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Isaiah 52:13 - 35:12
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 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.
53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 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.
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.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
Watch the Sermon
Summary: Last week we read about how God called his prophet Isaiah to comfort his people with words of pardon and hope in the midst of their great crisis. Isaiah’s words reminded them that God comforts his people with the sure promise that he will soon visit them to deliver them, showing them that even in distress, God's comfort is present and his power is sufficient to save. In this week’s passage we will see Isaiah introduce the suffering servant who will surely bring redemption and salvation to God’s people. The reason we celebrate Advent in the way we do is because Immanuel, Jesus Christ, came to us in the form of this suffering servant. Isaiah tells us that He indeed must suffer for our transgressions and iniquities, being rejected and facing injustice. In this time of Advent, let’s remind one another of God’s providential plan to bring salvation through this suffering servant who secures salvation for all who believe.
Review & Apply
How do you define salvation? How can we better understand what salvation is and what salvation isn’t?
What does it mean to long for salvation? Do we still long for salvation today? Why/why not?
How does Isaiah’s description of Christ as the suffering servant challenge you and how might it comfort you?
How might we live or pray differently when we understand that Christ was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”? (v.3)
What is the relationship of humiliation and exaltation for the Christian in the kingdom of God?
Why didn’t He open His mouth? (v.7)
What does this passage reveal to us about the will of God and His sovereignty?
As a means of understanding the substitutionary atonement of Jesus on our behalf, make a list of every aspect of Christ’s substituting Himself and that which He carries for us as described in verses 1-12.
How would you explain the parallel between understanding the depths of our sin and the joy that comes from Christ’s substitutionary atonement?
Knowing that God has ordained suffering in this life for the Christian, how can you voluntarily embrace suffering for the glory of God?
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