Immediately after sending out our Christmas Newsletter on Wednesday 21st I received a huge Christmas Present … my Green Card arrived in the post! Thank you for your prayer support. I do know that this is not a Christmas Gift because in God’s economy, it was on its way already … but the tradition is that Christmas is a time of giving. Giving gifts, giving joy and giving love … and the greatest Gift of all is the love God showed in Him giving His Son to be God Incarnate … the Lord Jesus Christ!
Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
So far in this short series of Notes … “Where did the real Christmas start?” … leading up to Christmas Day, we have considered the tragic fall of man into sin with God promising a Messiah. He started to unravel this promise by telling Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that they would be a People, in their own Place, under God’s Rule. Because of man being depraved, God comes to planet earth, born of a virgin, being made man, without sin because there was no human father involved. We saw God Incarnate attributes displayed for us in Isaiah 9. This means that so far we have seen Tragedy, Promise, Method and Person.
Today we want to consider what God Incarnate came to do. We need to understand His mission to earth as a Rescue Mission. You see, the transition from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s promise of being God’s People, in their own homeland called Canaan, ruled by God through His presence in the Temple, under His Word applied by prophets and priests, being led by kings … all pointed to a dispensation different to what the Hebrew people could ever imagine.
God would include peoples from all nations, making all believing Jews and Gentiles into His Kingdom People, to reside in His Heaven in Glory under the Sovereign Rule of God’s King, the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son. How would He achieve this? What would He need to do to redeem a people for Himself from the first human to the last human when He calls time on this planet? I am going to call this … His Deed! Please read Isaiah 32:13 to 53:12 … I’ll use verses 53:4-11.
Isa 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
We cannot read this passage without seeing the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ arrest, court cases, beatings, spitting upon, beating, insults and the Cross and all that this implied. Unless we see this we shall never comprehend how the Old Testament prophesies and promises are fulfilled in the New Testament.
1) Messiah’s perfect sacrifice.
Isa 53:9 though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Embodied in our passage we find our Messiah revealed as totally perfect, sinless and righteous. No violence or deceit refers to Him not being a rebel and enemy of God.
2) Messiah’s perfect sacrificial deed. As you survey the passage you see the extent of Messiah’s deed … he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows … stricken … smitten … afflicted … pierced … crushed … punishment … wounds … oppressed … afflicted … slaughter … oppression … judgment … cut off … crush him … suffer … guilt offering … suffering of his soul. All of these words resonate with those of the Gospel’s Crucifixion account and the events leading up to it. For us these experiences of Messiah are horrific and worse than a violent movie. Yet such things can never copy the magnitude of God leaving His glory, holiness and pleasure to come to our planet as God Incarnate, as Messiah. He stepped into our sin ridden world, electing to limit His divinity, suffering the humiliation, blasphemy and insults from “His” people, the Jews, who ultimately rejected Him as their Savior. Beloved, none of us could even start to imagine what God Incarnate had to endure as the Lamb of God being placed upon the Altar of Calvary.
3) Messiah’s propitiatory sacrifice. He became our substitute to assume our obligation to expiate our guilt by covering our sin through His vicarious punishment. Simply put …
1 Jn 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
4) Messiah’s resurrection satisfaction. Not getting this will result in a failed understand of Messiah’s meritorious work. Look at this:
Isa 53:10 he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
Messiah is not only God Incarnate. He died vicariously for our sin and rose again to life and was satisfied with His achievements … for the Godhead and for Himself. The reason being …
5) Messiah’s glorious achievement.
Isa 53:5 brought us peace and by his wounds we are healed.
Peace with God because we are healed from our sinful disposition. Sin is covered and guilt removed.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for what You have done to make us your people, to be in Your place in glory, under Your rule. To you be all the praise. Amen.