Isaiah – Chapter 50

Israel deserved the captivity due to sins. Then Jesus spoke in prophecy of God teaching Him and His faithful use of God's gifts. He let men crucify Him, but with God's help He mocked His adversaries and their vain ideas and plans

 

 

 

Introduction:

  1. Tonight we keep the Lord’s supper to remember His death until He comes. Let us do it with knowledge.
  2. Isaiah is a prophetic collage of deliverance from Babylon, Jesus Christ, and conversion of the Gentiles.
  3. We know there are more quoted prophecies of Jesus Christ in this book than in any other prophet.
  4. We know that the prophecies come mixed in with warnings and exhortations to Isaiah’s generation.
  5. We know that the Scriptures of the Jews, including Isaiah, testify of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:39).
  6. We know that our Lord spoke of a prophecy of being spit upon that must be from here (Luke 18:31-34).
  7. We know that numerous descriptive statements in this chapter are fulfilled perfectly by Jesus Christ.
  8. We do not know of any reason to think that Isaiah speaks of himself in such specific and lofty terms.

VERSE 50:1

  1. This prophetic sermon of Isaiah begins as all sermons should begin, “Thus saith the LORD.”
  2. We understand the intent of the two questions by virtue of the explanation in the second half.
  3. The Babylonian captivity indicated that God was alienated from them and had rejected them.
  4. The LORD confronted them for the reason of their rejection by a divorce decree or bill of sale.
  5. The LORD asked them to prove He was at fault (divorce) or was obligated to others (creditors).
  6. They were the cause. It was their iniquities and transgressions that had brought the calamities.
  7. They tried to excuse and exonerate themselves and blame God for their troubles (Ezek 18:29).

VERSE 50:2

  1. He continues to expostulate with Israel about the origin, source, and reason for their afflictions.
  2. When I warned and exhorted you by my prophets, why did you not answer and give me honor?
  3. When I sent servants and Son, why did you reject them (Mat 21:33-46; John 1:11; Luk 11:52)?
  4. Was their indifference and rejection of His overtures to them due to lack of power on His part?
  5. Has there been shortening of my hand at all? Has there been some curtailing of my strength?
  6. He illustrated His power by reminding them of His ability to dry up the sea (Exodus 14:21-31).
  7. He showed it by reminding them of His ability to dry up rivers (Josh 3:7-17; II Kgs 2:8,13-14).
  8. He had already told them of using Cyrus to dry up the Euphrates to rescue them (Is 44:25-28).
  9. He is able to dry up water and/or change it to another liquid and kill the fish (Exodus 7:14-25).
  10. It is the duty of parents to teach the wonderful works of God to their children, so that they will set their hope in God, keep His commandments, and not be a stubborn people (Psalm 78:1-8).

VERSE 50:3

  1. The LORD continues His argumentation against Israel that He was surely able to deliver them.
  2. He is able to change the weather, sky, and sunlight. He brings dark storms and ends the light.
  3. As in Egypt, His greatest deliverance of Israel, He can bring darkness to be felt (Ex 10:21-23).
  4. He brought great darkness on Israel at His crucifixion, but they still rejected Him (Matt 27:45).

VERSE 50:4

  1. The LORD has been speaking, and the LORD continues to speak in the Person of Jesus Christ.
  2. This is no problem, for the Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, was God with us, the Word of God.
  3. And the whole matter may be solved gloriously with our Lord’s explanation of Matt 22:41-45.
  4. “Lord GOD” combines Lord (Adonai) and GOD (Jehovah) for “Sovereign I AM THAT I AM.”
  5. By His human nature as our Mediator, Jesus was subject to the great Sovereign (I Cor 15:28).
  6. God gave Jesus a gift of speech all admired (Mat 7:28-29; 22:46; Lu 2:46-47; 4:22; John 7:46).
  7. This gift was by the Holy Spirit, and it was for comforting mourners (Is 61:1-3; Matt 11:28-30).
  8. If you are weary and heavy laden, there is a Saviour for you Who knows how to comfort well.
  9. The Lord GOD figuratively wakened the Lord Jesus every morning for His daily instruction – the pronoun “me” is to be understood elliptically, as indicated by the last clause of the verse.
  10. The Lord GOD did teach Jesus (John 7:14-19; 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10,24; 17:8,14; Rev 1:1).
  11. The Lord GOD gave Jesus ears for learning (Luke 2:52; John 4:34; 6:38; 8:29; 14:31; 15:10).

VERSE 50:5

  1. The Lord GOD opened our Lord’s ear to be a hearing, understanding, and willing Saviour, in contrast to stopping up ears in rebellious disobedience (Is 48:8; Pr 40:6-8; Zec 7:11; Acts 7:57).
  2. Jesus Christ was willing to do His Father’s will, even when He dreaded it greatly (Mark 14:36).
  3. He “learned,” remember the Spirit’s words in context, obedience by His suffering (Heb 5:7-10).
  4. He did not hesitate and resist as Moses and Jeremiah, nor flee like Jonah. He did not turn back.

VERSE 50:6

  1. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His back to the smiters – they scourged Him (Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; 19:1; Isaiah 53:5; Matt 20:19; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:33; I Peter 2:24; Psalm 129:3).
  2. Neither His sufferings or death were without His will – He gave Himself to them (John 10:18).
  3. Our Lord Jesus gave His cheeks to have His beard plucked: though we do not have this directly recorded in the gospel accounts, does any believer wish to doubt it (Neh 13:25; II Sam 10:4-5)?
  4. Our Lord Jesus gave His face to the shame of scorn and nakedness (Matthew 27:29,35; Mark 15:24; Luke 18:32; 22:63; 23:11,34,36; John 19:23-24; Hebrews 12:2).
  5. Jesus gave His face to spitting (Matt 26:67; Mark 14:65; 15:19; Num 12:14; Deut 25:9; Job 30:10), which we are told by Luke our Lord understood of this very prophecy (Luke 18:31-34).

VERSE 50:7

  1. Our Lord Jesus trusted in God to the end, when He committed His spirit to Him (Luke 23:46).
  2. They accused Him of trusting in God, and He truly did so (Ps 22:9-21; Matt 27:43; Heb 2:13).
  3. He never feared being confounded, for He knew He would be very successful (John 17:1-5).
  4. Being confident in God, He set His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-53; Matthew 16:21-23).
  5. And His Abba Father sent an angel from heaven to comfort Him in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43).

VERSE 50:8

  1. The Lord GOD justified the Lord Jesus Christ at His baptism in a glorious display of approval.
  2. The Lord GOD justified Him with mighty signs and wonders before and after His resurrection.
  3. The Lord GOD was near to justify Him, as He did by sending darkness, a great earthquake, and a partial resurrection, which caused the centurion to testify (Matt 27:50-54). Glory! Amen!
  4. The Lord GOD was near to justify Him, by raising Him from the dead (Rom 1:4; I Tim 3:16).
  5. Our Lord Jesus, exalted to the right hand of God after His resurrection, challenges His enemies.
  6. Let these false witnesses and enemies now come before me in my glorified state and face me.
  7. Where is Caiaphas now? Let him come and accuse me now! Let him treat me rudely now!
  8. The Lord GOD, the great Judge of all, would justify and exonerate the Lord Jesus Christ as a holy and faithful Servant; who could care what the envious fools of Israel thought of Him?

VERSE 50:9

  1. The Lord GOD helped Him greatly, and He was prospered and was very exalted (Is 52:13).
  2. His enemies were despised, destroyed, and made desolate by His great wrath (I Thes 2:14-16).
  3. The Lord GOD brought upon that generation all the righteous blood from Abel to Zacharias.
  4. They suffered tribulation to a degree the world had not and never will see in a single city.
  5. They decayed away into the dust of oblivion, so they can hardly be found anywhere today, as those in Israel and Palestine are 90% not even of Semitic origin, let alone Abraham’s children.

VERSE 50:10

  1. This verse is addressed to believers, appealing to them to trust in the name of the Lord Jesus.
  2. The Servant is Jesus Christ, the Servant of God (Isaiah 42:1; 52:13; 53:11; Philippians 2:5-8).
  3. We saw His spirit and actions of servitude already, without rebellion or turning back (50:5-6).
  4. Walking in darkness and having no light is the condition of those needing to trust Him, who are cast down in their souls, struggling with the guilt of sin, and lacking fellowship with God.
  5. David wrote of such soul sickness many times (Psalm 27:13-14; 42:1-11; 43:1-5; 51:1-13).
  6. The light is that of truth, glory, and prosperity in the gospel comfort of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  7. Jesus Christ’s ministry was one of light (Is 60:1-3; Matt 4:7-12; John 8:12; 12:46; II Tim 1:10).
  8. Which is what Jesus offered to laboring saints, as we have already seen (50:4; Matt 11:28-30).
  9. Paul said, “Awake from sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Eph 5:14).
  10. When we trust in the name of the LORD in the New Testament, we trust in the name of Jesus.
  11. What a glorious combination of salvation and comfort in Jesus – God with us. Immanuel!
  12. Our greatest peace is by trusting in the name of Jehovah, I AM THAT I AM (Isaiah 26:3-4).
  13. Yet the name of Jesus, Jehovah is salvation, is the greatest of all names (Phil 2:9-11; Act 4:12).

VERSE 50:11

  1. This verse is addressed to unbelievers, mocking them and warning them of coming judgment.
  2. The fire and light described here is in contrast to the light of the previous verse given by Christ.
  3. The light of rebellious Jews was their confidence as Abraham’s children and their religious confidence in the Scriptures, temple, and other rituals of Moses’ law, as they practiced it.
  4. John the Baptist ridiculed their false confidence in being children of Abraham (Matt 3:7-12).
  5. Jesus told them plainly they were not the children of Abraham, but of the devil (John 8:31-59).
  6. Jesus taught them plainly that the only way to the Father was by and through Him (John 14:6).
  7. The apostles taught absolutely that salvation was only by the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
  8. Paul taught plainly that not all the children of Abraham were truly Jews (Rom 2:28-29; 9:6-8).
  9. Paul prayed that elect Jews might be saved from Jewish confidence in the law (Rom 10:1-11).
  10. Paul taught powerfully that Jesus is the Seed of Abraham, and we are Christ’s (Gal 3:16-29).
  11. Paul also taught that an allegory between Sarah and Hagar condemned the Jews (Gal 4:21-31).
  12. Paul also wrote a whole book pointing out the figurative inadequacy of Moses’ law (Hebrews).
  13. The prophet rebukes them ironically – meaning the opposite – by exhorting them in their folly.
  14. There is and never shall be an escape from the fires of hell but by the salvation in Christ Jesus.
  15. Jesus told them they could not escape the damnation of hell and they would die in their sins.
  16. Arminians of all sorts create their own confidence in manmade ideas of salvation to no avail.
  17. There is only one way to lie down in peace and safety, believe on the Lord Jesus (John 3:36).
  18. There are two ways to approach God, and only one of them lies down in peace (Luke 18:9-14).

Conclusion:

  1. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha (I Corinthians 16:22).
  2. If you love this Christ and have a desire to live for Him, then you should be baptized as was the eunuch after hearing a similar message about Jesus Christ from Philip and Isaiah 53 (Acts 8:26-39).
  3. If you are already baptized, then you should remember His death with a church of saints (I Cor 11:26).
  4. If you are already part of a church of saints, you want to seek the full dimensions of Him (Eph 3:14-19).
  5. Lord, grant us the fullest view of your Son by the Spirit until we are filled with all the fullness of God.

 

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,

Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;

How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!

How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!

 

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;

Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;

Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

 

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,

Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.

How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!

How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

 

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;

From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.

Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;

Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

 

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,

For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.

I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;

Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

 

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,

For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?

O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,

Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

 

My shepherd, now receive me; my guardian, own me Thine.

Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.

Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;

Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

 

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;

O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,

When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,

Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

 

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,

When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.

O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,

Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

 

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;

Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!

When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,

But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

 

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;

Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.

Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,

My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

2024-04-03T08:34:07-04:00

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