I would ask that you keep that portion of God's Word open before you as we consider it together. But before we do so, please stand again and let us seek God's face in prayer. Let us pray. Oh God, we thank you that you have spoken, that you're not silent. While the heavens declare the glory of God, the world around us does not provide the answer to the question, what must I do to be saved? And to find the answer to that, we must turn to the Word. And we thank you, Father, for this precious book where holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit to take down the very words of God. As we turn to it this evening, we pray that you would help us to see Christ in the Old Testament, help us to see that he is the sum and substance and the key to understanding all of the scriptures. And more importantly, help us to see that we need him more than anyone else in the world, because he is the only saviour of sinners. So, Father, we look to you and we ask that your spirit would work and help both preacher and hearer alike, so that we might leave this place bringing glory to God and thankful for all that we've heard. Hear us, we pray, and work in our hearts by your spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen. I want to begin by giving you a little historical background to this chapter. The prophet Isaiah lived and ministered eight centuries before Christ and what could best be described as turbulent times. If you remember in the time of Solomon, the kingdom split in two, ten northern tribes and two southern tribes, and every single king and the northern tribe was wicked. They all did evil on the side of the Lord. And for that reason, God punished them through the instrumentality of Assyria by carrying them away into captivity in 722 BC. Now that event had already taken place prior to Isaiah writing this prophecy, but Assyria hadn't stopped because that wicked nation then turned its attention towards the southern tribe of Judah and began to make some very intimidating noises towards her. And we read about that in chapters 36 and 37 of this book. We read there how God intervened in a remarkable way. Sennacherib sent approximately 200,000 men to invade Judah. But what was the response of God's people? Well, Hezekiah went into the temple and spread the matter before the Lord, and the outcome was dramatic. The angel of the Lord destroyed 185 soldiers in one night without the besieged prisoners even having to lift a weapon. What a remarkable victory. So long as Judah was ruled by godly kings, and there were several of them, including folk like Uzziah and Josiah, etc., God was merciful. And even when the nation responded with a modicum of spirituality, that was sufficient to defray judgment. But sadly, through time, Judah went exactly the same way as its northern counterpart. Because approximately 100 years after Uzziah ministered, Manasseh was in the throne of Judah, and he was the most wicked of all kings on that throne. Now, God wonderfully saved him. Our son abounded. Grace did much more abound. But he was dreadfully wicked, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. And it was because of his behavior in particular that Judah experienced the same fate as the northern tribes, except this time God used Babylon to judge his people. The last king of Judah before the captivity was a particularly pathetic character. His name was Zedekiah and he's often called the puppet king because that's what he was. He was installed by Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar expected him to do exactly as he said. But Zedekiah decided not to do that and chose instead to rebel against his yoke and as a result he suffered a very ignominious end. The Babylonians murdered all his children and then put his eyes out. And it seemed that the last sight, that was the last sight he witnessed before being blinded, seeing his children murdered. This is the fruit of sin. And Isaiah chapter 40 verse two summarizes the principle behind God's dealings with these people along these lines. She is received at the Lord's hand double for all our sins. You see, when people enjoy great privileges and despise them, they also suffer great punishment. But of course, that's not the end of the story because Isaiah's primary reason for writing this prophecy was to comfort God's people. Think of the opening words of Isaiah chapter 40, for instance, comfort you, comfort you, my people, says your God, speak comfortably to Jerusalem. And part of that comfort included the good news that the future captivity would only last for 70 years. And remarkably, Isaiah also predicted how God had already planned to come to the raid in due time. through the instrumentality of a man called Cyrus. Isaiah 44, verse 28, names a future heathen king, not yet born, who would help God's people in a future day. And God said of him, he is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, you shall be built, and to the temple your foundation. What an example of God's absolute sovereignty over every human being who's ever lived. God not only names a man who would be born over a hundred years later, he says of this man called Cyrus, he is my shepherd and he will do my good pleasure. So here's good news from the prophet Isaiah, that captivity would only last for 70 years. But the prophecy of Isaiah tells us of even better news than that, because ultimately it speaks of another Deliverer who can deliver us from an even greater bondage. than Babylon, because this book speaks particularly about Jesus Christ who can deliver us from the bondage of sin, death, and the devil through faith in him. And this is Isaiah's particular concern, and that's why he's often called the evangelical prophet, because he spoke frequently about the coming Savior. He wants to introduce us to Jesus Christ. God's Anointed, God's Messiah, God's King, God's Servant par excellence who will become incarnate 700 years later. Isaiah 32 verse 1 describes Christ as follows. righteousness. Here is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then in chapter 42 God introduces Christ as his servant. Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delights. He is a far greater servant than Cyrus. Because through Christ, we don't enjoy just temporal deliverance, we enjoy eternal salvation. And Isaiah speaks about Christ in four particular places in this book, and the so-called four servant songs. You'll find them in Isaiah 42. Isaiah 49 verses 1 to 7, Isaiah 50 verses 4 to 9, and the passage that we've just read from Isaiah 52 verse 13 to the end of the chapter. And this, the so-called fourth song, is by far the best known. And these words will immediately ring a bell if you're at all familiar with the New Testament. That's because they speak not of the national sufferings of Israel, great as they have been, rather they speak of the personal sufferings of the Messiah. And this song is quoted no less than seven times in the New Testament. And on every single occasion, it applies to Jesus of Nazareth. And I want to say seven things about the person of Christ, which is predicted here in this servant's song. First of all, we're going to consider the servant's amazing condescension. The servant's amazing condescension. The song begins with these words, Here is something to take particular notice. This is a word that's designed to draw attention to what is being said, and it is God himself who speaks that word, behold. Friends, here is an exclamation from another world, even heaven, so it's obviously vital that we pay attention. The only God there is tells us to behold his servant. God is introducing his servant par excellence, Jesus Christ, and he wants us to take note of him. He wants us to consider him, to have dealings with him, In an earlier song he is already shown his delight in this person. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, and whom my soul delights. And now once again he draws attention to him, much in the same way as John the Baptist would in a future day, when he also said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Behold my servant. Now, of course, the word servant doesn't imply that this person is in any sense of the word inferior to the one who sent him, because Isaiah has already described the servant as the one whose name is Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So without ceasing to be what he formerly was, the servant, which is God blessed forever, the servant became what he formerly was not. He became a man. Of course, if you want to read about that in detail, turn to Philippians chapter 2. Paul reminds us there of the dignity this servant possessed, being in the form of God, being in every sense of the word divine. This servant then undertook the greatest humiliation this world has ever seen. He took the form of a servant, from the form of God to the form of a servant. What a chasm between these two states. Yet friends, this is what God deemed necessary. we were ever to be reconciled to him. So right at the outset of the song, we're confronted with the infinite love of God when sending a son into the world in the fullness of time. We're also confronted with the amazing humiliation of Christ, who in the form of God, took upon him the form of a servant. And we're also confronted with the inconceivable malignancy of sin, because sin is such a complicated problem that God had to intervene in this way if we were to ever be saved. Here is the servant's amazing condescension. God became man. Incidentally, the Jews say that this servant refers to Israel according to the flesh, but that doesn't make any sense at all. The language used here is far too personal for that interpretation to convince any unprejudiced hearer. Since when, for instance, did Israel ever have a soul? Which was made an offering for sin. Since when did Israel ever make his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death? That sort of language is very individualistic. It is personal rather than national. And obviously this is a passage that the Jews don't like facing up to because, dare I say it, it smells of Jesus. And that's why they omit it from their weekly synagogue readings. In a book on other religions, one writer says this, the reading from the law is a conspicuous part of their service, and it is followed by a supplementary portion of the prophets, including certain passages from Isaiah, but leaving out Isaiah 52, verse 13 to 15, and the whole of 53. A fixed selection of Psalms is embodied in their prayer book, but it does not contain Psalm 2, Psalm 22, Psalm 31, Psalm 45, 69, 110. I wonder why they speak so plainly about Christ. Sadly nothing much has changed because I noticed a clip on YouTube recently entitled a Jew loses his temper when a Christian mentions Jesus. How sad. Yet as far as Christians are concerned, he is the key to understanding this passage. In fact, he's the key to understanding the entire Bible. Because if you leave him out of the equation, we're plunged into absolute confusion. And that's why Philip dealt with the Ethiopian eunuch the way he did. He was reading from this passage, wasn't he? And what did Philip do? but have opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus." So here is the servant's amazing condescension. This servant is none other than Jesus Christ who undertook the greatest humiliation this world has ever seen. A humiliation which John Murray, Prof. John Murray that is, described as a humiliation inimitable, a humiliation unrepeated, a humiliation Unrepeatable. Here is the servant's amazing condescension. Notice secondly the servant's heavenly wisdom. Verse 13, my servant shall deal prudently. The word used here conveys the idea that the servant will always act wisely and especially in a way which brings success. The same word is translated elsewhere as prospering, having understanding. It's used of Joshua, for instance, in Joshua 1 verse 7, only be strong and very courageous that you may prosper wherever you go. So it is predicted here that God's servant would always prosper. He would always do the right thing at the right time. He would always speak the right words. There's no possibility of him ever failing in anything because everything he does is characterized by divine wisdom. My servant shall deal prudently. And of course, when we turn to the New Testament, we see that, don't we? In the temple as a 12-year-old, our Lord confounded his critics with his understanding and answers. My servant shall do prudently. In his public ministry, he astounded the people with the sayings they marveled at the gracious words which proceeded from his mouth. Never once were the religious leaders able to trip him up. Yes, they asked him difficult questions which were designed to impale him on. Questions such as, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Trying to catch him out. But he had an answer ready. Render unto Caesar the things that belong unto Caesar and render unto God the things that belong unto God. God's servant shall deal prudently. We also see Christ's wisdom in his refusal to tell us here's things they couldn't understand before they appointed time. He didn't explain all the details of his death. He left that up to writers who would follow him. I have yet many things to say to you, he said, but you cannot bear them now. In short, here is the only person ever to walk this earth who always behaved prudently. And friends, here's the good news. He can enable us to behave prudently as well because the servant doesn't keep his wisdom to himself. He's on to us wisdom and righteousness. and sanctification and redemption. Wisdom is sorely lacking in this day and age. Where do we gain the necessary knowledge that we need to behave wisely? Through Christ and his word, this person who has spoken about here. We not only read about his amazing condescension, my servant, as heavenly wisdom shall deal prudently. Consider with me in the third place, the servant's humble background. Verse 2 of chapter 53, he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. Isaiah provides us with an insight here into how the father views his servant. He shall grow up before him, the father. It already alluded to this in Isaiah 42, words I've already quoted. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect and whom my soul delights. You see, the father loves the son. And as he surveys and contemplates his future incarnation, he described it as follows. He shall grow up before him, before the father as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. This is how the father beheld what B.B. Warfield called the only perfect human development the world has ever seen. As for the root referred to here, well, a root is a part of a plant that gives rise to everything else, isn't it? So perhaps that refers to our Lord's deity. After all, all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. The reference to a tender plant reminds us that Christ was also a branch of the family of David, and that's probably a reference to his true humanity. And as Luke says, even as a 12-year-old, this tender plant increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Looking at it from a slightly different angle in another sense, we may say that the root could refer to the lowly condition of the family of David from which Christ sprang. In past days, this line had been the most illustrious of all royal houses, but now like a mighty tree whose root alone remained, it had seen better times. And yet that is where Christ sprang from. The dry ground describes the atmosphere in which this root contender plant grew up. Dry ground, his birthplace was a stable. She brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn, we're told. Mother was so poor that she could only afford the poor people's offering at the temple. A pair of turtle doves and two young pigeons. and Christ was brought up at a backwater of a place. Could any good thing come out of Nazareth, they said. He belonged to a family, the head of which was a carpenter. Is this not the carpenter's son? He spoke mockingly. And even as an adult, he had no fixed abode, did he? The foxes have holes in the birds of the air of nest, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Even his friends came from this lowly stratum of society. Most of them were fishermen, weren't they? the servant's humble background. As the Shorter Catechism reminds us, he was born on that in a lowly condition. Sadly, that became a stumbling block to the Jews because that was not the sort of Messiah they sought after. And this is not the way of men, friends, is it? Born in a humble place, yet throughout this process, as the servant grew up before the father, he took great delight in him. all of which climaxed in the verdict from heaven at the time of his baptism. This is my beloved son, he said, in whom I am well pleased. You see, the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man. And while this language might have been hard to understand had you lived in Old Testament times, to the enlightened child of God in this dispensation, surely the teaching is plain enough here as the servant's humble background. He shall grow up before the father as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. And then we have the servants on welcome reception. Chapter 53, verse one. Who has believed our report? The prophet asked. And to whom has the arm of the Lord revealed? I've heard it said more than once that if Jesus really was the Messiah, then surely the Jews would have received him. Because after all, they possessed the Old Testament scriptures and they expected the Messiah to appear. It also seemed that, humanly speaking, they were best placed to interpret their scriptures, considering their privileged background. But the only problem with that understanding of things is this, it's not true, and here's why. It's not true because the same Old Testament scriptures which predicted Christ also predicted that the Jews would reject him. And Isaiah 53 is not the only place where the prophet confronts us with this terrible reality. He tells us 700 years in advance that when God the Son would come, he would be rejected by his own. In chapter 8, 14, for instance, he described the coming deliverer as a rock of offense. Peter applies those words to Christ and explains them in terms of the Jews stumbling at Christ. He was a rock of offense to the Jews. In fact, God also told Isaiah at the outset of his ministry that he would be involved in the solemn task of hardening hearts rather than softening them. How would the Jews respond to the word of God? This is what Isaiah predicted, Isaiah 6 verses 9 and 10. Go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat. and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed." So friends, while we may have expected the Jews to receive their Messiah with gladness, Scripture teaches the exact opposite. Isn't that what happened in the fullness of time? Verses two and three provide us with a general summary of how the nation received him. He has no form nor comeliness. When we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He's despised and rejected of men, we're told. Although there was so much that was beautiful about Christ, they didn't see it. The gracious miracles he performed, his unequaled sympathy, the heavenly words he spoke, all these things ought to have made a lasting impact upon them. But because of the hardness of their hearts, they saw no beauty in him. such was their prejudice, the servants' unwelcome reception. You see, they wanted a political messiah, didn't they, who would deliver them from the tyranny of the Romans. And since Christ didn't look like a prince or a saviour, indeed he looked plain ordinary, because of that reason they didn't like what they saw. They weren't looking for a saviour who would solve the sin problem by dying in a Roman gibbet. Such a sentiment was abhorrent to their carnally-minded hearts. Hence Saziah's prediction, he is despised and rejected of men. And this enmity was particularly apparent among the religious leaders. Here were people who ought to have known better, people versed in the scriptures. What did they do? They found fault with them at every point. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth, they said. They mocked his occupation. Is this not the carpenter's son? As for the miracles he performed, well, they couldn't deny them, but they could put a hellish interpretation on them, couldn't they? He is a devil. And cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub. and it was inevitable that their outlook would influence the general population. That became apparent towards the end when the motley crowd joined forces with the religious leaders and baying for his blood. Crucify him, they cried out. Free Barabbas, but crucify him. And then they uttered that terrible cry by bringing the divine anathema upon their heads as blood be upon us and upon our children. And you can't really separate that cry from the future history of that nation. When you call the divine anathema upon your head, that's a very, very serious matter indeed. Now, of course, there was a remnant, but by and large, the words of John are a perfect summary of the nation's outlook. He came onto his own and his own received him not. Servants unwelcome reception. and they even went on to crucify the Lord of Glory. Verse 1 of the Jaya 53 predicts what the early Christian evangelists would experience. Listen to this. Who has believed our report, they asked? Who's listening to us? Who wants to hear this glorious message we're proclaiming? Very few, it seems. Romans 9, though the number of the children of Israel was as the sand of the sea, only a remnant should be saved. First century preachers weren't at all popular, were they? And as I have predicted, it's 700 years earlier. Thankfully, things seem to be changing a little among the Jews, and Romans 11 gives us encouragement to hope that God would continue to do that. We're told here how they would react to his first coming. Friends, let me remind you that all of us are exactly the same, aren't we, by nature? Left to ourselves, what do we do with this most wonderful person? Carnal mind is enmity against God. And it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. And that's why we need to pay particular attention to the solution to this problem. How are we to profit from Jesus Christ? Well, there is reference here to the solution. Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? If we're to profit from this message, two things must happen. First of all, it must be revealed to us. And if that happens, then we will believe it. To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Friends, these things are spiritually discerned. The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for there are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, for they're spiritually discerned. No one ever gets to heaven without God performing a work of grace in their hearts, removing the native enmity and giving us a love for spiritual subjects. It's all of grace. And how shall we escape if we lack so great a salvation? So if you've no love for the things of God this evening, I say to you, cry unto God to take away that heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Because it's only when God makes bare his arm, it's only when these things are revealed that then you will believe it. And what does it mean to believe this message? Well, you folk are well nurtured in the short of catechism, aren't you? So you must receive and rest upon Christ for salvation as he is freely offered. in the gospel. This is the servants on welcome reception. It's also interesting to note how these Jewish converts viewed Christ both before and after their conversion. Read verse 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, they said. This is their present conviction. But yet in the past we did esteem and stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. What's happening here? Well, it seems something like this is happening. After the conversion, they could say, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Here's something we're now convinced of. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. But before the conversion, they had said this, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. It seems at that point, they considered Christ to be the object of divine displeasure. They falsely understood the cross to be His comeuppance for the false claims that they believed He had made. But the conversion made all the difference, because afterwards they were convinced of the truth. Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Now they could say Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. So what do we learn about Christ's person from this passage? His amazing condescension. He is God's servant. God became man. His heavenly wisdom. He always acted prudently. His humble background. He shall grow before him as a tender plant and a root out of dry ground. His own welcome reception. When God became man, they saw no beauty in him that they should desire him. But we're also told here about the servant's absolute sinlessness. Look at verse nine. He had done no violence. Neither was any deceit in his mouth. These words are spoken off as if they were passed because it was already fixed in God's decree. And then in verse 11, he's described as my righteous servant. Now here's something startling, friends. In a world where sin abounds in every single case, The prophet informs us that one day there will be a sole exception, Jesus Christ the righteous. Who of us can claim to have never lost our temper? Jesus Christ could because he had done no violence. And James reminds us that the tongue is a litmus test of true religion. And if you can bridle that, then you are indeed perfect. But has anyone ever done that? Well, Jesus Christ did, because there was no deceit found in his mouth. In fact, on one occasion, he challenged his hearers with the question, which of you convinces me of sin? And none of them could. I'm not going to ask you that question. It would be very difficult to find fault with me. But our Lord could ask that question. You see, there's none righteous, no, not one, apart from Christ. And what happens in the fullness of time? Well, Scripture says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every truth shall be established, but there are multiple witnesses to Christ's sinlessness, some of which came from very unusual sources indeed. It's understandable that his friends spoke about this matter, those who knew him best. Peter, one of the inner three, said of him, he did no sin. Now, there was an eagle found in his mouth. John lay on his bosom. He said, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. The Apostle Paul, of course, to whom Christ revealed himself, could say he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. But then remarkably, there were enemies who confessed the same thing. Pilate, a heathen ruler, having examined him before you, I found no fault in him concerning those things of which you accuse him. And Judas, I betrayed the innocent blood. He could not deny Christ's sinlessness. And even remarkably, the demons had this confession wrung out of them as well. Let us alone. What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Hast thou come to destroy us before our time? We know who thou art, the Holy One of God. And the dying thief, this man has done nothing amiss. centurion. Certainly this was a righteous man. He was someone unique, friends, someone who was sinless. And that obedience was not only absolutely essential if he was to die for the sins of others and not his own, because if you sin personally then you have to die for your own sin, don't you? That obedience was in itself right at the heart of our salvation. In the keeping of the commandments there is great reward Heaven is the reward of obedience. Well, where is that obedience found? By the obedience of one. Many should be made righteous. Here is the servant's absolute sinlessness. Two more points. Sixthly, the servant's submissive spirit. The servant's submissive spirit. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he openeth not his mouth. He's brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before shears is done, so he openeth not his mouth. The litany uses the phrase, thine unknown sufferings, to describe what Christ endured. And he endured those sufferings meekly, silently, voluntarily, and completely, like a lamb. He was led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before shears is done, he opened not his mouth. Now, as you know, a lamb is the most docile of all creatures. And apparently they face death without a murmur. I know someone who once worked at an abattoir, and he says that most of the time animals seem to sense what's going to happen, and you can see the fear in their eyes, and they become difficult to control. But not sheep. They go forward accepting. Therefore, this imagery describes perfectly the way our Lord approached the work that the Father called him to do. When he was revived, he revived not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself unto him that judgeth righteously. A servant submissive spirit. And he was submissive both before men and God. He was submissive before men. the events over the last three days of his life. He spoke occasionally, once to Pilate, who seemed to have a measure of sincerity about him at a certain point, although he had nothing to say to the Sanhedrin, apart from the time that he was obliged to speak on oath. Our Lord knew that his accusers were false witnesses, and no matter what he said, that situation wouldn't change, so we're told he held his peace, submissive before men. So guards' appearance before Herod were told that after that King questioned him with many words, Christ said nothing. He just submitted and accepted what was happening. And in that particular case, he had nothing to say to the man who had crossed the point of no return when he murdered John the Baptist. The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak, and now is a time to be silent. Now the world may interpret silence as weakness, but when your body is wracked with pain and you know you're going to die, it's a mark of strength to exercise perfect self-control over your spirit and to remain silent when you need to remain silent. He that rules his spirit is better than he that takes a city. And here's one who exercised perfect self-control, submissive before man when called to be. but also submissive before God. As he approached the cross, he didn't cry out, Father, save me from this hour. Rather, Father, glorify your name. He always sunk his own will into the Father's will, not my will, but thy will be done. Now, there's normally nothing wrong with speaking up when you're judged falsely, but Christ's position was different, remember. He was standing at the bar of divine justice. and he remained silent for our sake. By his silence he was admitting guilt, not for his own sin because he had none, but for our sin. Calvin puts it like this. This was the reason of his silence at the judgment seat. Though he had a just defense to offer for becoming answerable for her guilt, he wished to submit silently to the sentence. Servant submissive spirit, silent, before men and God. The servant's amazing condescension, his heavenly wisdom, his humble background, his unwilling reception, his absolute sinlessness, his submissive spirit, and then lastly, his sorrowful appearance. The servant's sorrowful appearance, mentioned on different occasions throughout the passage. Verse 14, this face was so marred more Then any man, verse 3b, we're told, we hid as it were our faces from him, couldn't look at him. The title Man of Sorrows is one we commonly associate with Christ and there are many famous Renaissance paintings which go by that title, Man of Sorrows. That phrase reminds us that it was even painful for Christ to live in this world. Who can imagine what it must have been like for a sinless man to live in this fallen world? If Paul's heart was grieved at the sight of idolatry in Athens, and his sensitivity towards sin was dulled because of indwelling corruption, how much more difficult was it for the holy, harmless, and undefiled Son of God to merely live on this earth? Sorrowful appearance. It was a sorrowful appearance that probably made him look. Older than he actually was, humanly speaking. Remember John 8, 57, Christ has made the grand claim, before Abraham was, I am. And the Jews responded by saying, you're not yet 50 years old. And have you seen Abraham? He was only 33, wasn't he? Sorrowful appearance due to living in this world. And that pain only increased with the passing of time. Think of the things that pained him deeply. the behavior of unconverted relatives, the way all the disciples left him, the sight of impenitent Jerusalem brought tears to his eyes. And you can imagine in particular what Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial, what way that impacted him. And then of course there were the whole host of sufferings, Gethsemane, the Seville trial, the religious trial and the crucifixion itself. There came a moment when Pilate cried out, behold, a man. What did he witness? Well, exactly what is predicted in Isaiah 52, verse 14. His face was so marred more than any man. Now, I'm not saying that from this we should deduce that Christ never laughed or never rejoiced, not at all. That would be wrong to say that. Luke 10 says he rejoiced in spirit, he leapt for joy. The fruit of the spirit is joy, he rejoiced. The only way Luke could have made that statement is because someone, probably Peter, saw the joy all over his face. But having said that, scripture puts particular emphasis upon Christ's sorrow. And it's not unusual to hear the words of Jeremiah applied to Christ. Is it nothing to you who pass by, Behold and see if there is any sorrow like unto my sorrow. So friends, here's a summary of what, as I predicted, 700 years in advance about the person of Christ. No one unto God alone or all his works from the foundation of the world. And as we close, let me ask you, what is your attitude towards this absolutely unique person? Do you marvel at his amazing condescension? God became man. For our sake, Does his heavenly wisdom kindle in you a desire for the same? Because you can enjoy some of that wisdom too. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. He gives to all men liberty and upbraideth not. Let me ask you, do you desire to be humble like the saviour who humbled himself? That's a great sign because he dwells with those who have a humble and contrite spirit. And what about His unwelcome reception among men? Do you see there a picture of your own heart left to yourself? Because this is how we all respond by nature, isn't it? Grace alone makes a difference. Are you thankful for a sinless life? There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, only the sinless Savior. What about a submissive spirit to do His Father's will and not His own? And what about his sorrowful demeanor? Are you persuaded that he had to bear our pains and griefs so that we might rejoice? Make sure you can say from the heart with regard to this person, hallelujah, what a savior. We have an amazing savior who alone is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen. Well, God willing, tomorrow evening, we'll look at the work of Christ as predicted in this passage.