(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, Isaiah chapter 53, probably one of the most famous chapters in the whole book of Isaiah, we have the gospel essentially presented to us in Isaiah chapter 53, it's an awesome passage, there's many, many quotes that we can go to in the New Testament, I'm not even going to go to all of them, I mean, there's a few of them we're going to look at, but there's, I mean, as we were reading this, as you know, we just read the entire chapter before, just a minute ago, you probably are looking at all these going, like, yep, yep, this familiar, familiar, familiar, familiar, even just all from the New Testament. So whether they're quoted verbatim, or at least extremely closely, the concepts are all brought up all throughout the New Testament. This is an awesome passage here. And I'm going to try to do some a little bit of justice and do some expounding on this passage. But I mean, it's, it's great on so many levels. And some of the New Testament quotes, we're going to look at kind of expand and enhance what we're seeing here, we get a really good view into the life of Jesus Christ, and really what he sacrificed for us. And let's dig right in. And I mentioned this, we're going to start in chapter 52, the last verse I said last week, I said, don't worry, we're going to cover that next week. So I kind of want to start off with looking at verse number 14, just to get a little bit of context. Because as you know, you know, the chapter divisions were introduced after the writing of the Bible as a whole. So something that came later, and each chapter division, sometimes the chapter divisions are still, I think they're good placement, but but it could still be in the middle of a thought. So we see the end of chapter 52 rolls right into chapter 53. This would be in the middle of a paragraph, probably, and would be continuing the same thought. So I want to get some context going into this. And also, we're going to use then some association with the New Testament are actually going to be turning if you want to get ready to Romans chapter 10. Is going to be the first place. Yes, we looked at this last week, and we're gonna be looking at it again, because it continues to apply in the passage. So looking at verse number 14 of chapter 52, the Bible reads as many were astonished at the his visage was so marred, more than any man and his form more than the sons of men. We preach about that last week talking about Jesus Christ and how badly he was beaten, and that his his facade, his his face, his image was just so destroyed more than any man, it just really, really, really, really, really, really beaten bad. And then this next verse is it's tied in together, you know, it's verse 14 as a colon, and then continues in verse 15. So shall he sprinkle many nations, of course, what he's sprinkling is to be sprinkling with his blood, we sprinkle many nations, the kings shall shut their mouths at him. For that which had not been told them, shall they see, and that which they had not heard, shall they consider. And at the death of Jesus Christ, what happened, you know, the ministry of Jesus Christ was to the lost sheep of Israel, he went to the household of Israel, and he came unto his own his own received him not. And then right after the resurrection, that's when he sent forth his disciples, go ye therefore in all the world and preach the gospel and every creature, where he's going to be going forth into all these many nations and kings. So he's sending out his disciples into these places where, you know, after his death, after this brutal crucifixion, these kings are going to shut their mouths at him. They're going to have nothing to say when they hear the witness that goes forth into their nations. It says for that which had not been told them, shall they see, and that which they had not heard, shall they consider. But then verse chapter 53 begins in verse number one, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. And now there's multiple references in the New Testament to this one verse alone. And we're going to start with Romans chapter 10, because I believe that part of Romans 10 is going to tie in with the gospel going forth to the other nations and other kingdoms and into the Gentiles, as we see here in Romans 10. So we're going to start reading in verse number eight of Romans 10, the Bible reads, but what sayeth that the word is neither even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the word of faith, which we preach, that if thou shalt confer with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture sayeth whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. Now I went over this last week. That was a quote literally earlier in chapter 52. But let's keep reading here in Romans 10. I'm not going to repreach last week's sermon. If you weren't here, just look it up online. It's posted to our channel. Verse number 16. So he's saying, look, we preach. There's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. And it says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Amen. It's real simple. Whosoever. Whosoever. Jew, Greek, you know, black, white, doesn't matter who you are, where you're from. Anybody that calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's not just for the Jews. It's not just for Israel. It's whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is the good news. This is the gospel. And he explains, hey, look, people aren't going to be able to believe, they're not going to be able to call on the Lord unless they believe in Him. They're not going to be able to believe unless they hear. They're not going to hear unless you've got a preacher. They're not going to preach unless they're sent. Right? So Jesus started sending forth His disciples so they could preach the gospel. And they could go forth with their blessed feet and preach the gospel so that people could hear the gospel and that people could believe the gospel. And they could call on the name of the Lord and get saved. But it's real simple. Right? And that's the way that the gospel works. But you know what I love about this? We see this 100% Romans chapter 10. I mean, it's just preached up and down. This is the gospel. This is how people get saved. This is a very New Testament teaching. But how does He apply it? But they have not all obeyed the gospel. They have not all obeyed the gospel. They believed our report. The gospel of believing is the everlasting gospel. It's the gospel, the same gospel that existed in the Old Testament that exists in the New Testament. The exciting thing about the New Testament is we know who the Christ is. We know who the Savior is. We know it's Jesus Christ. He came and fulfilled all the prophecies. But that Savior was prophesied in Isaiah chapter 53. And we're going to see that a little bit later in the sermon. We're going to go to Acts chapter 8 as the Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah 53. And what does he preach? The gospel. What do we see in Romans chapter 10 that's quoted in chapter 52 and 53? The gospel. We see all about what Jesus did for us. And knowing from the New Testament, oh, this is obviously talking about Jesus. In the Old Testament, they didn't know specifically who He was talking about other than the Savior who's going to bear the sins of the entire world in His own body. The Savior is going to come and take away the sin of the world. This is taught all throughout chapter 53, chapter 52. But, you know, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. But it's just so exciting seeing that. And you point out something so simple, like in Romans 10, when he quotes Isaiah 53, verse 1, Lord, who has believed our report, when he says, Well, they have not all obeyed the gospel. Now, don't let that word obey trick you either. Because what is the good news? What is the gospel? That Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross, that He was crucified dead and buried, according to the Scriptures, and that on the third day He rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures. Right? And whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the gospel. So how do you obey the gospel? You put your faith in Christ. How do you obey the gospel? You trust in what Jesus did for you to be saved. It's that simple. That's how you obey the gospel. Notice he didn't say they have not all obeyed your law. Because what people who are not saved and don't understand the Bible will try to teach a workspace salvation by saying, see, look, you've got to obey the gospel. And that means you've got to do these good works and you've got to do this. No, because when you're doing the good works, you're obeying the law. The gospel makes you free from the law. It's not obeying the law. Obeying the gospel is belief. It's faith. Obeying the law is works. And the two are completely separate and distinct, and I could go on and on and on and preach for hours and hours and hours, up and down, how the Bible proves that, because it's talked about so many times in Scripture, like practically every single book of the Bible talks about that. Verse 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But we're going to continue here, because this is why I also wanted to get that context of other nations. When we keep reading in Romans chapter 10, he says, you know, of course, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. So in Romans, and by this point in history, he's saying, well, look, haven't they heard about the gospel? He said, yes, they have. Which, at least at this point, people always want to bring up, well, what about people who haven't heard the gospel? What about this tribe and that tribe, and what about this group of people, and what about people who haven't heard the gospel? You know what, at this point in Romans chapter 10, he says, have they not heard? Yes, verily their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. It sounds to me like the gospel was preached everywhere. And you know what that means? Everybody had a chance. And I don't think it's just so drastically different today than it was back then. If you were able to reach the ends of the world then, and people have continued to be faithful and preach the Word of God, then of course you're going to continue to have people who are hearing the gospel. But that's not even where it ends. And this is actually where the point I want to draw in that I believe ties in with the end of chapter 52 here. The Bible says in verse 19, but I say, did not Israel know? First, Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaiah is very bold in saith, I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. Now this is a quote from I think Isaiah chapter 65, if not 63. It's going to be coming up later, so we'll cover this again. But what is Isaiah? This is what Isaiah says. What is Isaiah? It says, first of all, that he's very bold. So what is he doing? He's preaching because he's bold. He's not intimidated. He's not scared. He's going forth and preaching. He's very bold in saith, I was found of them that sought me not. That's boldness. So does Isaiah have the method of, well, let's just try to attract as many people as we can into church and get them all here, and then I'll preach the gospel to them when they come into church? No. He says, I was found of them that sought me not. They weren't looking for Isaiah, but Isaiah found them, and he preached unto them. That's why in Romans 10, earlier it's saying, you need to go forth. You need to bring the gospel. You've got to be sent. You've got to preach the gospel. You need to be found of people that aren't looking for you so that they can hear the gospel. Now not everybody's going to obey the gospel. Not everyone is going to get saved. Not everyone's going to receive it. But you better believe, like Isaiah was, very bold and said, hey, I'm going forth. And I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. This is like the king's, so shall he sprinkle many nations. The king shall shut their mouths at him, for that which they had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider. They're going to start seeing and considering once people go forth and preach the gospel, even though they're not even caring about it or looking for it, and they go forth and they're going to hear it. It says, but to Israel sayeth all day long, I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient gain, saying, people. We'll get into that later when we cover that chapter. Now there's one other reference here. Turn, if you would, to John chapter 12. And I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on John chapter 12, but I felt it was very important to just bring this up as well. One, because he's quoting it, but two, because it's just doctrine that a lot of people don't understand. And in our church, I think everybody does, and you've probably heard a lot more than most, but there's still a lot of people who don't understand this doctrine just in general amongst Christians. And John chapter 12 explains this pretty clearly. And if you've ever wondered, look at verse number 37 of John chapter 12. The Bible says, but though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. And if you ever stop and think, like, if I was alive during the time of Christ and was able to witness some of the things that Jesus had done, how amazing would that be? Like, just put yourself back 2,000 years ago, and you show up to some preaching. You go follow Jesus into the mountains, and then all of a sudden they're feeding thousands of people. Someone's going to have to stop and think, where are they getting all this food from? I mean, especially when you don't have, like, supplied lines and supply chains and you're kind of out in the middle of nowhere. I mean, wouldn't you even think that today, if you just went off into the wilderness somewhere, you're just out in the woods and there's some preaching going on, and then it's just like, there's all this food. But there's no structure, there's no dwelling, there's nothing else around you at all, and they just keep on bringing out all this food to everyone, and you have more than enough to eat. There's, like, leftovers. And that's, you know, that's one miracle. That's one example. And you see something like this, it's like, who is this guy, right? And some of these people were seeing all manner of miracles being done, all kinds of good works, people being healed, the blind receiving their sight, the deaf receiving their hearing, I mean, literally just people being completely healed, and not even just necessarily through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was doing all these things, but then later on as disciples, you know, you see all these things. How could people just be so stiff-necked and hard-hearted to not just go, this has to be of God? I mean, who can do all these things? And we're not talking about the charlatans that want to fake this stuff and hire actors to claim that they have some major sickness or disease and roll in on a wheelchair when the whole time they're able to walk, and then be like, all right, you're healed, and they slap them in the forehead. And, you know, these are undeniable healings. These are undeniable proofs that were going on here, where people were like, look, we know this guy was blind since birth. Like, everybody knows him. And you got to remember, too, these towns didn't nearly have the population size that we have like the United States of America today with these metropolitan cities and stuff. They're towns and villages, and people knew each other. And people knew the guy that couldn't walk. They knew the people who were deaf. They knew the people who couldn't see. They knew the people who had these problems because they knew the people. And then all of a sudden they just see these people. It's like, what happened to you? Well, a man named Jesus touched my eyes, and now I can see. And you're going to start not only witnessing, but hearing all of these events. So how can people, now you understand the people who might be ignorant and didn't really know very much, but there's many people, especially like the Pharisees, that were seeing this stuff, and not only did they not believe, but they hated Jesus, and they wanted to kill him for it. And it kind of boggles the mind, because you're thinking, how? Because normal people have some degree of respect for just the truth and seeing amazing things and would think, wow, that's great, the glory of God, right, to witness an event like that. And it's hard to imagine how someone could not have a reaction like that, because that's probably what all of us would be thinking. If you were to witness that, you'd be like, wow, this is great, this is amazing. And on top of that, he's preaching the word of God. He's teaching, and he's opening up understanding, and he's teaching all these great things. Of course this is of God. But many people, even though they saw the miracles in John chapter 12, they said they believed not on him. Verse 38 says that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? So this question is being asked because of the people who aren't believing. Because of the people who don't believe, it's like, who has believed? You know, the witnesses have gone forth, who has believed? To whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Because it doesn't look like it's been to anybody, right? It may not look that way. But this is the prophecy that's being fulfilled that verse 39 says, therefore they could not believe, because that is Isaiah said again. And now it's going to quote another part of Isaiah, which again, this is going to go a little bit outside of the scope for this evening. But look at verse 40, it says, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. What this is very clearly, I would say, unequivocally teaching is that there are some people, like verse 39 says, that cannot believe. They cannot believe. And on top of that, they can't believe. Why? Because God, when it says he hath blinded their eyes, God has blinded their eyes. God has made it so that some people's eyes are blind, and their heart is hard, and you say, that can't be God, that must be the devil. Well, you know, we have an example of God doing this. How about with Pharaoh? These words specifically are used in Scripture of the Lord hardening the heart and blinding the eyes of Pharaoh. The Lord, yes, God does that, and God has done that, and it's recorded in Scripture. It's irrefutable that God has done this to people. This is a fact, and it's an inconvenient truth for some people, but it's the truth nonetheless, and we need to understand that, and people get all upset and up in arms because of what we believe about homosexuality, you know, being a result of somebody whose heart has been hardened and who cannot believe. But if you understand John chapter 12 and Isaiah 53, and especially as we read Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53, and you can see everything that Christ went through, you can see the suffering, you can see the sacrifice, you can see all of that, and then we refer, we're looking at people who, you know what, they have heard. The sounds went forth into all the world. They have no excuse. They heard the gospel. They understood it, but they rejected it. These are people even that saw the miracles, but they blasphemed the Holy Ghost and said that what Jesus did was of the devil, that what the Holy Ghost was doing through Jesus Christ was the power of Satan. And through their blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, like the Bible says again, they have never forgiveness, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. There are people alive that have blasphemed the Holy Ghost that lost their chance of ever being able to believe on Christ and receiving eternal life. That is a fact. That is a doctrine that is so airtight you cannot disprove that fact. You may not like the application to homosexuals. You may disagree with the application to homosexuals, but the fact that people can become reprobates and get to a point where they are unable to believe because God has hardened their heart, unless they should heal, be converted, right? He said the whole point of hardening your heart was, hey, because I don't want them to be converted and I should heal them. Read John 12, verse 40. Again, that's what it says. He had blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them. This is truth, my friends, but people get all crazy about it these days. In fact, I was even just talking to someone today from Norcross that is doing an article, so we'll see what happens. Get ready. I don't know how big of a reach this publication is going to have or whatever, but they noticed that we showed up on the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group list or whatever. And yeah, amen, right? Amen. I don't care. If they're going to talk that way about us, great. I mean, we must be doing something right. But it's like that thing's been out now for, I don't know, a couple years, I think, where they've already labeled us, so I'm just thinking, like, is this new? Did they print some new article about us? I don't know. It doesn't matter. But why is it even news? It's because of the way we apply it to homosexuals, but I'll tell you what, Christians today need to understand this concept, the reprobate doctrine, because it's a real thing. And it's taught throughout Scripture. People who take the mark of the beast, they are going to burn in hell. That's one group of people. People who blaspheme the Holy Ghost, they never have forgiveness, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. They never have forgiveness. They are not saved. They can never be saved. They're damned the moment they blaspheme the Holy Ghost. And the third group of people are the people who add to or remove from God's word that God has reserved for them the plagues that were written in the book of Revelation and that their name is removed from the book of life. And you know what? Once you're blotted out, you can't go back in. You're done. Those are three groups of people that never have forgiveness. And then we see in Romans 1, and we're not going to turn there, but in Romans 1, we see these people. It's describing the same type of person who knew God. They knew it. Just like we're seeing here in Isaiah 53, they've heard. But they didn't believe it. They rejected it. Like John 12 is talking about these people who saw the miracles, but they didn't believe. And you know what? Once they rejected Christ and rejected the gospel, God hardened their heart. So they could not believe. Now, don't take this the wrong way, because people right away might start thinking, well, so you mean that anyone who's ever heard the gospel and didn't get saved now is just reprobate? No. That's not what I said. I didn't say everyone who heard the gospel. Does everyone say people that hear the gospel and don't understand and don't get saved because they don't understand? And people who do understand, and they understand very clearly, and they don't just say, well, I'm going to think about that a little bit. I'm not quite sure. But they say, no. No. That's not right. And they make up their own God in their own way. Those people become reprobate. That's what Romans 1 talks about. The people who they knew God, and they glorified him not as God, became vain in their own imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And then we see that God gave them up after that already happened, after the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, after the adding to or moving from God to God. After that, we see God, OK, well, now I'm giving you up into a reprobate mind to do these things which are not convenient. And then we see people doing unnatural acts that people, I don't think, would do unless they were seared. It's having burned in their lust one towards another, men with men, working that which is unseemly. That's the result of someone who has been given over to a reprobate mind. Makes sense. But teaching that gets you labeled a hate group. So welcome to our hate group. And it's like, what's funny about that, and I said that to the guy too today. They want to cause a hate group, but that is so not very important in the grand scheme of what we're doing. It's one doctrine. It's a doctrine, I think, that a lot of people have forgotten about or it's been lost. And it's a doctrine we definitely believe in, and it's unpopular. But am I just up here every day, every week, just talking about people who are reprobating, like, come on, let's go hate on some fags or whatever. It's just not a thing. We're focused on winning souls. We're focused on giving the gospel. We're focused on preaching through the entire word of God and all the things that's going to help people in their lives. And all manner of sin and preaching about all these different things are going to be helpful. But they want to focus, well, you don't like these people. Yeah, I know. OK, so we're just like this hate group. We sit around and hate. No, that's not us. But whatever. I'm going to get off of that because this chapter is way more important than that interview. So I just bring it up because just be ready. We don't know. Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe something will happen. Whatever. So yeah, John chapter 12 references this Isaiah 53. I know we're only in verse number one. Let's get back to Isaiah 53 so we can continue through the rest of this chapter. I told you, there's so many things. There's no way I could cover all the references in the New Testament that are brought up in Isaiah chapter 53. There's no way because it's just like verse after verse after verse. So I'm going to spend now more of the time. We've got a few more references, but most of the time we're just going to be expounding on what's already here and just making maybe passing reference to other verses and stuff without actually going there. Let's keep reading now in Isaiah chapter 53. So it starts off with, Who hath believed our report? To whom is our Lord revealed? And then it's going to go on more about understanding the Christ, understanding Jesus. So look at verse number two. The Bible says, For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. So Jesus Christ coming up as a root out of a dry ground means he has very humble beginnings. Because a root in a very lush and bountiful ground is just going to grow up and be beautiful and everything else, but it's describing Jesus as a root that grows up in a dry ground. It's not going to be anything special. It's actually going to be something that's just like, oh, yeah, well, there's a root there. I mean, you're going to be pulling roots out of the dry ground until you could get the land good for whatever you're trying to grow. But Jesus, we know had a humble beginning. We know that he was literally at his birth, he was born and laid in a manger. He was born in a structure for animals and there's no room for him to stay in a regular inn, in a hotel or whatever as you're traveling. And he's laid in a manger. So from the very beginning, he doesn't have a great, like he doesn't come from a wealthy family, well-to-do, anything like that. But he does have godly parents, physical, you know, the fleshly parents, Mary's mother and then Joseph, his stepfather, as God-fearing people. People who God chose to be the parents of Jesus Christ on this earth. And we also know that when they went for the sacrifice for the child, the male child being born, that they brought two turtle doves, or pigeons. Like they brought the bird sacrifice, which is a lot cheaper than the, what would be the other, the lamb sacrifice or whatever the animal was in lieu of the birds. The birds was like, because anyone who had a child had to bring these sacrifices and what did people do if you don't have a lot of money, you had to, you know, people were having children. So God allowed them to be able to bring something that was very, very inexpensive for that sacrifice for their child that was born. And since that was the sacrifice chosen for Jesus, we could assume that he didn't have, you know, he didn't come from money that had a lot of wealth, a family that had a lot of wealth. And we also see here, the Bible is prophesying, he says, as a root out of a dry ground. Then it says, he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. So he also wasn't just blessed with like being this really, you know, beautiful person and everything was like, every feature is symmetrically perfect and like the, what the world would consider someone to just be like, wow, that is a handsome gentleman and that's a beautiful woman. You know, the natural beauty, Jesus didn't have that. Jesus was your average guy, didn't have all of these great looks, so like, you know, these paintings and images of Christ, which are all false, but the ones that tried to make him be like this, kind of this picture perfect human being, that's not how Jesus looked when in the flesh on his life, according to scripture right here. It says, he hath no form nor comeliness, comeliness is, you know, the beauty, and when we shall see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him, like he's not going to be like, wow, look at that guy, at all, not at all. On top of that, verse three says, he is despised and rejected men, and I love this verse, you're going to notice, there's a shifting, there's a difference in verb tenses, two different, you know, present and past both used in this passage, and this is definitely intentional, and I think it's because, you know, in the Bible, God's able to speak of things that are to come as though they were. This is the prophecy of Christ, it's like it already happened, even though it hasn't yet, or like it's happening, even though it's to come. So it says, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised, so it started off, he is despised, and I'm saying he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Now, very important to understand this about Christ, you know, when you go through your hard times, your sad times, your times of grief, and when you feel like nobody could understand, because tragedies happen to people, and you, it's very normal for some people to think, nobody understands what I'm going through, nobody could possibly understand the pain that I'm dealing with. Well, you know what the Bible says about Jesus, it says, he is despised, which means hated and rejected of men, you know, kids might get picked on, they might feel outcast, adults might feel the same way, adults get picked on, it might feel like an outcast, it might be hated of people and despised of people. Well, you know what, so was Jesus, says he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he was well acquainted with grief, he understands it, okay, so why am I bringing this up? Because we have a savior, a personal savior that died for you, that loves you, that completely can understand whatever it is that you're going through. We have a God in heaven that knows what you go through, not just a hands-off creator that's just made you and left you and doesn't really understand what you're going through, no, he understands because God became flesh, God was manifest in the flesh and was despised and afflicted and rejected and understands all of it. Take comfort knowing that whatever you're going through, Christ understands because of what Christ went through, okay, and if Christ went through that, don't think, well, God, why are you doing this to me? Well, all these things that Christ went through, God didn't do those things to Christ, other men did those things to Christ, right, when he was despised and afflicted, that wasn't God pouring out his wrath on Christ. Now, we're going to get to that point later where God does punish Christ, right, where the father punishes the son, but his life on this earth, that wasn't the father doing anything to him. The father was always there harkening into all of his prayers, right, it says he is despised and rejected of men, so if you feel this way, don't blame God, this is men doing this to you and you could at least put yourself in company with Christ because he was despised and rejected of men also. Turn to Christ with your burdens, with your pain, with your grief, because he can heal, that's what he's here for. Now, and it says here, on top of him being despised and rejected of men of sorrows, it says, and we hid as it were our faces from him. So mankind, in general, just had this attitude, and you probably know what I'm talking about, sometimes when people are going through really hard things, you don't even want to look at it, you kind of hide your face, because maybe you don't know how to deal with that, but unfortunately what you're doing, you know, that person needs you, and you just like, I'm just going to pretend like I don't see that and I'm going to hide my face from them when they need you. Jesus could have used people to support him and be on his side, but you know what happened, even his disciples forsook him and fled. We hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Basically it means we didn't care about it. He was despised, he was afflicted, and nobody cared. Verse 4, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. So we just chalked it up to, well, God's punishing him, or whatever, right, that's what mankind did. This is the attitude that people had when Christ was there to literally bear our griefs. Like, he's going through the hard times for you and the same people that he's bearing the griefs for are not wanting anything to do with them and thinking, wow, look at this guy, and they're judging him and saying, oh, God must be punishing him. No, he's bearing that for you. It's for your sake. I mean, think about how wicked that is for people to be doing that, but then think about what Christ was going through. I mean, imagine, imagine doing something for, say, your child, and you go through immense grief, struggle, trial, because you love your child so much. Right? You love them, and you're trying to do what you can for them, and they see you toiling and struggling and don't understand it's for them, and then just esteem you as being, you know, smitten of God, stricken, afflicted, like kind of rejecting you while you're doing something so nice for them. The pain in your heart. Now, the love should overcome that, and you can continue to do anyways, even though you could be, you know, in a sense, being trampled on. This is what Christ went through for us. People didn't even understand what he's doing. Like, he's doing this for you, and people still rejected him. It says in verse 5, but he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. Now, what does that mean, the chastisement of our peace? Well, in order for us to have peace, to be at peace with God, to have our sins atoned, the chastisement had to go on someone, so it went on Christ. So in order for us to receive peace, that chastisement fell on him, right? He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. It's because of what we did is why he had to go through those things, and with his stripes, we are healed. Now, turn, if you go to 1 Peter, chapter 2. I mean, there's so much about this chapter. It's awesome. I mean, this is the gospel. This is talking about everything that Jesus Christ went through for us, and this is also quoted in 1 Peter, chapter 2, which is another great passage that, you know, I occasionally will turn to specifically when I'm out preaching the gospel, and if I don't turn to it exactly, I'll quote a few verses when I'm explaining what Jesus Christ did to people out soul winning, out trying to lead them to Christ, because it's important to understand that the Savior did these things for you. It's important to know that Christ, who didn't have his own sin, meaning he didn't deserve all this stuff. See, the people were looking at Christ as if he deserved it somehow. Well, he must have done something, right? He's going through all these problems. He must have done something, but he didn't. He didn't do anything wrong. In fact, he's suffering for you. 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 19, the Bible reads, for this is thank-worthy if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. So the Bible is saying that's what's thank-worthy. That actually is the right thing if you're able to endure grief and suffer wrongfully. Verse 20, for what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your fault, you shall take it patiently? Say, what's the big deal about it if you do something wrong, and then you're punished, and you're like, well, I'm going to take my punishment like a man? You did wrong. Of course you should take it like a man. You're not so noble and that's not proving anything. You did wrong. So yeah, of course you should own up to it and just take what's coming to you. He says, but if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. It's the people who you don't deserve anything wrong. You don't deserve it. You're doing everything right, but you're still suffering. You're still being persecuted, but you still are able to take it patiently and just take it and deal with it. God says this is acceptable. This is what I want to see. Why? Because that's what Christ did, and this is what he's going to explain, verse 21. For even here unto were ye called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin. So of all people who don't deserve a punishment, it's Christ, because he did no sin ever. I mean, at least us, if anything happens to us while you're doing right, you can still look back and be like, yeah, but I've sinned too. So I kind of feel like if there's anything that ever comes my way, persecutions, griefs, sufferings, I can always look back and be like, you know what, maybe I'm just reaping what I've sown. But Christ didn't have that. I mean, there was no point he could turn to and be like, well, maybe I'm paying for that. No. He's pointing to your problems and going, I'm paying for that, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He wasn't deceitful or in guile, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. So people despised him and reviled him, hated him. He didn't respond in like or in kind. He didn't give railing for railing. He just suffered it. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. So what he did is said, okay, all these things are happening to me, but you know what, I'm going to trust in the Father because he's the judge. He'll judge righteously. I'll just let him deal with it, which is the same attitude we ought to have, by the way. You're being done wrong. You're being abused or whatever. Well, you know what, I'm going to commit myself to him that judgeth righteously. Verse 24, for who his own self bear our sins and his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed. And there's that same exact teaching that we saw in Isaiah 53, by whose stripes you were healed. What's a stripe? It's a gash. It's a wound. It's a bloody gash across the body that leaves a stripe. From him being whipped and beaten for us. We're healed. We are healed by his punishment, by his stripes. For ye were a sheep going astray, but are now returned under the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Let's go back to Isaiah 53, verse number six. Verse five says, he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. First Peter chapter two is essentially saying the same thing. I mean, it's not the exact same wording, his stripes being healed, you know, healing us, is. And then the next verse, in verse number six, Isaiah 53 says, and we like sheep have gone astray, just like in verse 25 of First Peter chapter two, for ye were a sheep going astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. But isn't this amazing? Isaiah 53, the Bible's talking about the Lord putting our sins on a savior, on one person, on someone who's going to pay for your sins. It's the Gospel. Verse seven, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He didn't say anything about it. And when you read the accounts and the Gospels, when Jesus Christ, he's standing before Pontius Pilate, you know, he ends up just not saying anything. Right? He's done. He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. You know what, let me, real quick, when he says he opened not his mouth, you don't always have to justify yourself. You don't always have to. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with proclaiming your innocence. Right? I'm not saying it's a sin to proclaim your own innocence. But you are not obligated to have to proclaim your own innocence. And you know, back when our country was trying to design laws and rules of government that was much more in line with the scripture and they were looking to the Holy Bible for guidance and that, that's why we even have the Fifth Amendment where you are not obligated to say anything that could self-incriminate. You have the right to remain silent is what it's commonly known as. Right? I have the right to remain silent. Just like Jesus had the right to remain silent. And you know what? Oftentimes that's the wise thing to do anyways. And when you know you're not doing anything wrong, and when people are persecuting you and have it out for you, all they're going to try to do is trip you up in your words anyways. So oftentimes the wise thing to do is just be like a lamb before, a sheep before the slaughter. Right? I mean, if they're going to do something to you, then they're going to do it to you. You don't have to try to give them any more ammunition. You know you're righteous. You could commit yourself unto him that judgeth righteously and let God deal with it. And just say nothing. And that, you know, there's a lot of wisdom to that. And if God has it in his plan for you to be martyred, then praise God. There's a greater purpose. And if not, if Christ be for us, who could be against us? You don't have to. God doesn't need your words to get you out of a jam. Right? If you know you're being righteous and you just say, you know what, I'm going to commit myself unto him that judgeth righteously, I'm not going to say anything. It will come out in the end. Just like all the sins and dirty secrets and things are out there, they're all going to be revealed. But also the faithfulness of those who just keep their mouth shut and just do what's right, that's going to be revealed too. It all works itself out in the end. And it will. Verse 7 again, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. So he openeth not his mouth. Now flip, if you would, over to Acts chapter 8. Don't worry, this is the last place we're going to turn to outside of Isaiah 53. And of course we're going to look at the story of Philip preaching the Gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch. Because this is the passage that the Ethiopian eunuch is literally reading when God sends Philip to go and preach the Gospel to this person. I don't think there is a more perfect place in the Bible where this person could have been reading. It's like, man, that's the golden opportunity when you go out sowing and someone's just like, hey, I was just reading in my Bible right here. Well, let me show you. Today it would be someone's outside on the porch, got a Bible open, and you could approach them and be like, hey, do you understand what you're reading? And they're like, no, I can't. Can you help teach me? And they're like reading John 3.16. It's like, awesome! This is going to be easy. This is great. You're asking me to show you what this means. I'm going to tell you what this means. This is what happens here. Look at verse 29. Paul says, then the Spirit said unto Philip, go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him. And notice, when God gives a command, Philip runs. When God says, hey, I got a job for you to do. Hey, I need you to go win souls. What does he do? He wins! He doesn't drag his feet and go, oh, again? Oh, but it's hot outside. Right? I mean, aren't they like riding through the desert? Like, I might break a sweat, God. He runs! Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Esaias and said, understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. I mean, what a perfect opportunity. But see, you know what the Lord knew it was a perfect opportunity, which is why he sent him there. He's like, hey, go over there. This guy's ready for you. Look at verse 32. The place of the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb, dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. And his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or of some other man? He's trying to understand this passage, and he's saying, like, is this talking about Isaiah? Right? Or is he talking about somebody else? We could look at Isaiah 53, of course. We have the benefit of knowing all this stuff and reading all the New Testament and understanding, like, this absolutely 100% is Jesus Christ, which is why Philip then is able to open up his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. What a perfect opportunity, though. I mean, like, if this, and of course, we know that he gets saved, right? It works. He preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ using Isaiah 53, essentially, right? Obviously, I know he's preaching other things. I mean, he's explaining how the scripture prophesies of Jesus Christ and all the things that Christ did and everything like that. But, man, Isaiah 53, like, this is perfectly what is referring to Jesus Christ. He gets saved. They stop a charity. He gets saved and baptized. And that's an awesome story. Go back, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 53. Verse number 8, the Bible reads, he was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? Of course, this was in Acts chapter 8 also. For he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. I mean, it says right there, that's exactly why Jesus Christ was cut off out of the land of the living. That's why he was put to death, because of the transgression of my people. And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Verse 11, he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Now, I preached like a week ago, a week and a half ago or something on Easter, right? The fact that Jesus Christ's soul went to hell when he died. I think this isn't quite as strong of an argument, because oftentimes in the Bible, the word soul could just refer to you as like a person. So when the Bible talks about a soul dying, you oftentimes just talk about the person just passing away, like a person, flesh and blood, dying, and it refers to his soul. I think that this is deeper than that. It's not just talking about his flesh. We could see this example here where he says, thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. Right? His soul. Not just his flesh. His flesh was part of it, his blood was part of it, but also his soul was made that offering for sin. And his soul is what went to hell. Right? And not to say that the flesh and his stripes healing us, right? It's everything. It is the sacrifice. It is the torturing and the beatings and the blood and the nailing to the cross and all of that. All of it. All of it goes into the ultimate sacrifice and punishment for our sins. But it's also the soul offering for sin. Now what's really interesting here too in verse number 10, I know we just read over this, but verse number 10 says, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. And that's an interesting statement because you say, why would the Lord be pleased instead of, you know, maybe not, like grudgingly, right? Because you might think like, well the Father would grudgingly be doing this, but says no, it pleased the Lord. Why would the Lord be pleased? I think there's, you know, a few reasons, but knowing the nature of God, just in general, God is love, right? We know that Jesus always did those things that pleased the Father. And the joy of a father is seeing their son do what's right. And be able to, and especially in this case with the Heavenly Father and the Son, have that perfect self-sacrificial love of loving people even when they hate you, of being able to give of yourself and exemplify love so much. When Jesus offered up himself as a sacrifice, the Father knew this had to be done, one, why is it pleasing? Because everyone in the world has a chance to be saved because of that sacrifice. Because now there's a way, there's a way into heaven, there's a way of reconciliation, there's a way for people, for God's creation, for human beings to be saved and to go to heaven. That is a joyful thing. But then two, to see his only begotten son being the one to do this. Because that's a glory, that's an honor, even though, yes, he had to suffer, he had to endure, he had to go through this, but that's like a proud moment for a father, right? To say, that's my son, going through the worst for everyone and taking all of that on themselves. Yes, the Father had to pour out the punishment of the sins of the world on him, which in any normal situation you say wouldn't want to do that, except because of the purpose of this, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. Because of the meaning and the depth and the ramification and the love that went into all of this stuff, this is one instance where he could say it pleased the Lord to pour out all of the punishment for sin on Christ. Christ had that matchless love. And now, as a result of his sacrifice, other people could be saved. He had to put him to grief, thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, I'm going back here, verse 11, he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied, by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. By his knowledge, by the knowledge of Jesus Christ, it's going to justify many. Why? Because all you have to do is put your trust. When you know what Christ has done for you, you believe that. So that's all it takes. For he shall bear their iniquities. Trust in the one who took care of your sin, who bear your iniquities and paid for your sins in hell. And it says by his knowledge, who hath believed our report? There's witnesses that need to go forth. There are people that need to go forth and preach the gospel. That's us. We need to go and do that. Other people need to believe that that's true. But once you have that knowledge, that's all it takes. Just trust it. Believe it. Verse 12, therefore, will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors. Obviously, we know this to be fulfilled when he's crucified on the cross with the two thieves on the right hand and on the left, which is where he was numbered one, two, three with the transgressors at his death. And he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. He made this intercession not just being crucified and bearing sins of many on the cross, but also, literally, when he said on the cross, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. There's another example of him fulfilling this prophecy. He's making intercession for people who are sinning against him, which was just a small picture, a small representation of the big picture of him, you know, obviously, bearing the sins of the whole world and now interceding to God on behalf of everyone who's going to put their trust in him and saying, no, no, can't cost him into hell. Nope, don't punish him. I paid for his sins. He accepted that payment. They're saved. Amen. What a great passage. I mean, this is, to me, the Book of Isaiah, like, just continues, just get more and more exciting as we get on. The prophecy just gets kind of increases so much and, I don't know, as we get in these chapters, you know, I forgot to check which chapters lines up with because, you know, it's kind of like a pattern where you can find correlations between all the different books of the Bible. I just thought about this right now. I didn't think about checking that just because Isaiah 53 is an awesome passage. Anyways, you could probably pick any. This is one of those chapters. You could probably find something in any of the books of the Bible and be like, Yep, this matches up there because it's the gospel and the gospel is found throughout the whole Bible. It's the theme of the Bible. Isaiah 53, awesome passage. Thank God. Let's always have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the love that you've bestowed upon us, the love of the sacrifice that was made. God help us never to forget the ultimate price that was paid because of our sins and when we think about that, it should repulse us and help us to prevent our sins. Lord, we should be moved to not want to do that anymore and try to separate ourselves as much as possible from the sin that brought so much pain and suffering unto Christ. I pray that you would please help us all to keep in remembrance the sacrifice that was given to us. Keep in remembrance the fact that Christ is a man who is well acquainted with grief and that he was rejected. He was despised. He was afflicted, Lord, so that during our trials, we could seek Christ as our strength and as our guide and as our comfort. Lord, we love you and we thank you for all that you do for us is in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Amen.