tonight, if you would, to Isaiah 53. Actually, we are going to read from the end of chapter 52. As you are perhaps aware, if you were here a few years ago, you should be aware that the servant's song begins in the latter verses of chapter 52. I'm not going to preach from this portion this evening, but I want us to have this reading in mind. as we consider the Word together tonight. But let's again give particular attention to the public reading of the Lord's Word. Perhaps I should say while you're turning, we're pleased to have several visitors this evening. I welcome you just to let you know this is not the table of free Presbyterianism. It is the table of the Lord. If you are a believer in Christ, not currently disciplined by another believing assembly, we welcome you to join with us at the table together. And maybe I should take the opportunity as well for our own people. I don't want to go too long, but we usually have our young people wait to the age of 16 to begin partaking at the Lord's table. For many of our young people, that's also been the time in which they've looked to come into membership because you must be 16 to be a communicant member. Some have not come into membership on their 16th birthday, and some have come into membership later. But if you are in that category, or come into that category, then be mindful, we don't want you to be absent from the table if you're still wrestling and questioning about formal membership. Still, seek out the session and let us hear something of your testimony, and we would welcome you to the table as well. We don't want to bar you if you're not yet formally a member, so just keep that in mind if you would. But reading together from verse 13, Isaiah 52. Behold, My servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. As many were astonished at Thee, His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men. So shall He sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths at Him. For that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider. who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men. a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one into his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare His generation? He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death. because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bared the sin of many. and made intercession for the transgressors. Amen. We trust again that the Lord will bless the public reading of His inspired Word. I'll ask you to join together with me and let's bow our heads and our hearts once again together. Our Heavenly Father, we tonight rejoice to sing praises to a worthy Savior And as we would come now to open the Word and meditate together, as we would approach your table, we ask that you will help us by your Spirit, draw at our hearts as well as our minds after Christ. We pray these things in His precious and worthy name. Amen. Well, for those of you that are visiting with us, I won't state it as a great disadvantage, but in some ways it is, because as I shared this morning, many of our thoughts this evening are going to just flow on from what we considered this morning. We've been looking at the life of Joseph. We have commented with perhaps some degree of humor, ancient debate between two of our notable leaders in the last generation as to whether Joseph qualifies as a technical type in the Scriptures, or if they're just remarkable coincidences between his life and experience and that of Christ. I tend to cast in my lot with those that say, how can you not see a type here? Maybe some of the particulars. Joseph wasn't a priest. He was never the king of Israel. He wasn't formally a prophet. And so he can't by office claim that role, but yet, Was he not in many ways a prophet, a priest, and a king in all the ways that God was ordained to use him in the path that he was given? But we consider this morning something of the temptation of Joseph and that remarkable chapter in his wonderful victory over temptation. But I want tonight with those thoughts behind us as it were to turn our thoughts to Joseph in a sense, but yet very quickly from Joseph to the greater Joseph that we come to remember tonight. And again, you think of the big picture. The broad outlines of Joseph's story. His favored son. This one that was beloved of the Father. He was sent to his brethren. sent as we have seen to his own, and his own received him not." How is it that he entered Egypt? He entered Egypt in a low estate. He had, as it were, laid aside the robes of his glory. This Joseph had them stripped from him. The greater Joseph willingly laid them aside. But as he enters Egypt, he is in this low estate. His natural position is set aside. To many, his natural and rightful position is unknown. And he comes into this place under remarkable circumstances. Joseph's story, remarkable for its horrors, for the violence and the hatred of his brothers, Our Lord's for the remarkable circumstance that He chose to take that low position. He laid aside His glory. But even in His humiliation, our Joseph from Genesis has a nobility, a worthiness that shines forth in His humiliation. It is seen. We read this morning the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. One of the remarkable things of his story, we don't see sin highlighted and put before us in his story as with so many of the other giants of the faith. So the greater Joseph, he could say, which of you convinces me of sin? Those that hated Him and rejected Him only could bring false charges against Him. They could only seek to coach those that accused Him at His trial, and their testimonies wouldn't agree together. This Jesus grew in favor with God and with men. It may be easy for us to understand Him growing in favor with men. I mean, which of us has dealt with a sinless child? Which of us has ever dealt with a sinless adolescent? Which of us has ever dealt with a sinless adult? One who did nothing but perfectly love us. But Jesus grew in favor with God. He grew in favor with God in our nature. He compelled, as it were, from the heavens the voice that said, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Again, those words uttered of Him in His incarnate state in our nature. Even in His humiliation, His nobility shone forth. But as we saw this morning, Our greater Joseph was exposed to a notable, a unique, and powerful temptation. I don't want to take an abundance of time this evening, but I think if you look through the temptation of our Savior, that three-fold attack from the devil, and that direct and personal season of temptation, that there are echoes and parallels of that even in the temptation of Joseph. It was brought by Potiphar's wife. The devil came to Christ and said, make these stones bread. Here's an appeal to one of the necessities, one of the appetites of the flesh. Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. It was ordained of God that He endure this temptation to be set aside almost as that Passover lamb was removed from the flock, examined, and then observed for a season that any flaw that might have been in it, unperceived, would be noticed and found. But Jesus would not heed the word of the serpent. This One who brought Him what could seemingly be argued as a legitimate thing to do You're hungry. You have power to turn these stones to bread. You have power to bring manna from the skies. You have power to supply your people with water from a stone in the wilderness. You're going to multiply the loaves and the fishes for the multitudes in your ministry. Why not do this now? Jesus would not at the bidding of Satan so end his season of temptation prematurely. He must be led of the Spirit to leave that wilderness and partake of bread. He would not even satisfy a legitimate appetite of the flesh. You think of Joseph in our story from this morning. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see that there would have been an appeal even in that temptation from Potiphar's wife to advance himself by unlawful means, by usurping a demonstration of his higher position. She had taken note of him. She had set her eyes upon him. He was worthy indeed. Perhaps Joseph could see in this an opportunity Weren't there promises that rested upon Him? Wasn't there something for Him to do? Something higher, something more important than being a servant, a slave in Potiphar's household? Maybe this is the way out. A woman of this stature, this importance in the society of Egypt, so near to the palace and even perhaps to the throne. The indiscretion could be covered. They could work together. This might be the means of Joseph's exaltation. Cast yourself off the pinnacle of the temple. Doesn't the Bible say the angels will catch you? No harm can come to you. You'll be recognized for such a thing. What will the Pharisees and the scribes think if suddenly one flies off the temple and is rescued by the angels? Certainly, they'll know you're their Messiah then. This is one of those occasions that causes us great pause Consider the activity of our enemy. The first temptation fails. Now he comes with a temptation that he couches in the words and with a truth of Scripture. I remember that from seminary days. There was an example given here of the misuse of Scripture. How do you overcome the misinterpretations, the misuse of Scripture? By the correct use of Scripture. The correct understanding of Scripture. I started down a rabbit trail I shouldn't have started, but I'll never forget Dr. Douglas and a course on the Pentateuch. We came to the book of Deuteronomy. He said he didn't find it an extraordinary thought that the unbelieving critics of the previous generation had begun their assault on God's Word in the Pentateuch and all the source criticism and theories. He said because it's from the Pentateuch, it's in particular from the book of Deuteronomy where their attack started because thrice Our Lord put the devil to flight by quoting from the book of Deuteronomy. A lot of good devotional material in the Pentateuch. The appeal to Joseph wasn't merely for these means as you would of pleasure and perhaps show. If there were also perhaps in Joseph a spirit of ambition as well as pleasure and show. He could have imagined that somehow submitting to this temptress could have been a means of His being promoted to honor. Bow to Me, and I will give you all the kingdoms of the earth. In Luke's account of our Lord's temptation, He puts in the words of Satan under inspiration. an accurate record that Satan said unto me, are they given? It is possible for Satan to lie. It is possible for Scripture to accurately record the statement of a lie. But it seems as you compare other Scriptures that Satan is not putting forth a falsehood here. than in his successful assassination, if you will, of Adam, of mankind, that had been ordained to be God's regent over creation, over the kingdoms of this world. That in God's sovereign purpose, something of sovereignty over them did fall to this prince of the power of the air. and that He could have given, at least in that measured way, the kingdoms to Christ. But He would not earn them in that way. He puts Satan to flight. Worship God only. In all these ways, We saw our lesser Joseph tempted. Our greater Joseph was tempted even more fiercely. But in every temptation, in every test, he shows himself pure. He manifests perfect righteousness. And yet, I saw something this morning of Joseph. His refusal to yield to temptation led him to even lower depths. That's one reason I wanted to read Isaiah 53 tonight from that phrase, he was taken out of prison. Joseph, perhaps it perplexed him, but his faith was unshaken. He did the right thing. And he gets put in prison for it. Our greater Joseph. Falsely accused. In so much greater way than Joseph the son of Jacob. These that refused Him. These that would not recognize Him for who He was. would not recognize the good He came to do for them. They accuse Him of being the sinner. They esteem Him smitten of God, getting what He deserved and afflicted. One day, I believe that servant's song is a prophetic hymn that a believing Israel will sing in a yet future day. We esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He's despised and we thought he deserved it. But he was wounded. Now we see. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes, we are healed. Our Lord refused to give in to Satan's temptation. And he was led to a much lower prison than that the lesser Joseph was. But in his prison, His glory is still seen. The jailer marvels and quickly exalts Joseph to the head of the prison duties. Certainly if he had the power, perhaps if Potiphar had the power and the political ability, he could have been set free and become a great man in his own right. But no, in the prison there is glory shines forth. And our Lord at His lowest point, a hardened Roman soldier would have to confess truly, this is the Son of God. Or one dying on a cross next to Him could say, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. There's a lot of gospel understanding. To look at one next to you that's on the verge of death, the most humiliating death they could inflict upon you, a cross, and say, I know your kingdom is coming, and I want to be in it. In his prison, his glory is still seen. I look forward. I don't think it is next Lord's Day. I think it will be two or three out when we will look at the lesser Joseph's exaltation out of the prison. What a glorious picture. But as we come tonight to remember the lowest point in the greater Joseph's experience, his victory on our behalf, over the Satan, the tempter's temptation. The first Adam succumbed immediately to the first temptation that was brought to him. The greater second Adam prevails over all. Satan exhausts his arsenal and Jesus is sinless. The second Adam is victorious Can I share with you that illustration I've shared more than once in the past? There's a debate theologically about the doctrine we call the impeccability of Christ. Could the temptation really be possible if it was impossible for Jesus to sin? No less a theologian than Charles Hodge. We Reform guys like him. But he held forth that for the temptation to be real, there had to be the possibility that Jesus could have fallen, that He could have sinned. Other good Reformed people disagree, and I must be among them. The fact that Jesus couldn't fail doesn't mean the temptation couldn't be real. It really actually means the opposite. It means the temptation can be as powerful as it can possibly be. Adam didn't have to endure the full fierceness of Satan's trial and wrath. He fell early. But I love the story in illustrating that. I like to make theology simple. The story of the three little pigs. And you know the story, although I don't know. Do we read The Three Little Pigs to our little ones anymore? Of course, some of those nursery rhymes and stories, you scratch your head and think, wow. But the straw house, the twig house, and the brick house, and the wolf comes and he huffs and puffs and he blows the straw, huffs and puffs and he blows down the twigs, he huffs and he puffs. And he keeps huffing and puffing, and I can still see the pictures in my little book as a little boy. That wolf's face was red. His cheeks were about to explode. He couldn't blow the brick house down. Which house endured the most? The brick house. Our Jesus. entirely true, we must have fixed in our minds that true human nature was never unconnected to His divine nature, His divine Person. But in our nature, He resisted temptation. He remained sinless for us that He could be our sin-bearer. And tonight as we come, as we always do, to remember through these elements the lowest point. You can even walk with the lesser Joseph a little bit down that stairway of Philippians 2. And then from the very bottom, turn and see the stairway out. But as we come to the lowest point in remembering His death tonight at this table, it's a death that's never to be repeated. The grave does not hold Him. He is risen. He's ascended. He is seated at the right hand and He's coming again in glory. So we have tonight sorrow mingled with rejoicing. And so let that be true of us as we come tonight and remember our tested and tried and victorious Savior.