Substitutionary Atonement (Isaiah 53:4-9)
Rev. William L. Barron, April 6, 2023Part of the Eastertide series, preached at a Midweek service
This chapter not only concerns the prophecy of the suffering servant, but also the messiah. There are two people in view here. The prophet foretells the servant's victory over sin and the messiah's return to rule and reign. The two are the same person. We are to share in Jesus' suffering; this makes our own salvation more real. God's plan is that Jesus takes on the guiltiness and punishment that we deserve. We have turned away, but the Good Shepherd brings us back into the fold. He came to serve and give His life. His suffering alone does not save us. Jesus brought us peace with God as His suffering in innocence atoned for sinners, satisfying the wrath of God toward sin. Truly, it is by His love that we have salvation. Justification, propitiation and redemption are all from God. The world avoids guilt, and false guilt is denial of real guilt. Christ's victory is ours. The sacrificial system was complicated, ugly and dirty. This shows us the seriousness of sin. We are dead in sin and deserve to die, yet God loves His people. Jesus laid down His life freely to give us salvation, life and peace with God.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « The Heavenly View Of All Things | None | Life In The Covenant Of Peace » |
Isaiah 53:4–9 (Listen)
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
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.
8 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,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
(ESV)