THE POINT: Jesus willingly experienced
pain and suffering for our salvation.
THE PASSAGE: Isaiah 53:2-12
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Superman has been one of the most popular fictional characters since
1938. But put a pair of glasses on him and he is merely Clark Kent, a
mild-mannered newspaper reporter. I always wondered how Lois Lane could not
tell Clark Kent was Superman. Even as a child, I could see right through those
thick glasses and recognize him as Superman. It seems Lois Lane was the one who
needed the glasses.
Such “blindness” doesn’t just happen in comic books. The Jewish
people had long been looking for their Messiah. They were expecting Him to
sweep in, destroy the bad guys, and make everything right and happy for them.
The One they had waited for was right in their midst, but He didn’t act the way
they expected their Messiah to act. Moreover, Jesus surprised everyone by the way
He brought deliverance. No one expected the Messiah to suffer and die on a
cross between two thieves.
We might wonder how God can understand our pain, but what He did
for us shows He understands suffering far more than we do or ever could.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Isaiah 53:2-4
2 For he shall grow up before him 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. 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. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
Few Old Testament passages give us a clearer or more prophetic picture
of the cross of Christ than Isaiah 53. Renowned for its beauty and clarity, it
captures the suffering of the Messiah. The contemporaries of Isaiah in eighth
century BC would not have envisioned an afflicted and suffering Messiah. Based
on God’s covenant with David, they expected a powerful leader.
“I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of
thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-13).
That is certainly an accurate picture of the Messiah, but the victorious
leader of God’s kingdom was first a suffering servant. Isaiah’s prophecy began
by describing the Messiah as one “as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry
ground.” Jesus was born and raised without fanfare and without much notice. The
house and throne of David had lost its prominence as the nation of Israel was under
Roman authority when Jesus was born.
Jesus apparently was not the type of person whose outward appearance
naturally drew people to Him. The world is always attracted to the
aesthetically beautiful. In our day, we pay big money to watch good-looking
people in movies and television. Some people cannot imagine that Jesus was not
a well-built, good looking man!
Not only did Jesus not impress the crowd, but He was also rejected
by the world. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief.” He didn’t just know about suffering; He experienced it
first-hand. The phrase “we hid as it were our faces from him” shows us the deep
level of rejection Jesus faced.
It might be hard for us to imagine being so disliked that some people
intentionally distance themselves from us, but this was just how some of the
religious leaders felt toward Jesus. He was not the Messiah they were
expecting, so they pushed Him away. They “esteemed him not.”
It’s easy to assume we would never see Jesus in that way. We like
to think we’re too educated and too enlightened to miss the Messiah. Too many
in the world reject and despise Jesus because He doesn’t fit their idea of a
savior or a god. The world wants an attractive savior who doesn’t require anything from us yet meets our
every whim. That’s not who Jesus is—and He still suffers rejection because of
it.
However, this passage ends with glorious good news. Jesus took our
sins and sorrows and bore them on the cross. Jesus understands suffering and
rejection because He endured them for our benefit.
Question 2: What’s your
reaction to the description of Jesus in these verses?
Isaiah 53:5-9
5 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. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his
own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 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. 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. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his
death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
The Romans were experts in inflicting pain and suffering. One of the
methods they used to keep conquered peoples in line was pain and humiliation.
They used torture in public settings to deter others from rebelling. Control
was vital to overseeing such a vast empire.
The Romans had no more humiliating and painful way to torture and
kill than crucifixion—execution on a cross. Those who were crucified would
suffer for hours; perhaps, even for days. Death eventually came, not from the
wounds of the nails, but from asphyxiation. Each breath took great effort, and
eventually the victim no longer had the strength to pull himself up to draw
oxygen into the lungs. The torture was intensified by the beatings, insults, and
humiliation he had already endured.
Isaiah’s prophecy did not specifically mention crucifixion, yet when
we read these verses in light of the arrest, trial, torture, and crucifixion of
Christ that occurred centuries later, we see how accurately Jesus fulfilled
this prophecy. Isaiah wrote of the suffering servant and what He would endure
on our behalf. The prophet used a picture that would be familiar to His Jewish audience:
“brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” Lambs are seen as timid, helpless
animals. They travel as a group, doing what the others do. They huddle together
for safety, and they have an innate sense that they need protection. It does not
take them long to recognize their need to trust their shepherd. They seem to
know their very lives are in his hands. They have no natural defense mechanism;
therefore, without the shepherd’s protection they would die.
When I (Candace) was young, I raised lambs as a part of our county
4-H project. Every summer, I would care for two lambs, name them, feed them,
and practice leading them around a show ring. I was their shepherd. At the end
of the summer, the inevitable would come. The lambs were auctioned off to the
highest bidder. It was painful, because these innocent lambs were loaded on a
trailer and driven to the slaughterhouse. They then would provide food for several
families.
Verse 7 points to another lamb, but this lamb would do far more than
feed a family. John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
In Acts 8, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading
this same passage from Isaiah. The man wanted to know who the Lamb was. “I pray
thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?”
(Acts 8:34). Using Isaiah’s prophecy from eight hundred years earlier, Philip
pointed the man to Jesus. Jesus was this prophecy fulfilled.
We have a Savior who suffered more than any human being in history.
Others have suffered for their own sin and many have suffered under the weight
of sin, but no one else in history has suffered for all the sins of the world.
Nobody else could have borne such an unspeakable burden but Jesus. In addition
to the extreme physical pain and agonizing torture Jesus experienced, He also experienced
a separation from His Father before He died. On the cross, He cried out, “My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).
We may wonder if God could possibly understand our suffering, but
the truth is God has experienced suffering to a degree we can’t imagine.
Isaiah’s prophecy shows us that, in His innocence and sinlessness, Jesus
experienced the desolation of rejection and the agony of a cruel death. But, as
we shall see, He willingly suffered for our benefit.
Question 3: How do these
verses connect to what you know about Jesus’ life?
Isaiah 53:10-12
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. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear
their iniquities. 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: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Verse 10 is powerful. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.”
It’s striking to consider that God was pleased—pleased!—to bruise His
own son. As parents of four children, we can’t imagine ever using the word
“pleased” to describe seeing our children suffer. Yet the “harshness” of that
statement reveals the depth of God’s love for us—and how seriously He takes
sin.
The reason God bruised His own Son was because He was carrying
upon Himself the sin of the world—our sin. God bruised His own Son so
that He would not have to bruise us for our sin. And His pain-filled sacrifice accomplished exactly what God set out
to do. Again, we see a reference to God’s pleasure: “and the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand.” Jesus, the Suffering Servant, completely satisfied
the righteous demand of the law on our behalf.
Jesus’ suffering ended in His death, but the story was not over! “He
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” Jesus died, but
He didn’t stay dead. God approved of Christ’s sacrifice, and then He raised Him
from the dead. The great news is that not even death could overpower Jesus,
because on the third day he was raised from the dead. He did this to display
His power over sin and death and to show that “whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Jesus’ obedience was rewarded with victory. God the Father gave
him “a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.”
As His reward He will receive those He redeemed through His willing sacrifice.
Question 4: How do we benefit
from Jesus’ suffering?
Jesus understands our suffering! But His suffering was not merely
an “I can relate” sentiment. Jesus’ suffering and death made it possible for us
to be free of pain and suffering. In Christ, we no longer have to fear death.
We are set free from the pain of our sin.
And ultimately, we will be free of all suffering when we are with Him
in His eternal kingdom.
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4).
Question 5: How can we
communicate God’s love and understanding when others are suffering?
ENGAGE
Place words from Isaiah 53 that describe our Suffering Savior in the
word cloud below. Then list words you can think of in the New Testament that
also describe Jesus. Write a prayer below thanking Him for His great sacrifice
for us.
LIVE IT OUT
Since Jesus willingly experienced pain and suffering for our salvation, how will you let that truth impact your life this week?
- Thank. As you pray, thank God for the
suffering Christ endured for your salvation. Thank Him that one day you will be
free of all suffering and pain because of Christ.
- Accept. If you’ve never trusted in Christ and
accepted His death on your behalf, pray and seek His forgiveness. Trust Christ
to save you. Talk to your group leader or look on the inside front cover of this
book for help.
- Share. If you have a friend or family member
whose circumstances make him or her cynical to the truth that God cares, tell
that individual about the suffering of Christ. Encourage this person to see God’s
love and care as evidenced by the death of Jesus.
In His Love,
David & Susan
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