Sermon

Isaiah 53:3-6 - The Prince and the Paupers

March 24, 2016 Southwood Presbyterian Church - Sermons

Open publisher episode ↗

Publisher transcript

Transcript

View source ↗

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
Join us.
We have sung tonight about our need for Jesus, about coming to Jesus in our darkest hours,
about finding Him to be our refuge, our rock of ages, the one who perfectly meets our need.
The contention that the Bible makes from cover to cover is that the deepest cries of our hearts are heard and answered in Jesus.
Answered today and made right eternally in Jesus.
How is that even possible?
I mean, you know the cries of your hearts, the aches, the pains, the needs that you feel.
How could it be that someone is the answer to the deepest cries of your heart?
The refuge that you've been longing for?
How does that happen in Jesus?
Jesus.
God's Word is going to tell us tonight that Jesus becomes our refuge by entering our pain and enduring our punishment.
That's the punchline up front.
We've got nothing else.
Jesus becomes our refuge by entering our pain and enduring our punishment.
Let's see how God tells us this through the prophet Isaiah, who in this beautiful passage you have in your bulletins in Isaiah 53,
is telling us about our promised Savior.
What He will be like.
What He will do.
And He explains how Jesus becomes our refuge.
Isaiah 53 at verse 3.
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 esteemed Him not.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
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.
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.
Amen.
Many of you will know Mark Twain's famous story of the prince and the pauper.
It's a story of two young boys who look very much the same,
but in most ways are very, very different.
Tom Canty is born to an impoverished family who doesn't love him or want him
and mistreats him terribly every day.
He has to his name one set of tattered rags for clothes
and sleeps on the floor of a one-room apartment.
On the other hand, Edward Tudor is the prince of Wales,
heir to the throne of England.
He lives in the palace with the finest of clothes
and is adored not only by his family,
but also by the entire nation as the heir to their throne.
They're two very different boys,
but one day they meet each other
and they discover that they look very much the same.
And each envies parts of the other's life,
so they trade clothes and places with each other.
Tom Canty begins enjoying life in the palace
and Prince Edward immediately begins to suffer.
As soon as he walks out of the palace
in the humble rags he's now wearing,
he meets with mocking and jeering
because he claims to be the prince of Wales.
And of course it gets worse when he gets home.
Later in the story,
it's finally time for Tom to be crowned the king of England
and Twain paints perhaps his most vivid depiction
of the contrast in the two boys.
He writes,
At midnight on the 19th of February,
Tom Canty was sinking to sleep
in his rich bed in the palace,
guarded by his loyal vassals
and surrounded by the pomps of royalty,
a happy boy.
For tomorrow was the day appointed
for his solemn crowning as king of England.
At that same hour,
Edward, the true king,
hungry and thirsty,
soiled and draggled,
worn with travel and clothed in rags and shreds,
his share of the results of the riot,
was wedged in among a crowd of people
who were watching with deep interest
certain hurrying gangs of workmen
who streamed in and out of Westminster Abbey,
busy as ants.
They were making the last preparation
for the royal coronation.
It's a vivid picture of substitution,
isn't it?
Prince Edward endures the sufferings
that rightly belong to Tom Canty,
while Tom enjoys privileges
that rightly belong to Edward.
It's that kind of picture
that this passage paints for us
of Jesus,
the suffering servant,
who first enters our pain.
Look at verse 3.
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 esteemed him not.
A man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief.
He was, wasn't he?
He endured the physical suffering
of the mocking,
the beating,
spitting,
wearing a crown of thorns.
But we also see relational pain
of being despised,
abandoned by even his closest friends,
experiencing profound loneliness,
being considered nothing
and worthless.
Jesus was familiar with the trials
of unjust rulers,
ungodly leaders.
He knew the grief of the loss
of loved ones.
He has suffered as we have.
And why?
Why?
Because he deserved all these sorrows?
He got the pains and griefs
coming to him?
Look at verse 4.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God,
and afflicted.
The Hebrew here puts the emphasis
on our griefs
and our sorrows.
You could understand it.
Surely it was our griefs
he has borne
and our sorrows he carried.
The man of sorrows
acquainted with grief
was so called
because he entered
our pain.
Even though we
thought God was against him.
That's the conclusion
that was drawn
as he went to the cross.
We esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God,
and afflicted
that God was out
to get this guy.
Jesus became like us,
didn't he?
He entered our pain
and took upon himself
sorrows and griefs
that were rightly ours.
We deserved the mocking,
didn't we?
Certainly,
if we claimed to be
the king of the Jews,
people would rightly laugh
and jeer at us,
wouldn't they?
But he really was the king.
And yet he suffered
the mocking,
the beating,
the painful torment
that we deserved.
We're not alone
in our grief,
in our sorrow,
in our suffering.
We have a refuge
who has entered
our pain with us.
And while he hasn't yet
wiped away every tear,
his presence in our pain
reminds us
that one day he will.
But even more hopeful
than that,
Jesus doesn't stop
at merely entering
our pain
and experiencing
the symptoms
of our sin
in this broken world.
No,
Jesus attacks
the very root cause
of all that pain
when he endures
our punishment.
What really gives us
hope in Jesus
as a refuge for us?
That he would defeat
the pain
and suffering
at its root.
Not just that he would
trim back the dead branches
a little bit,
but that he would
go to the root
that he would
conquer sin
itself.
And that's what Isaiah
is about to show us.
Look at verse 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.
This is the pinnacle
of substitution language
in the Old Testament.
We are the ones
who sin.
He is the one
who bears it.
Jesus endures
the just punishment.
Pierced by human spears.
Crushed by a just
and holy God.
God.
That's what our
iniquities
and transgressions
deserved.
He received
our chastisement.
The punishment
we had coming
while we received
his peace
with God
and perfect
relationship.
He endured
our wounds
and we enjoy
his healing.
He trades places.
He serves
as the substitute
not just for one
of us
but for all
of us
who trust him.
Verse 6
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.
We sin
he bears it.
It reminds us
of several other
Old Testament pictures
of the cross
of Christ
doesn't it?
The last few weeks
here at Southwood
we've been looking
at some of these
Old Testament images
that serve as
foreshadows of the
cross of Christ
and all of them
picture substitution
don't they?
Leviticus 16
and the
scapegoat
on the day of
atonement
who as a
substitute
is sent away
from the presence
of God
to die
so that God's
people
can come into
his presence
and live.
Exodus 12
at the Passover
the spotless lamb
dies
sheds his blood
as a substitute
so that the blood
of the firstborn sons
is spared.
Numbers 21
like the serpent
lifted up
on the pole
Jesus actually
becomes sin
as a substitute
for us
so that we can
become righteous
in him.
But Jesus
finally comes
himself
as the
perfect substitute
doesn't he?
Not a shadow
anymore
but the thing
itself
Jesus is greater
than all the
animals
led to the
slaughter
unaware of
what's happening
to them
Jesus
willfully
consents
to obey
to be
the substitute
he knows
what's coming
and he goes
willingly
the only
sufficient
appropriate
substitute
for willfully
rebellious
people
like you
and me
is one
who knows
and understands
and yet
agrees
to lay down
his life
anyway.
To put it
in terms
of the
prince
and the
pauper
that we
read earlier
on the
night
of the
crucifixion
of Jesus
the rightful
king
the soldiers
are mocking
him
pain
is wracking
his
bloody
body
on the
cross
and the
heavenly
father
is turning
his face
away
from his
son
while those
of us
who are
rightly
paupers
who deserve
that treatment
he's receiving
are resting
safely
in his
father's
hand
clothed in
his
righteousness
treasured
sons
of the
king
because
of our
substitute
let that
contrast
settle in
on you
tonight
could it
possibly be
that we've
lost our
sense of
wonder
and amazement
at this
great exchange
that takes
place for
us
this
gracious
substitution
from which
we benefit
listen to the
way the
puritans
described it
in this
prayer from
the valley
of vision
it's in
the back
of your
bulletins
if you
want to
read along
for now
you may
just want
to close
your eyes
and contemplate
what Jesus
did for
you
in the
middle of
this
prayer
we read
this
Christ
was all
anguish
that I
might be
all joy
cast off
that I
might be
brought
in
trodden
down
as an
enemy
that I
might be
welcomed
as a
friend
surrendered
to hell's
worst
that I
might attain
heaven's
best
stripped
that I
might be
clothed
wounded
that I
might be
healed
a thirst
that I
might
drink
tormented
that I
might be
comforted
made a
shame
that I
might
inherit
glory
entered
darkness
that I
might have
eternal
light
my
savior
wept
that all
tears
might be
wiped
from my
eyes
groaned
that I
might have
endless
song
endured
all pain
that I
might have
unfading
health
bore
a thorny
crown
that I
might have
a glory
diadem
bowed his
head that I
might uplift
mine
experienced
reproach
that I
might receive
welcome
closed his
eyes in
death
that I
might gaze
on unclouded
brightness
expired
that I
might
forever
live
man of
sorrows
what a name
for the
son of
God
who came
bearing
shame
and
scoffing
rude
in
my
place
condemned
he
stood
hallelujah
what a
savior
savior
do you
know
that
great
savior
who
came
as your
substitute
do you
know
him
have
you
experienced
him
taking
your
place
he
has
conquered
sin
itself
because
we
all
like
sheep
have
gone
astray
but
the
lord
has
laid
on
him
the
iniquity
of
us
all
so
he
is
your
great
refuge
he
has
not
only
entered
your
pain
he
has
endured
your
punishment
so
that
eternally
the
pain
won't
come
back
he's
endured
your
he's
entered
your
pain
with
you
but
he's
also
endured
your
punishment
for
you
so
that
you
never
will
but
instead
that
you
would
experience
his
glory
forever
two
quick
questions
for us
tonight
in light
of
this
first
do
you
treasure
him
like
the
pauper
you
were
born
as
that
is
as
you
remember
your
frailty
as
you
experience
your
suffering
as
you
feel
your
sorrow
does
Jesus
become
more
beautiful
and
wonderful
to
you
do
you
thank
him
regularly
for
taking
your
place
and
giving
you
his
and
secondly
do
you
live
like
the
prince
you
have
become
that
is
now
that
Jesus
your
substitute
has
earned
you
access
do
you
run
often
into
the
presence
of
the
king
like
only
a
prince
could
knowing
he's
a safe
refuge
in the
midst
of
your
sorrows
and
your
sins
do
you
recognize
the
unending
riches
of
the
king
and
the
kingdom
that
are
yours
so
that
you
don't
have
to
look
to
the
crowds
for
your
value
do
you
share
the
king's
heart
as
the
first
prince
did
who
loved
paupers
enough
to
enter
their
pain
and
endure
their
punishment
in
their
place
pray
with
me
Jesus
you
indeed
suffered
for
us
what
you
endured
we
deserved
impress
on our
hearts
tonight
holy
spirit
the
weight
of
what
was
born
in
our
place
and
impress
upon
us
not
just
the
heaviness
of
that
but
the
joy
of
the
status
we've
been
given
as
sons
of
the
king
father
would
that
joy
be
something
that
we
can't
get
away
from
this
weekend
and
this
year
and
the
rest
of
our
lives
might
we
live
as
those
who
truly
received
a
substitute
who
traded
places
with
us
might
you
do
that
work
in
each
of
our
hearts
because
Jesus
did
the
work
for
us
on
the
cross
let's
continue
to
contemplate
the
work
of
Jesus
as
James
sings
for
us
by
his
wounds
for
more
information
visit
us
online
at
southwood.org
town
house
구독
each
is
a
ignore
the