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“For I Have Given You An Example – Serve” John 13:1-17

“This Time Next Year” A Sermon Series

“For I Have Given You An Example – Serve”

John 13:1-17[1]

Introduction

Matthew 20:20-28 Sons of Zebedee wanting special places of honor

Matthew 20:28 “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,3 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Prayer

The Focused Message at the Close of the Day (v. 1)

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

As you read all the gospels as they approach the end (when the hour finally arrives) you get the feeling of extreme focus by Jesus, and His attention to making sure the disciples understand His ministry. Even if they don’t understand now, later it will make sense. So, there is this sense that Jesus does not have forever to complete His ministry – there is a timeline and it is quickly drawing to a close, “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world.”

Along with this sense of urgency in mission, is a love for what John calls, “his own.” But who were these people? “They are those who have been given to Christ by the Father (6:37, 44). They are those for whom Christ was about to die. (10:11, 15). They are those who were born, ‘not of natural descent, nor of human decision or of a husband’s will, but born of God’ (1:13). They are those to whom Christ gives eternal life, who shall never perish, and who therefore shall never be plucked from Christ’s hand (10:28-29).”[2] It is those who were in the world, out of which Christ called them.

Jesus has shown His love for His own, and helps us to define love. While we are not given and answer to “why God loves them,” we are given “how He loves them,”

1) He will give His life as a substitutionary atonement for their sin. He lays down His life for the sake of others (10:11, 15).

2) He is going “to prepare a place,” for them in heaven and promises to return to gather them (14:3). He wants his own to be with Him.

3) He is going to send them the Holy Spirit, the Helper (14:16).

4) and Jesus is going to send His own out, filled with the Holy Spirit, to do His work, to share the good news of Jesus, the gospel (15:16).

5) He also tells those who are His own, that He is interceding for them, praying for them, as He sits at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34). In v. 1 “he loved them to the end,” or “having loved His own, He saw it all the way through.” He completed the task that He was called to do.

“the way Jesus displays his unflagging love for his own is in the cross immediately ahead, and in the act of self-abasing love, the foot-washing, that anticipates the cross. ‘Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:3).”[3]

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Jesus’ introduction of the Lord’s Supper right before the passion. John is the only gospel to include Jesus washing the disciple’s feet and he does not include Jesus’ introducing the Lord’s Supper. Why would John not include a major sacrament of the church, and why would the other gospels not include Jesus washing their feet? Some theologians believe that before the Passover there would be a time of instruction or teaching.[4]

So John includes it because of what Jesus taught them the last time they would be together before the cross. John tells us in 20:31 what he is hoping to show through his gospel account, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So, John wants to show how foot washing will point you to believe that Jesus is the Christ (message) and follow His mission (method/love)?

So, with this pressing sense of mission urgency, and a deep love for His own – what does He do as one of final moments with His disciples? What can He give them, as a reminder of how they are to live their lives in light of this mission and love? What is His final sermon? One last parable.

The Heart’s Desire Followed (vv. 2-5)

2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,[5] and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

“Jesus, knowing the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going back to God” – We are told three things about Jesus’ state of mind as he was about to wash the disciple’s feet: 1) He knows the Father has put all things in his hands – this is Jesus’ authority. 2) Jesus knows that He has come from God, this is His divine origin, and 3) Jesus knows that he is about to return to God, this is His future glory.[6] So knowing that He is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, knowing He is God in the flesh, and knowing He will be worshipped by everything that exists,[7] he sets an example for “His own.”[8]

Typically, when people would gather on special occasions, like the Feast of the Passover, they would bath before the social gathering. They would leave their homes and walk to where they would celebrate the meal. Because you would be wearing sandals, and had walked through dirt roads, when they would arrive, a servant or a low-ranking person would wash the dirt off the traveler’s feet.

It was just the disciples, and Jesus who had gathered, and there were no servants present – so no one washed their feet. The meal has started, and they are all sitting down at the table. Luke tells us that during the meal 22:24 “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.” So Jesus teaches his last parable (but it’s not about a man on a path scattering seeds, or a good Samaritan), He “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.” There is horror and silence.

“Emperor Caligula who, Suetonius tells us, required his senators to attend him at table. Succinctos lineto (wrapped in a towel), like waiters!” Jesus did not demand that his followers wait upon Him, he leads them to serve others instead – to serve Jesus we serve others. Matthew 25:40 “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Look at how John describes the room, “taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin” – to wash their feet they needed: water, a basin, and a towel. All that was needed was already there to complete the task. There just needed to be a person willing to do it. Remember Jesus is passing on a mission (the gospel) and a love that He is expecting to continue on in His followers. “ . . . He is passing on the responsibility of love to them.”

Bellevue Baptist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

We have everything we need to complete this task.

The Heart Moved Toward the Savior (vv. 6-11)

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Simon Peter breaks the silence and says what everyone else in the room is thinking, “it’s not right for the highest (the greatest) among us, to do this act of service.” “To him it is unthinkable that Jesus should ever engage in the menial activity of washing his servant’s feet.”[9] Rabbis don’t do that. John the Baptist when referencing Jesus says, “. . . the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” To touch a person’s dirty feet and to clean them was a servant’s job.

That’s a servant’s job! Are you a servant?

Jesus tells him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”—this is a reference to the passion and what is about to happen. Once Jesus dies on the cross, and then is resurrected from the dead, and then appears to the disciples – then all the pieces fall into place, and the symbolism in the foot washing makes sense.

Peter responds, “You shall never wash my feet.” – Peter’s words are more like, “As long as heaven and earth exist, you will never wash my feet.” Peter says something like this earlier in their time together, “Matthew 16:21-23 “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 on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!5 This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

We call Jesus Lord, Master, Savior, only so far as He does what we want, but when He goes on a direction we don’t like, “I’m not going that way!” Jesus, in this teaching parable, has a point – but Peter brushes it aside, so Jesus responds “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Westcott says, “The first condition of discipleship is self-surrender.” Or as Jesus would later say, “not my will, but yours, be done.”[10] If we are to understand Jesus’ mission (and thereby our mission), we must fully submit to Him and His plan.

Judas is mentioned, and we will look more in depth at him next week, but I want to point out when it says, “the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,” there is an aligning of the will. Judas had willed what the devil had willed. Satan did not make Judas betray Jesus; their heart’s desires aligned together.

Jesus is teaching a couple of things at the same time. First, Peter says, “wash all of me,” and Jesus says, “that’s not necessary.” This is an image of salvation; Jesus is going to lay down his life so that they can be clean (of their sin). But once a person is saved, they still sin, and will need Jesus to cleanse them again.

But you are not born again, and again, and again – no a person is born again, and then they return to Jesus to clean them of their sin (full washing, verses washing only the feet). 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Martin Luther said, “The Devil allows no Christian to reach heaven with clean feet all the way.”[11]

Second, no matter what your role is in Christ’s kingdom, we should always follow His example of being a servant – to humble ourselves and serve others.

An Example to be Followed (vv. 12-17)

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.[12] 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger (literally apostle) greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Once Jesus had finished washing the disciple’s feet he asks them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?” – wash one another’s feet.

Look for something that needs to be done, no matter how lowly, and do it.

(v. 15) “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” –

Servant Leadership

(v. 16) “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger (literally apostle) greater than the one who sent him.” The disciple is sent by Jesus, as was Jesus sent by God the Father, and is to represent Jesus in spirit and character, as Jesus represents God the Father (17:18, 20:21). “. . .no emissary has the right to think he is exempt from tasks cheerfully undertaken by the one who sent him, and no slave has the right to judge ant menial task beneath him after his master has already performed it.”[13]

(v. 17) “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them,” – You can’t do the right thing until you know what the right thing is. But now that you know what it means to be a follower of Christ, to be His own – now you must do what He has said – then you will be blessed by the Lord. Blessed can also be defined as happy. If you want happiness, then serve others.

Jesus says, Matthew 5:3-12 “blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” The world says blessed are the those who are served, the winners, the dominant, the one’s who get their way, the loud and get to the top by any means necessary. Then you will be blessed and happy.

If you want to be happy, serve.

If you want to be unhappy, expect the world to serve you.

Conclusion

D. L. Moody wrote the following words next to Isaiah 6:8 in his Bible: “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.”

Isaiah 6:8: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2e9mMf7E8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUfh_wOsauk

[2] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Volume 4, Peace in the Storm, John 13-17 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 1999) 997.

[3] D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1991) 461.

[4] Leon Morris, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981) 610.

[5] See also Matthew 11:27; 28:18

[6] Boice, 1009.

[7] Philippians 2:10-11 “. . . so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

[8] “Jesus is fully conscience of his deity and Messianic dignity when he performs this humble act.” Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume V The Fourth Gospel to the Hebrews (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 237.

[9] Morris, 617.

[10] B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, The Authorized Version With Introduction and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981) 190.

[11] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of John, An Exposition (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1982) 250.

[12] A fortiori argument.

[13] Carson, 468.

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part Two Isaiah 53

Drew Boswell Ministries

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part Two Isaiah 53

00:00 / 00:19:56

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part Two Isaiah 53

The Signs of Christmas

Sermon Series

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part Two

Isaiah 53

Introduction

The Promised King Would Be Rejected (vv. 1-2)
The promised king is rejected because He enters the world in a quiet way.
The promised king is rejected because of how he looked.
The promised king is rejected because He takes on himself the pain and “suffering” of the world.

“It was May 21, 1946. The place – Los Alamos. A young and daring scientist was carrying out a necessary experiment in preparation for the atomic test to be conducted in the waters of the South Pacific at Bikini.

He had successfully performed such an experiment many times before. In his effort to determine the amount of U-235 necessary for a chain reaction–scientists call it the critical mass–he would push two hemispheres of uranium together. Then, just as the mass became critical, he would push them apart with his screwdriver, thus instantly stopping the chain reaction. But that day, just as the material became critical, the screwdriver slipped! The hemispheres of uranium came too close together. Instantly the room was filled with a dazzling bluish haze. Young Louis Slotin, instead of ducking and thereby possibly saving himself, tore the two hemispheres apart with his hands and thus interrupted the chain reaction.

“By this instant, self-forgetful daring, he saved the lives of the seven other persons in the room. . . (A)s he waited. . for the car that was to take him to the hospital, he said quietly to his companion, ‘You’ll come through all right. But I haven’t the faintest chance myself’ It was only too true. Nine days later he died in agony.

“Nineteen centuries ago the Son of the living God walked directly into sin’s most concentrated radiation, allowed Himself to be touched by its curse, and let it take His life . . . But by that act He broke the chain reaction. He broke the power of sin.”[1]

The Promised King Would Save Us From Our Sins (vv. 4-12)

As A Substitute (vv. 4-6)

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

(v. 5) “There is one emphatic subject in verse 5, he, and this initial stress is reflected in what follows: he was crushed, . . . upon him . . . his wounds. While he thus deals with our moral and spiritual needs and our broken personhood we are not even mentioned except as contributors of the sin which caused his pain.”[2] (v. 6) is focused on us, “we are like sheep, we have turned away from God, it is our iniquity that was laid upon Jesus.

The Promised One would be a man who would suffer because of what we have done. When we discover Christ, we find a Savior who was born into the world with the purpose to die for it. But when this Savior arrives, when the world sees him, “we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” They mistook his suffering and being punishment from God – which is true, but it was not for his own sins He was suffering, it was for the ungodly.

(v. 4-5) Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We did not understand this, and we did not cooperate with God in this. God even while we were still opposing Him and rebelling against Him – Christ died for us.

This is the heart of the gospel of Jesus – substitution. Instead of collapsing in grief over our rejection, he bears our grief. Instead of increasing our sorrows as we deserve, he carries our sorrows. Instead of avenging our transgressions he is pierced for them in our place.

Instead of crushing us for our iniquities he is crushed for them as our substitute. And all the chastisement and whipping that belongs to us for our rebellion he takes on himself in order that we might have peace and be healed.

(v. 6) “We all, like sheep, have gone astray” – another way of saying this is “we all have sinned, and fallen short of the requirement to gain entrance into heaven.” and Isaiah specifically adds, “we have turned—every one—to his own way” “We all and every one expresses both common culpability and individual responsibility. We cannot blame a ‘herd instinct’ even though we are all alike implicated.”[3]

God knew that we would never be able to be without sin, so he sent His Son to take our place. And Jesus’ death “brought us peace” (shalom) – this peace is with God. God’s wrath is what awaits anyone who is not at peace with God. But The Promised One would act as a sacrifice for anyone who desired to accept this gift of God.

“His suffering was actually intended to effect the will of God. Gods’ will is no less that that all men should possess the full life in a covenant of peace (Num. 25:12; Ezek. 37:26; see 54:10), and so be healed of all their diseases (Ex. 15:26; Ps. 103:3).”[4]

As a Sacrifice (vv. 7-9)

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 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, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

(v. 7) Matthew 27:12-14 “But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.” The lamb is blindly led to the slaughter; Jesus, however, went knowing full well what was ahead, He even sweated drops of blood in anguish of what was coming (see Matthew 26:38-39).

As the disciples sat around the table for the last supper, Jesus says, “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28. And when Simon Peter drew his sword and cut off the high priests servant’s ear in the garden before his arrest, look at Jesus’ comment to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). Jesus knows that God the Father is sending Him to the cross, and He is going willingly.

Jesus was not just led to the slaughter, he was slaughtered as a sin offering. And like all the other lambs of the Passover or the sin offerings of Israel, he was slaughtered not for his own transgressions. He was slaughtered for the transgressions of his people. (v. 7) John 1:29 “The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”[5]

One commentator said, “Now, however. We stand on a very sacred spot indeed, within the Servant’s own consciousness, and we see him, not caught in a web of events, but masterfully deciding, accepting and submitting.”

The Promised One would sacrifice himself, He would be without sin in anyway – He never did, said, or even thought anything wrong. It was because of this that he was able to be a substitute and an acceptable sacrifice for our sin. “It is the very heart of our sinfulness that we sin because we want to. We do not want ‘this man to reign over us’ (Luke 19:14). Because of this, no animal can do more that picture substitution: only a person can substitute for a person; only a consenting will can substitute for a rebellious will.”[6]

(v. 9) Matthew 27:57-60 in discussing Jesus’ burial, “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.”

His body would be placed among the wicked and the rich when he died (just as God said). The Creator of all that exists was born as a man in a manger among the stench of animals, and he would die and was buried as a common man.

As a Complete Satisfaction (vv. 10-12)

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,10 and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,11 because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

In these final verses we see why this servant of God has suffered. They were not accidental; they were intended.

(v. 10) “when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring;” When Jesus makes this sacrificial and substitutional gift of his life that satisfies the wrath of God, who are the offspring that Jesus will see? Those who would believe in Him, and place their faith on His gift of salvation. We stray away as sheep, but return as children.

God will pour out His wrath upon this Promised One and he will be all that we will ever need for salvation. We know that He has the power over sin and death because it says “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied.”

All of the punishment man deserves was placed upon Christ – and he satisfied God’s justice for all of mankind’s sin – past present and future. He was numbered as one of us, he interceded for us, he bore all of our sin – and now Christ sits at the right hand of the Father.

(v. 12) “the work of the Servant is explained as a great victory. When Christ prevailed in death, He triumphed over Satan and earned the spoils of a victor. What seemed like a pitiful display of weakness turned out to be a victory of massive proportions.”[7]

Conclusion

“During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, “Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!”[8]

___________________

[1] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/s/substitution.htm

[2] Motyer, 429.

[3] Motyer, 431.

[4] George A. F. Knight, Deutero-Isaiah, A Theological Commentary on Isaiah 4-55 (New York, New York; Abingdon Press, 1965) 235.

[5] (v. 7) 1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

[6] Motyer, 433.

[7] Wolf, 219.

[8] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/s/substitution.htm

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part One Isaiah 53

Drew Boswell Ministries

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part One Isaiah 53

00:00 / 00:31:09

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part One Isaiah 53

The Signs of Christmas

Sermon Series

Sign #4: Prophecy That Describes the Savior: Part One

Isaiah 53

Introduction

On January 13, 1982, the Boeing 737-200 registered as N62AF crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River just after take off from Washington National Airport. The Washington Postpublished a story about the then-unidentified survivor of the crash, Arland D. Williams Jr.:

“He was about 50 years old, one of half a dozen survivors clinging to twisted wreckage bobbing in the icy Potomac when the first helicopter arrived. To the copter’s two-man Park Police crew, he seemed the most alert. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball.

The man passed them to the others. On two occasions, the crew recalled last night, he handed away a lifeline from the hovering machine that could have dragged him to safety. The helicopter crew who rescued five people, the only persons who survived from the jetliner, lifted a woman to the riverbank, then dragged three more persons across the ice to safety. Then, the lifeline saved a woman who was trying to swim away from the sinking wreckage, and the helicopter pilot, Donald W. Usher, returned to the scene, but the man was gone.”

Arland D. Williams Jr. passed away the lifesaving line five times so that others in the icy waters of the Potomac could be saved. The repaired 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site, which had been officially named the “Rochambeau Bridge”, was renamed the “Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge” in his honor by the city government of the District of Columbia in March 1985. On June 6, 1983, Williams was posthumously awarded the United States Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal in a White House Oval Office presentation to his family by President Ronald Reagan. Arland Williams passed the lifesaving line away to other five times.

Romans 5:7 “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We will see today that Jesus (who was without sin) gave his life for the world (who are sinners). And Christians are called to give their lives up so that others may hear the gospel.

_____________

The book of Isaiah was written 800 years before Jesus Christ would be born into the world, but its’ prophetic descriptions of Christ are extremely precise. Isaiah 53 lists the most remarkable and specific prophecies of the atonement of the Messiah.

When the Ethiopian eunuch read Isaiah 53 in Acts 8:34-35 “And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” Isaiah 53 is a promise. A promise to send a Savior and it was a promise of good news. The Israelites were eagerly waiting until the day when they could see what is described in this passage.

God allowed Isaiah, as if looking through a time telescope to see what Jesus would be like and then to tell others of his day – this is what the Promised One will be like. Today we know that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and is exactly as he was described.

Prayer

The Promised King Would Be Rejected (vv. 1-2)

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.[1]

The prophet Isaiah begins the chapter is not referencing how many people have believed as a result of his preaching, but “the astonishing factors that would be hard for anyone to believe. Belief and trust are always at the heart of every person’s relationship to God, but sometimes God reveals things that are hard for a person to accept.”[2] He asks “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” – as though he is looking around and not seeing anyone.

“Romans 10:16-17 “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Jesus’ birth, his appearance, his challenge to the religious leaders – all of his life would stand counter to all the world knew, and when he “turns the world upside down,” (turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, turns the money changer’s tables over, etc.) With this difficult message, it is God has to reveal Him to the hearts of men.

“to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed” God is omnipotent (all powerful), and all that He desires to happen will happen. So this revelation of the arm of God – is God’s omnipotent power displayed in the form of a suffering Savior. But this all-powerful God will show His power in a way not expected by the world.

It is my hope this morning that if you have never believed the Christmas story before that you will accept the good news of the promise of God and discover the true meaning of Christmas – not toys, not trees, or the terror of family coming over – but of a promise by God to send a Savior (a Messiah) to save mankind from his sin – and He is different than the Savior they were expecting.

The promised king is rejected because He enters the world in a quiet way.

“he grew up before him like a young plant” – This Promised One would not come into the world with pomp and circumstance, men would not watch him grow up, there would be no paparazzi. He would not be in the public eye. Only God would have His eye upon him. A shoot that grows out of the ground makes no noise – so the Promised One would make no loud noise about His arrival.

Many rejected Christ because of his humble background. Jesus is called the Son of David – to be from David’s family lineage meant that there was a degree of honor. But the king’s lineage had dried up and was not and grand as it had once been. A tender shoot would grow and the stump of a once great kingdom.

The Promised One’s family would be nothing great. Galilee especially was a looked down upon region. People would even say, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matt. 13:55). “and like a root out of dry ground”, nothing green, nothing great, was expected, in a country of such bad reputation that it was thought no good thing could come out of it.

John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Can this Jesus really be omnipotent God?

The promised king is rejected because of how he looked.

“he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” Many of the Jews would reject Christ simply because of the way He looked. Isaiah tells God’s people what the Christ would look like – he would be a man who would not stand out in a crowd, average in appearance but extraordinary in purpose.

Our world is so focused on image, name brands, trends, and fashion that we exchange our purpose for popularity. We swap the sacred for the secular – but the Promised One never would.

Philippians 2:8 talking about Jesus “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross!” Jesus was obedient to His Father His whole life, all the way until he said “It is finished.” It was not His face that people would be drawn to, it would be His love. His face would be beaten beyond recognition, but there is no question of recognizing His love.

Christ’s face would be painted thousands of times by thousands of artists – but it is the story of his love told millions of times over that continues even today to turn the world upside down.

But why would the world reject such love? He was so lowly and unimpressive that our aspirations for power and reputation felt evil. His happy poverty made our wanting more and more feel foolish. His willingness to suffer for others made our craving for comforts feel selfish. When we stand next to Jesus all of our flaws are shown as a light in the darkness. So, when we look at him, and our sin is exposed we despise him.

Are these feet ugly or beautiful?

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” Whether you see Jesus and being beautiful, or someone to be despised and rejected all depends on if you understand His purpose.

This revealing of our flaws is not for condemnation but to show us that we need a Savior. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”[3]

The promised king is rejected because He takes on himself the pain and “suffering” of the world.

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

In Luke 2:52 in describing Jesus as a young man, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Jesus had men’s favor but eventually these same people would grow to resent him, to reject him, and to despise him. It was when he went out and began his ministry and to call out sin, to expose hypocrisy, and he showed where the world had turned from God.

“esteem” is an accounting term, so when mankind observes this suffering savior, they would add up where he came from, how he looked, all of it – and as a result of their addition it would result in zero; they “esteemed him not.”[4] In fact when they observed him, they would grow to despise him and reject Him from their lives.

(v. 3) Luke 23:18-19 “But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder!” (v. 3) John 1:11 “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

Isaiah tells us that his will be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” – The language indicates that this man would be known because of his suffering. It is not that he experienced suffering, “others connected his life and reputation to a time of great suffering. Suffering was not something that he was peripherally acquainted with on the rare occasion; it was a pivotal factor in his life.”[5]

Because of Christ’s humanity, He would completely understand what it would be like to be rejected, to be despised, He would know the humiliation in suffering, He would know what it is like to be looked down upon. This Messiah would know how you feel and will be able to help you through your heartache and despair because He has been through it Himself. There is one who knows; there is one who can empathize with your pain.

There is one who can carry you through. There is one who is very acquainted with what you are going through. In Isaiah’s day they did not know His name – but they knew He would come. Their Messiah would understand. Today we know the name of the God who became man. We know the name of the one who understands and can comfort us. His name is Jesus.

“He was despised and rejected by men, and as one from whom men hide their faces” – this is depicting a scene where people hide their faces because they do not want to see him or be reminded of this person. They would see a man suffering all this pain but they did not understand why. There are so many people who wear a cross of gold around their necks, but have no idea what it means. When we look on Jesus on the cross – what do you see? Like the feet of those who bring good news,” it all depends of what you do with the good news of the gospel.

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[1] Isaiah 53 is mentioned three times in the NT and each time is reference to Jesus; Matthew 8:17, Acts 8:32-25, 1 Peter 2:21-35.

[2] Gary Smith, The New American Commentary, Volume 15B, Isaiah 40-66 (Nashville, Tennessee; B& H Publishing, 2009) 444.

[3] “The first-person plural pronoun occurs ten times as Isaiah describes Christ’s suffering for us.” Herbert M. Wolf, Interpreting Isaiah, The Suffering and Glory of the Messiah (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1985) 216.

[4] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, Illinois; IVP Academic, 1993) 429.

[5] Smith, 447.