Remember, Isaiah is writing hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. But what he says here was precisely fulfilled in the arrest and the trial and the sentencing of Jesus. It’s all prophesied right here. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. I’m glad you’ve been able to join us today. And Colin, today we’re continuing our study of Isaiah chapter 53. And it’s taking us through the whole life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful chapter of Scripture, beginning with how he was born and how he was raised. We’ve been following the story of what Jesus endured in his suffering and in his death and what he accomplished in his death for us. And if you think of it as being like a great curve that comes sweeping downwards and then goes sweeping upwards, we’re right at the very lowest point, the humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything after this in Isaiah chapter 53 is about his vindication, his triumph, his resurrection and his coming glory. So we’re right at the lowest point. So if you are in a place today where you find yourself at a low point, I’m so glad that you are listening to Open the Bible. This is a verse of Scripture that speaks about Jesus at the lowest point. And the wonderful good news is that when Jesus Christ was at the lowest point, evil did not triumph over him. He triumphed over it. And we’re going to see that even at the lowest point, there is wonderful good news. There is hope for every person in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. So today we’re in Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 8. Our message is called Humiliation. Here’s Colin. Well, please open your Bible at Isaiah chapter 53. One of the best-known and best-loved chapters in all of the Bible. No chapter of the Bible shows more clearly why Jesus had to come into the world. And no chapter explains more fully what he accomplished in his birth and his life and his death, his resurrection and his ascension into heaven. This chapter before us focuses us on Jesus and all that he has accomplished. Now, there are 12 verses in Isaiah chapter 53. And our plan for this series is to spend one weekend in each verse. And Isaiah begins by telling us that the first reason that we need a Savior is that by nature none of us believes. Verse 1, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? So the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest good news that this world has ever heard. It is good news of great joy for all people. And you would think that our world would embrace this greatest good news with gladness and with joy. But across the world, in every culture, through every generation, the dominant response to the gospel is unbelief. Isaiah says in verse 3, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Now, we saw that the word esteemed comes from the world of accounting. When people looked at Jesus, they were asking the question, is there any value here? And the conclusion, the calculation that they made was, no, there’s not. And he was despised, Isaiah says, and we esteemed him not. He was rejected. His own did not receive him. And unbelief led us to crucify the Son of God. Now, Isaiah then describes what Jesus accomplished on the cross. And we saw that Jesus purchased our restoration by substitution and by imputation. These are important words. First, restoration. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. That’s verse 4. Now, griefs and sorrows, of course, are the effects of sin in the world. If Adam had not sinned, no one would ever have grieved a loss. And if Eve had not sinned, no one would ever have shed a tear. But here we’re told that Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. In other words, he took them and he took them from us in order to remove them from us. And through his death and resurrection, all grief and all sorrow will be taken away. The Bible points to the great day when God will indeed make all things new. And in his new creation, he will wipe away all tears from our eyes. The scripture says there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. And this great restoration, well, it was purchased through what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Now, what would it take for us to enjoy this great restoration? Well, Isaiah answers that in verse 5. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. In other words, Jesus will bring about this great restoration in which all grief and sorrow are one day taken away forever. And how does he do it? Well, he does it by way of substitution. In other words, Jesus stood in our place. You see that in verse 5? He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that was on him was the punishment that was due to us. Now you say, well, how did that happen? How did Jesus become our substitute? And the answer to that is that by imputation. And that’s really verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now, imputation simply means crediting or charging to a person something that does not belong to him or to her. And our sins were imputed to Jesus when he became our substitute. They were counted against him. They were charged to him. They were laid on him, as the way Isaiah states it here. And Jesus paid for them in full. So Jesus purchased our restoration. And he did it by means of substitution and imputation. That is what happened at the cross. And that meant the most appalling suffering for our Lord Jesus Christ. He was pierced. He was crushed. He was punished. He was wounded. But Isaiah makes it wonderfully clear that all that he suffered is life-giving for us. Upon him was the chastisement, Isaiah says, that brought us peace. So through all that he suffered, we have peace. Peace with God. The punishment for our sins, the just dessert of our sins, was spent on Jesus. That means that there is therefore no more left for those who are in him. Those who are in him. That is why the Bible says, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Not at all, because it was all spent on him. In my place condemned he stood. So Jesus is our peace. And through what he accomplished on the cross, we are wonderfully, freely, joyfully reconciled to God. And then Isaiah tells us that through the Lord Jesus Christ and what he accomplished at the cross, we are healed, verse 5, and with his wounds we are healed. Now very obviously, healing is a process that’s in its nature. But in Christ, our healing has begun. And one day in Christ, our healing will be complete. One day, you are going to enjoy complete healing of your mind, your heart, your will, your memories, your imagination, and even your body itself. Jesus purchased our restoration. And he did it by means of substitution and imputation. So that’s a helpful review of Isaiah chapter 53 in verses 1 to 6. And in a moment, we’ll go to verses 7 and 8. So I hope you’ll be able to stay with us. Remember, if you ever miss one of our broadcasts, you can always catch up by going online, go back and listen again to any of our previous broadcasts. That’s openthebible.org.uk. Back to the message now, here’s Colin. Jesus purchased our restoration. And he did it by means of substitution and imputation. And then we saw in verse 7 that Jesus submitted to all that he suffered freely. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. And yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. So this awful suffering that Jesus endured, it was not forced on him. I mean, he could have called 12 legions of angels if he wanted to, but he didn’t do that. He gave himself for us. Greater love has no one than this, than that someone should lay down his life for his friends. Now today then, we’re going to take it up at verse 8 of this wonderful chapter. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. Taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. Now let’s take this one line at a time. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And what Isaiah says here was, of course, fulfilled in the arrest and the trial and the sentencing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah says he was taken away. And you remember that Jesus was taken in the garden of Gethsemane. A large group of soldiers arrived along with a crowd armed with swords and with clubs. And Jesus was arrested and he was bound and taken off to the house of the high priest. Then Isaiah says by oppression, he was taken away. And Jesus was oppressed in the house of the high priest. There he was spat on. He was struck in the face. And this was supposed to be a court of law. And then afterwards, Luke tells us that Jesus was blindfolded. And a group of those who were holding him gathered, presumably in a circle around him. And then they took turns to hit him while he was blindfolded. And then they said, prophesy, who hit you? Oh, you’re the son of God. You have this divine knowledge. Well, you should be able to tell even when you’re blindfolded which one of us it was that hit you. You see, they’re mocking him. They’re taunting him. It was oppression. And then Isaiah says, by judgment, he was taken away. Which reminds us, of course, that the sentencing of Jesus was a judicial process. It involved the activity of a court and of a judge. But of course, in that judicial process, Jesus was denied justice. Remember that Pontius Pilate, who was the presiding judge, he pronounced more than once that Jesus was innocent. But the crowd called for Jesus to be crucified and Pontius Pilate handed him over. Now, remember, Isaiah is writing hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. But what he says here was precisely fulfilled in the arrest and the trial and the sentencing of Jesus. It’s all prophesied right here. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And then Isaiah speaks about his generation. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. He was taken away and as for his generation. Now, his generation, that’s Jesus’ generation. This is the people who were alive at the time of Jesus. And Isaiah goes on to tell us then that the people who were living at the time of Jesus did not consider. Look at what he says. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living? We might say it this way. As for the people who were living at the time of Jesus, who cared? Who cared? Now, it seems to me that this word, considered, is really the key to this whole verse. It raises two questions. What was it that the people in the time of Jesus did not consider? And therefore, what is it that we in this generation today must consider? Now, remember that the context of this verse is unbelief. The chapter begins, as we saw a few moments ago, with Isaiah asking, who has believed what he has heard from us? And those who did not believe, well, they didn’t consider. That’s what he’s telling us here in verse 8. And there are certain things that those who did not believe did not consider. Now, all of us have unbelieving friends, neighbors, colleagues, relatives. What should we ask them to consider about Jesus? Well, this verse is going to point us directly to the answer. I want us to see from this verse three things that you might ask your unbelieving friends to consider. Three vital things that the people in Jesus’ generation did not consider. Three things that are therefore vital for every one of us to consider today. And the first of these is to consider the evidence in relation to Jesus. Notice what he says. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered? Now, when Isaiah refers to the judgment of Jesus, we are immediately pointed to the trial, where the normal process of justice was clearly denied to our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew tells us that the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death. But they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last, two came forward and said, this man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. Do you see what Matthew records? They were seeking, actively seeking false testimony. That there were many false witnesses who came forward. Eventually, there were two who came forward with a similar story, although Mark tells us that the problem there was that even there in their testimony, they did not agree. Now, when you read the story of the trial of the Lord Jesus Christ, the obvious question is, where were the witnesses who could have spoken in Jesus’ defense? There were plenty of them. Why were they never called? Why were they never called? Jesus was accused of forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar. That’s Luke chapter 23 and verse 2. But Jesus had said publicly, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, give to God what is God’s. There were many people who could have been called to give testimony to the fact that he had said that quite clearly. Why were they not called? Well, the evidence was not considered. The high priest condemned Jesus because he claimed to be the Messiah. Matthew chapter 26 and verse 63, he says to Jesus, I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ. That’s the charge that was put. You’re claiming to be the Christ, that is the Messiah. Now, there were many people who could have been called into that court to give evidence in Jesus’ defense that indeed he was the Christ. That he did the things that only the Messiah himself could have done. Charles Simeon was a 19th century pastor in Cambridge in England. And he points out that there were many who could have spoken, giving testimony as witnesses in defense of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, one man could have come and said, I was blind and he made me see. Another could have come and said, I was gripped by Satan’s power, but it was Jesus who set me free. And if Lazarus had been called, he could have said, I was dead and in the grave. But Jesus raised me to life. Even Judas, who had betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ, regretted what he had done. He threw the 30 pieces of silver onto the floor of the temple. And he said, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. But none of these witnesses who could have spoken in defense of the Lord Jesus Christ were called. Jesus’ generation did not consider the evidence. So here are a couple of other things to consider. Not only the evidence in relation to Jesus, but also the great loss in rejecting him. And of course, the great gain in receiving him. That’s what we’ll be looking at in our next broadcast. So I hope you’ll be able to join us for that. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called Humiliation, part of our longer series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. And if you ever miss one of our broadcasts, you can always go online, go back and listen again at openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners. That’s people just like you. And this month, if you’re able to begin a new donation to Open the Bible in the amount of five pounds or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you a copy of a book. It’s called Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Colin, give us a taste of what’s in this book. Well, it’s really all about what God does in bringing people to faith in himself and what he calls us to do, the responsibility that he’s given to us. And these two things work together. One way that I find quite helpful to think about this is if you think of a surgeon and he’s performing an operation, there are certain tools that are in his hand. The instruments become the means by which the surgery is performed. But it’s the hand of the surgeon himself that uses these instruments and actually gets the work done. And God uses us as instruments, our praying, our sharing the gospel. That’s a trust that he’s given to us. And we are instruments in the Redeemer’s hand. And that’s a very wonderful privilege. But the really good news is that we are in the Redeemer’s hand, that it’s the Lord who actually does the work and by his grace. On the one hand, we learn that we have a great privilege and we have a great work that God has called us to do. And on the other hand, we learn that we have tremendous hope because it is God who’s actually doing the work in and through us. This book’s a wonderful encouragement. I’ve gone back to it year after year and just found it to be refreshing as a reminder to me that I have great privilege in being trusted with the word of the gospel as every believer is. And yet it is God who uses the word of the gospel to save people. And he does it by his own power and by his marvellous grace. So this book is our gift to you if you’re able to begin a new donation to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 or more each month. You can find full details of this offer and you can give online as well at our website that’s openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and for Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. People in Jesus’s day failed to consider something important about him. Find out what it was next time on Open the Bible.