Key Truth: Jesus chose to suffer and die undeservedly so that we would have the eternal peace and healing that we don’t deserve.  

Introduction:

How do you feel about people getting things they don’t deserve like punishment or reward?
Have you ever declared, “That’s NOT fair!”?

Christ’s Suffering Chosen for Our Peace and Healing Accomplished:

Isaiah 53:4-6

“Here we have a beautiful contrast. In ourselves we are scattered; in Christ we are gathered together. By nature we go astray, and are driven headlong to destruction; in Christ we find the course by which we are conducted to the harbor of salvation. Our sins are a heavy load; but they are laid on Christ, by whom we are freed from this load. Thus, when we were ruined, and, being estranged from God, were hastening to hell, Christ took upon him the filthiness of our iniquities, in order to rescue us from everlasting destruction. This must refer exclusively to guilt and punishment; for he was free from sin….Let every one, therefore, diligently consider his own iniquities, that he may have a true relish of that grace, and may obtain the benefit of the death of Christ.”

John Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah

What are some ways in which you have experienced Christ bearing your grief, carrying your sorrow, and being wounded all that you would have peace and healing in Him?

Christ’s Death Undeserved for Our Exalted Life Undeserved:

Isaiah 53:7-9

“The Servant is not an expedient which we hopefully proposed, nor one moved only by personal compassion and voluntariness; he is the provision of God, who himself superintends the priestly task (Lv. 16:21) of transferring the guilt of the guilty to the head of the Servant, giving notice that this is indeed his considered and accepted satisfaction for sin.”

Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary

How does the fact that Christ died the death He didn’t deserve so that you might have the exalted life you don’t deserve affect how you live?

Application:

Isaiah 53:4-9 teaches us that:
-Jesus chose to suffer and die undeservedly
-so that we would have the eternal peace and healing that we don’t deserve  

“The lost state of man by nature, and his recovery through the blood of Christ, are the two principal doctrines of our religion. If we would ascertain the comparative importance of all other doctrines, we must judge of them by the relation which they bear to these: and consider those as most important, which serve most to illustrate and confirm these fundamental points. Moreover, these two should always be considered in their relation to each other; for it is by the atonement that we see the depth of our depravity, and by our depravity we see the necessity and excellency of the atonement. By considering them apart, we are in danger of falling into despondency or presumption: but, by uniting our views of them, our sorrows are moderated with hope, and our confidence is tempered with humility.”

Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae: Isaiah XXVII—LXVI, Vol. 8

Communion

Benediction:

Isaiah 65:17-22