Isaiah 53: 1-12

Theme: The Cross

THE CRUCIALITY OF THE CROSS

Henry Dempsy was flying his plane and heard an unusual noise near the rear of the aircraft. He turned the controls over to the copilot and went to the back to see what was making the noise.

As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door of the plane. It was then that he discovered the source of the noise. The rear door had not been properly latched. It flew open and Henry was immediately sucked out of the jet.

The copilot saw the red light come on indicating that the rear door was open and immediately came to the conclusion that the pilot had fallen out of the plane. He radioed the tower and requested permission for an emergency landing. Also, he requested a helicopter to do a search over that part of the ocean for the missing pilot.

The copilot had to land the plane all the while wondering if his pilot could have survived the fall. After he landed, they found Henry — holding on to the outdoor ladder to the plane. Somehow he caught the ladder and held on for the 10 minutes that followed. The Jet was flying at 200 miles per hour at an altitude of 4, 000 ft. As they landed, Dempsy had to keep his head up so he would not hit the runway. He had indeed survived.

As the airport personnel raced to assist him, it took them several minutes to pry his fingers off the ladder. (Proclaim!, Spring, 2001)

When you read the book of Isaiah, it is like a loud cry to hold on! Salvation is on the way. Don’t let go, God is coming. Hold up your head for when you land, you will be safe.

Israel knew what Isaiah was saying. They had been living in darkness but God would come to save them from their own sins! The rest of the world did not know God, they only knew about God. But, Isaiah said that even the gentiles would be included in God’s salvation. Even so, pagans know in their heart that they need to be redeemed.

Man is forever religious as can be seen in the remote and obscure Cherchen mummies found in Western China. The mummies were Caucasians, hundreds of them. Some dating back 4000 years, as early as the time of Abraham. It is a great mystery how and why Caucasians were in established villages in Western China. In fact, they were clad in what appeared to be Scottish type Tartans. Their bodies were painted with religious symbols that indicated they worshiped the Sun god. They were wrapped up and decorated and deliberately buried with dignity and honor and with the hope of an afterlife. We humans instinctively know there is a god, but we are mistaken in believing that we can worship him and honor him without first being made righteous. We think we can approach God just as we are.

The Hebrew people knew better because they had been called into a covenant relationship with God. Isaiah knew better. He had been in God’s holy presence and knew that only God Himself could redeem us and make us righteous. But, I am not sure that even Isaiah knew exactly how costly God’s salvation would be.

As you read the Book of Isaiah chapters 1-39, you find the harshest judgments against Israel and against the nations. God’s judgment was sure and final. His holy patience had run out and it was time to bring judgment against Israel. But starting in chapter 40, you see a change of tone and a message of hope and comfort. God began to weave a tapestry of love in the words of Isaiah. Slowly he painted a picture of the one who would come as Messiah. He would be God’s agent of comfort and salvation. Israel would be restored and "They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."

Many have questioned who could be this Servant of God? He is the Anointed One. He is God’s chosen, chosen before birth. God’s Spirit is upon him. He acts with the authority of God. The Servant comes to redeem and restore Israel. Some have said that it was the Prophet Isaiah himself. Others have argued it was some other prophet. While still others have said, it is the nation Israel. But, when you come to Isaiah 53, you know that it could not be Isaiah or another prophet or even the nation Israel, for whoever it is, will die and be an atonement for our sins!

Isaiah says "who has believed our message?" It is as if the message was so shocking, so out of the ordinary that no one would believe it. Up until that point this Servant of God was a redeemer, a deliverer, but his method of delivery had not been revealed. But, now, who will believe us, our report is so shocking! What God promised is beyond human comprehension. We come to realize that this is so huge that Only God could do this.

Isaiah is talking about Jesus in this passage even though it was written 700 years before his birth. He said that he is a man despised and rejected, a man familiar with suffering and pain—our suffering and our pain. Even though he is God, He became ugly for us. He is not one who comes in majestic form, rather he came as the least among us. The Maker of all beauty became as one from whom men hide their face. The gospel was birthed because of the poverty of the human soul. God knows our emptiness and yet, God still loved us.

God got personally involved in our experience and became man and sat in the dust of suffering with us. Jesus had a propensity for hanging around with the poor and the prostitutes, tax collectors, paralytics, lepers and other ordinary sinners. He hung around with them because life had stripped them of their illusions. They knew that they were sinners and Jesus came to minister to sinners.

Isaiah's words turned from words of suffering to words of violence. "We considered him stricken by God, smitten and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed." He was cut off from the land of the living for our transgressions. This is the description of suffering, substitution, and propitiation. He comes as our guilt offering. God submitted himself to the violence of human sin for our sakes. God’s Suffering Servant would be an atonement for many.

The people said to crucify him. So Jesus was hung naked on an executioner's cross on a sunless day. The gawking crowds mocked him "come down from the cross and save yourself." In response, He said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Jesus did this not because He wanted to suffer though he truly suffered. He did not do it because he sought glory though through the cross he was glorified. He did it because of love. He came to be our substitute. He, who was sinless, died for us so that we might not have to pay the price for our sin. He paid it for us. He died for you and he died for me. He then rose again so that he might defeat death and all those who accept him have the promise of eternity.

The cross was crucial in the plans of God. God intended all along that the cross be the place where our sins are removed. The whole focus of salvation history is the cross. The world is divided by the cross. The Old Testament people looked forward to the cross and their faith was placed in the coming work of Christ. On this side of the cross, we look back at the cross and place our faith in Christ.

Isaiah knew the truth. Christ came not only to suffer for us but also with us. I know that there are those here who suffer silently because of hurts and disappointments. There is the lingering ache of harsh words spoken against you. There is the haunting pain of broken relationships. There are lost opportunities that can never be regained. There is the unresolved conflict with those who will never speak to you again or who can never speak to you again. There are personal failures and sin that haunt us. There are hurts so deep that no one knows them but you – and God. Even for these sorrows, Christ came to die. Ultimately, through the cross, God redeems us and our world.

All of this is a long way from the illusion that we can become perfect and complete and that our religious efforts are sure to connect us to God. Life tells us in no uncertain terms that the gospel is still relevant and that all of us need to come to the cross.

If we are to understand what God has done for us, then we must understand the cruciality of the cross. From the moment that Adam sinned, the cross cast a shadow upon mankind. And if you are to come to a right relation with God, you must understand that the cross was for you.