chapters 40-66. It describes the holy mission of Israel. Today’s passage is derived from the part about the suffering servant, which covers chapters 41-56. Let’s think about true meaning of Christmas by listening to the Old Testament version of the Christmas message and learn the birth, life, burial, resurrection, and mission of our suffering servant, Jesus Christ. Let’s have true spirit of Christmas by meeting our suffering servant Jesus who came to save us from the power of sin and death. May God bless us to believe the message of the prophet Isaiah concerning God’s suffering servant. I pray that God may give us comfort and healing to our souls through this message.
PART I. THE POOR
CHILDHOOD OF THE SUFFERING SERVANT (1,2)
Look at verse 2. “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” This verse describes the childhood of Jesus. His childhood was not so attractive. He lived in the bottom of the society. He grew up not to be a businessman, not to be a doctor, not to be the president but to be a carpenter apprentice. His parents were poor all the time. They could not afford to buy a nice pant for him. He was like a tender shoot, easy to be eaten by obnoxious insects, or trodden and crushed by mischievous children. His life was hunted down by the evil king Herod as soon as he was born. He was also like a root out of dry ground. A root out of dry ground has no beauty and withers soon without any fruit. Jesus grew up in humble circumstances. He lived in the boring town of Nazareth like College Park. Nathanael doubted that anything good could come from Nazareth. John 1:46 says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? Nathanael asked.” He spent his childhood in the despised town of Nazareth. People ignored him as if he were not there. He looked nothing special. He was ordinary like all of us. We find a beauty in his super ordinary early childhood. He did not have any physical attraction like the movie stars, Charlton Heston, Tom Cruz. He did not have any noble birth like Prince Charles. In a sense, his unattractive childhood is so attractive. But he was obedient to his parents. Jesus is God Almighty. But in his childhood, he underwent such a poor life and unbearable humiliation as to be called a root out of dry ground. Many parents do not want their children suffer at all. One missionary said, “I can suffer for God by any means but I do not want my children suffer.” No one wants to sacrifice his own sons. There is a saying which goes, “Suffering in boyhood is invaluable.” Children grow up through suffering. S. David Park is growing spiritually as an intern shepherd these days. Obviously, it was God’s wisdom that he raised his Son in a suffering situation so that he might be a friend to all kinds of suffering people. Jesus understands all our poor family background and our humble human condition because he himself experienced such a humble childhood life.
PART II. JESUS’
SUFFERING AS THE SERVANT (3-6)
Look at verse 3. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” This verse clearly tells us how people responded to Jesus’ earthly Messianic ministry. Jesus did two things as the promised Messiah as we studied in the Mark’s gospel. He healed the sick people. He drove out demons from the people by saying, “You evil spirit, come out of him and never enter him again.”(Mk. 9:25) He opened the eyes of the blind. He saw a paralytic who sorrowed over himself, lying helplessly on a bed. Jesus said, “Get up, take your mat and go home,” and he was healed of paralysis. Once a leper said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand of mercy and touched the man and he was cured. The life of Jesus was indeed beautiful. He was eyes to the blind; comfort to the sorrowful; hope to the fatalistic people. Jesus not only healed the sick, he also preached the good news of the kingdom of God. Mark 1:15 says, “The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God so that people might be saved from their sins.
What was people’s response? They should have appreciated his wonderful grace of healing and his compassionate shepherd heart for them. They should be thankful for his Bible teaching. Instead, they despised and rejected Jesus. To any human being, rejection is the most unbearable thing to bear. One high school student was ridiculed by his classmates constantly due to his weird physical appearance. He wanted to be accepted as a normal student by his peers but he was rejected by his own classmates. It was unbearable to him. So he killed himself. One time Abraham told John, “You are fat.” Then suddenly John did not eat a lot to reduce his weight. He wanted to be accepted by his brother. Be careful when you say something to others. Your casual comments may produce undesirable result. Many people compromise to be accepted by others. Jesus helped many people and served them endlessly. But their response was rejection and shame. They rejected Jesus due to their sinfulness. Jesus came to the world to serve people. But the world did not welcome him and people did not recognize him. John 3:19 says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." People rejected Jesus in order to remain in the darkness of sin and death. They treated him unfairly and unjustly. The religious leaders accused him falsely to trap and kill him. The crowds shouted, “Crucify him. Crucify him. Come down and save yourself.” (Mk. 15:13) His family members misunderstood him and thought, “He is out of his mind.” (Mk. 3:21) Even his hometown folks rejected him after they enjoyed his gracious message, saying, “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son?” They attacked Jesus’ family background. They became worldly. Even his own top disciple Peter denied Jesus when he was arrested and was on trial. All his disciples ran away from Jesus to save their lives when he was condemned to die. No one was with Jesus except several faithful women when he died on the cross. All people abandoned him and rejected him completely.
Why did Jesus endure such unfair treatment and unjust rejection from the people? Why did men hide their faces from Jesus? It was to heal our sorrows. Verse 3b says, “a man of sorrows…” No one would like to be introduced as a man of sorrows. Rather, we would like to be introduced as a man of romance or honesty. Jesus became a man of sorrows. Verse 4b says, “He carried our sorrows.” Not only he became a man of sorrows but also he carried our sorrows. No one is more sorrowful than Jesus. He came to carry our sorrows. There are many sorrowful people in this world. If we set aside the sorrowful people, the world may be empty. Many people have their own sorrows that nobody can help them out of. One young girl is endlessly sorrowful because she does not have blue eyes. One boy is endlessly sorrowful because his girl friend rejected him and found another boyfriend. One woman is sorrowful because she cannot eat delicious food. One man was sorrowful because his father did not love his mother and divorced her. One girl student was sorrowful because she had many pimples. There are thirty thousand family members who lost their loves ones during the 9-11 terrorist attacks. They are sorrowful because they can not see their loved ones. One victim’s father said, “My life will never be happy again due to my son’s untimely death. My son has full of life and now he is no more. He will be young forever.” But Jesus carried all our sorrows. This is good news to all people because they can come to Jesus, a man of sorrows and can be healed by Jesus. Ewelina was sorrowful because she could not forgive her abusive father. Through the word of God Jesus healed her sorrow problem. Through the healing of Jesus she realized that God always loves her. Then she was able to forgive her father because Jesus healed her hatred. I was always sorrowful when I lost my parents during the Korean War. This sorrowful thinking inflicted my soul like having a nail in my heart for many years until I received healing from Jesus. I was hurt when people called me “a boy without a father.” I envied my friends who were walking with their fathers holding their hands together. My sorrow disappeared when I accepted God as my heavenly Father and his Son Jesus as my personal Savior. God’s love through his Son Jesus melted away all my sorrows like snow before the sun. I like the Lord’s prayer which begins, “Our Father in heaven.” No sorrow cannot be cured by Jesus. Jesus participated in each one’s sorrow until each one was healed from the wound of a sorrowful mind. In the course of serving sinners, Jesus suffered more than he could bear. But he suffered to the end to save us from the power of sin. So the prophet said he is “a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” He understands all our sorrows and is able to help us overcome our sorrows and live a victorious life of faith. Still, people did not esteem him. People did not regard him highly. Verse 3b repeats, “..he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Why did the servant suffer endlessly? Look at verses 4 and 5. “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The words, “infirmities, sorrows, transgressions, iniquities, punishment” in this passage are the direct result of our sins. We blame other people for all our problems. But when we think about our problems deeply from God’s point of view, all problems are the result of our sins. We are heavy due to the burdens of sin. As we know, we have infirmities of sin like our spiritual paralysis. This kind of sin is like that of the paralytic. We are very weak to overcome our sin sickness. As a result, we suffer endlessly. We also have sin of transgression. This is caused by our active violation of God command. This kind of sin is like that of Levi, the tax collector. We are sinners whether active or passive. We have to pay the penalties of our sins. But these verses tell us that God put all our burden of sins on the suffering servant Jesus. Jesus took up all our transgressions and iniquities in his body. Wow! This is good news to all sinners. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus invited us to himself when we are burdened and restless. Nicole was tired and restless when she thought about the finals and many things to do. But she was happy because she can have rest in Jesus. Isaiah said that Jesus was stricken because of our sins. Because of our sins he was smitten and afflicted and pierced. Because of our sins he was crushed. Think about Jesus on the cross. People hurled insults and slander on him and spit on him. The soldiers mocked Jesus by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mk. 15:18) It was an unbearable shame. They twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. The big thorns pierced into his head and the blood began to drip to his face. He was flogged and whipped and finally they nailed him on the cross. Jesus experienced slow and painful death on the cross. In this way God punished him so that we might be free from guilt and have peace with God. God condemned him to death to free us from eternal condemnation.
Why was the suffering servant wounded in such a way? This was to heal wounded souls. Because of sins we are full of wounds ands scars. But when we accept God’s suffering servant through Bible study, we can be healed. In the time past and present, there are many people whose hearts are wounded and bitter. But if they stand beneath the cross of Jesus and see his wounds, their wounds are healed. Peter did not know the deep meaning of Jesus’ wounds on the cross. After Jesus’ crucifixion his heart was bitter and he despaired because he denied Jesus three times. But later he came to know the deep meaning of Jesus’ suffering and said in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body in the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by hos wounds you have been healed.” Jesus’ suffering was for our healing. Jesus suffered in our place. Revenge does not heal our wounds and bitter. When we see someone who inflicted pain and sorrow, we want to revenge and get even. But revenge does not heal our wounds. The medicine to cure our wounds is God’s redemptive love through the death of his Son Jesus Christ. God’s love heals our anger and hatred problem and brings us permanent peace. As we know well, people want peace. If we get rid of Taliban and Osama bin Laden, we think that we can have peace. How about Sadam Hussein and his biochemical weapons? There will be no real peace in the world. Jesus restored our relationship with God through his death on the cross by the cost of sin for our place. Thus he brought peace to all who believed in Jesus. Now we have a right relationship with God because Jesus brought us back to God. When we have a right relationship with God, we can enjoy real peace comes from God. S. Jennifer said, “I have peace in my heart when I have a right relationship with God and listen to God. Peace does not come from external relationship with others but internal relationship with God.” That’s right. We have real peace when we receive God’s forgiveness through his Son’s death on the cross.
Look at verse 6. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” As we know, sheep are sheep. They are near-sighted and stubborn. They cannot see lions or wolves or the stiff cliff ahead of them. It is easy for them to go astray. They are easily attacked by the wild animals. By nature we are selfish and rebellious and do not want to listen to our shepherd. Isaiah said that we all like sheep have gone astray. But God laid all our iniquities on Jesus our good shepherd. Jesus became our substitute to bring us back to God. It was a costly sacrifice. We can have a substitute teacher or a substitute medicine or a substitute player. But no one substitutes a death penalty. In the Old Testament the animals substituted men’s sins. But the animal sacrifice has a limited power. It has a temporary effect. God needed a permanent sacrifice. He sacrificed his one and only Son to pay our sins. Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus’ suffering was to serve sinners to be free from God’s punishments and give them new life as children of God.
PART III. HE DID NOT
OPEN HIS MOUTH (7-12)
What was the servant’s attitude towards suffering? Look at verse 7. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” It is not easy to be silent when we are treated unfairly. We are ready to complain when we see small suffering coming in our way. In this competitive world those who speak loud get the promotion and survive. Those who are silent are not recognized as able people. But Jesus was silent when he was falsely accused. He was silent when he was arrested and tried and sentenced to die. He did not resist his arrest. In crisis a man’s true character shows up. Jesus’ true character as the Messiah was revealed in the final moment of his life on earth. The suffering servant was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was mistreated like a criminal. But he did not open his mouth to defend his case against his enemies. He did not try to save his life though he was innocent. He was silent even though Pilate wanted Jesus to plead not guilty. Why did he not open his mouth? It was because he took his death as a mission from God. He was obedient to the will of his Father. He was executed with two criminals and was numbered with the transgressors. But he did not complain. They say that cows and oxen cry many tears when they go to the slaughter. But the suffering servant was silent. Jesus’ silence was his complete submission to the will of his Father and his obedience to God’s mission to save the sinners. Jesus has a positive attitude towards suffering not because he was afraid of the punishment but because suffering was the way of God. We will suffer like Jesus if we want to serve the will of God. Bible teachers are suffering to raise up one man and woman of God. Ify O. appreciated her Bible teacher Folake. She said, “Folake was like an angel sent by God because my GPA went up since I studied Bible with Folake.” Through the sacrifice of her Bible teacher Ify began to taste God’s love. Jay said that her root problem is her complaining spirit. She was happy when she was accepted in the computer science department. She wanted to prove herself as a computer major. But she suffered a lot due to a difficult project. She complained about her suffering. She can have a positive attitude towards suffering because suffering is Jesus’ way. If we try to avoid suffering, we are turning away Jesus’ way. When we endure suffering, God will exalt us to be great in his sight.
Look at verses 8 and 9. “By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” The suffering servant is guiltless. But because of man’s sins, he was slaughtered and buried among the wicked people. Though Jesus did not commit any sins, he was buried among the wicked. It is a shameful punishment to be buried among the wicked.
Look at verses 10-11. “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” Though Jesus did not marry or have any children, he will have many offspring like us. When the suffering servant obeyed God’s will and died, God did not abandon him. God raised him up from the grave so that he might see the light of life. Here, “light of life” implies his resurrection. God crowned Jesus with honor and glory and power. God made him eternal King for all mankind. God made him the mediator to justify many. God justified us through the blood of Jesus. God declared, “We are not guilty.” This is a wonderful grace of Jesus for all sinners like us. By the grace of Jesus we are saved.
Let’s read verse 12. “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
God exalted his suffering servant in the end. Jesus was victorious in the end. He conquered the power of death and became a victor over sin and death. He defeated his enemies. God made his name above all names. God rewarded Jesus because he obeyed his will as the suffering servant. No one likes to serves other. Jesus did not avoid suffering but endured suffering. God made him king of kings and Lord of the lords. Moses and Elijah suffered a lot as God’s servants. After suffering, God blessed them to be great. In today’s passage we learned that God made his one and only Son a suffering servant who is humble and obedient to his Father’s will. May God bless us to welcome the suffering servant and receive his healing and peace in our heart. Let’s read the key verse 5.