Substitution

Isaiah 53: 5

In today’s message, we explore the profound truths found in Isaiah 53, focusing specifically on the significance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. With the chapter beautifully painting Jesus as the suffering servant, Pastor Colin delves into the heart of the gospel, uncovering the necessity of Christ’s crucifixion for the forgiveness and restoration of humanity. By examining verses four to six, we were reminded of the incredible hope that each Christian believer holds amidst the darkening world—a new creation free from sorrow.

Pastor Colin highlighted the misconceptions held about Jesus’s death and the revelations that God provided through this event. The message underscored the stark contrast between human estimations and divine truth, particularly addressing the concept of substitutionary atonement. Isaiah’s writings reveal that our Saviour was not punished for his transgressions but bore the punishment for ours, thus bringing us peace and healing through his suffering.

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

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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