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READ: Isaiah 53:13
CHALLENGE: Sacrifice for a Better World
One thing about Jesus is that He impacts the world. His sacrifice changes lives and our small sacrifices can change lives too. We won’t accomplish much good in this world apart from offering up something so there’s lots to learn from that of Christ’s example.
This passage starts a “Messianic” section prophesying about a coming figure who would forgive sins. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus and it is profound.
- SACRIFICE AND SERVICE
V13 – See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Who is this Messianic figure? And what can we learn from Him? He’s a servant and there is so much of Christianity wrapped up in the concept of “service”.
- Be a Servant
So, this Messianic figure is not going to do his own thing. He’s going to be “God’s servant”. Did you catch that God considers Him MY servant! I hear my grandson use the word “my” quite a bit and that means that whatever he’s holding belongs to him and no one else.
The Messiah was specifically dedicated to serving God and doing His will. Are we? Is there any greater title than “servant”? Jesus served and we’re supposed to have that same attitude.
(trans.) There are certain words that I cannot separate from this concept of service. The first is … SACRIFICE
- Servants Sacrifice
Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
He gave up His life! Laid it down. Got killed for us. He suffered pain so we could experience gain! That’s service! You sacrifice for the good of others. His service was seen by the ultimate surrender of his life via execution on a cruel cross of wood. Sacrifice!
Experience teaches us that it’s tough to serve without surrendering something. Jesus sacrificed to the point of shedding blood and most are never called to go that far unless a soldier dove on a grenade to save their friends. As Jesus taught, no greater love has anyone than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
While most will never be called upon to sacrifice our lives. We might give up a night in the week to work with children or to sacrifice something we wanted in order to get something our spouse wanted. Our sacrifice elevates them above us! You might work extra to put your kids through college. You gave up a time of leisure on the couch to do something energetic with your children or grandchildren. We give up income to give to the Lord. Every bit of it is for others.
Paul talked about how Christians in Macedonia gave in order to meet the needs of others who were hurting financially. They sacrificed their stuff for the good of others. When you think about it, there’s no reason to sacrifice if it’s not for something or someone outside of yourself.
If you don’t make sacrifices for others, you’re not serving like Jesus. I think of my dad who gave up his job to study for ministry. He sacrificed for others and that’s what it took.
- Servants Don’t Worry About Position
Jesus took the low road. By becoming a servant, he intentionally put himself in a position that was lower than actual reality. How so? Jesus came from heaven where he belonged and he walked with us on earth with fallen humanity. God became man. He definitely took a lower role than he actually possessed. It would be like a human becoming a dog.
The manger in Bethlehem is the first pure evidence of the humility of Jesus. He deserved to be in the most beautiful palace on the planet. He intentionally entered the world in a stable.
As He grew up, submitted to His parents. Remember when he was teaching in the temple and they told him to come home and he did? He knew so much more than his dad or mom knew but he lowered himself to be beneath them. Jesus washed his disciples feet and took on a position less than who He really was but position doesn’t matter for a servant. His position was so much higher, yet he made himself so much lower.
Who doesn’t appreciate a boss who is willing to sweep the floor? One who is willing to demonstrate that they are right there with you. He has a higher position but he’s self-lowering because that’s what service is. We’re not a look at me and do for me world!
They said that John D Rockefeller would sweep floors at church and teach Sunday School. He was one of the wealthiest men in the world but he still did lowly things too. You never want to think you’re too good to serve others.
If Christ is called a servant, so are we. There is no way that we are greater than Jesus. If He’s took on the role of a servant, we take on that role as well.
- Servants Make Their Will Secondary to Others
Jesus said the last will be first. He told a story about what a servant’s life looks like. They go and work the field all day and then return home take care of the boss’s needs before eating themselves. And they do it without one word of thanks. Sound familiar? Put everyone else first and get no thanks for it?! Sometimes, that’s how it is, right?
Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
A servant isn’t just looking out for their interest. They’re looking out for your interest as well. If I’m serving my wife then part of me is putting my will second to her will. That means I’m willing to do the things that are in fact important to her just because it’s important to her. It doesn’t have to be important to me. If I’m serving my family then my will becomes secondary. Or at work. Or in a group. We are secondary to others.
Christ’s disciples got into an argument as to who would be the greatest among them. Jesus said that if you want to be great, serve! You can only get to the high road by taking the low road.
We’re all servants and there are plenty of ways to get involved! We talk in membership class about going from a consumer to a producer! A little child consumes but as they grow, they begin to help others out. My grandson runs around saying everything is his! He hasn’t earned anything yet but everything belongs to him. Eventually, as he grows, he’ll become a producer!
(trans) The Messiah is a servant and He would …
- Live Wisely
God’s servant is going to act wisely. Tough to impact the world when you’re not living out common sense. If you don’t have your act together, you’re not going to be helping people to get theirs together.
The word means, “act wisely, understand, and prosper”. This is knowledge that comes from thinking through a topic. You have a grasp on the right path and this leads to success in the things that you’re doing because you know the right course of action.
The servant of God, the Messiah, would act prudently and fulfill the work assigned to Him. When you think of the life of Jesus, He knew when to stop. He knew when to go. He was asked to stay in a town, but he knew that his mission was to preach the truth town to town. He had a clear insight into his mission which was to seek and to save the lost. Wisdom comes from having that strong sense of direction. Moving toward a godly goal, that’s acting wisely.
I’d like to make a helpful statement that way. If you are looking to get out of debt, then pay down your debt and stop racking up credit card debt or being hapless in your spending habits.
When Jeri and I first came here, we knew we wanted to buy a house someday, so we started saving every month from the start and it helped. We had a goal and our behaviors were around that. It’s wise.
Let’s say you want to have a good reputation. Then act in a way that builds your credibility. What kind of man do you want to be? I cannot have a goal to be a great husband while I’m also cheating on my wife. What kind of wife or mother do you want to be? Now be that person.
You would be foolish not to act in accordance with knowledge once you’ve gained it. I’ve made plenty of mistakes with plants. I learn the hard way at times and then make corrections – this is life! But I’m not going to keep making the same mistake.
- SACRIFICE AND BEAUTY
V13b – he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Only God can raise a person up. Christ was a servant and from that lowly spot, God elevated him. The Bible teaches that the humble are exalted. Those who exalt themselves are humbled.
Want a path with beautiful views? Take the low road. Jesus made himself low but God lifted him up. The cross was humiliating but Jesus came back from the dead and sits at the right hand of God.
Philippians 2:9-10 – Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
We still worship Jesus. We exalt Him. Next week is Palm Sunday. Jesus is back in a beautiful place and He’s our Savior and Lord. My encouragement is serve and wait on God to lift you up. There are messes that we get ourselves into and God is the only one who can pull us out.
Isaiah 61:3 – and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
- SACRIFICE AND SALVATION
V14 – Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—
He would be disfigured. Wait, he was exalted and then beaten? How does that work? The same thing happened historically. Think back to the Triumphal Entry where the people adored Jesus. Less than a week later they crucified him and it happened in the same city!!
- Unrecognizable
Whatever it was about this servant, people were appalled as they looked at him. The word appalled is typically a word that is used when a huge disaster happened. And this particular word was indicative of Divine Judgment which is interesting in light of what Jesus experienced.
Those who looked at Jesus would experience horror and shock. The prophet described him as marred and said his form was disfigured. Now since this type of horror was caused by the judgment of God, it puts a certain light on the cross. Jesus took God’s divine judgment and it was horrifying. Jesus was taking the punishment of our sins and it showed.
The whipping, punching, beating, and crown of thorns would make him nearly unrecognizable. Perhaps that’s why Pilate put a sign on the cross. “This is Jesus, king of the Jews”. You can’t recognize him up there so we’ll tag the body so you’ll know which one he is.
It’s a great depiction of what sin will do to a person. Sin mars. Sin disfigures. A good looking person can look a lot different if they get caught up in evil.
One side note. Like Jesus, a person can do everything right and still suffer because of the sinful choices of others. Jesus healed people. Jesus taught the truth. Jesus was sinless. Jesus still wound up on a cross. You might be moral and kind to people and have someone still do you wrong.
- Salvation
V15 – so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Jesus was a servant. He was exalted and then marred. When it was over it would be said that he “sprinkled” the nations. On the surface, that’s not very exciting from a pure Western culture perspective. The sprinkles we know are on ice cream cones! And a sprinkle of rain means not much of it. Hey all, it just sprinkled! It’s not an especially strong term as I think about it.
Hey, Christ sprinkled nations! But as a Hebrew term “sprinkling has reference to cleansing from sin”. See, in the Old Testament, they would sprinkle the altar with blood in order to cover over sin and square it with heaven.
Let’s try to understand the significance of this heavenly forgiveness. Can you imagine not having a credit card, a debit card, or any cash at all? You have no bank account. How would you make transactions? You couldn’t get gas from the gas pump so you’d eventually be on the side of a road. You’d not be able to buy food so you’d be hungry. You’d not be able to pay the heating bill so you’d be cold. You couldn’t pay your mortgage, rent, or taxes so you’d be homeless. You would not be able to transact any business at all.
We transact business on earth with currency and we’re used to that. How often do we interact with heaven? How do we do spiritual business there? It’s through faith but who opens the door? The idea of sprinkling is that my sins are covered and the bill is paid. This means that there’s no barrier between myself and God. As a result, I can come to him in friendship. I can pray about the things that matter and pray for this greater world around us.
Jesus sprinkling the nations truly opens a door for us to come to God and have a great relationship with Him.
Hebrews 9:13-14 – The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The power of Jesus would be that he could cleanse the guilt of the people. And not just religious people. We’re talking to clean up messes and there are spiritual messes and things need to change. Christ changes the spiritual landscape and gives us a second chance.
I’m one of those guys who does stuff and I learn by doing. I decided I wanted blueberries and I planted 18. I later found out that they need acidic soil. That’s great … what’s that?
I put some wood chips around them and I’ve put Hollytone on them. But acidic vs alkaline is an absolutely meaningless statement to me because I can’t tell by looking at it. I have no clue what the ph balance of the soil even though it matters a lot to blueberries! So I bought a soil tester and I went through and tested the ground. I’m all over the map throughout but I’m way more alkaline than is good for the blueberries. I have to get that soil to change or I’m not going to get very good crops. So, I’ve been reading about the kinds of fertilizers I can use. I ordered one especially for blueberries and have already fertilized them. I will also be adding sulfer but you know one option I didn’t have? Doing nothing. Inaction is not an option. I have to add something to to the soil in order to change it because it needs changing!
My soul is sinful. To get to heaven, I need to be saintly. Doing nothing about it will never correct the situation. I have to add something to my life spiritually in order to fix it. This is where Jesus comes in. Christ died on the cross and He added his blood to purify us! He’s changing our spiritual standing from unclean to clean. From sinner to saint. From unrighteous to righteous. From unworthy to worthy. I need Jesus in order to be where I need to be spiritually.
Yes, He got marred and then He sprinkled the nations! That blood of Christ sprinkled on us makes all the difference in the world. We are no longer the same people. Christ went through a lot of pain but on the other side of it are countless changed people.
Sacrifices changed the world! Christ changed the world! He suffered to do it. But you can be changed!