1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:15,220 ����0 ����������������������������������������������U 2 00:00:15,220 –> 00:00:19,820 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3 00:00:19,820 –> 00:00:24,639 Please open your Bible again at Isaiah and Chapter 53. 4 00:00:24,639 –> 00:00:31,260 We are seeing that the whole of this marvelous chapter is about Jesus Christ and all that 5 00:00:31,260 –> 00:00:33,320 He has accomplished. 6 00:00:33,320 –> 00:00:39,099 And last time we saw that the verses we’re looking at, Verses Four to Six, take us to 7 00:00:39,099 –> 00:00:44,619 the very heart of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. 8 00:00:44,619 –> 00:00:47,919 Why did Jesus die on the cross? 9 00:00:47,919 –> 00:00:52,080 Well, we saw there are many ways in which you can answer that question. 10 00:00:52,080 –> 00:00:57,380 The first answer that might be given is, well, so that we are forgiven and that’s wonderfully, 11 00:00:57,380 –> 00:00:59,419 wonderfully true. 12 00:00:59,419 –> 00:01:03,240 But why does God want to forgive our sins? 13 00:01:03,240 –> 00:01:05,779 Why does He reconcile us to Himself? 14 00:01:05,779 –> 00:01:10,500 What’s the ultimate purpose behind all of this? 15 00:01:10,500 –> 00:01:15,720 And the answer of the Bible we’ve seen it is that God, in his great mercy, is committed 16 00:01:15,720 –> 00:01:22,400 to a complete restoration of everything that has been lost by the entrance of sin into 17 00:01:22,400 –> 00:01:23,660 the world. 18 00:01:23,660 –> 00:01:31,000 That is why the Bible story ends with a new creation where God will be with His people, 19 00:01:31,000 –> 00:01:37,559 where death and mourning and crying and pain will be gone forever and God Himself will 20 00:01:37,559 –> 00:01:42,360 wipe away every tear from our eyes. 21 00:01:42,800 –> 00:01:48,559 Now this is the glorious future that lies ahead of every Christian believer. 22 00:01:48,559 –> 00:01:54,459 This is why a Christian always has hope and the darker the world around us becomes the 23 00:01:54,459 –> 00:01:59,580 more bright this glorious hope shines. 24 00:01:59,580 –> 00:02:05,800 Now Isaiah points as we saw last time to this new world in verse 4, 25 00:02:05,820 –> 00:02:11,059 He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 26 00:02:11,059 –> 00:02:17,419 And we saw that griefs and sorrows are the effects of sin entering into the world. 27 00:02:17,419 –> 00:02:24,539 And the great purpose of God is to bring us into a glorious new world where griefs and 28 00:02:24,539 –> 00:02:28,119 sorrows will be no more. 29 00:02:28,119 –> 00:02:35,960 Now in order to deal with the effects of sin, which is the focus of verse 4, Jesus clearly 30 00:02:35,960 –> 00:02:40,360 had to deal with sin itself. 31 00:02:40,360 –> 00:02:47,779 And that is the amazing subject of verse 5 that we are looking at together today. 32 00:02:47,779 –> 00:02:55,399 We’re going to pick up where we left off last time in the middle of verse 4, we esteemed 33 00:02:55,399 –> 00:03:07,199 him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted, but, verse 5, he was pierced for our transgressions 34 00:03:07,199 –> 00:03:15,100 he was crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace 35 00:03:15,100 –> 00:03:19,960 and with his wounds we are healed. 36 00:03:20,360 –> 00:03:24,220 Now these verses show a very stark 37 00:03:24,220 –> 00:03:31,860 contrast between what we think on the one hand and what God says, do you notice 38 00:03:31,860 –> 00:03:37,880 that at the end of verse 4 Isaiah describes our misconception regarding 39 00:03:37,880 –> 00:03:45,080 the death of Jesus and then in verse 5 he describes God’s revelation regarding 40 00:03:45,919 –> 00:03:50,619 the death of Jesus, notice our misconception we, esteemed, 41 00:03:50,619 –> 00:03:58,059 him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. Now at this point very 42 00:03:58,059 –> 00:04:04,699 obviously Isaiah is speaking about those who do not believe, that after all is 43 00:04:04,699 –> 00:04:09,800 where the chapter begins, verse 1, who has believed what He has heard from us and 44 00:04:09,940 –> 00:04:16,399 whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed. This, of course, is how people 45 00:04:16,399 –> 00:04:25,279 responded when Jesus came into the world. We, esteemed, Him stricken, smitten by God. 46 00:04:25,279 –> 00:04:32,260 This was the view when Jesus died on the cross, God is smiting Him, God is 47 00:04:32,260 –> 00:04:39,359 punishing Him, God is bringing justice to Him. That’s what people thought when 48 00:04:39,359 –> 00:04:46,440 Jesus was on the cross We esteemed Him stricken. Now this word 49 00:04:46,440 –> 00:04:53,260 esteemed is a word that we saw before in verse three, remember it’s the accounting 50 00:04:53,260 –> 00:04:58,619 word. It belongs to the world in other words of the balance sheet and it 51 00:04:58,619 –> 00:05:04,380 involves making a calculation. So what’s being said here, is here are people who 52 00:05:04,380 –> 00:05:10,559 are saying, we’ve done a calculation and we figured that it’s God who struck him, 53 00:05:10,559 –> 00:05:15,660 it’s God who smote him, it’s God who afflicted him, 54 00:05:15,660 –> 00:05:22,500 we figured that God had no place for Him and so neither do we. And of course, when 55 00:05:22,500 –> 00:05:26,779 you read the story of the crucifixion in the Gospels, you see that this is exactly 56 00:05:26,779 –> 00:05:31,579 what happened. Matthew records how the crowds actually 57 00:05:32,019 –> 00:05:48,700 Now you see what they’re saying, this man has claimed to 58 00:05:48,700 –> 00:05:55,339 be the Son of God, but look at him now, well clearly God doesn’t want him, God 59 00:05:55,339 –> 00:06:00,779 won’t have anything to do with him. They’re saying if he really was God’s 60 00:06:00,779 –> 00:06:05,540 son, God could come down and deliver him, but it doesn’t look as if that’s going 61 00:06:05,540 –> 00:06:13,739 to happen. So when they looked at Jesus hanging on the cross, they figured that 62 00:06:13,739 –> 00:06:22,700 he was getting what he deserved, that God was afflicting him, that God was smiting 63 00:06:22,700 –> 00:06:30,640 him, that God was bringing to him justice for all of his own sins and his own 64 00:06:30,679 –> 00:06:38,260 blasphemies, that’s what they thought. Now one thing that’s very important for 65 00:06:38,260 –> 00:06:45,100 us to learn here is that it is possible to believe in God and be completely 66 00:06:45,100 –> 00:06:52,179 mistaken about Jesus. Remember that Isaiah is speaking here to people who 67 00:06:52,179 –> 00:06:57,660 believed in God, these people are not secularists and they certainly were not 68 00:06:57,859 –> 00:07:03,820 atheists. They believed in God and the God they believed in is the God of the 69 00:07:03,820 –> 00:07:08,899 Bible, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. They believed 70 00:07:08,899 –> 00:07:18,660 in God but they were completely mistaken about Jesus. We esteemed him stricken, 71 00:07:18,660 –> 00:07:25,459 smitten by God and afflicted. We thought that he was pierced for his own 72 00:07:25,459 –> 00:07:31,940 transgressions. We thought that he was crushed for his own iniquities. That was 73 00:07:31,940 –> 00:07:40,959 our misconception. That’s what Isaiah is saying here in verse 4. But now, here 74 00:07:40,959 –> 00:07:49,559 is God’s revelation. He was pierced for our transgressions. 75 00:07:49,820 –> 00:07:58,459 He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the Chastisement that brought us 76 00:07:58,459 –> 00:08:08,279 peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Now do you see that in this verse God is 77 00:08:08,279 –> 00:08:15,339 telling us very clearly what happened at the cross? And what God tells us here 78 00:08:15,339 –> 00:08:22,279 can be summed up in a single word and that word would be substitution. 79 00:08:22,279 –> 00:08:28,000 We all know what this looks like. Your sports team, pick any sport, your team is 80 00:08:28,000 –> 00:08:33,520 doing its best but things are not going very well, and then one of the players 81 00:08:33,520 –> 00:08:40,020 gets injured and she’s not able to continue, so she comes off the field and 82 00:08:40,179 –> 00:08:48,719 the coach sends on the substitute and the substitute plays in the place of the 83 00:08:48,719 –> 00:08:54,640 injured player. Now what Isaiah is telling us here is that that is what 84 00:08:54,640 –> 00:09:04,599 happened when Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he took our place, he came on 85 00:09:04,619 –> 00:09:13,760 for us, he became our substitute and what that means and it’s very hard is that 86 00:09:13,760 –> 00:09:21,599 the punishment that would have been on us, the punishment that was ours for our 87 00:09:21,599 –> 00:09:29,159 transgressions and for our iniquities it was on Him and Isaiah says this is how 88 00:09:29,239 –> 00:09:39,739 God heals us and this is how God brings us peace now there is a very great irony 89 00:09:39,739 –> 00:09:46,320 in these words here the people in Jesus day thought that God had no place for 90 00:09:46,320 –> 00:09:53,000 him they thought that God was punishing him for his sins that God was smiting 91 00:09:53,000 –> 00:09:59,659 him for his iniquities God struck him God smote him God afflicted him and you 92 00:09:59,659 –> 00:10:03,859 know what in a profound sense they were right 93 00:10:03,859 –> 00:10:17,919 God did strike him God did smite him God did afflict him but it was not for his 94 00:10:17,919 –> 00:10:26,380 transgressions it was for ours it was not for his iniquities it was for ours 95 00:10:26,380 –> 00:10:32,559 now friends this amazing truth at the very heart of the gospel that Jesus 96 00:10:32,559 –> 00:10:39,299 Christ became the substitute for us it’s a truth that could only be known by 97 00:10:39,299 –> 00:10:46,599 revelation nobody could ever work this out by observation or by intuition if 98 00:10:46,599 –> 00:10:50,960 you had stood beside the cross when the Lord Jesus Christ was suffering and 99 00:10:50,960 –> 00:10:57,320 dying there you would not have said ah I see what is happening Jesus is dying as 100 00:10:57,320 –> 00:11:02,039 the substitute for my sins no the only way that we could ever know this is if 101 00:11:02,039 –> 00:11:06,960 God were to tell us and that’s exactly what he does right here in this verse 102 00:11:06,960 –> 00:11:13,919 that’s before us Jesus purchased our restoration and he did it by 103 00:11:14,219 –> 00:11:19,000 substitution God’s telling us what his son would accomplish 104 00:11:19,000 –> 00:11:26,719 when he died on the cross now in this wonderful verse that we’re focusing in 105 00:11:26,719 –> 00:11:36,200 on today God himself reveals why it is that Jesus had to suffer he points to 106 00:11:36,340 –> 00:11:43,880 all that Jesus endured as he suffered and then he tells us what comes to us 107 00:11:43,880 –> 00:11:51,700 wonderfully as a result of all that Jesus suffered so let’s begin here with 108 00:11:51,700 –> 00:11:59,119 why Jesus suffered and do you notice that there is in this verse a fourfold 109 00:11:59,119 –> 00:12:08,640 description of the human condition first we learn here that we are defiant notice 110 00:12:08,640 –> 00:12:16,359 he was pierced for our transgressions and transgressions very simply our 111 00:12:16,359 –> 00:12:25,900 deliberate willful floutings of God’s law we want to be our own God we want to 112 00:12:25,900 –> 00:12:33,380 decide what is right what is wrong for ourselves we resist the right of God to 113 00:12:33,380 –> 00:12:40,140 rule over us we think that God owes us but somehow he exists to serve us to 114 00:12:40,140 –> 00:12:46,039 give us the life that we want and war to God if he does not do as we want him to 115 00:12:47,000 –> 00:12:53,140 we are prevented from everything that we wanted to do now maybe you’re asking at 116 00:12:53,140 –> 00:13:02,900 this moment is that really true of me am i really defiant towards God is there 117 00:13:02,900 –> 00:13:08,820 anything that’s defiant towards God in me and the answer to that question is 118 00:13:08,979 –> 00:13:17,679 that is why it is so hard for us to live a holy life the desires of the flesh the 119 00:13:17,679 –> 00:13:25,760 Bible says are against the desires of the spirit our flesh is defiant towards 120 00:13:25,760 –> 00:13:34,000 God always has been and always will be and that’s only the beginning because 121 00:13:34,299 –> 00:13:39,919 not only are we defiant in this verse we see that we are by nature twisted he was 122 00:13:39,919 –> 00:13:48,159 crushed for our iniquities now the word in equity has the meaning of twisted and 123 00:13:48,159 –> 00:13:54,400 again you may be asking at this point well is this really true of me well let 124 00:13:54,400 –> 00:14:00,960 me ask you don’t you know what it is for a cutting word suddenly to come into 125 00:14:01,200 –> 00:14:05,799 conversation it’s out of your mouth before you knew it and then you find 126 00:14:05,799 –> 00:14:13,539 yourself saying where did that come from and why is it for example that we often 127 00:14:13,539 –> 00:14:21,599 find it so difficult to remember good things and so hard to forget bad things 128 00:14:21,599 –> 00:14:27,359 why do you do things that you know you shouldn’t do 129 00:14:27,359 –> 00:14:32,179 why do you not do the things that you know you should do 130 00:14:32,179 –> 00:14:40,440 there’s only one explanation sin has twisted the human heart and as an old 131 00:14:40,440 –> 00:14:47,020 prayer puts it we do what we ought not to do we do not do what we should do and 132 00:14:47,020 –> 00:14:55,419 there is no health in us so this verse is laying out the human problem the 133 00:14:56,340 –> 00:15:00,080 what is it we’re defiant towards God that’s our transgressions 134 00:15:00,080 –> 00:15:03,299 we’re twisted in our very nature that’s our iniquities 135 00:15:03,299 –> 00:15:11,760 thirdly we are guilty notice the chastisement that brought us peace was 136 00:15:11,760 –> 00:15:17,099 on him now that word chastisement or punishment 137 00:15:17,099 –> 00:15:25,219 really tells us that our transgressions our iniquities bring a consequence 138 00:15:25,219 –> 00:15:30,820 and what is the consequence of our transgressions and our iniquities 139 00:15:30,820 –> 00:15:40,340 well the Bible says the wages of sin is death and after death comes the 140 00:15:40,340 –> 00:15:47,299 judgment we are all guilty before God that’s what this verse is telling us 141 00:15:47,299 –> 00:15:57,700 there is a sentence hanging over us the wages of sin is death the fact that we 142 00:15:57,700 –> 00:16:04,679 all die is the ultimate proof that we are all sinners sooner or later we all 143 00:16:04,679 –> 00:16:13,700 get our wages we all get what we have earned and then fourthly do you see here 144 00:16:13,700 –> 00:16:22,159 we are wounded with his wounds we are healed now of course Isaiah is speaking 145 00:16:22,159 –> 00:16:28,539 here about the wounds of Jesus rather than ours but notice that he says that 146 00:16:28,539 –> 00:16:36,340 by Jesus wounds we are healed now a person who is healed is by definition a 147 00:16:36,340 –> 00:16:43,679 person who has been wounded you remember that the Lord Jesus told a story about a 148 00:16:43,700 –> 00:16:50,539 man who was walking on a dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell 149 00:16:50,539 –> 00:16:57,640 among robbers who stripped him and they beat him and they left him Jesus said 150 00:16:57,640 –> 00:17:07,900 half-dead picture this man lying beaten and bruised in the road now that’s a 151 00:17:07,900 –> 00:17:11,400 picture of our spiritual condition 152 00:17:11,619 –> 00:17:20,760 sin has robbed us sin has beaten us up sin has left us wounded lying in the 153 00:17:20,760 –> 00:17:25,880 road since a salt on us has led us to believe 154 00:17:25,880 –> 00:17:30,560 the wrong things to love the wrong things to desire the wrong things we’re 155 00:17:30,560 –> 00:17:34,439 beaten we’re bruised we’re lying in the road we don’t have the strength to get 156 00:17:34,439 –> 00:17:42,560 up and to pursue the will of God so here you have in this one verse a remarkable 157 00:17:42,560 –> 00:17:46,300 four-fold description of the human condition 158 00:17:46,300 –> 00:17:55,260 what what is it? We’re wounded and we are guilty before God we are twisted by 159 00:17:55,260 –> 00:18:06,300 nature and we are defiant and Isaiah says this is why Jesus had to suffer he 160 00:18:06,300 –> 00:18:16,900 was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our inequities upon him 161 00:18:17,040 –> 00:18:26,640 was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed 162 00:18:26,640 –> 00:18:31,479 so that’s the first thing why Jesus suffered but I want you to notice 163 00:18:31,479 –> 00:18:39,579 secondly what Jesus suffered and again Isaiah lays this out in a fourfold 164 00:18:39,599 –> 00:18:50,660 description. First he tells us that Jesus was pierced and we know that hundreds of 165 00:18:50,660 –> 00:18:56,920 years after the time of Isaiah when Jesus came into the world his hands and 166 00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:04,920 his feet were pierced by the nails and his side was pierced by the thrust of a 167 00:19:05,260 –> 00:19:13,280 spear. Now I don’t think that Isaiah could have begun to imagine what this 168 00:19:13,280 –> 00:19:20,000 actually looked like because a judicial death in Old Testament times was by 169 00:19:20,000 –> 00:19:27,900 stoning. Crucifixion was a Roman practice that belonged to an age long after the 170 00:19:27,939 –> 00:19:35,459 time of Isaiah. But Isaiah was writing under the direct inspiration of the Holy 171 00:19:35,459 –> 00:19:42,339 Spirit of God and God revealed to the Prophet what he could not have been able 172 00:19:42,339 –> 00:19:55,900 to imagine. That Jesus the Messiah would be pierced. And Isaiah says he was 173 00:19:55,939 –> 00:20:03,339 pierced for our transgressions. It wasn’t as people would think on account of his 174 00:20:03,339 –> 00:20:13,180 own transgressions because he had none. He was pierced on account of ours. And 175 00:20:13,180 –> 00:20:20,859 then second notice that Jesus was crushed.The word is used of grapes being 176 00:20:21,140 –> 00:20:31,660 trodden down in a winepress and Jesus was beaten so severely that he was 177 00:20:31,660 –> 00:20:39,939 hardly recognizable as a human being. Isaiah says at the end of chapter 52 if 178 00:20:39,939 –> 00:20:45,760 you look back there his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like 179 00:20:45,959 –> 00:20:52,400 a man his form did not resemble a human being. 180 00:20:52,400 –> 00:21:01,239 Jesus was crushed and Isaiah is telling us why he was crushed for our 181 00:21:01,239 –> 00:21:11,739 iniquities and then we read here that Jesus was chastised or punished. Justice 182 00:21:11,739 –> 00:21:19,939 demands a penalty when evil is done and this word chastised our punished tells 183 00:21:19,939 –> 00:21:27,180 us that what Jesus suffered was actually a penalty or a sentence and the penalty 184 00:21:27,180 –> 00:21:32,939 or sentence that Jesus endured was the penalty or sentence that was due to us 185 00:21:32,939 –> 00:21:44,500 and due to us on account of our sins bearing shame and scoffing rude in my 186 00:21:44,500 –> 00:21:56,260 place condemned he stood and then isaiah tells us that Jesus was wounded you 187 00:21:56,260 –> 00:22:02,760 remember that before he was pierced and nailed to the cross he was scourged 188 00:22:02,780 –> 00:22:12,319 so that his back would have been flayed a mass of open flesh and Isaiah says 189 00:22:12,319 –> 00:22:26,719 with his wounds we are healed now the Bible tells us very clearly that 190 00:22:27,260 –> 00:22:34,640 demonstrates his love for us in this that while we were still sinners 191 00:22:34,640 –> 00:22:42,140 Jesus Christ died for us but someone might very reasonably ask the question 192 00:22:42,140 –> 00:22:48,239 you know how is it that Jesus dying on the cross is a demonstration of God’s 193 00:22:48,439 –> 00:22:57,079 love for us I mean a cure for cancer or the end of world hunger might seem like 194 00:22:57,079 –> 00:23:03,479 a much more tangible demonstration of the love of God for us than Jesus dying 195 00:23:03,479 –> 00:23:12,880 on a cross but understand this from what Isaiah is saying that the reason that 196 00:23:12,939 –> 00:23:19,699 Jesus dying on the cross is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for us is 197 00:23:19,699 –> 00:23:28,640 that this achieves something of infinite value for us. The sentence that was ours 198 00:23:28,640 –> 00:23:39,300 is served. The bill or the debt that was ours is paid. Justice that would have 199 00:23:39,500 –> 00:23:49,719 come to us has been served! And our case in Jesus Christ has been settled fully, 200 00:23:49,719 –> 00:23:59,319 completely, and finally forever. Now that leads us to the last thing today, and it 201 00:23:59,319 –> 00:24:05,119 is this very wonderful truth of what came from Jesus suffering. Amazing how 202 00:24:05,560 –> 00:24:12,119 is packed into this one remarkable verse in the prophecy of Isaiah. Do you see 203 00:24:12,119 –> 00:24:18,359 that there are two things that directly come to us as a result of all that Jesus 204 00:24:18,359 –> 00:24:25,719 suffered for us? And the first is that we have peace. Upon him was the 205 00:24:25,760 –> 00:24:36,400 chastisement that brought us peace. Jesus stood in our place. Jesus became our 206 00:24:36,400 –> 00:24:44,500 substitute. The punishment that would have been ours was on him and it’s in 207 00:24:44,500 –> 00:24:54,439 this way Isaiah says that we have peace with God. November the 11th 208 00:24:54,439 –> 00:25:01,560 is known as Armistice Day, because this was the day when the armistice that 209 00:25:01,560 –> 00:25:08,920 brought an end to the First World War was signed in France. All hostilities on 210 00:25:09,819 –> 00:25:17,459 sea and air ended on that day and the armistice came into force at 11 o’clock 211 00:25:17,459 –> 00:25:32,239 in the morning on 11-11. Now up until that moment men were tragically dying in 212 00:25:32,319 –> 00:25:39,880 the trenches in fact more than 2,000 people died on that last day November 213 00:25:39,880 –> 00:25:51,439 the 11th of the First World War. But at 11 o’clock on 11-11 all hostilities 214 00:25:51,579 –> 00:26:03,300 ceased. There was peace. Now think about this, God has signed an armistice for all 215 00:26:03,300 –> 00:26:14,819 who are in Jesus Christ. No more hostilities, no more wrath, no more 216 00:26:14,920 –> 00:26:22,400 punishment, no more condemnation, sins, transgressions, 217 00:26:22,400 –> 00:26:30,260 iniquities, all forgiven fully, finally, and completely. Therefore, being 218 00:26:30,260 –> 00:26:42,359 justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What 219 00:26:42,500 –> 00:26:49,979 came from all that Jesus suffered. We have peace with God. And then second 220 00:26:49,979 –> 00:26:55,800 notice how Isaiah says here, not only we have peace but we are healed. Upon him 221 00:26:55,959 –> 00:27:03,160 was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed. 222 00:27:04,219 –> 00:27:11,219 Healed from what? Well, of course, the healing here is complete freedom from 223 00:27:11,500 –> 00:27:17,219 all our transgressions, all of our iniquities and all of our guilt. 224 00:27:17,520 –> 00:27:24,099 Complete recovery from all off our wounds and this healing will be ours, 225 00:27:24,160 –> 00:27:32,859 Isaiah says because of what Jesus endured for us on the cross. Now there 226 00:27:32,859 –> 00:27:41,739 is an obvious difference between our peace and our healing. Peace is a 227 00:27:41,739 –> 00:27:46,260 declaration. Healing is a process. 228 00:27:47,180 –> 00:27:55,239 But in Jesus Christ our healing has begun. And in Jesus Christ one day our 229 00:27:55,319 –> 00:28:03,219 healing will be complete. And the Apostle Peter who quotes this line from the 230 00:28:03,219 –> 00:28:08,880 prophecy of Isaiah in his letter in the New Testament he tells us what this 231 00:28:08,880 –> 00:28:17,900 healing actually looks like. He says this, By his wounds you have been healed 232 00:28:17,900 –> 00:28:23,640 for… So now he’s going to explain what this actually means, what it looks like 233 00:28:23,760 –> 00:28:31,359 for us to be healed for you were like straying like sheep but have now 234 00:28:31,359 –> 00:28:40,540 returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. You see healing is a process 235 00:28:40,540 –> 00:28:49,079 that begins when you walk by faith with the Good Shepherd. And healing will be 236 00:28:49,079 –> 00:28:56,359 complete when the Good Shepherd brings you into his wonderful presence. Death 237 00:28:56,359 –> 00:29:02,760 will bring you in Jesus Christ not into a place of judgment but into a glorious 238 00:29:02,760 –> 00:29:09,400 new life in the presence of God where everything in you that resists the will 239 00:29:09,400 –> 00:29:15,939 of God will be gone forever. And all that is twisted and perverse within you will 240 00:29:15,939 –> 00:29:22,719 be wonderfully straightened out, Christ’s people, we’re told in the book of 241 00:29:22,719 –> 00:29:27,040 Revelation will be dressed in white robes, you see what that is signifying 242 00:29:27,040 –> 00:29:40,760 no guilt, no shame. Clean! Pure! Never ever to sin again. 243 00:29:41,520 –> 00:29:46,640 This is the wonderful, wonderful truth of this remarkable verse, 244 00:29:46,640 –> 00:29:53,479 Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 5. And as we’ve just tried to walk through what 245 00:29:53,479 –> 00:30:01,900 God reveals about why Jesus suffered, what Jesus suffered and what came from 246 00:30:01,900 –> 00:30:07,599 Jesus suffering the obvious question is what now are we to do in the light of 247 00:30:08,319 –> 00:30:12,459 all of this? Let me suggest to you two things. 248 00:30:12,459 –> 00:30:18,800 The first is simply this. In the light of what we see in this verse of the Bible 249 00:30:18,800 –> 00:30:30,380 today, admit your own need. Admit your own need. Confess it to God. In God’s holy 250 00:30:30,380 –> 00:30:36,479 sight, every single one of us are by nature defiant, 251 00:30:36,479 –> 00:30:45,959 we are twisted, we are guilty, and we are wounded. So claiming that you’re a good 252 00:30:45,959 –> 00:30:49,599 person, just drifting through life saying oh I’m a good person I’ll be fine when I 253 00:30:49,599 –> 00:30:55,520 get into the presence of God. That is simply not going to cut it with God. 254 00:30:56,520 –> 00:31:04,280 The first step to faith, is for you to admit your own need, stop pretending that 255 00:31:04,280 –> 00:31:10,479 everything is well, it’s not! Why would Jesus have come into the world and 256 00:31:10,479 –> 00:31:16,199 endured all of this on the cross, if everything was already fine? No, your 257 00:31:16,199 –> 00:31:24,420 need is so great, that God the Father had to give his one and only son for you and 258 00:31:24,420 –> 00:31:31,880 there is no pardon, without him being pierced. There is no cleansing, without 259 00:31:31,880 –> 00:31:38,020 him being crushed. There is no peace, without him being punished and there is 260 00:31:38,020 –> 00:31:45,640 no healing, without him being wounded. So give up the pretense of trying to 261 00:31:45,640 –> 00:31:53,640 present yourself to God as a good person. Tell God that you know and believe what 262 00:31:53,859 –> 00:32:06,180 he says about you here is true. Lord, I’m wounded. I’m guilty. 263 00:32:06,180 –> 00:32:20,180 I’m twisted and I’m defiant. And I need a savior. 264 00:32:20,260 –> 00:32:26,000 Will you admit your need before God today? 265 00:32:26,000 –> 00:32:27,760 And when you admit 266 00:32:27,760 –> 00:32:31,920 your need before God here’s the second thing to do in response to this 267 00:32:31,920 –> 00:32:41,339 remarkable verse of Scripture trust in God’s provision. You need a savior, yes. 268 00:32:41,339 –> 00:32:50,959 And Jesus is the savior that you need. God sent his son into the world and Jesus 269 00:32:50,959 –> 00:32:58,959 went to the cross where he was pierced for our transgressions and he was 270 00:32:58,959 –> 00:33:06,859 crushed for our iniquities. Jesus came on and took our place as the 271 00:33:06,859 –> 00:33:14,160 substitute. He stood in the place of sinners. He is God’s provision for you. So 272 00:33:14,160 –> 00:33:23,439 trust him. Believe in him today. And when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 273 00:33:23,439 –> 00:33:30,199 something very wonderful happens. When you believe in Jesus, Jesus makes you 274 00:33:30,479 –> 00:33:40,839 one with him. That’s the way the New Testament puts it. You are in Christ. 275 00:33:40,839 –> 00:33:49,219 That’s how the Bible describes it. And there is no condemnation for those who 276 00:33:49,219 –> 00:33:55,520 are in Christ Jesus. And when you are in Christ, all that 277 00:33:55,560 –> 00:34:04,900 Jesus died to accomplish really is yours. You have peace with God. You will be 278 00:34:04,900 –> 00:34:12,959 healed of all the effects of sin in your life. You’ll be able to say when you’re 279 00:34:12,959 –> 00:34:21,600 in Christ that Jesus was pierced for my transgressions. 280 00:34:21,659 –> 00:34:30,879 Jesus was crushed for my iniquities. The punishment that brought me peace was on 281 00:34:30,879 –> 00:34:41,939 Jesus. And by his wounds I am healed. Let’s pray together. 282 00:34:41,939 –> 00:34:50,939 Father we see in the Scriptures today so clearly the extent of our need for 283 00:34:51,239 –> 00:34:59,760 forgiveness, mercy, and the glory of your provision for us in Jesus Christ. We 284 00:34:59,939 –> 00:35:07,659 bless you for sending your Son into the world. We can hardly take in his 285 00:35:07,659 –> 00:35:18,600 readiness, in love to give himself for sinners like us, but we rejoice that the 286 00:35:18,600 –> 00:35:28,239 last day has come, that the ultimate sacrifice for sin has been made and that 287 00:35:28,239 –> 00:35:35,679 the Lord Jesus Christ offers himself freely to all who will come to him, 288 00:35:35,679 –> 00:35:43,340 acknowledging our need and trusting him as the Saviour. Gladly we embrace him 289 00:35:44,120 –> 00:35:53,159 so thankful that in Christ we have the gift of peace, that in Christ our healing 290 00:35:53,159 –> 00:36:01,199 is begun and one day it will be marvelously complete, hasten that day 291 00:36:01,199 –> 00:36:10,639 when faith is turned to sight for these things we ask, in Jesus’ name, amen. 292 00:36:10,639 –> 00:36:15,300 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 293 00:36:15,300 –> 00:36:22,580 To contact us call us at 1-877-Open365 or visit our website 294 00:36:22,580 –> 00:36:29,620 OpenTheBible.org