The Coming of the Suffering Servant

Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

As many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and

his form beyond that of the children of mankind, so shall he sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they

see, and that which they have not heard they understand.

Who has believed what he has heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire

him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteem him not.

Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten

by God and afflicted.

God has been blessed by God and afflicted by God.

But he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Upon him was chastisement that brought us peace.

And with his wounds we are healed.

All we, like sheep, have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

And as for his generation, who considered that he was cut out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich man in his death.

Although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.

He has put him to grief.

When his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring.

He shall prolong his days.

The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.

By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.

Because he poured out his soul to death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you so much, Angeline, for bringing that to us.

This is an amazing passage.

I really feel this is a passage you just actually want to read,

and then read, and then read,

and you don't really need a sermon about it,

because it's so powerful.

But let me just pray for us

as we come into God's word.

Father, this is the most remarkable passage,

one of the most remarkable passages in the whole of Scripture.

And Lord, I know that words are not enough

to describe what you have done for us.

Words are not enough to describe and explain

the depth of your love for us.

I pray, Lord, this morning,

that you would just take even the simple,

feeble words that I'll bring,

and Lord, that you would speak.

I pray that you would open our hearts, Lord.

For those of us who find it difficult

to really receive your love,

I pray that you would break through that,

and you would just show us your love.

For those of us who find it difficult

to really hear your word,

I pray that you'd open our ears

to really hear it this morning.

And I pray that you would get exalted

and be honoured and glorified.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Great.

It's great to be speaking to you today.

If you don't know me, my name's Chris.

I'm one of the leaders here at Watermark.

And we've been going through this series

in the book of Isaiah,

looking at songs of the servant.

And we're coming to the climax today.

You know, just this last week,

my son Etienne was going into

the forbidden zone of the kitchen,

where we have told him he knows

that he shouldn't go into there

because it's dangerous.

And you see him kind of lingering

by the sliding door,

and temptation just gets too much for him.

And then he jumped into the kitchen.

And so I had to take him into the corner,

give him some discipline.

And a few minutes later,

when he'd come back out,

I heard my helper saying to him,

Etienne's a good boy, isn't he?

You're a good boy, aren't you?

And it struck me at that moment

that actually that's what we desperately want to hear

over our lives.

We desperately want to hear this verdict

that Chris is a good boy,

that I'm an acceptable boy,

that I'm worthy,

I'm worthy of love,

I'm worthy of respect,

I'm worthy to belong somewhere.

And the problem is

that we want that verdict

from everyone around us,

parents, peers, bosses,

all those other things,

all those other people.

But our lives often don't live up

to that standard.

We're like my son,

who knows what we should do,

but we don't do it.

But we still crave

to have a verdict over us

of you're a good boy

or a good girl.

And we have this nagging suspicion

deep inside of us

that that's not who we are.

Because it's like

outside of my house flat,

there's some rubbish bags

that pile up

day after day after day.

And just like those,

the evidence in our lives

that we're not as good

as we hope we are,

we're not as good as we want to be,

piles up daily.

And none of us can bear

the weight of our sin,

of our shame,

of our guilt by ourselves.

Which is why

we come to alternative strategies.

We pretend it doesn't exist,

we cover up,

we get defensive,

we deny it,

we become workaholics

or we develop

savior complexes

to try and help everybody else out

and do good things

so that we can kind of atone

for our own sense of failings

and hopefully move ourselves

up the good rankings

in our,

at least in our own esteem.

It's why we are always finger pointing,

why we always have to be right,

why we always want to make our problem

somebody else's fault

because we desperately want

somebody else to bear

the weight

of our shame

and our sin.

It's why when someone

criticizes you

or me

for a mistake

or exposes something

which makes us feel humiliated,

humiliated,

we automatically

want to either defend ourselves

or point out somebody else's

previous rubbish in their life.

So someone goes,

why did you do that?

And you go,

well,

you did that last week.

And we've got to deflect

attention

because deep inside

we know we all haven't been

the good boys

and good girls

that Santa

says he's going to come for.

And if Santa's not,

we're not enough for Santa,

well,

what about for God?

And then on top of that

we have false guilt

and shame

that is put on us

by other people

who reject us,

who ignore us,

who compare us,

who neglect us.

They say,

why can't you be like your sister?

Or can't you do anything right?

And that rubbish pile on our backs

just grows heavier

and heavier

and heavier

and we live

under this weight.

And we're just like Israel

that Isaiah said

in chapter 1

is laden down.

They are burdened,

bent double

under the weight

of their own sin,

their shame,

their guilt,

adultery against God

and others.

And Israel are paying for it.

They've paid for it.

They're now the victim

like an adulteress

beaten black and blue

by their triad lover,

Assyria.

Their wounds are affected.

They're in darkness.

They're in exile.

They're shamed.

They're rejected.

They feel victimized.

But they're not innocent.

But they're still craving

to be told

they're good.

Still craving

that they would hear

God's desire

for blessing them

and loving them

and to be accepted.

And Isaiah's great puzzle

that he's going through

is how can a God

who loves his people

so much

but whose people

refuse to come to him

bridge this irreconcilable gap?

How can rebellious people

ever be freed

from the weight

of their sin

and choices

on their backs?

Well, we've looked

over the last few weeks

at how Isaiah

has like a TV drama

gradually unfolded

God's plan of redemption.

He said there's a servant

who's going to come.

He's going to be one

who's going to bring justice

but he's going to be tender.

He said he's going to be

like a prophet

who's going to call people

not just Israel

but all the nations

back to God.

And he said last week

that he's going to be

a faithful, obedient one

who's going to suffer

but he's going to be vindicated.

And from chapter 50

to chapter 53

there's two chapters

where you see

this promise

of good news.

And God says to the people

get up!

Wake up!

There's liberation

and freedom coming.

He says

get up!

Put on your beautiful garments.

He says

I'm redeeming you.

He says

get up!

There's good news

that's coming.

How beautiful

are the feet of him

who brings good news.

The people who are in shame

he says

there is hope.

There is good news.

And Isaiah

and we as the readers

still have no idea

how this is going to

take place

and then we come to

Isaiah chapter 53.

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

And I'm going to look

in three things.

I'm going to look at

oh my God

oh his grace

oh what joy.

and that's where

we're going to go today.

So let's just start off

if you've got the passage

in front of you

please look through

it's an incredible passage.

And it starts off

with great hope

for this redemption plan.

It says

behold my servant

shall act wisely.

He shall be high

and lifted up

and shall be exalted.

And that act wisely

it's actually the word

which means

his mission

is going to be accomplished.

he's going to do

what he said

he's going to do.

He shall be high

and lifted up.

You see

what is he doing here?

He's taking

from a passage

that Isaiah

previously said

in chapter 6

where Isaiah

had this vision

of the awesomeness

of God

and he comes

into his temple

and he says

I saw the Lord

high and lifted up

and the hem

of his robe

just the corner

just a little bit

of his robe

was just kind of

dangling in the temple

but it filled

the whole temple.

It filled it.

And there were

these crazy creatures

who in the eyes

and the side

of the glory of God

they shield their eyes

and they just say

holy, holy, holy

is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth

is full of his glory.

And Isaiah

doesn't go

oh that's nice.

He falls down

on his knees

at the awesome God

in majesty

and says

in terror

I'm ruined.

And Isaiah

in chapter 53

is saying

this servant

is going to be

like the holy one

of God.

And we're going

wow

this is going

to be awesome.

This is like

shock and awe

coming.

And then in verse 15

he says

kings

the most powerful people

they're going to

shut their mouths

because of him.

You know

there's this

British term

called god smacked.

This is your gob

and it's like

when you go

like that.

It's like

OMG

this is what they're going

they're going

I would never have

seen this coming.

This is incredible.

You look through

all the literature

look through

all advisors

that you've ever had

look through

all the Netflix series

and you have

never heard

never seen

anything like this

before.

And you go

wow

I can't wait for this

this is better than

Marvel

and all the superheroes.

But then you realise

what they've gobsmacked

by.

Verse 14

this servant

his appearance

was so marred

beyond human semblance

he is hideously ugly

not even human.

Verse 2

like a young plant

and like a root

out of dry ground

he had no form

or majesty

that we should look at him

no beauty

that we should

desire him.

He's despised

he's like one

from whom men

hide their faces

we don't esteem

him at all.

He's so weak

he's so fragile

he's so feeble

he's not

the manly

superhero

that we expect.

And we know

from what we see

later on in scripture

that this person

they're talking about

is Jesus.

But he's not

the kind of charismatic

blue eyed

Hollywood

kind of Jesus

that you see.

If you brought

this boyfriend

home to your parents

they wouldn't even

let him in the door.

This is the street sleeper

that you walk

faster past

so that you

avoid contamination.

It's the person

you go

I'm not inviting

them into my home.

This isn't awesome

this is awful.

You know

we live in a city

which is all

about appearances.

You've just got to

dress the right way

you've got to look

the right way

you've got to

have the right job

have the right car

have the right flat

go to the right schools

and if you don't

have that

then everyone

writes you off.

Do you know

Jesus would get

written off

in Hong Kong?

Do you know

it's ironic

that we've made

Christmas

all about

expensive presents

and beautiful

decorations

when the Christmas

story

is actually

all a story

of rejection

and tragedy.

You see

it's the time

of Herod

and the Romans

and there's

unjust

paranoid

rulers

who are

control freaks

who oppress

the people

and into

this darkness

comes

an illegitimate

child

born to a

teen mum

in an animal

food trough

who's the subject

of an assassination

plot

by Herod

who grows up

and becomes

a refugee

in Egypt

and then grows

up in Nazareth

which is like

the despised

kind of

shamshopo

of Israel

is kind

of like

in a band

three school

and this

authentic

Christmas

isn't Jesus

rocking around

the Christmas

tree

in his nicely

decorated

manger

it's about

sheltering

from cow

poo

and cold

blooded

murder

the Christmas

story is

really

more brutal

than we

realise

and yet

what it

shows us

is the

high

and lifted

up one

rolling up

his sleeves

and getting

down into

the dirt

and the

reality

and the

messiness

of our

lives

of society

he's there

in the mess

he's there

in the

brokenness

he's there

in the gutter

of life

and when we

want to

sanitise it

with religious

alcohol

wipes

what he

does

is he

comes to

us

and says

I'm removing

all of that

if we want

to know

Jesus

if we want

to know

Jesus

in this

church

we've got

to stop

sanitising

our lives

and trying

to make

them look

nice

and as if

we are

good

by ourselves

God reaches

down

to outcasts

by becoming

an outcast

himself

he reaches

down to

the despised

by becoming

despised

and it's

right in the

place

where we

want to

hide it

away in

shame

that actually

Jesus comes

to us

today

that's

where

you'll

find

the

saviour

coming to

you

coming to

me

coming to

us

as a

community

right in

those places

of brokenness

God is

totally

upside down

in the way

he does

things

that's the

first point

oh my

god

second

point

oh his

grace

do you know

it's completely

possible

for you

to come

to God

today

and he's

seeking to

bring you

freedom

and hope

and life

and it's

possible for

you to

completely

miss him

did you

know that

because he

doesn't look

like what

we'd expect

him to

look like

and because

he comes

not to

just

booster

your

self

esteem

but he

actually

comes to

wreck

your

self

image

which has

been nicely

crafted of

yourself

because we

are nasters

at covering

over our

own sin

and shame

we don't

think we

need him

but do you

know what

verses 4

to 6

are

they're

actually the

aftermath

of a

train wreck

they're the

eye opening

confession

that we

don't get

God

that God

is way

more gracious

way more

merciful

than we

could possibly

imagine

he says

this

all we

like sheep

have gone

astray

we have

turned

everyone

to his

own

way

did you

notice

he said

all

he didn't

say

some

of us

he didn't

say

well

there are

some

which are

a little

bit worse

than

others

he said

all

and in

case we

didn't

get it

he also

says

everyone

that means

no one

is excluded

from this

he says

all

without

exception

of us

are straying

sheep

you know

Hong Kong

is not a

great place

for sheep

but in

the UK

I have

seen

a sheep

get through

a hole

in a fence

and wander

onto a

main road

a busy

main road

and then

all the

other sheep

behind

kind of

go

oh that

looks like

a good

idea

and they're

all going

through

and wandering

onto the

main road

together

totally

oblivious

of the

danger

totally

oblivious

of what

awaits

and they

all think

it's

great

you know

that's us

that's us

even if I

know

that there

is a

temptation

coming

which could

get me

into trouble

I still

go into

it anyway

anyone like

me

you know

that song

which goes

prone to

wander

lord I

feel it

prone to

leave the

one I

love

that is

true of

you

that is

true of

me

that is

true of

all of

us

but what

often

happens

is

a car

comes

along

and kind

of

narrowly

misses

us

or

clips

us

on the

tail

and we

go

God

why did

you allow

that car

to come

we go

don't you

love me

it's just

not fair

I can't

believe

I'm just

out here

on the

road

and that's

what

happens

to me

and God

is going

hey guys

you guys

wandered off

I'm actually

the offended

party here

but I've

been seeking

to love

you

and you

rejected

my love

that's what

he's been

going to

God's people

that's what

he says

to us

so often

and you

know

in a

kind of

very

polarized

culture

it's really

interesting

how every

one of us

feels like

we're victims

in different

ways

every one

of us

is offended

by other

people

you know

if your

colleague

is mean

to you

you feel

that gives

you license

to be mean

back to

them

right

because they

deserve it

okay

and you

know

we have

this in

culturally

as well

we have

you know

some

really important

issues

of things

like

black

nice

matters

and

me

too

movement

things

which

are

there

are

real

issues

in

society

but

often

all of

these

get

hidden

under

just a

sea

of

blaming

each

other

of

hatred

of

angrily

shaming

others

of excluding

anyone

who

doesn't

agree

exactly

with

what

you

say

because

we

think

that

if

I've

been

a

victim

then

it

gives

me

a

right

to

victimize

other

people

you know

we say

hurt

people

hurt

people

and

it's

true

why

is

it

true

because

someone's

always

got to

pay

for

sin

someone's

always

got to

pay

for

sin

and

we

generally

want to

make

other

people

pay

that's

why

we

go

you

owe

me

an

that's

what

we

say

but

we're

all

bankrupt

in

our

accounts

we're

all

bankrupt

and

so

that

cycle

of

oppression

and

sin

and

guilt

where

we're

just

dumping

guilt

and

shame

on

each

other

carries

on

sometimes

we

say

maybe

I

am

a

sheep

but

I'm

a

light

grey

sheep

I'm

not

a

black

sheep

like

them

over

there

but

we

see

everyone

else's

sin

but

our

own

how

in

our

divided

world

can

we

get

free

of

all

of

the

madness

that

there

is

it's

only

if

someone

steps

in

from

the

outside

someone

who

is

totally

innocent

not

tainted

by

sin

and

shame

at

all

someone

who

sees

our

issues

more

clearly

than

we

see

them

someone

who

has

no

debt

to

pay

at

all

who

owes

no

one

anything

and

that

is

Jesus

and

here's

what

he

says

surely

he

has

borne

our

griefs

and

carried

our

sorrows

yet

we

esteemed

him

stricken

by

God

and

afflicted

but

he

was

crushed

he

was

wounded

for

our

transgressions

he

was

crushed

for

our

iniquities

upon

him

was

the

chastisement

that

brought

us

peace

and

with

his

stripes

we

are

healed

you

see

the

word

grief

sorrow

stricken

they're

all

words

for

suffering

for

sickness

or

being

struck

down

with

a

contagious

disease

like

leprosy

or

covid

Israel

was in

isolation

lonely

wounded

in exile

rejected

because of

their sin

and in

their

suffering

they saw

themselves

as a

victim

but

God

stepped

in

and said

for

everything

that you

have

done

for

everyone

that everyone

else

has done

to you

I'm

going

to

pay

for

it

I'm

going

to

absorb

the

cost

it's

the

man

who

steps

in

front

of

the

convicted

criminal

facing

the

firing

squad

and

takes

the

bullet

for

them

it's

the

language

of

the

day

of

atonement

a

yearly

festival

where

the

high

priest

would

take

two

goats

and

he'd

kill

one

of

them

as

payment

for

the

sins

of

the

people

showing

that

our

debt

is

so

great

that

only

death

can

remove

it

and

the

other

one

is

the

scapegoat

and

what

he'd

do

he'd

lay

his

hands

onto

the

goat's

head

and

he

would

confess

the

sins

of

the

people

over

it

and

then

he'd

let

the

goat

go

and

it

would

be

released

and

wander

into

the

wilderness

excluded

from

the

rest

of

the

people

so

where

all

the

weight

of

their

shame

and

guilt

was

placed

on

that

goat

it

was

gone

and

it

walked

away

and

so

they

were

free

they

were

free

they

didn't

have to

bear it

any

longer

that's

why

he's

saying

payment

has

been

made

not

by

you

not

by

anybody

else

but

by

Jesus

Jesus

on

the

cross

became

our

sin

bearer

our

shame

bearer

our

guilt

bearer

he's

the

only

truly

white

sheep

the

only

truly

innocent

one

he

had

every

right

to be

offended

at the

way

we

spat

on

him

at the

way

we

blamed

him

for

our

problems

the

way

we

looked

at

him

and

saw

him

as

the

one

rejected

rather

than

us

but

the

only

one

who

had

every

right

to

condemn

us

was

led

like

a

lamb

to

the

slaughter

beaten

without

recognition

nails

hammered

in

by

taunting

soldiers

blood

and

flesh

stripped

off

his

back

the

blood

flowing

down

from

his

whole

body

we

shouted

crucify

him

crucify

him

and

he

responded

without

any

accusation

without

a word

except

forgiveness

except

grace

you see

he was

cancelled

so that

we

wouldn't

have

to

be

he

was

rejected

so

we

could

be

accepted

he

was

wounded

so

our

wounds

could

be

healed

you

see

peace

is now

possible

between

us

and

God

and

us

and

each

other

because

the

weight

of what

we

keep

throwing

on

each

other

and

taking

on

ourselves

and

the

sin

that

we

cannot

bear

by

ourselves

he's

paid

it

he's

paid

it

it's

incredible

isn't

it

and

as

we

looked

at

that

and

every

day

this

week

we

have

done

the

same

thing

we've

been

adding

to

the

pile

we

saw

what

Jesus

has

done

for

us

and

we

went

isn't

that

totally

unfair

you

shouldn't

have

to

take

it

it's

our

bullet

to

take

not

yours

to

take

no

we

didn't

we

didn't

do

that

at

all

because

like

in

all

of

our

conflicts

we

fail

to

we

thought

God

operated

on

the

same

way

that

we

do

but

praise

God

he

doesn't

praise

God

he

doesn't

Jesus

has

taken

on

the

cross

the

weight

of having

to be

right

all the

time

the

weight

of fearing

the

humiliation

of being

exposed

that

you're

not

all

that

you

should

be

the

weight

of

the

false

shame

that

has

been

laid

on

your

back

that

you

don't

need

to

carry

it

any

longer

or

put

it

anybody

else's

back

that

shame

that

comes

to

you

and

keeps

telling

you

about

your

past

that

shame

that

keeps

coming

to

you

with

all

your

mistakes

and

keeps

reminding

you

of

all

that

you've

done

that

you're

not

good

enough

all

those

things

Jesus

says

because

I

have

taken

it

you

can

take

that

bag

of