Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Repeat 53:3
• Have you ever doubted the bible?
• Isaiah 53 termed the 5th Gospel
• It speaks of Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection
• Isaiah the prophet writing centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ
• Quote from two German students
• How could a man know such details of the cruxifiction - except by revelation
• Focus - v3
• Overview:
• How can this be?
• What did it really mean?
• What should be our response?

How can this be?

• The Jews were looking for a liberator - they were blinded and could not see Isaiah 53 was speaking of the 'Suffering Servant'
• The Jews thought this passage spoke about their nation and not Jesus Christ
• How can it be that humanity would treat the Son of God in this way?
• Example & Explanation
• Why was He despised and rejected?
• What had he done?
• Was it His message?
• Was it His miracles?
• Was it His wisdom?
• Was it His increasing following?
• Was it His denouncement of hypocrisy?
• What evil had He done?
• Misjudgment is a common human trait
• Explanation
• People would not accept Jesus' claims
• Examples
• People hated Jesus without a cause
• The root of the problem was unbelief
• "Who has believed our report?" (53:1)
• Unbelief is our real problem - not ignorance, apathy, dislike of the church
• Do you believe?

What did it really mean?

• Rejection
• A no
• Hard at times to take
• Despised
• The disdaining of the person
• Putting you in the dirt
• Think how Jesus was despised and rejected at His birth
• Herod's slaughter
• His parents as refugees
• His parents as not having primacy
• His mother at the cross
• The rejection of family
• Rejection by the multitudes
• To see others dying
• (He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (53:3)
• To see His disciples being so slow
• Many disciples turned away
• Rejected by the rich young ruler
• Unbelief in whole towns
• Looking upon Tabor and our towns - what does He see?
• Gethsemane
• Betrayed by a disciple
• Disciples not praying with Him
• Yet He was prepared to go through it all
• How He loved sinners
• He went to a cruel cross and bared the wrath of God against sin
• Examples
• "For the joy set before Him"

What should be our response?

• Should it be that we would give up everything and be prepared to suffer for Him?
• Quote from Spurgeon
• Do you agree?
• Do you want to give your all to Him?
• If you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus - can you be unmoved by the love of God?
• Do you live for yourself and sin?
• Do you surrender your life to Jesus Christ?