Isaiah 53 has captivated the hearts and imaginations ... - Daniel Akin

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“We have turned, everyone, to his own way.” Each of us has chosen our way overGod’s way. “And the Lord has laid on Him” (caused to land, caused to fall) “the iniquityof us all.”Jesus in John 10 taught us that “the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”Could Isaiah 53:6 provide, at least in part, this image to explain His ministry?Since verse 4 we have been immersed in the language of sacrifice and atonement, ofsubstitution and salvation.1) Recall the contrast between He and our.2) Examine the words descriptive of our sin: griefs, sorrows, transgressions,iniquities, gone astray, his own way.3) Meditate on the words of His work: borne, carried, wounded, bruised,punishment, stripes, laid on Him (and by the Lord!).The language of substitution, of penal substitution could not be clearer. I amconvinced that theologians, myself included, should jettison the language of “the theoryof penal substitution.” There is nothing theoretical about it at all. It is biblical throughand through.Feminist theologian Delores Williams could not be more wrong when she says, “thereis nothing divine in the blood of the cross.”John Spong is without hope when he says, “I do not want a God who would kill Hisown Son.”No, Calvin saw it correctly when he wrote, “In order to interpose between us andGod’s anger, and satisfy His righteous judgment, it was necessary that He [the Son]should feel the weight of divine vengeance.”Theories of Example, Moral Influence, Governmental, and Christus Victor all havetheir place in a holistic theology of atonement, but as Paige Patterson well says, “neithergood example nor moral influence ever gets men to God and to heaven. Sin and itspenalty must be addressed. The primary significance of the atonement from which allother meanings draw their dynamic is that of penal substitution” (CTR 3-2, 1989, p. 326).He suffered in my place. He paid the penalty I owed.What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone around Thy steps below!What patient love was seen in all Thy life and death of woe!Forever on Thy burdened heart a weight of sorrow hung;Yet no ungentle, murmuring word escaped Thy silent tongue.Thy foes might hate, despise, revile; Thy friends unfaithful prove;Unwearied in forgiveness still, Thy heart could only love.IV. See the Servant’s Submission (53:7-9)Here is the exemplary dimension of the Servant’s work. The Apostle Peter accuratelydraws upon this aspect of Christ’s work in I Peter 2:18-25.1. He was submissive in His silence (53:7). He was “oppressed” (harsh,physical treatment at the hands of others) and “afflicted” (or “He was humblingHimself”), “yet He opened not His mouth.” He does not protest His treatment. He doesnot resent His destiny.“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep … is silent.”
“So He opened not His mouth” is repeated for emphasis. The theme of “the lamb”runs from Genesis to Revelation (Isaac, Genesis 22; Passover, Exodus 12; Jesus, John1:29; the Warrior Lamb, Revelation 5:6).No doubt this is the verse that formed the basis of the declaration by John the Baptist,“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).2. He was submissive in His suffering (53:8). “Taken from prison and fromjudgment” teaches that an unfair and unjust trial was His. His treatment was wrong frombeginning to end.“Who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living.”The Servant of the Lord is executed with no offspring left behind. In that day to diechildless meant you were cursed by God and your life was virtually useless. Has anyonegiven a second thought to what this terrible injustice means?But again we need to see “the rest of the story.”“For the transgressions of My people He was stricken” (the blow is His, cf. v. 4). Forthe transgressions of the people, a blow has fallen on the Servant. That which shouldhave hit me hit Him. That which should have hit you hit Him.3. He was submissive in His shame (53:9). “He was assigned a grave withthe wicked and with the rich in His death” is a form of Hebrew parallelism and carries theidea that “He was buried among the wicked rich.” He was a good man yet He is buriedwith the wicked. He was a poor man yet He is buried with the wealthy. It should nothave ended this way. “He had done no violence. Nor was any deceit found in Hismouth.” Both by word and deed His life should have turned out differently. This is howwe, from our human perspective, would see it. Oh, but how different is the perspective ofheaven! “He died like a criminal but was buried like a prince.” Here is a hint that thingsmay not be as they seem.Why Was He Silent?Why is He silent when just a word would slay His accusers all?Why does He meekly bear their taunts when angels await His call?“He was made sin,” my sin He bore upon the accursed tree.And sin has no defense to offer at all, His silence was for me!V. See the Servant’s Salvation (53:10-12)The death of the Servant was not a murder or a martyrdom. It was nothing less than adivine appointment! Spurgeon was exactly right, “the blood stained Scriptures werewritten by the Lord as much as any other!” Who killed Jesus? Pilate, Herod, the Jews,the Romans, you and me? We all played our part, but ultimately it was God whosacrificed His Son.1. It is purposed by the Lord (53:10). The servant was the right person atthe right time at the right place following the right plan. “It pleased the Lord to crushHim,” better “it was the Lord’s will” (NIV). God wanted this to happen. It was noaccident, it was a divine appointment.It was His Father who “put Him to grief” (sickness) “making His soul a guilt offeringfor sin” (Leviticus 5:1-19). It was God’s will that the Servant become an atoningsacrifice for sin.
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Page 9: Conclusion“O Sacred Head Now Woun

Isaiah 53 has captivated the hearts and imaginations ... - Daniel Akin

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