Good morning. It's good to be in God's house, isn't it? Beautiful day. If you would turn back to Isaiah 53, that will be our text this morning. Isaiah 53. Our theme this morning is going to be man's misunderstanding of Jesus worth man's misunderstanding of Jesus worth. And that may be something that is true about you as well. I'm not sure. I don't know your testimony, but there are many religions in the world, but there's only one that has a living savior. That's Jesus Christ and we've been singing about him and he is the one who makes the difference, but who is he and why did he suffer? If you paid attention to the reading of Isaiah 53, you realize that he was a suffering savior. I remember being on an airplane, going to Israel to have to participate in a tour. And the man sitting beside me was a Jewish scholar. And very nice, we had a good conversation about Jesus, but he was not sure, he misunderstood who Jesus was. Nice man, he sent me a book he had written later, and I sent him a book, but he didn't understand who Jesus was, even though we were going to the land where there's a lot of proof of who he was and what he did. And then near our office in Greenville, South Carolina, is a Jewish synagogue. So one of the other workers in our office is an Old Testament scholar. And I said, well, why don't we go down there and try to talk to the rabbi at this Jewish synagogue? And so we did. I'd actually met the guy that was the rabbi in a flower shop. And I really don't know how, but somehow he knew my name. I'm not sure how that came about. But anyway, he was friendly. So I said, let's go down there and talk to him. But when we got there, he had moved to California. So we got to talk to the next rabbi. The next rabbi was a lady. And I didn't know they had women rabbis. But anyway, she, they had agreed to show us around, so we went in and we were talking. And we got to, I got an opportunity to ask her about Isaiah 53. I mean, that's pretty clear, don't you think? And her response was, and she had had 12 years of Bible training. She was a doctor. She had had a seminary and she'd really been to a lot of schooling in the Jewish, for Jewish preparation. And she said, well, you know, Hebrews, you know, rich language, and a lot of times it's very hard to tell exactly what the words mean, unless you really, you know, implication, unless you're really a scholar. So I just asked her, I said, well, all we like sheep have gone astray. How hard can that, I didn't say it, but how hard can that be? We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. That's really not that hard to understand. So it's sad, but she was another one who misunderstood the worth of Jesus Christ. So today we want to answer that question. Why is he valuable? What's his worth? As we prepare for the Lord's table, We want to appreciate our Savior more and more. So as we look at this text, we need to realize that this is the fourth of passages that deal with the servant of the Lord, and the others For instance, back in Isaiah 42, maybe just turn back there, I'll show you these texts. There are four others, three others, where God, Isaiah, the prophet talks about God's servant. It's a reference to the coming Messiah. Isaiah 42, four, behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, and whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him, and it goes on. says he will bring forth justice to the nations. So it's a pretty positive explanation there about the servant's ministry. Going over to Isaiah 49, if you'll turn to Isaiah 49, and verses one to six talk about this servant again. I won't read all of those verses, but look at verse three, for instance. He said to me, you are my servant, Israel, And it's clearly not talking about the nation of Israel here. It's talking about a person as we go on. He said to me, you're my servant in whom I will be glorified. And I said, I have labored in vain. I spent my strength for nothing in vanity. My right is with the Lord. But look at verse six, verse six. It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Judah and to bring back the preserved of Israel. This is not enough ministry for the Messiah. That's just the beginning. The rest of it says, I will make you as a light. for the nations. Aren't you glad for that one? It's not just for Israel, this is for the nations, for the Gentiles. Some of the versions read, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. So again, a very positive explanation there about the Messiah's coming ministry. And then in chapter 50, you have the third one of these servant passages in verses four to nine. And again, I won't read all of that. But it says the Lord God has given me in verse four, given me the tongue of those who are taught that I may know how to sustain with the word. And it goes on there and talks about the servant. And then we get to Isaiah 53. And those other passages, we don't really have a reference to the activity where the servant faces death. Does the servant have to face death? It says it's too small a thing that you save Israel. You're going to be saving people all to the ends of the earth. You'll be the light of the nations. We had a reference to that in one of the songs we sang, if you picked up on that. In Isaiah 53, we have References to suffering. We have references even to death. Look at it, for instance, and I'm preaching from verses one to four, but just to point out what I'm saying here about his suffering. Verse five, he was wounded. Verse five says he was crushed for our iniquities. Like a lamb, verse seven, led to the slaughter. Ah, there's a hint at the death. of the servant, the death of this lamb. And then it's very clear, verse 8, he was cut off out of the land of the living. And it gets even more clear, verse 9, they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death. And then verse 12, he has poured out his soul to death. Isaiah 53 is about the suffering of the servant. And so we're going to be looking at that. We'll just look at the first four verses. In a sense, we're kind of stopping in the middle of, of that. Really the whole chapter goes together, but we don't have time really to deal with all of that today. But here we have a change. People who are reading this. this portion of Isaiah, we're thanking the Messiah. Wow, this is great. He's going to be a Messiah to the whole world. And then it comes to this passage where it talks about all this suffering and even death. What's this all about? Talks about being, making his grave. Well, the Old Testament prophets wondered that same thing. What's going on here? First Peter puts it this way. It says that the Old Testament prophets were wondering about, through the spirit of Christ, they were wondering about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. They were trying to figure this out. And so that's what we're going to try to do today. The spirit of Christ is going to guide us to help us understand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that follow. So let's just go through these first four verses. First of all, verse one, men have always misunderstood Jesus and they have been slow to believe the message about him. Verse one, who has believed what they have heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? What does that question imply? It implies that very few have believed about the Messiah. Few, if any have believed. They have these prophecies. Actually, just at the very end of chapter 52, you have a suggestion of something wonderful. Verse 15 says of 52, he shall sprinkle many nations. King 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. This is going to happen. But by and large, men and women have not believed the teaching and the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe what is written about Christ? and say, well, I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe it. Well, you could be. You could be here not believing it. There are many who come to churches who don't believe what is written about the Messiah, the servant of the Lord. Do you believe what is written? As we celebrate today, we're going to be celebrating really his abasement, his death, right? We're gonna celebrate the Lord's death until he comes. We're commanded to do that. It's a joy to do that if we understand what his death means. His death means life for us, right? Without that death, we would have to die. So this lack of faith was a problem in Isaiah's day, just as it is in our day. Listen to this verse in John, the gospel of John references Isaiah. It says in John chapter 12, verse 37, though he had done so many signs before them, they still. Did not believe in him. They saw miracles. Have you ever seen a miracle? I don't think any of us have like what Jesus performed. Raising the dead, healing the sick, obviously casting out demons. We have probably haven't seen those miracles. They had, but listen to what it says. Though they had seen many signs, so many signs, they still. did not believe in him so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. What word did Isaiah say that was fulfilled? Lord who has believed what he heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed. He's quoting this verse. He's saying, look, it's a fulfillment of Isaiah 53. In Isaiah's day, they didn't believe. In our day, they don't believe. Or in Jesus' day. What about our day? Many do not believe. So I want to ask you, do you believe? Are you a believer? Have you been changed? Have you been converted? We heard today and Pastor Buds talked to the children about, you're changed if you are a believer. Are you a believer? They didn't believe in Isaiah's day, they didn't believe in Jesus' day, and they don't believe in our day. But to some, the arm of the Lord has been revealed. Right? Has the arm of the Lord been revealed to you? Well, if you've been saved, it has. It made a change in you. Have you seen the Lord working in the world and have you seen him working in your life? He is working if you are a believer. But the prophets preached the gospel and few heeded that gospel. So why is that? Well, it's because of the way people perceived Jesus Christ. The way they perceived him was not causing them to believe in him. Some people have not heard. Some of those people who have not heard, have not heard because we have not been witnesses, right? But there are others who have not heard because we haven't gone to them. But in this case, they have heard. They have heard who has believed what they heard from us. They've heard there's a deeper failure here. They don't see the purpose. They don't see the power of the suffering servant. So men have always misunderstood the Messiah. Let's look at now at verse two. This helps us understand why not? Why have they not believed? Verse two says, 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. So one of the reasons men have misunderstood and failed to believe in Christ is that they don't understand. They don't appreciate his humble origin and his humble characteristics. Look at it. How do they view him? Well, he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. Well, what happens when a root comes out of dry ground? Basically dies. It doesn't amount to anything. They thought he was a nothing. It also says he had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty. So apparently he was not the kind of person who was super handsome or who in any way drew attention to himself. But he grew up nevertheless. Before him who is him look at that in verse 2 for he grew up before him Who's that? Well, it seems pretty clear that it's talking here about God the Father this was all in the plan of God Jesus did not come to be one who impressed people and just because of what he was, because he came from a rich family or a noble family, or because he was exceptionally handsome. It wasn't his appearance that impressed people. He grew up before him, the father, in obedience and fellowship. Listen to what 1 Peter says about Jesus. 1 Peter 2, 4. We come to him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God. You see, he grew up before the father. He was choice and precious before the father. But he grew up out of dry ground. That could be just he grew up out of a corrupt nation, a corrupt age. Maybe it's just saying he grew up as a human. What kind of soil is that? We have farmers here in our midst. And you have some good soil, some of you. And it produces. wheat and canola and whatever else you grow. Some of that soil though is not so good and it doesn't produce much. Jesus came out of the soil that doesn't produce much. He came out of humanity. He also came out of a small tribe, the tribe of David. He also came out of a small village, a tiny village of Bethlehem. So there was nothing there that was impressive that the world would would think, okay, let's build a monument to him. Micah, chapter five, verse two says, but you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, but from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger. Why? They had lots of money. They were at the, I don't know, what's the best place around here, the Hilton? Maybe that's not so good. laid him in a manger because there was no place in the inn. Jesus himself said, foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. So he grew up unknown to all but a few people who knew the carpenter's shop in the little town of Bethlehem. There was nothing about his social position or his appearance that impressed men. In his outward appearance and circumstances, there was nothing of royalty. Men misunderstood who Jesus was. Well, it continues in verse three. It tells us that the servant of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ 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. There's one word that occurs twice in that verse. Did you pick up on it? What's the word that occurs twice in verse three? Despised. Exactly. Have you ever been despised? Well, you might not know it, right? But there might be people who despise you. But normally that's, that's not, I mean, that's not the normal attitude people have toward us. They might be indifferent, but they probably don't despise us. Why would you despise a sinless person? That doesn't really make sense. But it says he was, and it says it twice, he was despised. Not only that, he was rejected by men. Do you like to be rejected? Well, that's, you know, that's, that's hurts. That hurts. Despised and rejected by men. You know, it's interesting when you think about Christ's life on earth. At no time did he have more than a little flock that followed him. In fact, in John chapter six, the disciple, the disciples were getting numerous. But then he began to bear down a bit on what discipleship is all about. And it says, many went back and walked no more with him. Some of those who did begin to believe in him would come to him only at night. Remember that? Nicodemus. Why did he come at night? Because Jesus was despised and rejected by other men, he was nervous about that. Apparently all the rulers and the great men stayed away from Christ because the Pharisees say, have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed on him? Implying that not very many had, if any. And even at the end, what happened? The apostles. forsook him and fled. Jesus was one who was misunderstood. People misunderstood his sorrow and his pain. What was it that made him sorry? What was it that gave him pain? His life was one of much sorrow and pain. The Bible tells us that. In fact, these servant passages have some reference to his sorrow and his pain. And of course, this chapter is full of it. What gave him sorrow and pain? Well, one of the sorrows in his life was the sin of others. When he looked over Jerusalem, He said, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. I don't think Pastor Logan or Pastor Bud would like to be stoned every time they come into town. Yes, it would take only one time. But think about that. It says they kill the prophets and they stone the prophets that are sent to them. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing. That gave him great grief. The sins of others. He sorrowed over the sadness of others and the sickness of others when Jesus saw Mary, Martha weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. He sorrowed over the sorrows of others. What a man. Do we do that? Well, to some degree, but not like that. He also sorrowed over the hardness of heart. Of those he came to save. He looked around them, Mark 3, 5 says, he looked around them with anger. Why was he angry? He was grieved also at their hardness of heart. Hardness of heart. And said to the man, stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and his hand was restored. There were people so hard of heart. They didn't want to see people healed, especially on the Sabbath. So apparently Jesus was appearing a lot older than he actually was. It says. Someone said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham, but it implies that he was getting pretty close. So what is the response that men had to Jesus? What are the responses that are spelled out in this text? Well, as I mentioned, he was despised. That's used twice in that verse. That's a strong word, you know, Isaiah or Esau despised his birthright. Saul was despised as king, but the clearest one is probably Goliath. What was his attitude toward David? He despised David, made fun of him, had a disdain for David. That's the attitude people had toward the sinless. Son of man, son of God. But not only that, what else does it say in that verse about how Jesus was treated? He was rejected by them or forsaken. It says another text, men would avoid him. They did not want to know him. Have you ever had that experience in your workplace? Maybe. I remember soon after I got saved, I started trying to witness to people in the workplace. And eventually I ended up having lunch by myself every day. People didn't want to hear it. And I don't think I was, I don't think I was obnoxious, but they just didn't want to be around that. They rejected him. They did not want to know him. They avoided him. It says, they hid their face from him. They turned their faces away from him as though he had some kind of disease or something. But you know what? Let's not think about them. Let's not think about those people I worked with at that soils lab. Notice the change. Notice the change here. How does that verse end? Who is the subject? He was despised and we esteemed him not. Do you catch that? Here we are talking about them. and how they treated him, but then it says we. Is that a typical response to Jesus Christ by us? Yes. Before we were Christians. That's the world's response to Jesus Christ. Despising him, turning away from him, hiding their faces, esteeming him not. They take his name in vain. They take God's name in vain. You hear it all the time. Don't use OMG, okay? Don't use that. That's wrong. That's sinful. That's taking his name in vain. That puts you in the category with these people, with us, actually. Esteeming him not. Well, verse four continues explaining the misunderstanding of Jesus Christ. Verse four is basically this. It tells us that man misunderstands the father's relationship with Jesus. Look at verse four, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted. So this statement is true. Surely starts out with that. Surely this is true. And it emphasizes. And this is wonderful because this fits perfectly the Lord's table situation. It emphasizes the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ. How does it do that? Look at it very carefully. What does it do? Where does it show that he's doing it for us? Well, it says our, right? Our griefs. He has carried our sorrows. Wonderful, wonderful thought that Jesus is carrying our sins, right? They're gone. They're on him, our griefs, our sorrows. It's interesting that the word grief is often translated sickness. Sometimes he gives us healing from our sicknesses, but in spite Of all that he does for us, what was the attitude toward Christ and God's? How did we think God was viewing Jesus Christ? Notice what it says. This is, this is sad. We esteemed him stricken by, stricken by whom? Smitten by God and afflicted. We thought he was suffering because the father had stricken him. And the word smitten suggests severe punishment. Afflicted suggests a humbling and oppressing situation. So how is Jesus smitten? In his life, he was smitten by words. I mean, some of the things he was called, I mean, he was called the devil, really, son of the devil. He was stricken and smitten with sorrows. He was literally smitten with a whip and with shame and with the pain of the cross. So. As we look at these four verses, we see that the servant of the Lord has been misunderstood from the beginning. We misunderstood him. We misunderstood how God was dealing with him. People rejected him. People still reject him. There is none righteous. There's no exceptions to this until God opens our eyes and helps us to see what Robert Murray McShane saw in Jesus Christ. You don't have this song in your hymn book, but listen to these words of the song Jehovah Tzidkenu. You know what Jehovah is, you probably don't know the word Sid Canu, but the new part is our, and the early part of that word means righteousness. It means the Lord, our righteousness. Robert Murray McShane wrote this song and this is what he said. I once was a stranger to grace and to God. I knew not my danger and felt not my load. Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree, Jehovah Sidkenu was nothing to me. Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll, I wept when the waters went over his soul, yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree. Jehovah Sidkenu was nothing to me. When free grace awoke me by light from on high, then legal fear shook me. I trembled to die. No refuge, no safety in self could I see. Jehovah said, Kenu, my savior must be. My terrors all vanished before the sweet name. My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came. To drink at the fountain, life giving and free, Jehovah Tzidkenu is all things to me. Is that your testimony? As you have, as we have the Lord's table, how do you understand Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of him? What about when you're out there with friends, with family? Do you speak of him? Do you live for him? Do you talk of him? Do you serve him? Do they know you serve him? Or are you afraid to acknowledge him? You misunderstand him. First Corinthians says this. For Jews, 1 Corinthians 1, 22, Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. You may know the other song, man of sorrows. What a name for the son of God who came. Ruin sinners to reclaim. How's it in? Hallelujah. What a savior. Let's pray. Our father, we thank you that you have opened our eyes. There may be some here whose eyes are yet not open. who are misunderstanding Christ, who reject him, who do not esteem him. We pray that you would open their eyes, bring them to where they would say, hallelujah, what a savior. We thank you that Robert Murray McShane went from that time when Jesus was nothing to him to when Jesus was all things to him. Bless our time as we meditate on these things that upon the servant of God, the Lord Jesus, his perfections, the fact that he is now to us the power and the wisdom of God. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.