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Introduction
Process of the purpose of God in Jesus Ministry through Luke: 1:31-33; 2:52; 3:21; 9:51; 19:28; 23:39-45; 24:46
We see even in the life of Jesus, that God was working through a redemptive process.
Describing the Biblical Text
The text that we are seeing this morning is a very important component of that process as we look specifically at the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, this is a very difficult text and some of us will leave here this morning thinking to ourselves, that just cannot be right.
Isaiah is prophetically speaking of the death of Jesus.
It would be the implication of that death that we see as benefit but as we see the sovereign purpose of God unfold, we might be stunned to see the truth that is in this passage.
Narrate the Contextual application
As we look at this text, Isaiah the prophet is describing someone who is suffering.
This is called the suffering servant passage in Isaiah.
The reason for that is apparent.
As we read this text we see suffering don’t we?
What strikes me about this text is that it was read by an instructor in a Hassidic Jewish school and one of the students went home and complained to his parents that the teachers were reading the Christian Bible in class.
But, the context of this passage is that very thing.
It is the suffering of Jesus Christ.
It is the value of that suffering in the life of everyone who is a servant of God and follower of Jesus Christ.
Life Application (thesis)
In verse 5 of this passage, we see the following phrase: the chastening of our well being or our peace was upon Him.
We could not and would not have peace with God if Jesus were not chastised on our behalf.
Hence, our peace with God comes from Jesus’ death on the cross.
SO WHAT!! (Outline)
As we look at this text on this Palm Sunday, we will grasp three certainties that will give us insight in the death of Jesus and the peace that comes to us from His crucifixion.
The first certainty is this.
The cross was a cruel means of punishment and death.
As we explore that idea I wan to read you an article that was written by John Macarthur, pastor of Grace community Church in California.
Cause of death: Death normally came from slow suffocation. The victim's body would hang in such a way that the diaphragm was severely constricted. In order to exhale, he would have to push up with the feet so that the diaphragm would have room to move. Ultimately fatigue, intense pain, or muscle atrophy would render the victim unable to do this, and he would finally die from the lack of oxygen. Dr. Truman Davis, a medical doctor who studied the physical effects of crucifixion, described how this would have occurred in Jesus' crucifixion: As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen . . . Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber; then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart . . . now almost over—the loss of tissue fluid has reached a critical level—the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick sluggish blood into the tissues—the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. ["The Crucifixion of Jesus: The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View," Arizona Medicine, vol. 22, no. 3 (March 1965), pp. 183-87.]
A surface reading of this text shows us that very idea doesn’t it?
Listen to some of the words that Isaiah used to convey the suffering of the Lord’s servant Christ: Smitten, pierced, crushed, chastened, scourging, oppressed, afflicted, slaughter, shearers, and cut off.
There is absolutely nothing is there that sounds as though it could in any way be a pleasing pr a pleasant experience.
When we think about the price that Jesus paid for us, we need to remember how cruel and harsh his death for us was on that cross.
We cannot let 2000 years of history, a soft and sedentary culture, and the iconic cross as a piece of jewelry stand between us and the death of Jesus in all its harshness and its cruelty.
Our second certainly should be that which strikes home for us in light of the cruel reality of the death of Jesus.
The cross was where Jesus took our place.
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, I always like to read from 1 Corinthians 11 because of the poignancy of the description of Jesus’ words there.
This is my body which is broken for you.
The breaking of the bread reminds us of the breaking of the flesh of Jesus.
How often have we viewed the crucifixion of Jesus as an event that was removed from us by thousands of years of history?
We need to see it as an event in which we were directly participating.
The breaking of the body of Christ was the punishment of God being meted out against our sin.
As we look at this text we see so many things that point to Jesus being our substitute on the cross.
He bore our griefs; He carried our sorrows; He was pierced for our transgressions; He was chastised for our peace; The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all; rendering Himself as a guilt offering; He will justify the many bearing their iniquities.
How many different ways can it be said that Jesus received the punishment that we deserved on the cross.
This is why the Bible says that he wages of sin is death.
For the follower of Jesus Christ it is not his death but rather the death of Jesus that paid that ultimate price.
This is why we must know that the death of Jesus on the cross was a payment that we could never make and still live.
It would not only kill us physically, but we would also die eternally since the punishment for our sin is also spiritual death.
I hope that the cross is real to you this morning.
I hope that you see it as the only moment in history that gives any of us any hope.
The cruel cross where Jesus took our place should pull us to it in our desire to serve God.
If that is your desire this morning, to know the forgiveness and the love that comes from a relationship with Christ, you can pray to receive Christ right now.
All heads bowed and all eyes closed.
Dear Lord, I know that my sins are hurtful to you and that you sent Jesus to take my place and receive my punishment. Now I want to receive Jesus and make him the Lord of my life. Thank you Lord for the cross and the salvation it brings, Amen
Now, there is a third certainty that we must see in this text and it is very important.
The cross, where Jesus was crushed was pleasing to God.
Could you imagine sending your child to die and not even for anything that he had done and then being pleased by it?
This really puts us in a difficult place because we know that God hates sin.
God hates sin so much that he condemns the sinner to eternal torment and separation from Him.
Sin is a very affront to the holy nature of God.
What do we see about Jesus?
He who knew no sin became sin.
In this text, Jesus bore our iniquities.
He became the very thing that God hated and God turned his back on Jesus.
Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me.
And God crushed his Son on the cross.
In verse 10 we see that God was pleased to crush him.
How could that be?
How could God be pleased to crush His Son?
He could be pleased to crush his son because it accomplished His purpose in redemption for us.
Crushing His son accomplished salvation according to the eternal plan of God.
We cannot grasp how something so heinous could be so pleasing to God except to say that in the working of all things for good to those who love God, this worked to our good.
Peter’s description in Acts 2 is great: this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
Here we have both the sovereign plan of God and the sinfulness of man serving to accomplish God’s plan for His eternal glory.
The human mind has such a tough time comprehending that.
That is often why we hear preachers say things like God does not cause anything bad to happen to you, He only allows it and then uses it for his glory.
Well Peter said that Jesus was delivered by God’s plan by sinful men.
Are we going to say that God did not cause the cross?
No, God was pleased to crush His son that you might have a place in the eternal plan of God also.
The cross was a terrible place of punishment and death for Jesus but it was purposed by God.
Jesus took our punishment on the cross to accomplish God’s salvation.
This pleased God and accomplished His will for you.
As we ponder the cross this week, let’s remember the cruel death Jesus suffered in order to bring us to God.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
It is that peace with God that I pray we all know this Easter season.
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