Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

 

Two weeks ago, we read in Isaiah 49, that the Sovereign Lord was going to deliver His people from their sin. Today’s Scripture begins to tell us how. Verses 4-9 in chapter 50 tell us that our sins will be forgiven through the obedience of His Servant, and His Servant has to suffer to get the job done. Up to this point, when Isaiah spoke in first person, it was him doing the talking. Beginning with verse four of chapter 50, the Servant talking is that of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant. He is telling us what He will do. Then in the beginning of chapter 51, we will read the commentary on the Servant’s words. 

Verses 4-9 of chapter 50, gives us no doubt the Servant of the Lord will be obedient and the results of His obedience will be suffering. God instructs the Servant what to say and the Servant is not rebellious, He obediently says it. Yet the results are: a beaten back, his beard begin pulled out, mocking, and spitting. However, with the LORD’s help all of this suffering will not bring disgrace. Instead, with the LORD’s help the Servant receives courage and is able to set his face like flint. With the Sovereign LORD helping, who can condemn? The Servant is secure in knowing that the LORD will vindicate Him in the end. That is enough. 

Verses 10 and 11 begins the commentary on the Servant’s words. We read that to “fear the LORD” is synonymous with obeying “the word of His Servant.” We go on to read that there is hope for those with no light if they put their trust in the name of the LORD and rely on God. But torment is the result for those who decide to provide their own light. 

The continuation of the commentary in chapter 51, verses 1-8, is directed to those Judeans who were inclined to put their trust in God. 

Verse, 1, You who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD,” and verse 7, “you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts.”  Isaiah knew he was speaking to two different listeners. There were those who had no desire whatsoever to follow God. They were the ones who decided to provide their own light. But he was also sharing this message with those who wanted to do what was right. That means this message is for us, you and me. We have come to worship and to grow in our knowledge of God. We too can be encouraged to hear that the Servant’s message in one of deliverance. Again, we are reminded that this was not only a physical deliverance from Babylon, but also a universal deliverance, verse 4, “my justice will become a light to the nations,” and verse 5, “my arm will bring justice to the nations.” It will also be a timeless deliverance, verse 6, “my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail,” and verse 8, “my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.” 

Again, Isaiah is pointing out, that Israel’s primary problem is not captivity, but it’s problem is the same problem the human race has had since the beginning, the problem of alienation from God. Becoming free from Babylon without deliverance from sin, wouldn’t accomplish very much. Isaiah was also pointing out the fact that God’s deliverance goes beyond sincere obedience and well-motivated living. If that was all it took to remedy our alienation from God, the Suffering Servant was not needed. God was trying to point out, to those who were doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts that their heartfelt commitment to the law of God was not going to be the thing that delivered them from their alienation. What it was going to do was put them in the correct position in order to receive that deliverance if they chose to do so. It’s like learning the plays in football. The group of players on the field huddles up and the quarterback tells them the play they are going to run. In order for that particular play to work, each player has to move in a certain way. 

They have to get in the correct position, so that the quarterback doesn’t get sacked, the tight end gets an opening to run through and he chooses the correct path in order to receive the toss. When we are living an obedient life in Christ and are motivated to do what God calls us to do, we are running His playbook. 

Yet, just like the game of football, the game of life is tough. People get hurt. Plays go wrong and the other team gets in the way. God knows this, so He tells us, in verse 7, “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.” This is God’s encouragement, His assurance that He will not abandon us when the plays go wrong. When we get hit by the line-backer, and knocked down He’s got our back. We need this encouragement because the realistic fact is that in the fallen world in which we live, “reproach” and “insults” are a given for those trying to live the life of the holy God. 

Yet, God reminds us that those that give the “reproaches” and “insults” are the ones who will be passing away like garments eaten by moths. Those being treated like the Servant, with insults and pain, can have confidence that they will also share in the deliverance provided by the Servant. 

Today’s Scripture could be seen as depressing. The fact is, for those who follow Christ, who live, and speak for God, they are promised abuse. But this has been a theme throughout the Bible since the fall of humanity. Cain killed his brother Abel because God accepted Abel’s faith and not Cain’s. Joseph gets beaten and sold into slavery by his brothers who were jealous of God’s promises for Joseph’s life. When the Israelites came to the Promised Land, Joshua and Caleb were almost stoned to death, had God not intervened, because they challenged the people to believe God would help them take the land. By the time we get to the New Testament, Jesus responds to the experts in the law by saying, in Luke 11, 

“Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”

Jesus then goes on to tell His disciples, Matthew 5:11-12“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

We are called to be like Christ. This means we are called to submissive obedience. Based on what the Bible says, we can therefore be assured we will be misunderstood and mistreated. Jesus was, and if we choose to live like Him, than so will we.  

This also means we will be delivered, not only physically from this world, but spiritually from sin. When Jesus left this earth, he left behind around 120 followers. Statistically, that group should have dwindled to nothing in a matter of months. But it didn’t, we are living proof, because over 2,000 years later we come together to celebrate and remember the Lord’s Supper. In fact, we join over one billion followers of Christ that can be found on every continent, today. This means that we should be looking ahead with hope, with greater confidence than those who heard these words from Isaiah in Babylon,. We come together today to celebrate the down payment Jesus made for our salvation. Sin has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May our taking of the bread and juice, encourage us to face and endure any persecution that will come, in the same manner in which our Savior did and our brothers and sisters in the rest of the world continue to do. 

Lord’s Supper