Series: Isaiah
Title: Perfect Suffering
Text: Isaiah 53: 7-9
Date: December 8, 2013
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Isaiah 53: 7: He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth.
Perfect Suffering is our subject. This is most sacred ground. It is dealing
with the very heart and conscious of our Savior as he suffered for his people.
Proposition: Our perfect patience and meekness is not by us, it is by the
perfect suffering of Christ Jesus, by whose obedience his people are made
righteous through faith in him.
I. FIRST, THE SUFFERINGS OF THE GODMAN WERE
LIKE NO OTHER.
Depraved Sinners
In one
regard, he suffered at the hands of depraved sinners. We see here what the
depraved heart is and does.
First,
we oppressed him—V7: He was oppressed—It
means “to smite, to drive, to exact, to rule over as a taskmaster.”
·
Because Christ declared he is God.
·
Because Christ declared he came to fulfill
the law and the prophets for his people.
·
Because Christ declared that no man can come
to the Father but by him
·
Because he did not conform to the vain
traditions of religious men
We,
depraved sinners, oppressed the Prince of Life: we arrested him, smote him, and
crucified him. That is the depravity of our hearts.
Secondly,
we dealt unjustly—v8: He was taken from
prison and from judgment: Acts 8:33: “In his humiliation his judgment was taken
away:” When the God of all justice allowed himself to be tried at the hands of
man, we took all justice away from him. Both
the Jewish trial and the Roman trial was totally unjust. That is the depravity of our hearts—unjust
Thirdly,
we dealt wickedly in self-righteousness—V9: And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;
The Prince of life came to freely give to his people the unsearchable riches of
his grace. Yet, we were so wicked and so rich in our estimation of ourselves that
we crucified the Prince of life. That is the depravity of our hearts.
Fourthly,
we did all this because we hated God, that he was truly holy and righteous—v9:…because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
John 15:22: If I had not come and spoken unto them, they
had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
Application:
These 4 things is all that come from our nature by our first birth in Adam:
oppression, injustice, wicked self-righteousness and enmity against God. We poured contempt upon Christ’s offices.
·
His kingly office, when
we crowned him with thorns, put a purple rob on him, and bowed the knee
mocking, “Hail king of the Jews.”
·
His prophetical office,
when we blind-folded him and said, “prophesy, who is it that smote thee.”
·
His priestly office,
when we reviled him on the cross, saying, “He saved others, himself he cannot
save.”
Then we
killed the Prince of Life (Acts 3: 15)
Application:
Without being created anew in the true holiness and righteousness of Christ dwelling
in our hearts, without Christ revealing himself to us effectually by his power,
THAT IS OUR RELIGION! Those are what we are in our flesh, still. It is what we
do when we loose patience, revile and threaten those who revile us.
II. THEREFORE, FOR GOD’S ELECT, THE PERFECT
LAMB OF GOD HAD TO SUFFER IN PERFECT OBEDIENCE TO GOD THE FATHER.
Christ’s Willing Submission
He
submitted himself willingly—V7: and he
was afflicted,--it means he answered it all by submitting himself to it
all. While our Substitute was oppressed unjustly by wicked men—v10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;
he hath put him to grief: This was his Father’s will. Christ Jesus entered into covenant with God our Father to satisfy
divine justice for his people in this one way on the cross.
The
worst of his oppression was not at the hands of men it was bearing our sin—v6:…the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all. And his oppression was bearing justice at the hands of God—v8:…for the transgression of my people was
he stricken.
But our
Savior willingly submitted himself to the affliction—v9: HE made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;
Because he was the only fit one who could do so—v9:…because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth. No man took his life. He was in complete control the whole
time. He said,
John 10: 18: No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down
of myself.
Necessity of Faith
Now get
this. This is important. It was A MUST that
while he bore our sins in his own body and while he bore the stroke of justice,
he must at the same time offer his soul unto God in perfect holy obedience—V10: 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.
Christ
was given a body to bear our sins in his body and be smitten for them—he had to
do so for God to be just and the Justifier. And he had to do so, in perfect holy
faith and fidelity unto God in his heart. He did!
Application:
His faith and patience of heart unto death was as necessary to fulfilling the
law, to making his people holy and righteous, as his bearing our sins and
stripes in his own body on the tree. Christ
is our Sanctification and Righteousness!
We are made holy by Christ our Sanctification being formed in us and
made righteous through faith in him who is our Righteousness.
III. NOW, BEHOLD HOW OUR SAVIOR SUFFERED UNTO
DEATH IN PERFECT FAITHFUL PATIENCE AND MEEKNESS UNTO GOD--v7: He was oppressed,
and he was afflicted, He bore tremendous
smittings to his body. (Is 52: 12) He suffered the vilest reproaches that Satan
and wicked men could spew against him. He
bore even more in his soul suffering at the hand of God and justice—V7:…yet he opened not his mouth: he is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth.
According to the Will of God
Though
Christ spoke seven excellent words from the cross, yet he never opened his mouth
to revile or threaten,
1 Peter 2:22: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in
his mouth: who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered he
threatened not,
Our
suffering is given to us according to the will of God—1 Peter 4:19:…”them that suffer according to the will of
God,”…
Application:
Brethren, scripture says, “if need be”, God willingly gives his people various
burdens to bear to try our faith. Some
are heavy, others lighter; some we bear a little while, others all our days; some
spiritual, others touch our bodies. But brethren all our sufferings are light
compared to what Christ suffered in our place. He suffered all these and much
more than we can imagine or comprehend!
Yet, Christ’s patience was exactly according to the will
of God: God willed everything he bore and Christ bore it all exactly as God
required it to be borne.
First, Christ’s patience was according to God’s will in
his willingness to receive it. The troubles, the deaths, laid on Christ in our
room and stead, were innumerable. Psalm 40:12: Innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Yet, he willingly patiently received them all.
Application: When it comes to our patience, we often think, “Oh, if
it were just some other trouble than this, I could bear it.” But Christ
received all the trouble God the Father laid on him and he opened not his
mouth.
Also, Christ’s patience was according to the will of God in
his ability to exercise patience through all his sufferings unto the end—
James
1: 2: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3:
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4: But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.
Application: When we suffer, we usually find ourselves murmuring. We want it to be over. We do not want to wait
on God. Our patience, like our faith, is anything but perfect.
Christ’s patience, like his faith, was perfect—without
any opposite of patience. He opened not his mouth because his heart was in
perfect submission to the Father. In
Christ alone do we see “patience have her perfect work, [he was] perfect and
entire, wanting nothing.”
Application: So brethren, when we lose patience, behold our perfect
Righteousness, our Advocate with the Father, who stands before God as the
Propitiation for our sins.
Christ’s Heart
Christ’s suffering in perfect patience proves that our
High Priest is holy and righteous through and through. Though he bore our sins in his own body on
the tree and was justly “wounded for our transgressions, [and] bruised for our
iniquities:” (Is 53: 5) In his soul our
High Priest remained “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” (Heb
7: 26) Though he bore our spots in his
own body on the tree, YET in his soul, “through the eternal Spirit [he] offered
himself without spot to God.” (Heb 9: 14);
Application: This is why when Christ is formed in us, in the new man
our “conscious is purged from dead works to serve the living God.” Christ is
made unto us Righteousness and Sanctification.
Furthermore, his patience proves he is Wisdom—
James
3: 13: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out
of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Proverbs
17:27: He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of
understanding is of an excellent spirit.
We behold in Christ preeminent meekness and patience of
wisdom, preeminent sparing of his words—he
opened not his mouth, all in the face of preeminent suffering, therefore in
Christ we behold preeminent Wisdom.
Colossians 2:3: In whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge.
Application:
This is why when Christ is formed in our newly created hearts, Christ “is made
unto us Wisdom.” We cease looking to our
knowledge to justify us and we rest in Christ of whom it is said, in verse 11, “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;”
Also, Christ’s patience proves he is the Faithful One— he committed himself to him that judeth
righteously.
Isaiah
50: 5: The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither
turned away back. 6: I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7: For the
Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I
set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8: He is
near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is
mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9: Behold, the Lord GOD will help me;
who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a
garment; the moth shall eat them up.
Application: The righteousness of God is manifest by Christ’s own
faithfulness—“the faith of Christ.” This
is why when Christ the Faithful reveals he is our Righteousness and gives us
faith—“from Faith to faith”—we cease
trusting in our faith and true faith rests in the Faithful One.
Galatians
2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Php
3:9: And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the
law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is
of God by faith:
III. LASTLY TURN TO
1 PETER 2. HERE THE HOLY SPIRIT TELLS US TO FOLLOW CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE. Peter tells us to submit to rulers and masters and so on—1 Peter 2: 18…not only to the good and
gentle, but also to the froward. 19: For this is thankworthy, if a man
for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20: For what
glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it
patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it
patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21: For even hereunto were ye
called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps:
First, make sure our suffering is not due to our faults—1 Peter 2: 22: Who did no sin, neither was
guile found in his mouth: If we be buffeted for our faults we ought to take
it patiently. But if we do not want to
be reviled because of our faults then try not to give men any reason to revile
you.
Secondly, when you do suffer for doing well, revile not
and threaten not—1 Peter 2: 23: Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; Brethren, the strongest answer ever given came
without words. Christ had power to summons
more than twelve legions of angels. But
the greatest power ever displayed was not in exercising his Omnipotence. It was
displayed by him opening not his mouth.
Application: When
folks say mean things, we don’t have to open our mouth.
Instead, commit all to Christ. 1 Peter 2: 23:…but committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously: The greatest power ever was displayed by
committing all to the Father, by submitting to be crucified
·
By that Christ fulfilled the law
·
He took away the sin of his people
·
He justified us, making us righteous
·
He conquered Satan, death and hell for God’s
elect.
·
Christ’s meekness triumphed over the injuries
of his enemies, rather than his injuries triumphing over him.
Now Christ is risen and has all power as the GodMan and all
judgment is committed to him—so commit yourself
and your cause to him who judges righteously.
Application: He
knows everything you feel, everything you suffer. Remember, Christ glorified
God and saved his people by humbling himself under God’s mighty hand.
Therefore, in due time, ‘wherefore God also hath highly exalted him.
1 Peter 5: 6: Humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7: Casting all your care
upon him; for he careth for you.
Application:
Brethren, when we are strong enough to defend ourselves we are weakest. When we
are so weak that Christ is our only strength then we are strong. Then the power
of Christ rests on you and you find that his grace is sufficient. Here is our only
constraint to believe him, to cast all our care into his hand, and to wait on
him to exalt us in due time.
1 Peter 2: 24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed. 25: For ye were as sheep going astray; but are
now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Amen!