Isaiah 53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed!
It is no new thing for gospel ministers to be disappointed. Even Isaiah; the most Evangelical of all the prophets, who might well be placed at the head of the College of Preachers, feels compelled to say, in the name of all that sacred brotherhood, «Who hath believed our report?» The report was a very plain one, a very earnest one, and very full of noble matter. Men ought to have believed it, but they did not, and they never will unless God's arm is revealed, for faith is the product of Omnipotence, and men never believe in Christ till God stretches out his arm. Where was the difficulty of believing the report about Christ? Isaiah tells us about him, and as we listen, we understand why so many believe not on him.
Isaiah 53:2. For he shall grow up before him
That is, the Messiah shall grow up before God
Isaiah 53:2. As a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
When Christ came, he was very lovely to those who could judge of spiritual beauty. In form and comeliness, he was unrivalled, but not to carnal men; they said, «Where is his royal splendor? Where is the majesty of his kingdom?» As they looked upon the carpenter's Son, they said, «Where are his riches?» They heard him say that he had not where to lay his head, and they despised such a Messiah. As he spoke in simple parables to the people, they asked, «Where is his wisdom?» So, to carnal eyes, the Saviour had «no form nor comeliness.»
Isaiah 53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Oh, how sad it is that the Son of the Most High God, when he condescended to wear our nature, received such base treatment as this from the hands of men! How equally sad is it that his glorious and ever-blessed gospel should still be the object of contempt to multitudes of men! They will not have it; they will have their own philosophy, their own falsehoods, rather let us say, but Christ they despise, and they esteem not his gospel.
Isaiah 53:4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows :--
Listen, ye sad ones, ye sorrowful ones! Let this sweet note charm you into joy: «He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.»
Isaiah 53:4. Yet we
We, for whom he was the Substitute, for whom he smarted: «Yet we»
Isaiah 53:4-5. Did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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.
Wonderful medicine! Marvelous healing! Where shall we find the like? The Physician drinks the bitter draught, and so cures the patient; whoever heard of such a wonder as this? The Physician is put to death, and that great sacrifice heals the patient; whoever heard of such a thing as this before? The whole gospel in a nutshell lies in this verse: «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.»
Now comes another wonderful verse, such as Luther was accustomed to call «a little Bible.» It begins with «all» and it ends with «all»
Isaiah 53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
There is your only hope of eternal life, sinner. You are among the «all» who went astray; if you are a believer in Christ, you will be found among the «all» whose iniquities were laid upon him, and carried away by him.
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.
Oh, the majesty of his silence! Never was eloquence equal to this: «He opened not his mouth.»
Isaiah 53:8. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
They ought to have been stricken; their transgressions deserved the heavy blows of the rod of God's wrath; yet, «for the transgression of my people was he stricken.»
Isaiah 53:9. And he made his grave with the wicked,
He was crucified between two malefactors.
Isaiah 53:9. And with the rich in his death;
He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
Isaiah 53:9. Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
For that very reason he was qualified to bear our sin; because he had no sin of his own, therefore he could bear ours, and he did bear ours, and died, «the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.»
Isaiah 53:10. 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.
Do not be afraid, then, about the kingdom of Christ. Its interests are safe enough, for they are in his hands, and God has given the promise that his pleasure shall prosper there.
Isaiah 53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
His death-pangs were our birth-pangs; and Christ shall see that which is born of his soul-anguish, and «shall be satisfied.»
Isaiah 53:11. By his knowledge
Or, «by the knowledge of him,»
Isaiah 53:11. Shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
There is no meaning at all in this chapter if it does not teach that Christ did take upon himself the sin of his people, and did suffer in their room and place and stead. Let who will object to this doctrine, it is the gospel, the very heart and marrow of it; and there is nothing that can make a heavy heart glad until it sees sin removed by the death of Christ: «He shall bear their iniquities.»
Isaiah 53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
He not only died, but he poured out his very soul unto death.
Isaiah 53:12. And he was numbered with the transgressors.: and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession.for the transgressors.
We shall do well also to read part of the 55 th chapter of Isaiah after this 53 rd; the one is an admirable preparation for the other
This exposition consisted of readings from Isaiah 53:1; and Isaiah 55:1-7.