ISAIAH 53: THE LAMB'S GLORY
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Isaiah 53
a) This is a study of one of the key chapters in Isaiah, namely chapter 53. Verse 7 is a key verse in the chapter. It speaks of one "led like a lamb to the slaughter" whom we understand to be Jesus Christ who was crucified.
b) When the man from Ethiopia was reading this chapter as he rode home in his chariot, he was puzzled as to whom this "lamb" might be. He asked Philip the evangelist to explain it to him, and Philip "preached Jesus to him". (Acts 8:26-39).
c) John the Baptizer heralded Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
d) In the vision John had of heaven, he saw "a Lamb standing as if slain" and this Lamb was honored and worshiped as God (Revelation 5:6, 12-14).
e) We therefore take Isaiah chapter 53 as a prophecy about Jesus Christ.
f) Here is one of the three points of the chapter.
2. The Lamb’s Glory
Isaiah 53:10-12
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
a) God’s plan and pleasure
i) Isaiah 53:10 speaks of God being "pleased to crush him" and says that "the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand". This does not mean that God the Father got some kind of twisted sadistic pleasure in seeing his Son suffer cruelly. But he was pleased that his Son was willing to "render himself as a guilt offering" for the sins of the world, so that God’s plan of salvation could be accomplished. God’s pleasure came from the "result of the anguish of his soul" not from the agony itself. God was "satisfied" and "pleased" because at last a full and final sin offering had been made for the sins of the world. Thus "the pleasure of the Lord" being his gracious will and purpose to save mankind, would "prosper" in Christ's hand, because Christ would render himself as the necessary sin offering to enable God to righteously forgive unrighteousness (Isaiah 53:11).
b) His days prolonged and prospered
i) Isaiah 53:10 also promises of Christ that God would "prolong his days". This refers to the resurrection of Christ from the dead to live forever. "He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he ever lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
c) Worthy of glory because He satisfied and justified
i) Isaiah 53:11 shows that Jesus "satisfied" the requirements of God’s strategic plan of redemption and thereby was able to "justify" many and "bear their iniquities". This is a matchless accomplishment and thus the Lamb of God is worthy to be exalted, glorified, and worshiped (Revelation 5:9-14).
The End ...
1. Isaiah 53a) This is a study of one of the key chapters in Isaiah, namely chapter 53. Verse 7 is a key verse in the chapter. It speaks of one "led like a lamb to the slaughter" whom we understand to be Jesus Christ who was crucified.
b) When the man from Ethiopia was reading this chapter as he rode home in his chariot, he was puzzled as to whom this "lamb" might be. He asked Philip the evangelist to explain it to him, and Philip "preached Jesus to him". (Acts 8:26-39).
c) John the Baptizer heralded Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
d) In the vision John had of heaven, he saw "a Lamb standing as if slain" and this Lamb was honored and worshiped as God (Revelation 5:6, 12-14).
e) We therefore take Isaiah chapter 53 as a prophecy about Jesus Christ.
f) Here is one of the three points of the chapter.
2. The Lamb’s Glory
Isaiah 53:10-12
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
a) God’s plan and pleasure
i) Isaiah 53:10 speaks of God being "pleased to crush him" and says that "the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand". This does not mean that God the Father got some kind of twisted sadistic pleasure in seeing his Son suffer cruelly. But he was pleased that his Son was willing to "render himself as a guilt offering" for the sins of the world, so that God’s plan of salvation could be accomplished. God’s pleasure came from the "result of the anguish of his soul" not from the agony itself. God was "satisfied" and "pleased" because at last a full and final sin offering had been made for the sins of the world. Thus "the pleasure of the Lord" being his gracious will and purpose to save mankind, would "prosper" in Christ's hand, because Christ would render himself as the necessary sin offering to enable God to righteously forgive unrighteousness (Isaiah 53:11).
b) His days prolonged and prospered
i) Isaiah 53:10 also promises of Christ that God would "prolong his days". This refers to the resurrection of Christ from the dead to live forever. "He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, since he ever lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
c) Worthy of glory because He satisfied and justified
i) Isaiah 53:11 shows that Jesus "satisfied" the requirements of God’s strategic plan of redemption and thereby was able to "justify" many and "bear their iniquities". This is a matchless accomplishment and thus the Lamb of God is worthy to be exalted, glorified, and worshiped (Revelation 5:9-14).
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