SERMON: THE SUFFERING SERVANT

Easter Sunrise Service
4 April 2010

I. Introduction

-- this morning, as we gather here at the foot of these three crosses and watch the sun rise on the horizon, we can't help but think of Charles Dickens' great quote that opened his book, "A Tale of Two Cities"
-- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times -- it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness-- it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity -- it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness -- it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair -- we had everything before us, we had nothing before us"
-- think back over the events of the past several years and you'll see that Dickens quote so aptly fits our own generation

-- in various places in the world, we are experiencing the best of times -- democracy is being brought to regions of the world that never really understood the dignity of individual citizens or the joy of liberty -- people in oppressed regimes such as North Korea and Iran are finding their voice and sowing the seeds of revolution and freedom -- countries and people are coming together in unity as never before
-- we are experiencing an unprecedented ability to communicate ideas and beliefs to any part of the planet -- we can sit in our own homes and communicate with strangers on the other side of the world -- we can watch real time events happening in China and Iran and Afghanistan all in our own living rooms -- with our global economy and our ability now to move goods and supplies around the world, we can change the life of others and bring significant relief to regions that are suffering because of drought or famine or poor economic conditions
-- on the other hand, we have also experienced the worst of times, even in our country -- HIV/AIDS continues to take its toll around the globe -- natural disasters such as our recent streak of earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and Japan affect many -- Countries face off in tense negotiations over trade, border disputes, and ancient grievances -- and our economy has been rocked by bank failures, skyrocketing unemployment rates, and an ever expanding federal debt and deficit
-- it surely is the best of times and the worst of times -- but, to quote John Ortberg, "I can't think of an Easter in recent memory where there was a bigger need for hope, for something that would breathe life into the human spirit

-- None of us ever want to go through a season of hard times like we have over the past several years -- but when you're in the valley -- when you're suffering through the hardships of life -- those are the times when you come face to face with what you truly believe -- with what you truly stand for
-- it's times like these that force us to ask the questions, "What am I really counting on? -- Am I building my life on a foundation that's solid enough that circumstances beyond my control cannot take it away?"
-- it's times like these that bring us to this place to remember that when it seems that all hope is lost -- that when we realize that man is powerless to turn the tide and to change our lives for the better -- that there is One who has already paid the price and redeemed us from this world with His very own body and blood
-- as Ortberg put it, "People have not gathered for the past 2,000 years to say, "The stock market has risen. It has risen indeed." -- They have not gathered to say, "The dollar has risen. It has risen indeed." -- Or, "the employment rate has risen." -- Or, "the gross domestic product has risen." -- Or, "General Motors has risen." -- Or, "The value of your 401(k) has risen."
-- Here at the cross is the "one hope that has [sustained] human beings across every continent and culture for two millennia [as they have struggled through the] difficult times of poverty, disease, pain, hardship, [and] death itself
-- here at the cross we gather to proclaim with all the world, "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed." -- and we are reminded that He suffered for us so that we might gain eternal life with Him

-- this morning, I wanted to take a moment to look at a passage from Isaiah -- Isaiah Chapter 53 -- that we call, "The Suffering Servant"
-- in this prophetic chapter, Isaiah gives us a moving portrait of the life and death and resurrection of Christ -- and he reminds us that, through Christ, we have already won the victory

-- so, if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Isaiah 53 and let's look at this together as we begin our celebration of Easter

-- verse 1

1. Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

-- Isaiah reminds us that this message is for us -- we are the ones who heard the good news of Christ and turned from our sins and from the darkness of our former lives to the life that Christ had to offer -- we are the ones who have received salvation from God and it is our responsibility to pass this message of hope and life to those who are still walking in darkness

-- verse 2

2. He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

-- Jesus knows what it means to suffer -- when Jesus came to dwell among us, He came as one of us -- He was not clothed in glory -- He was not clothed in majesty -- there was nothing to draw us to Him physically
-- Jesus lived as one of us -- He got hungry -- He got thirsty -- He knew what it was to feel cold and hot -- to feel tired and exhausted -- to feel alone and abandoned -- He suffered just what we suffer -- He experienced everything we experienced, but even more so, because He was despised and rejected by His own people -- by the people He came to save
-- what must it have been like for Jesus to stand in the court of Pontius Pilate and to hear the people who He came to save cry, "Crucify, crucify?" -- Jesus knew what it felt like to suffer and to be rejected

-- verse 4

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.

-- Isaiah tells us that Jesus suffered for a reason -- He suffered for us -- He who knew no sin became sin for us -- He took up our infirmities and our frailties -- He took our sorrows and our burdens -- He took our transgressions and our sins -- He bore them in His own body and took them to the cross on our behalf
-- everything that happened to Jesus on that day -- the sword that pierced His side -- the flogging that striped His back -- the nails that went through His hands and feet -- all of that was because of us -- all of that was for us
-- He took our punishment so that we might know peace -- He took our wounds so that we might be healed -- He paid the price, so that we might not have to

-- verse 7

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.

-- Jesus could have spoken up -- He could have stopped the beating and the flogging at any point -- He could have stopped on the Via Dolorosa and dropped His cross -- He could have called down ten thousand angels and stepped down from the cross -- He could have told the Romans and the Chief Priests and the Sanhedrin that it was our fault -- that it was our sin -- not His
-- but He didn't -- He willingly took our sin -- He willingly took our punishment -- and He never said a word, but just endured it for us

-- verse 8

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.

-- Isaiah reminds us that Jesus died for us -- because of our transgressions -- because of our sins -- He was cut off from the land of the living -- He died in our place

-- verse 9

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.

-- this is really amazing -- Jesus was assigned a place with the wicked -- He died the death of a criminal -- He died the death of a rebel -- because He died in our place -- His body should have been taken down and thrown into a common grave with all of the others -- even though He was sinless and had never done one thing wrong, He was condemned to suffer as the wicked
-- but, over 1000 years before the cross, Isaiah prophesied that although Jesus should be buried with the wicked, that this would not happen -- Isaiah said that Jesus would be buried in a rich man's tomb -- a borrowed tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea

-- verse 10

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.

-- Isaiah reminds us that this was not an accident -- that the cross wasn't a mistake -- that God didn't just make the best of a bad situation
-- the cross was planned from the beginning -- it was God's will that Jesus might die so that we might have eternal life through Him -- God made Jesus a guilt offering for us -- He made Jesus a sacrifice for us -- to take our place so that we might live forever

-- verse 11

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.

-- when I was taking classes at Emory, I had several professors try to tell me that the ancient Israelites did not believe in an afterlife -- that they did not believe in a resurrection -- but Isaiah clearly says here that Jesus, after having died for us, would once again see the light of life -- and that through His death and resurrection, we would be justified and made righteous in the eyes of God because He bore our iniquities on the cross

-- verse 12

12. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

-- this verse speaks of the kingdom of the Messiah -- of the time when Jesus will reign over all creation and will reward us for what we have done for Him -- Jesus died for us that we might live for Him -- He died for us so that we might go forth in His name and tell others about the message of Easter -- about the hope that we have in the cross and the empty tomb

-- this morning, as we close our service, I wanted us to join together and share Holy Communion -- for what better place to remind ourselves of Jesus' death on the cross than before these three crosses this morning -- what better time to remind ourselves of the victory that we have in Jesus than on Easter morning as we celebrate the empty tomb and the risen Savior?
-- so, let us join together now, as one body and one people, to rejoice and to remember the suffering servant who bore our sin on the cross and who intercedes for us with the Father

[lead in Holy Communion]