Crushed for Our Iniquities (Isaiah 53:4-12)
When I went to college, having a home computer was a big deal—they were expensive and there wasn’t much Internet to speak of. Well, when I was home for Christmas one year, a church member who was very good with computers wanted to show Dad and me how he thought we could use a computer in ministry.
So, one morning, Dad and I went to Larry’s. While we were there, the phone rang. Larry answered the phone, listened, and then slumped against the wall with his hand over his eyes. He looked at Dad and said, “Randy, it’s for you.” A couple members of the church were desperately trying to reach Dad since he wasn’t in the office and the congregation had just suffered a tragedy.
One of the members, who led singing from time to time, owned a service station. That morning Charlie had hoisted a car up on his hydraulic lift in the garage, but because he was in a hurry and doing a quick job, he didn’t bother to put his safety apparatus in place. While Charlie was underneath the car working, the hydraulic lift failed, came down on top of him, and crushed him to death.
I imagine that most of you know someone who has been crushed—either in a work accident or a car accident. You’ve surely seen cars that were crushed by being rolled over. Maybe you had a bone crushed that had to be surgically repaired. You might have had a tree fall and crush your house.
Whatever experience you might or might not have with people or things being crushed, the fact of the matter is that Jesus was crushed for your sins. His body was mangled and abused. His heart was broken—the Father turned his face away. His spirit was crushed—he bore all the sins of all the world as he died.
Isaiah wrote about a Messiah who would come and be crushed for the sins of his people. We know Isaiah wrote about Jesus, for the New Testament tells us he did. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53 on his way back from Jerusalem. We then read: “And the eunuch said to Philip, ‘About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:34-35). There can be no doubt, therefore, that Isaiah wrote about Jesus.
Isaiah’s message about Jesus is really quite simple: “Jesus bore your sins on the cross.”
Scripture (Isaiah 53:4-12)
verses 4-6:
Isaiah pictured a group looking at God’s Suffering Servant; instead of seeing him as bearing their sins, they believed God was afflicting him. If you’ve read the Book of Job, you know that the prevailing idea in antiquity was that people suffered for their own sins. The only plausible explanation, therefore, for the Servant’s suffering was that he had angered God by his sinfulness.
Yet, his wounds healed us and brought us peace, tranquility and harmony with God. Sin destroys peace with God, but since Jesus bore your sins on the cross, that peace has been restored.
Each of us has wandered away like a lost sheep; we are all sinful people.
verses 7-9:
The Suffering Servant went to his death as silently as a lamb goes to death or as a sheep goes to the shearer.
The Suffering Servant was taken away “by oppression and judgment.” In other words, his trial was a kangaroo court.
“As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?” In other words, Jesus’s contemporaries had no idea the significance of his death, nor did they stop to ponder his death’s meaning.
The Suffering Servant was killed with the wicked and buried by a rich man, although he had done no wrong.
verses 10-12:
The Lord will honor his Servant once he has made atonement for sin. He shall see his offspring—the Servant would see those who had triumphed over sin through him. Through his sacrifice, the Servant would make many people righteous. God would give his Servant spoil—he would be victorious and be honored.
Application
“Jesus bore your sins on the cross.” Because “Jesus bore your sins on the cross,” you need to understand some truths.
One: You must see yourself as Corrupt.
To appreciate Jesus’s sacrifice for your sins, you must understand just how Corrupt—sinful—you are: “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” (Is 53:6). Jesus died because you are Corrupt.
You are a sinner. “There is no one who does not sin” (1 Ki 8:46). “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).
Look at just how Corrupt you are. Think about how you try so hard to do the right thing, but you fall into sin over and over. Think about all the times you’ve said the wrong thing. Think about all the times you’ve done the wrong thing. Think about all the times you’ve harbored bitterness. God wants peace with you, but you cannot have that peace while you are living in sin.
Two: You must see Jesus Christ as Clear.
Jesus Christ is perfect and Clear of all wrongdoing and sin: “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” (Is 53:9).
Jesus said to the Jews, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” (Jn 8:46); how could he ask that question unless he was sinless? “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Pet 2:22). “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 Jn 3:5).
While Jesus lived on this earth, he faced temptation after temptation after temptation, but he never sinned. His trial was unjust—he didn’t deserve to die. Because he had no sin, Jesus laid down his life for you like a sacrificial lamb.
Three: You must see Jesus Christ as Consecrated.
After Jesus died for sin, God Consecrated him: “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” (Is 53:10). Since Jesus willingly laid down his life, God Consecrated him—exalted him to the highest place.
Jesus has been “exalted at the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33). “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11). “After making purification for sins, [Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:3).
Since Jesus has been Consecrated to the highest place, you must consecrate him in your own life. Speaking of Jesus’s exalted position, Paul wrote that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Col 1:18). Do you know what’s included in “in everything?” Your heart, your soul, and your life.
How preeminent is Jesus in your life? How much have you Consecrated him? Does he have all authority over your life—over your joys, over your recreation, over your habits, and over your sin? Does he honestly have the preeminent place in your heart? Do you need to make Jesus preeminent right now as we stand and sing?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.