Suffering Servant

You know, as we celebrate Christmas, we live in anticipation of all that Christ has said and done. Do you ever wonder why it is that Israel missed the arrival of their Messiah? Most had not lived in anticipation by the time you come to Bethlehem that evening some 2,000 years ago. Well, there were only a few that truly lived in anticipation. We know Simeon did because Simeon was given the promise that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. So he lived in anticipation of one day seeing and holding the Messiah in his hands.

Anna, also in Luke 2, she lived in anticipation because she was longing for the redemption of Israel. Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel. So we know that Simeon and Anna were two that truly lived in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah. But most did not. We are not even sure that Zacharias and Elizabeth did until the angel appeared to Zacharias one day in the temple. Then they lived in anticipation. We are not even sure that Mary and Joseph were living in anticipation until the angel came to Mary and told her that she would conceive a child.

Then their anticipation grew immensely. We know the Magi, they lived in anticipation because it took them many years, not just a few days, to travel their 700 miles to get to where the Messiah was. And they weren't at the grotto in Bethlehem. They would see the Messiah as a toddler in a house. But they had lived in anticipation knowing that a Messiah would come and God had led them through a star. And so when you think of those people, we are not even sure the shepherds lived in anticipation until the glory of the Lord shone all around them and then they realized, they realized Messiah had been born.

But outside of that, we read nowhere of anybody truly anticipating the coming of the Messiah. How come? What happened? Did they not know that the Messiah would be a seed from Abraham? Yes. They knew, Genesis chapter 3, verse number 15, that the seed of a woman would crush a serpent's head, a prophecy of the Messiah. They knew that that seed was accentuated through the line of Abraham, Genesis chapter 12. But they also knew that that seed would be a substitute according to Genesis chapter 22. There would be a substitutionary sacrifice based on Genesis chapter 22.

So they lived knowing that. They also would know that that substitute who was the seed would be the staircase to heaven, Genesis chapter 28, the gateway to heaven. That's what Jacob said, I've seen the gate to heaven, the way to glory, the staircase that leads into heaven. So they would know that. They would know that that staircase, according to Genesis 49, would be called Shiloh, Shiloh meaning the one to whom it belongs, Genesis 49, verse number 10, that the scepter should not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes.

Shiloh is the one to whom it belongs. The scepter belongs to the Messiah. So they know that the Messiah is coming, they know he's a seed, they know he's a substitute, they know he's a staircase, they know, they know that he's Shiloh. Now maybe they might not alliterate it that way, but that's what they know because they're Jews and they live learning the Old Testament. And then they learned from the book of Exodus that this Messiah coming would be a sacrificial lamb because the Passover was that which would symbolize what needed to happen to receive the forgiveness of sins.

So you move from there to the book of Numbers and they know from Numbers 24 that the Messiah will be a star that will rise out of Jacob. They know that the book of Deuteronomy tells us that the Messiah will be a seer, a prophet greater than Moses. They know this. They know that in the book of Psalms that this coming Messiah is called a shepherd in Psalm 23. They also know that this Messiah coming according to Psalm 89 is the son of God. They also know according to Psalm, Psalm I forgot, that he is, Psalm 118, there we go, that he is a stone that will be rejected by the builders.

They know that because their Old Testament tells them the truth about the coming Messiah. The Bible also told them that he is also, in Isaiah 4, the shoot that will stem from the root of Jesse. They also know for the prophet Isaiah that he is the supernatural one according to Isaiah 7 because a woman who is a virgin shall conceive. That is a supernatural act. He is a supernatural person. They also know that. They also know from Isaiah chapter 9 that he is the son of God. Psalm 89 was the son of David.

In Isaiah chapter 9 he is the son of God. They also know from Isaiah 24 that he is a swallower of death. He consumes it. They also know from Isaiah chapter 40 that he is the solace of Israel. They know from Isaiah 41 that he is a savior. They know from Isaiah 48 that he is a separate one. But it's Isaiah 53 that was their problem. And that is, this righteous one, Messiah, would be a suffering servant. So there are many other prophecies of Scripture, but this is what we know they knew. So how is it when Messiah comes, they do not embrace him and accept him?

The girls sang earlier, prepare him room. They prepared him no room. Why? The prophecy in Isaiah 53 is the epic messianic prophecy. It is the pinnacle of all Old Testament prophecy. It is called by some the fifth gospel. We know that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the gospels of the New Testament, but we forget that the gospel is still in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53 is that fifth gospel, per se, because it talks about the life of the Messiah, the death of the Messiah, the burial of the Messiah, the resurrection of the Messiah, the ascension, the intercession, the glorification and coronation of the Messiah.

Everything about the gospel in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is capitalized on in Isaiah 53. So it becomes the epic prophecy. It tells us of the mission of the Messiah. Let me read it for you.

It really begins in Isaiah 52, verse number 13. There are 15 verses. Remember that the chapters are not inspired by God. So the chapter should begin at verse 13 of chapter 52, because that's where the whole prophecy begins concerning the suffering servant of the Lord God of Israel. It says in verse number 13, Behold, my servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted, just as many were astonished at you, my people. So his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.

Thus he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths on account of him. For what had not been told them, they will see. And what they had not heard, they will understand. Who has believed our message? And to whom has the armor of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground. He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hid their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him.

Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried, yet we ourselves esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the chastening of our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each one of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon him. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, like a land that is led to a slaughter, and like sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due, his grave was assigned with wicked men, yet he was with a rich man in his death, because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth. 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.

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. 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. That fifteen verse summation tells us everything you need to know about the coming Messiah.

The question is, how did Israel miss it? They have interpreted Isaiah 53 as themselves. Because the prophet Isaiah speaks to Israel as a servant of God on many occasions, and they are the servant of God. But there are four particular chapters that deal with the Messiah as servant. Isaiah 40, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50 verses 4-11, and Isaiah 52 verses 13-53-12. They are the servant of Jehovah, that is the righteous king. And so Israel has taken all of Isaiah to interpret it as themselves, that they themselves are the servant of the Lord in Isaiah chapter 53.

But they have many, many problems, and let me give you three of them. They have a grammatical problem, a theological problem, and a practical problem. They have a grammatical problem because of the grammar of Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6. The personal pronouns. He was crushed. He was pierced. His scourging. All the iniquity fell upon Him. There is one individual that's a personal pronoun, not dealing with a nation, but a person. And that's why in Acts chapter 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah 53, and Philip came upon him in his chariot, he said, Please tell me, to whom does the prophet speak?

Of himself or someone else. Meaning that there has to be an individual that Isaiah is speaking about. And Philip began to teach him about Jesus. Because Jesus is the Messiah. So the Jews have a grammatical problem with the personal pronouns in Isaiah 53. They also have a theological problem because in their theology the sacrifice of an animal, and according to Exodus chapter 12, it had to be a spotless, unblemished lamb would be sacrificed because only a blood sacrifice could atone for their sins.

So how could Israel die for Israel? They also have a practical problem. And the practical problem is found in verse number 11, which says He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in their mouth. So how is it we can say that Israel had done no lawlessness, because that's what the word violence means, and had no deceit in their mouth when Isaiah tells them very clearly in Isaiah chapter 1 these words, Alas, sinful nation! People weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly.

They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him. He's speaking of Israel. So how can Israel say they have no lawlessness and no deceit in their mouth when Isaiah begins his prophecy by telling them about all their sin? He goes on to say from verse 5, Where will you be stricken again as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick. The whole heart is faint. All of you is sinful. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts, and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, not softened with oil.

Verse 10, Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. So now he compares them to people of Sodom and Gomorrah. How much more evil comparison can you receive than that? And it goes on to say, What are your multiplied sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle, and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires of you the trampling of my courts?

Bring your worthless offerings no longer. Incense is an abomination to me, new moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies. I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Reprove the ruthless. Defend the orphans. Plead for the widow. Come now.

Let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. And though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly the mouth of the Lord has spoken. They have a real practical problem because they're not lawless. And there was deceit in their mouths. So, outside of that, how is it they miss this? You read it. I read it.

It's very clear that it's Jesus Christ. It's very clear He lived. Very clear He died. Very clear He rose again. All in Isaiah 53. Very clear that He ascended into glory. Very clear that He was coronated as King. Very clear that He was numbered with the transgressors. That is, He died for our sins. Very clear that He bore our sin in His body. Very clear. It's all right there. We understand it. We get it. How do the Jews miss something so simple, so clear, when they know about the other prophecies concerning the Old Testament?

Let me explain to you this way. I don't want to be technical. I want to be very practical. So I'm going to be as practical as I can. I'm not going to exegete Isaiah 53, but I want to give you an overview to help you understand where the prophet is going. So when you speak to your children, you can help them to understand how Israel missed the prophecy of the suffering servant. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. Oh, by the way, the Bible has 66 books. Just think about that. Isaiah has 66 chapters.

It's divided into two sections. Chapters 1 to 39. Chapters 40 to 66. Are you with me so far? I'm trying to be as simple and practical as I can. Chapters 1 to 39 all deal with retribution. Chapters 40 to 66 deal with redemption. Chapters 1 to 39 deal with desolation. Chapters 40 to 66 deal with deliverance. Chapters 1 to 39 deal with judgment. Chapters 40 to 66 deal with salvation. Still with me? Okay. The judgment in chapters 1 to 39 fall in the category of captivity. Israel, particularly Judah, is going into Babylonian captivity.

In fact, chapter 39 ends this way in verses 5, 6, and 7. Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. All that happened 100 years after the prophecy of Isaiah.

80 years after the death of Isaiah. You still with me? So they're going into captivity. But chapters 1 to 39, not to speak of judgment when it comes to the captivity of Judah. Why do we say Judah? Because the 10 northern tribes had already been taken into captivity. The northern kingdom. What was left was Judah, the southern kingdom. And they're now going to go into Babylonian captivity. And so Isaiah prophesies about the judgment, the coming judgment. But the greater judgment he prophesies about is not just the Babylonian captivity, but the judgment of God upon the sins of people.

That's all. That's all in chapters 1 to 39. Very important to understand exactly what he says. Now, we know from history that in 606 BC, the first deportation happened in Israel.

Judah went into Babylonian captivity. History proves Isaiah's prophecy right. He prophesied 100 years before it happened. It came true. Exactly as he said. So now we know all the prophecy in chapter 1 to 39 came through. That means the prophecy of chapters 40 to 66 is going to come true. Because prophets used to prophesy of a near coming situation as he prophesied about something further in the distance. So that when the nearer thing came true, everybody would know that what he said about the future prophecy is going to be true as well.

That makes sense, right? That's exactly what Isaiah did. And God revealed to him about judgment coming upon Judah and how it is they need to turn from their sin and repent. When you come to chapter 39, or chapter 40, everything changes. The tone changes. And now, it's not retribution, it's redemption. Now, it's not desolation, it's deliverance. Now, it's not judgment, it's salvation and grace. And that's what Isaiah prophesied. And he prophesied how that salvation is going to come. Listen.

How that salvation in chapters 40 to 66 is going to come. It's going to come, listen carefully, physically, spiritually, and nationally. It's going to come, first of all, physically, by deliverance from Babylonian captivity.

That's the first nine chapters of chapters 40 to 66. Then the next nine chapters, because there are 27 chapters in 40 to 66, the next nine chapters talk about not just deliverance from Babylonian captivity, which is a physical deliverance, but a spiritual deliverance. Deliverance from sin. And then, in the end, the last nine chapters, the last section of chapters 40 to 66, he talks about a national deliverance, with a deliverance from a cursed earth, and a new millennium, and a king sitting on the throne.

Are you with me so far? Chapters 1 to 39, retribution. Judgment's coming. You're going into captivity. And yet, there's a greater judgment coming upon man for sin, because he's separated from God. Chapters 40 to 66, there's going to come redemption. There's going to come deliverance. So there come three ways, physically, spiritually, and nationally, divided up into nine chapters, okay? Not ironic, but very symbolic. Watch this. First, physical deliverance from Babylonian captivity.

Second, a spiritual deliverance from sin. And thirdly, a deliverance from the cursed earth, and a king that will come with a new millennial reign.

And right in the middle of the middle section, in the middle chapter, Isaiah 53, and in the middle of that chapter, verses 5 and 6, it speaks of the piercing of their Messiah. This is the central focus of everything. This is a celebration of the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah 40, which is the beginning of the second section of deliverance, begins with the prophecy of John the Baptist.

Did you know that? Look at Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. Verse number 1. Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins a voice calling in the wilderness. Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley.

That's exactly what the prophet John the Baptist fulfilled in the beginning of the New Testament. The second section of Isaiah begins with the prophecy of a coming prophet that will prepare the way of the Lord.

And that's how the New Testament begins in Luke's Gospel. And then chapter 65, 66 of Isaiah ends the same way the 66th book of the Bible ends. Look at chapter 65 of Isaiah.

It says these words. Isaiah 65 verse 17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for gladness. And then in chapter 66, verse 22 For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before me, declares the Lord, so your offspring and your name will endure, and it will be from new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before me, says the Lord.

In other words, Isaiah 66 ends the way the 66th book of the New Testament ends in the book of Revelation, the 21st and 22nd chapter. How about the new heaven and the new earth? This is so good! I don't hear an amen! This is so rich and so amazing! When you hear this and you think about this, how did Israel miss him? How? How? It's amazing when you look at this chapter and you begin to realize what took place in the land of Israel.

Let me show you how they missed him. They lived in anticipation of that coming seed. Of that coming Shiloh, that coming star, that coming substitute, that coming staircase, that coming seer. They lived in anticipation. And so they knew, because the scepter shall not depart from Shiloh until the one to whom it belongs, the scepter shall not depart from Judah until the one to whom it belongs, Shiloh, comes. They knew Messiah would be a king. They cried for a king. We talked about that last week, remember?

Well, as they cried for a king, God could not give them David, because David was not yet born. Jesse was the ninth in the line of Perez. According to Deuteronomy 23, verse number 2, there had to be a tenth generation before there could be someone to sit on the throne in the line of Judah. So God gave them a king from the tribe of Benjamin, not from the tribe of Judah. He gave them Saul. And Saul was a train wreck. Well, David would be born, and he would be tenth in the line of Judah from Perez, and therefore he could sit on the throne of David, or on the throne in Israel.

So David was anointed king of Israel, became king. But David had his own issues. He was the man of bloodshed. So he could not even build the temple. But God gave him a promise that a son of his would sit on his throne and rule over Israel forever. Now, they knew that. They knew that it was a son of David. So Solomon came along. And maybe Solomon would be that king. But Solomon was a tragedy. He started off good. Asked for wisdom. Received it. Had wealth. But he married foreign wives. 700 of them, to be exact.

Had 300 concubines. So he brought debauchery to the throne. When he died, the kingdom was split. Northern kingdom, ten tribes. Southern kingdom, two tribes. Northern kingdom called Israel. Southern kingdom called Judah. Northern kingdom had 19 kings. All of them evil. All of them wicked. Judah had some good kings. But for the majority of their lives, they were train wrecks as well. And so Israel kept anticipating the king that would come. But none of these kings matched up to what their bible, their Torah, their scriptures said about the coming Messiah.

So by the time you get into Isaiah, things are pretty bad. Pretty bad. The line of David was a corrupt line. They were looking for a righteous king. On top of that, Manasseh was now ruling. Isaiah ruled during the reign of four kings. Okay? Four kings. They were Uzziah, Joram, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. When Hezekiah died, Manasseh became the king. Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 33 verse number 9, Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Manasseh was the king and he would take a wooden saw and cut Isaiah in half. That's what tradition tells us. I'm not so sure that would be a quick death. A wooden saw? But we know from Hebrews 11, 36 and 37 that some of the prophets were sawn in half. So we know that tradition probably is absolutely correct when it comes to Isaiah's death. He was cut in half. Eighty years after he died, his prophecy of Babylonian captivity came true. But you see, Israel was at a low point in Isaiah. They were at a low point spiritually.

They were at a low point nationally. The Lion of David was corrupt. Manasseh was ruling their king. They're about to go into captivity. Their temple is going to be destroyed, obliterated. They were at a very, very low point. Probably the lowest point of Israel's history. Isaiah prophesies about a righteous king who's going to come, the servant of Jehovah who will bring deliverance to his people. That's why he says, Comfort, O comfort now my people. There's going to come a deliverer. But here's the key.

That righteous king who is the deliverer is more than a deliverer physically and nationally. He's a deliverer spiritually. Therefore, he is the suffering servant. And this is where Israel has a problem. That their Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of people. Isaiah 53 tells us that a righteous king would die, not because of his sins, because he had no lawlessness, but for the sins of the people. He would pay the penalty for their sins. He would be a substitutionary sacrifice because they could not sacrifice for themselves.

He would picture Exodus chapter 12, the Passover lamb. He would lay it out for them. And as you read Isaiah 52 verse number 12 through Isaiah chapter 53, you realize everything about the Messiah. In other words, Isaiah answers life's most important question. How a sinner can be made right with a holy God? He answers that question. How can he escape the judgment of God? The only way is because God pours out his wrath on his suffering servant. That's the only way. And Isaiah is the one who prophesies that for us.

He would give them a spiritual deliverance. But you see, Israel didn't think they needed a spiritual deliverance because they were sons of Abraham. All their ceremonies, all their rituals, all their religiosity is what made them who they were. They lived on a merit system. They did not need a deliverer spiritually. They only needed one physically. They did not need, listen, a savior. They needed a sympathizer. Someone who could sympathize with their plight and give them what they deserve. That's what all works based systems believe.

I don't need a savior. I need someone to sympathize with my condition, sympathize with my situation and then ultimately give me what I deserve because somehow I have earned that right. That was ancient Judaism and that is modern Judaism. It has never changed. Ever. Christianity depreciates human effort. Judaism appreciates human effort. Christianity depreciates or desperately needs a savior because of their sin. Judaism doesn't need a savior because they don't believe they are sinners. They are sons of Abraham.

By descendants of Abraham and by their own merit system they don't need a savior spiritually. And so when Isaiah prophesies about a suffering servant this was unacceptable to them. How do we know this? Very easily. Remember Matthew chapter 16? Up in Caesarea Philippi Banias it's called at the base of Mount Hermon. Christ asks the question who do men say that I am? And they said well some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets. But who do you say that I am?

Peter says thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. What did Christ say? Oh blessed are you son of our John. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. Only my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. And then he said make sure you don't tell anybody what you just said. Wow. Christ says these words in Matthew chapter 16.

He says he warned his disciples they should not tell no one that he was the Christ. And from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying God forbid it Lord this shall never happen to you. See that? Peter's a Jew. A suffering servant a suffering Messiah was unacceptable to them. God forbid that this should happen to you. That's not going to happen. In modern day vernacular it's like Lord come here for a second I want to help you get your theology right.

Somehow you haven't read the Old Testament and I being a fisherman and a Jew happen to know everything I need to know about the Old Testament and my Old Testament teaches that you are to be a righteous king. You are the son of the living God. You are the incarnate Christ. You are God in the flesh and you are the ruler and king of our lives. You don't die. He rebuked the Lord. What did Christ say? Get thee behind me Satan. Satan? Call Peter Satan. You are a stumbling block to me for you are not studying your mind on God's interest but man's.

That's what man thinks. That's what man wants. That's not what God says. My mission as Messiah is to die. That's my mission. That's why in Luke chapter 2 when his parents found him at age 12 in the temple and Mary says where have you been? We've been looking for you. What does Jesus say? Don't you know? I have to be about my father's business. He came to do the will of his father. There was a mission he had to fulfill. That's why he said the son of man must suffer many things. That's why every time he talked about the cross the disciples turned away.

The disciples didn't want to hear it. They continued to argue about who was the greatest in the kingdom. They wanted kingdom living. They did not want their king to die. That was unacceptable to a Jewish theologian. The king doesn't die. The king lives. Not according to prophecy of Isaiah the suffering servant. He dies for the sins of man. He was pierced through for our transgressions. The chastisement that we deserve fell upon him. By his scourging we are healed. And so Christ would say the son of man must journey to Jerusalem.

He was on a divine timetable. In the fullness of time God sent forth the son born of a woman born under the law that he might redeem those who are under the law. He came to redeem us. How was he going to do that? But to fulfill Isaiah chapter 53 that he would be pierced through for our transgressions. And it wasn't even at his death that his disciples comprehended what on earth he was doing. It wasn't until after his resurrection that he opened his eyes. And that's why in Luke 24 when he talks to two disciples on the road to Emmaus he says oh foolish and unbelieving.

He began to explain to them that all things in the old testament in the scriptures must be fulfilled. Don't you know that the suffering servant must die? Don't you know what the old testament says? And so as he walks along the road with these two disciples on the road to Emmaus he explains to them everything about why Messiah had to die. That was the mission of the Messiah. Their eyes were opened and they began to realize that this was the Christ. And they would go to the other disciples and explain that to them.

A dead Messiah a dead king was unacceptable in Judaism because nobody has to die for them. Why? Because they have a works-based system based on the fact that they are descendants of Abraham and they can merit their way to heaven through all their religiosity all their rituals, all their ceremonies all their acts of kindness and God will accept them. But he doesn't. That's why Isaiah said stop coming to me stop giving me burnt offerings stop doing all these rituals you're going to pray, I'm going to hide my ears I'm not going to hear what you have to say I am tired of your rebellion I am tired of the act, it's over, it's done come, let us reason together though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson they shall be made like wool.

See that? Isaiah 53 very clearly teaches us about a Messiah who will come the only way to heaven is to have your sins paid for by a substitutionary servant who bears the wrath of God in your place that's it and that's why this chapter is the pinnacle of Old Testament prophecy when it comes to the celebration of Christmas let's pray together Father we thank you for today what a great opportunity for us to study your word you are so amazing how it's all been placed together Lord you've opened our eyes to see you've shown us who you are we understand you had to die we know we're sinners seeking desperately a savior we cannot save ourselves if there be one here today who thinks that they can merit their way to glory they are sadly mistaken they can never earn their way it's only through a servant who suffers a sinless servant who is the Messiah who bears in his body their sin the wrath of the eternal God in their place help them see that today that they might embrace Christ as King I pray in Jesus name Amen