The Heavenly View Of All Things (Isaiah 53:1-3, John 12:12-21)
Rev. William L. Barron, April 2, 2023Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Isaiah 53 is the prophecy of the suffering servant, who was tortured, beaten, scorned and nailed. He suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is the prophecy of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. He would suffer because of the separation between God and man, explained in Hebrews 4; he sympathizes with our own sufferings. At His birth, his parents offered a sacrifice, as the law commanded. He was raised in Nazareth, although we do not know much about His youth. His siblings rejected Him, at least at first, although certainly James and Jude came to believe. Physical beauty did not draw others to Him. At His crucifixion, he had to die hastily, since the law required His burial before the Sabbath. Crucifixion brought with it a curse from God, and He became a curse for us. Jesus took our guilt and gave us His righteousness. Jesus came with high expectations as Messiah, understood to be a king who would free the Jews from oppression. He didn't fit what the people wanted. The celebration of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem turned sour. We should ask ourselves, what would we be doing there? Where would we have been the rest of the week in Jerusalem? Most importantly, do we recognize who He is now? Do we have a "washed clean" view of Christianity? Do we remember both the good and bad times in His ministry? Do we share in the sentimentality of "The Old Rugged Cross," or do we understand it as an instrument of torture, death and a curse? Is Jesus a stumbling block (to the Jews) or folly (to the Greeks), or to us as well? Christ is the power of God unto salvation. By His suffering and His separation and His death, He brings us to God and into union with God.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « The Most Glorious Descendant of David And His Mission | None | Substitutionary Atonement » |
Isaiah 53:1–3 (Listen)
53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
(ESV)
John 12:12–21 (Listen)
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
(ESV)