All right, take your Bibles and go back to Isaiah chapter 53, please, Isaiah 53.
So as we're coming now toward Easter, and it's a good time to reflect on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I'm not coming to you tonight with any fancy doctrine, with any fancy preaching or anything like that.
I just want to get back to the bare bones tonight, back to the simple, the simplicity that is in Christ.
The whole purpose of Christ coming here and just reflecting with a somber mood.
Just with a humbleness and appreciate and understand the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay, look at verse number 1, please. Isaiah 53 verse 1.
Just the first few words there.
Who hath believed our report?
That's the title for the sermon tonight.
Who hath believed our report?
Now, if you can say to me today that I have believed the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have believed on His death, burial, and resurrection.
Then you can say to this question, I have believed that report.
And I've believed on the report of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why I know I'm saved, right?
Not because I'm good enough.
I was talking to Brother Matt today about soul winning.
When he told me, when he heard about the great news of Jesus Christ, this burden came off his shoulders.
I don't know how many of you guys remember the great burden coming off your shoulders.
Finally understanding Jesus did it all.
Praise God.
By the blood of His sacrifice, He's cleansed me from all sin.
And when you believe that report, when you understand it, man, you're saved.
You're born again.
You call upon the name of the Lord.
You receive that free gift of a salvation.
It's such a great thing.
It's such a great truth.
But the question here, guys, is who have believed our report?
You say, I believe the great.
But are you going out and proclaiming that report yourself?
Are you asking that question as you serve the Lord, who have believed that report?
You know, we're out there today, you know, knocking doors, preaching the gospel.
We didn't get anyone saved today.
But the question is, who's believed it?
I hope someone out there, I hope the seed that's been planted, that at some point they will call upon the Lord and believe that same report.
Keep looking at verse number one.
It says, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
You say, what is this report?
Is salvation by your efforts?
Is it by your arms of strength?
Is it by your walk with the Lord that saves you?
No.
It says here, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
You say salvation is by the arm, by the strong arm of the Lord.
It is by the work of the Lord.
It is the mercy of the Lord, the long suffering of the Lord.
His tender mercy is toward us, His grace toward us, that we can be sure of salvation by the hard work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, by the strong arm of the Lord.
He's the one who's done the hard work.
He's the one that gives us salvation.
All that's required from us is to believe it.
That beautiful thing, just believe it.
You believe it, you can be saved, you can be born again.
Let's keep reading there.
Actually, before we go there, keep your finger there, please.
Keep your finger there, and turn to Acts chapter 8, please.
Acts chapter 8.
And actually, no, I'm going to get to turn somewhere else.
Go to Romans chapter 10, please.
You guys go to Romans chapter 10.
Romans chapter 10.
And I'm just going to read to you from Acts chapter 8, okay?
Acts chapter 8.
Why is this chapter so important?
Just very quickly, you might remember the story of Philip.
You know, the evangelist Philip going to the Ethiopian eunuch.
Remember that story?
When the Holy Spirit transported him to that Ethiopian eunuch in his chariot,
and he chased off with the Ethiopian eunuch,
and what was he reading?
He was reading the book of Isaiah.
In fact, he was reading the same chapter that we've just read out, okay?
I'm going to read to you very quickly, Acts chapter 8 verse 29.
It says,
Then the Spirit said unto Peter,
Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
You know what, guys?
When we go and preach the gospel,
of the God telling us,
go near, and join yourself to that door.
Go and knock that door.
It's the same instruction that he gave to Philip in verse 30.
And Philip ran thither to him,
and heard him read the prophet Isaiah,
and said,
Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said,
How can I, except some man should guide me?
Guys, why is so when it's so important?
Because this Ethiopian eunuch says,
How can I understand unless some man guide me?
Hey, that's got to be you.
Okay, you say, it's got to be you, Pastor Kevin.
Yeah, I'll do it, all right?
There's got to be some other men in the church.
Yeah, we all do it.
But it's all of our responsibility to make known the mystery of the gospel.
You see, they need someone to direct them.
They need someone to instruct them.
Non-believers will not understand the gospel on their own.
They need a preacher.
All right?
Verse number 14.
Sorry, verse number, where am I reading from?
Verse 32.
The place of the scripture,
the place of the scripture which he read was this.
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter,
and like a lamb done before his shearer,
so opened he not his mouth.
In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away,
and who shall declare his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.
Speaking of Jesus.
And the eunuch answered Philip and said,
I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this?
Of himself or of some other man?
Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture
and preached unto him Jesus.
Okay?
So we see, and later we know we're not going to read the whole story,
but we know this Ethiopian eunuch believes the report,
believes the writings here by Isaiah,
but he needed Philip to teach him.
Okay?
And you see, we live in a world of non-believers.
We live in a world that's still striving to be saved by their works.
They need a preacher.
They need you to guide them, to instruct them.
You guys are in Romans 10.
Look at verse number 12.
Romans chapter 10, verse 12.
The Bible says,
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek,
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
All right?
And for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Is it that easy?
Is it so easy as believing the gospel and calling upon the Lord?
That's what the Bible says.
And for whosoever shall call upon them the Lord shall be saved.
Please be careful of the preachers you listen to.
Be careful because it's so hard.
You know, if someone comes to you and just out of the niceness of their heart,
they give you a gift.
What's your first thought?
Oh, you shouldn't have.
You know?
You shouldn't have done that.
Let me pay for it.
Okay?
That's no different when we go preach the gospel.
We're offering the free gift of salvation.
And what do they want to do?
I want to work for it a little bit.
I want to pay a little bit for myself.
I want to make sure I've done my part in order to be saved.
No.
It's believe and call upon the Lord.
It's free.
The free gift.
Little children know how to receive free gifts.
They're very good at receiving free gifts, right?
Because their hearts have not been hardened against the Lord.
But as adults, we mature.
We grow.
We think we're self-made people.
You know, the pride of life fills our hearts.
And we think maybe we can contribute to salvation.
No.
Jesus paid it all on the cross.
Where did I leave you guys off?
Sorry.
I'm getting distracted.
Romans 10, 14.
Does someone need a preacher to be saved?
Yes.
I'm not saying I'm the preacher.
I'm preaching right now.
But you can all be preachers.
Man, woman, and child.
You can all be called to preach.
Go and preach the gospel.
It's the most simple doctrine in the Bible.
And God's given you that beautiful ministry of reconciliation to see souls saved.
God's going to reward you in heaven.
Could you imagine getting to heaven and having all these people that you want to the Lord
say, thank you, thank you for showing me the gospel.
What a great thing to enter into heaven and see these other people.
But what if you enter into heaven and there's no one to thank you?
You know, you got saved.
Praise God.
But you led no one else to the Lord.
A bit shameful, right?
A bit embarrassing.
Especially when the gift was free.
Especially when the gift was already paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ.
All you had to do was be that preacher of the gospel.
Verse number 15.
And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace
and bring glad tidings of good things.
But look at verse 16.
But they have not obeyed the gospel.
Say, oh man, we've got to obey the gospel.
See, it's not just believe, we also have to obey the gospel.
Right? There must be some work in man to do, right?
There must be some commandments, some laws that we need to obey to be saved.
That's how I've heard people twist that passage, right?
Let's have a look at it again.
Verse number 16.
But they have not obeyed the gospel.
How do we obey the gospel?
For Isaiah saith, Lord, who have believed our report.
So how do you obey the gospel?
You believe the gospel, you believe the report.
That's how you obey the gospel.
Alright?
So this is the passage now that we read in Isaiah 53.
Who have believed their report.
Verse 17.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
But I say, have they not heard?
Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
You see, at this point in time when the epistle to the Romans was written, the gospel had gone throughout the whole world already.
Praise God!
Does that mean we stop?
It's gone out throughout the whole world?
No, because the generations that lived there at that time no longer live.
We're a new generation, and this generation, this church, and other like-minded churches that believe the gospel,
their job is to preach the gospel throughout the whole world.
You know, we're here in Sydney.
Guess where you're called to be?
You say, the Lord's never called me to be a missionary to Africa or something.
You don't need to be.
You know, you can be a missionary right here in Fairfield, right here in Sydney, preaching the word of God.
You know, God's called you here.
That's good.
You know, if this is where your life is, great.
There's people to be saved right here.
Okay?
Now, go back to Isaiah 53 please.
Isaiah 53 verse 2.
You say, I already know we have to preach the gospel.
Do we have to keep hearing sermons on preaching the gospel?
Yeah, apparently we do.
I mean, literally almost every book of the Bible is about preaching the gospel, ultimately.
Every book of the Bible points us to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse number 2.
You see, when Jesus Christ came, he came in humility.
He was God Almighty, wasn't he?
But he lowered himself.
He came down in the form of sinful man, that form of sinful flesh, taken upon him the sins of the whole world.
He came in that humility.
He came to serve.
He came to die for us.
He's that tender plant.
But it says here that tender plant, it says it's a root out of dry ground.
You see, when Jesus Christ came, Israel at that point in time was a dry ground.
It was a spiritually dead place.
People did not have a heart for the Lord.
That's why John the Baptist had to come before the Lord and prepare in the way of the Lord.
And guess what?
Australians, by and large, is a dry ground.
Australia is dry.
Not just the deserts in the middle of our land.
But the people's hearts are dry.
You know what that means?
It means we have to toil.
It means we need to plow that land.
We need to plant those seeds.
We need to water that soil.
Sometimes getting someone saved in Australia can be more difficult than other places in the world.
I hear about the Philippines, for example, how people get saved in the tens of hundreds.
Getting saved, their hearts are ready.
They're spiritually minded.
But Australians, we've got such a great life.
We've got an easy life.
We're all rich.
You say, I'm not rich, brother.
You are rich compared to the rest of this world.
You are rich.
If you didn't have to worry about what food you're going to eat today, you're fine.
You're doing good.
You see, the hearts of Australians are very dry here.
So this should remind us, we need to toil hard in this land.
And verse number 2, it says,
He hath no form nor comeliness.
So he came as that tender plant, not this great mighty man.
And then it says,
And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Did you know when Jesus Christ was walking this earth, he was not beautiful?
He was not someone that would look and go, wow, look at that great man.
Look how great and beautiful he is.
You know, he didn't look like a Hollywood movie star when Jesus Christ walked the earth.
He looked like just a regular Joe Blow.
Just a regular guy coming through.
His power was not in his appearance.
His power was in his preaching.
His power was in his message.
His power was doing the works that the Father led him to do.
Verse number 3,
He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows.
Now if you have any sorrows today, if you have any hardships, any difficulties in your life,
then you can relate to Jesus Christ.
You can go to Jesus with your sorrows.
The Bible says he's a man of sorrows.
He's a man that came and was rejected by his nation.
He was a man that was rejected even by his disciples.
If you remember later on, when he was arrested, his disciples fled.
You know, he was a man that was rejected by his nation.
He says, and acquainted with grief.
Hey, who's the best person to go to when you're grieving?
When you have a heart full of sorrow?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's gone through that. He's felt those emotions.
You know, he's someone you can relate to when you go through difficulties.
And then it says,
And we hid our faces from him.
He was despised and we esteemed him not.
Jesus Christ, the God, the Creator of all things,
was despised and we esteemed him not.
We didn't think of him, of this great God or anything like that.
The Bible tells us in John 1-11,
Jesus Christ knows what it means to be rejected.
You know, many times the people that get saved,
the people that believe in Christ,
many times you're kind of like a reject of society.
Many times you're someone that's hurting.
You know, you've been rejected by family,
you've been rejected by friends.
You know, and then you can relate to Jesus Christ
because he also was rejected.
You know, he's someone you can go to
and when you understand how much he loves you,
what he gave himself for you,
it's a great thing to know
that the God of the universe loves me
when I've been rejected by family and friends
and people that I know.
It's a great thing.
All right?
But I just want you to turn,
keep your finger there,
and turn to Mark Chapter 14 please.
Mark Chapter 14.
I just want to show you something
that you may not be aware of.
Mark 14 verse 27.
A lot of you guys know,
you're familiar with the story of Peter, right?
The Apostle Peter that denied the Lord three times.
Remember before the cock crew?
All right?
We all know that story.
But did you know it wasn't just Peter?
Let's have a look at this.
Mark Chapter 14 verse 27.
This is Jesus preaching to his apostles.
And Jesus saith unto them,
All ye shall be offended,
because of me this night.
For it is written,
I will smite the shepherd,
and the sheep shall be scattered.
What did Jesus say?
All of ye will be offended.
All of you.
Not just Peter.
All of you.
Look at verse 28.
But after that I am risen,
I will go before you into Galilee.
But Peter said unto him,
Although all shall be offended,
yet will not I.
Now we know what Peter,
Peter was offended.
We know Peter denied the Lord, right?
And then verse 30.
And Jesus saith unto him,
Verily I say unto thee,
That this day,
even in this night,
before the cock crow twice,
thou shalt deny me thrice.
Verse 31.
But he spake more vehemently,
If I should die with thee,
I will not deny thee in any wise.
Say man, that's Peter, right?
Big mouth Peter.
But then look, keep reading it.
It says,
Likewise also said they all.
Okay?
They all said to Jesus,
you know, we'll die for you.
We'll give our lives to you Jesus.
We're going to follow you all the way.
There's no way we'll deny you.
There's no way we'll be offended by you.
We know the story of Peter.
The Bible focuses on Peter.
But Jesus says you're all going to be offended.
When the shepherd is smitten,
that all the sheep will be scattered.
That's exactly what happened.
Think about it.
You know, when he took on our pain,
took on our sorrow, took on our sins,
he was rejected.
He was denied by his best friends.
The guys he's been in ministry for three years.
Not just Peter, but by all of his apostles.
Alright?
Now that's the rejection that he got from his apostles,
his best friends.
Go to Mark 15, please.
Mark 15, verse 34.
Mark 15, just one chapter over, verse 44.
And just the worst rejection that Jesus Christ
could have faced in Mark 15, verse 34.
And at the ninth hour,
Jesus cried with a loud voice saying,
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,
which is being interpreted,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
See, Jesus Christ was not just forsaken by man,
not just forsaken by Israel,
not just forsaken by the Pharisees and the Sadducees
and the scribes and the lawyers,
but forsaken by his own father, by the Lord God.
This one event where the Lord God,
you know, the father turned his back on his son.
Man, that must have crushed him.
To have all been spent, all eternity with the father
and at this point in time before his death,
he's rejected by the father.
You know, why?
Because he took on our sin.
And we know God the father cannot look upon sin.
All right?
Now, verse 35, Mark 15, verse 35.
And some of them that stood by when they heard it said,
behold, he calleth Elias,
and one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar
and put it on a reed and gave him to drink, saying,
let alone, let us see,
let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
Now, the reason I read that to you,
I just wanted you to see, notice in verse 36,
they ran up and gave him a sponge full of vinegar.
Okay?
Now, I just want to compare a parallel passage here.
Please turn to Psalm 69.
Psalm 69, verse 20.
Psalm 69 and verse 20.
Because I just want to show you
how the Psalms prophesy of Jesus about this event here.
Psalm 69, verse 20.
This is about Jesus, and you'll see soon why.
He says, reproach hath broken my heart.
You see, when Jesus Christ was on that cross,
he had a broken heart.
He says, and I am full of heaviness,
and I looked for some to take pity,
but there was none, and for comforters,
but I found none.
When Christ was on that cross,
he was looking for someone.
He was looking for some comfort.
He was looking for some pity.
And Jesus says, I found none.
None.
There was no one there.
That's why he had that broken heart.
And verse 21.
They gave me also gold for my meat,
and in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
So that's the reference there of Christ on the cross.
Rejected by all.
Rejected even by his Father.
He couldn't even turn to the Father for comfort,
because the Father had turned his back on him.
Okay?
Back to Isaiah 53, please.
Isaiah 53 verse 4.
Why was he on the cross?
He took on our sins, right?
He became our sacrifice.
Verse number 4.
Surely he have borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows.
You want God to carry your sorrows?
Jesus Christ already did it for you on the cross.
That's why you can go to him,
and ask him to alleviate your problems,
your concerns,
and stress on the Lord Christ.
But look at this.
Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God,
and afflicted.
Now the we here
is the unbelieving Israelites.
Okay, the unbelieving Israelites,
or just unbelievers in general.
Okay?
It says they
esteemed him stricken.
Why did they think Jesus Christ was crucified and stricken?
Why?
Because they thought he was smitten of God.
You see, they looked on Christ,
they mocked Christ,
they accused him falsely,
and they blamed the fact that he's
dying on the cross on himself.
They thought God was afflicting him
for what he had done.
But what we see in that same verse
just prior, right?
It said there,
surely he have borne our griefs,
and our sorrows.
The reason he was on the cross,
the truth of the reason
why he was on the cross
was he took on our pain.
He took on our punishment.
He took on our sin.
That's why he was on the cross.
But how sad,
when he's doing that,
for all people,
and for people to turn around and say,
well, this guy's suffering
because he's done God wrong
and God is smiting him.
You know, that's what it's teaching there in that verse.
Verse number four.
Verse number five, sorry.
Verse number five.
And he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities.
What does it mean to be bruised?
What's a bruise?
It's broken capillaries, right?
When you break your capillaries in your arms or your legs or whatever,
you get a bruise, all right?
So it's not just the crucifixion on the cross
that paid it all.
It's also the beatings that Jesus Christ took,
you know, the whippings that he took,
you know, the crown of thorns,
everything that caused him
to bleed,
to form bruises upon his body.
It says here,
he was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace
was upon him,
and with his stripes,
we are healed.
Stripes is just another way of saying,
being whipped.
And Jesus Christ was whipped.
He was scourged, right?
And it's by that shed blood,
that beautiful shed blood of God,
that cleanses us from all sin.
Okay?
That heals us from all sin.
Please keep your finger there and turn to Mark 15.
Mark 15, verse 15.
The Bible reads,
And so Pilate, willing to content the people,
released Barabbas unto them,
and delivered Jesus,
when he had scourged him to be crucified.
So crucifixion wasn't enough for the people.
They wanted him scourged.
They wanted him whipped.
Okay?
Verse 16.
And the soldiers led him away into the hall,
called Praetorium,
and they called together the whole band,
and they clothed him with purple,
and plaited a crown of thorns,
and put it about his head.
I mean, Jesus Christ suffered immensely for you,
being whipped,
that crown of thorns digging into his brow.
You know, the blood that would have fallen from his head right there.
And, um, verse 18.
And began to salute him.
Hail, king of the Jews.
And they smote him on the head with a reed.
Hey, this is after they placed a crown of thorns upon his head.
They take a reed and they smite him on his head.
You know, pushing those thorns deeper into his skin, into his flesh.
And it spit upon him,
and bow in their knees worshipped him.
Or bow in their knees, they worshipped him.
And when they had mocked him,
they took off the purple from him,
and put his own clothes on him,
and led him out to crucify him.
So we see the suffering of Christ just very briefly here in these few verses.
You know, the sacrifice was from the moment he was arrested.
The mocking, the beating, the spitting upon him.
The crown of thorns, all these things.
And as he bled, that blood was shed.
You know, it's from God's perspective.
That's the blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
You know?
Back to Isaiah 53 verse 6.
Why? Why would Christ do this?
Isaiah 53 verse 6. This is why.
You see, the Lord God looked down on us like sheep that have gone astray.
Sheep that did not know the green pastures of the shepherd.
You know, sheep that were lost.
And God loved the sheep so much that he sent his son to die for them.
To bring them into green pastures.
To bring them to salvation.
It's his love for us that caused Christ to suffer the way that he did.
Verse number 7.
So Christ, he could have defended himself.
He could have defended himself against the false accusations.
He could have stood up and said this is unjust, this is wrong.
But what does he do instead?
Knowing that he had to fulfill that sacrifice, he kept his mouth shut for us.
You know, as a lamb to the slaughter.
And I'm going to read to you a few quick passages.
You don't need to turn there.
Matthew 27, 12. It says here.
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Mark 14, 61.
But he held his peace and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked him and said unto him,
Art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed?
Mark 15, verse 3.
And the chief priests accused him of many things, but he answered nothing.
And Pilate asked him, saying,
Answerest thou nothing?
Behold how many things they witnessed against thee.
But Jesus yet answered nothing.
So that Pilate marveled.
Pilate was surprised.
How can this man not defend himself?
Well, we know why now.
He did it for us.
Luke 23, verse 9.
Then he questioned with him in many words, but he answered him nothing.
And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.
And Herod and his men of war sent him at naught and mocked him,
and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was more afraid.
Sorry, John 19, verse 8.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was more afraid,
and went again into the judgment hall,
and saith unto Jesus,
Whence art thou?
But Jesus gave him no answer.
And that's an amazing thing.
We see Jesus Christ just closing his mouth, not defending himself.
He could have.
Maybe if he defended himself, he could get away from these accusations.
I mean, they found the accusations.
They were false accusations.
They realized people were giving conflicting reports about Jesus.
Jesus could have easily stood up and said,
you know what?
This is wrong.
I'll give you the real statements.
He could have defended himself.
Instead, he realized he had to die for us.
Back to Isaiah 53, verse 8.
Isaiah 53, verse 8.
Have you ever been falsely accused?
What's the first thing you want to do when you're falsely accused?
Let's just want to jump out and say, hey, that's a lie.
This is the truth.
Jesus was able to withhold himself for us, you know.
Verse number 8, Isaiah 53, verse 8.
He was taken from prison and from judgment.
So you guys know he was arrested.
He was brought before the priests.
He was brought before Pilate and Herod.
He was brought before these people in judgment.
And it says,
And who shall declare his generation?
Now this is a difficult sort of passage to understand.
Or just a difficult phrase.
And who shall declare his generation?
Now I'll give you what I think this is about.
Because the next word is for.
Now for is a conjunction.
It's kind of like, it's putting what we just asked together with what is being said there.
So who has declared his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
So what this is saying is, what I believe this is saying here.
Is that Jesus Christ was cut off.
Meaning that he died at an early age.
He was only 33 years old or thereabouts.
He was cut off.
And by being cut off early, the question then gets asked.
Who shall declare his generation?
In other words, there was no one there to sort of proclaim his long life.
There was no one there to proclaim the long life, the great works that he did.
His life was cut short in that sense.
So that's one way to see it.
But again, I believe this is a challenge for us.
The question is, who shall declare his generation?
Even though his life was cut short, which one of you guys are going to declare of him?
Which of you are going to declare the works that he did?
This sacrifice, this death that he died for us.
That's a challenge for us.
I hope you can say, I will declare that.
If you haven't declared his generation, you've not declared his life and his works,
then I think you should get started.
You really should get started.
If you can't get out there and knock on doors,
get started on your family, your friends, your loved ones,
the people that you work with.
Try to find those opportunities when you can be one on one.
If you have friends and you care about them,
if you truly care about them,
you're not going to give them the gospel.
If you truly care about them.
If you don't give them the gospel,
I mean, think about that.
Do you really care? Are they really your friends?
Are they there just to entertain you?
Or do you really care about their soul?
Where they're going to be at.
Verse number 10.
Sorry, let me just see where I'm at.
Verse number 9.
Isaiah 53 verse 9.
And he made his grave with the wicked,
and the rich in his death,
because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Now, please turn to...
Again, keep your finger there in Isaiah 53.
Go to John chapter 19.
John chapter 19.
So we know what it means.
It's quite straightforward that he made his grave with the wicked.
Why? Because remember the two thieves on the cross
that he died with?
So he went to death in that sense,
to the grave with the wicked,
but also with the rich in his death.
Now, let's try to understand this.
If you go to John 19 verse 38.
John 19 verse 38.
This is what I believe it's referring to about the rich here.
John 19 verse 38.
It says,
And after this Joseph of Arimathea...
Now, I believe Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man.
And I believe it's referring to him at this point.
Okay?
Being a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly for the fear of the Jews,
besought Pilate that he may take the body of Jesus,
and Pilate gave him leave,
and he came therefore and took the body of Jesus.
So we see this Joseph of Arimathea.
He takes the body of Jesus, right?
And then verse 39.
I love verse 39. I love it. I love it.
Because what's our favorite chapter when we preach the gospel?
Isn't it John 3 16 at some point?
John chapter 3 lays it out beautifully what Jesus Christ has done,
and all that's required of us is to believe in him, right?
John chapter 3.
But look at this. We know that in that chapter,
Jesus Christ is speaking to Nicodemus.
Alright?
Now, we don't know.
In that chapter, we don't know whether he believes in the Lord or not.
We don't really know about him.
But here we find out about Nicodemus.
In verse number 39.
And there came also Nicodemus,
which at the first came to Jesus by night,
and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about a hundred pound weight.
Then took they the body of Jesus,
and wound it in linen clothes with the spices,
as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified,
there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, or grave,
wherein was never man yet laid.
So we see that Jesus Christ is taken to this beautiful garden,
and this grave, or this sepulchre,
where no one else has ever put a dead body in,
and that's where the Lord was put, the dead body of the Lord.
And that place belonged to Joseph of Arimathea,
meaning that he was probably a wealthy man,
that he owned this land.
The average person did not have a grave,
you know, to put a body in, in that sense.
So I think that's what it's referring to there.
But what I really wanted to show you is Nicodemus.
Did he get saved when Jesus Christ told him,
you must be born again?
Well, here he is.
He's with a disciple of Jesus,
taking the body of Christ, and honouring that body.
So I do believe Nicodemus believed in the Lord.
It's a great thing.
Go back to Isaiah 53 verse 10.
Isaiah 53 verse 10.
It says, and sorry for it,
I'm going to a lot of passages,
but I just want to really expound this to you from the New Testament as well.
It says,
Yet he pleased the Lord to bruise him.
What does it mean to bruise?
Again, the broken capillaries.
You need a body in order to be bruised.
He has put him to grief,
when thou shall make his soul an offering for sin.
He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Now, there are some people that have different
sort of interpretations of this verse,
but when it says here,
thou shall make his soul an offering for sin,
I believe that is a reference to his body on the cross.
Now, keep your finger there and turn to Hebrews chapter 10.
Hebrews chapter 10.
Let me just show you this,
why I believe that.
Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4.
Well, one reason,
if we just stay within that verse,
it said,
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
You can only bruise a broken body.
You can't bruise a soul,
which does not have a body and bones,
or blood.
But Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4.
Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4.
The Bible reads,
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats
should take away sins.
And let me warn you right now,
there are some preachers
that say the Old Testament saints
were saved by sacrificing bulls and goats.
Honestly, some people truly believe
that by sacrificing those animals,
they got saved.
That's how they were saved.
What does God say here?
That is not possible.
It's impossible that by the bulls and goats
should take away sins.
Verse number 5.
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world,
he saith,
Sacrifice an offering thou wouldst not,
but a body hast thou prepared me.
The body of the Lord Jesus Christ here.
Okay.
Verse number 6.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin,
thou hast no pleasure.
Drop down to verse 9.
And then said he,
Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.
He taketh away the first
that he may establish the second.
So what's been taken away?
The Old Covenant, right?
The blood of the bulls and goats
which don't take away sin.
Jesus Christ came to bring in a second covenant,
a second testament,
a better testament.
One where the blood that is shed
will take away sins.
Alright.
Verse number 10.
By the which we are sanctified
through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.
So what is the offering here?
It's the body.
And how many times did his body need to be offered?
Once for all.
You see, once Jesus Christ died,
once he paid for our sins,
he rose again from the dead.
It's once for all.
He died for your sins,
your past,
your present,
and even your future sins to come.
If you don't understand that,
I'll just tell you now,
you're not saved.
If you don't understand
that Jesus paid for all your sins,
you know,
that's something you need to understand.
That's what's going to take
the burden off your shoulders,
is when you realize Jesus paid it all,
when you realize that body on the cross
was that offering once for all.
Okay.
It's not like Jesus did 50% of it
and now you need to do 50% of your part.
No.
Once sacrificed for all.
The body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Back to Isaiah 53 verse 11.
Isaiah 53 verse 11.
Jesus bore your iniquities,
your sins upon himself.
So when Jesus Christ died on the cross
for your sins,
all the sins you've committed
was as though Jesus Christ
committed them in his body.
He became sin for us.
Think about that for a moment.
I mean,
everything you've done.
You don't need to tell me what they are.
You don't need to confess your sins to me.
But all the sins you've committed,
whatever they are,
however bad they are,
was as though Jesus Christ committed them.
And he took them on board.
Not just your sins,
my sins.
The sins of the whole world.
The sins of every generation that's gone.
The sins of every generation to come.
Put on the one man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a sacrifice.
And go to 1 Peter, please.
1 Peter chapter 2.
Again, just to remind us,
stay in Isaiah 53.
Go to 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21.
1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21.
The Bible says,
For even hereunto were ye called,
because Christ also suffered for us,
that Christ suffered for you,
leaving us an example
that ye should follow in his steps,
who did no sin,
Jesus did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth,
who when he was reviled,
reviled not again.
So when he was accused,
he did not come and accuse back.
When he suffered,
he threatened not,
but committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree,
that that being the crucifixion,
that we being dead to sins
should live unto righteousness,
by whose stripes ye were healed.
For ye were a sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd
and bishop of your souls.
You say, what does Christ want me to do,
now that I've believed on him,
now that he's taken all my sins,
now that he's bore on his body.
He says here, verse 24,
who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree.
Why? What's the whole purpose?
What does he want us to do?
That we, okay,
now that's salvation,
that's salvation,
he's death on the cross,
but once you're saved,
that we being dead to sins
should live unto righteousness.
You know, the reason we reflect
on the death of Christ
is to remember his sacrifice
for us in his body.
So when we can,
we can learn and appreciate that,
and say, you know what, Lord,
I'm gonna live for you.
I'm gonna walk after you.
I'm gonna walk after righteousness.
It's the least I can do.
I'll never repay you
for what you've done.
In fact, you don't want me
to repay you,
because it's a gift.
It was free.
But the least I can do
is serve you to walk in righteousness.
So that's really what I want
to bring your attention to, guys,
not just focused on Christ,
but now that you've believed on Christ,
now that you've received
salvation, how are you going
to walk righteously for him?
You know, are you going
to proclaim the report?
Are you going to proclaim
his death, his suffering for you?
Are you going to walk
after his commandments,
walk after his ways?
That's the requirement for us,
not to be saved,
but just to have
that sweet fellowship with God, okay?
Isaiah 53, verse 12.
We're almost done here.
Thank you for your patience, guys.
Isaiah 53, verse 12.
It says here,
So I just wanted to wrap it up here
in the sense, I want to explain
to you why I believe,
when it's said here in Isaiah 53,
talking about the Lord's soul,
you know, being an offering,
why I believe that's to do
with the crucifixion,
because here in verse number 12,
have a look at it again,
that he, what did it say?
He poured out his soul unto death.
What does that mean?
Well, if you look at it,
you have a column,
so the column's going to explain
what was just said,
and he was numbered
with the transgressors, okay?
So when was he numbered
with the transgressors?
What's that point in time?
Well, I can show you,
but I don't have to be smart.
I can just show you
what the Bible says.
I love the Bible
because it's got the answers,
and turn to Mark 15, verse 27.
Mark 15, verse 27.
If you guys ever think,
man, Kevin seems pretty smart.
I'm not.
I'm just reading the Bible to you,
and the Bible's right.
But Mark 15, verse 27.
Mark 15, verse 27.
The Bible says here,
this is about the
crucifixion of Christ,
and with him,
they crucify two thieves,
the one on his right hand,
and the other on his left,
and the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith,
and he was numbered
with the transgressors.
Where was that fulfilled?
Where was that written?
In Isaiah 53,
right at the end, okay?
That is ultimately why Christ came.
He's suffering the shed blood.
He bore our sins on his body.
He broke his body for us.
He shed his blood for us,
and if you guys can hang around
after the service, after dinner,
we're going to get
dinner delivered soon.
Then we're going to have
the Lord's table,
the Lord's supper.
We're going to break bread.
We're going to partake
of the grape juice together,
just in memory of what
Jesus Christ has done for us, okay?
So as we come into this Easter, guys,
you know,
yeah, enjoy the chocolates
if you get chocolates.
I'm not against chocolate, all right?
But most important in all,
I hope you just stop
and just somberly
and in humility remember
the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a great thing.
If we just remember that,
you know,
it's just great to remember,
and that's going to provoke you
to say,
I'm going to serve you.
If you were able to do that for me,
you know,
and someone was good enough
to give me the report of your death,
someone was good enough
to give me the gospel,
then surely, Lord,
I can do the same.
Surely I can live for you.
I can serve you.
I can preach the gospel
to other people.
Let's pray.