Good morning. Please take your Bibles and turn to Isaiah 52. Isaiah 52. This morning, this morning, as was mentioned in the announcements, if you were here, we will be enjoying the ordinance of the Lord's Supper during this service. And so I thought it would be good as I prayed about what to preach on to actually just focus on. The gospel. And I hope you never die or get tired of hearing the gospel. So I would ask you to be preparing yourselves to participate in this ordinance after the sermon. We'll immediately go into that. Isaiah 53, there's a beautiful, vivid description of the work of Christ. How He is highly exalted. How He would come and be born. How ultimately His work would be one of substitution. And then the horrible death that He would undergo. And then that final exaltation again. And it's a glorious text to look at. And as we think about it, and we're not going to take a show of hands, and if I were to ask you, how many of you are familiar with this portion of Scripture? Perhaps many of you would lift up your hands. Others maybe would not. Others, maybe it's been months, maybe years since you've even read this passage of Scripture. Having breakfast yesterday with someone and discussing these very things, a particular person was not familiar with this passage of Scripture. And so I had an opportunity to actually share the riches that are contained here with that individual. Furthermore, the description that we have here before us is far better than any Hollywood theatrical production that could ever be produced. You know that there are movies that are produced that try to depict the death of Christ and so forth. Maybe the most famous these days would probably be The Passion of the Christ, what Mel Gibson helped to make and direct. But sadly, those movies are incomplete. Yes, it shows a torturing of a human body upon a cross, and there's lots of blood and all of that. But you leave the movie theater, and I never saw it for personal conscience sake, but I know enough about it. You leave the movie theater with one big, gaping question. Why did he die? Why did he go through all of this? Yes, it may depict it to some degree, and the way it was depicted in some ways was wrong, but really, it's just a prolonged, sadistic torture, is what that movie is. Now, we celebrate this glorious truth of Christ being, dying on the cross and rising from the dead every Lord's Day. We celebrate this, and we celebrate it by meeting together, we celebrate it by participating in the Lord's Supper, and we will do that even today. So, can you imagine if somehow somebody was to write in a journal, you know, you have these time capsules, and write down details of what would take place in the year 2800, and then it was buried, and then somehow fast forward 2800 years and that was uncovered, and the events of the day being detailed specifically out, written 700 years ago. I mean, it would be a marvel to those living in that generation, should the Lord tarry that long. Well, that's really what Isaiah has done. Isaiah has written 700 years before the coming of Christ. He's written hundreds of years before, yet with precise accuracy as to the details of the suffering of Christ. The prophet, as it were, records events as though he was an eyewitness with a pen and a ledger writing everything down as he saw it. That is how precise so many of the prophecies throughout the book of Isaiah, but in particular here in regards to the death of Christ. Of course, we ask the question, well, how could Isaiah write in such precision? How could he know these things? Well, obviously, we know it's under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, ultimately, right? 1 Peter 1, as to the salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Or as the catechisms say, it's men moved by the Holy Spirit, holy men moved by the Holy Spirit. Of course, we know that it speaks of Christ because of several passages, perhaps Acts 8 being the most vivid one, of which we'll refer to later. Many direct quotations throughout the New Testament of this portion of Scripture, again, emphasizing its utter importance. Some have called this the fifth gospel. And I like that. Matthew Henry says this, so replete with the unsearchable riches of Christ that it may be called the gospel of the evangelist Isaiah. So let's read. I'm not going to read the whole section. We're looking at the first three verses of this section, which happens to be the last three of chapter 52. But I'm going to read through to verse six for the sake of a broader context. So Isaiah 52, beginning in verse 13. Behold, My servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted, just as many were astonished at you, My people. So his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. Thus he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths on account of him. For what had not been told them, they will see. And what they had not heard, they will understand. who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of parched ground. He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, no appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one, from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, our sorrows He carried, yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. and the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon Him." We'll stop there in the reading of God's Word. Let's pray. Our Father, we ask, O God, that You would indeed be among us now We pray that by Your Spirit, O Lord, that You would attend the ministry of the Word, that it would have its way in each and every heart in the sound of my voice from the youngest to the oldest in this room. Lord, we ask for Your help because we know that this life is fraught with distractions and cares and concerns and our own sinful, wandering thoughts. And Lord, we want to come and to understand the glorious Gospel in a fuller measure. to the end that our lives would reflect that. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen. Well, again, I mentioned the chapter divisions is unfortunate. Chapter 53 would more fitting begin at the end of 52 there, those last three verses. What we have here is beautiful Hebrew poetry. I didn't read all 15 verses, but there's 15 verses, and there's five sections of three verses each. And it's structured in a way that's in a very profound way, and I'm just barely gonna allude to it, but the five paragraphs of three verses each begin and end with the same thing, exaltation, okay? And then it moves to the second, and then if you look down to the fourth, verses 7-9, His birth and His life, and then His death and His burial. And then over here, the middle section, is the crowning jewel. And that's where it tells us why He suffered. To be particular, this is where substitution is explained in very vivid terms. The redemption that He accomplished was Him standing in my stead upon the cross. It's called a chiasm if you know what that literary term means. And so it's a very profound way in making a point of building up to it and then retracting from it and magnifying those central verses there. For our purposes today, we're only going to look at just the first few verses. And brother, what we have here is this section of Scripture, to just let it sink in that this is not in the New Testament. This is in the Old Testament. But there's so much Christ here. It describes Christ so richly. It's as though we're ascending to the Mount Everest of Old Testament prophecies that point to our Savior and His work of what He would do as Messiah. And the way to the top of Mount Everest is through Mount Calvary. And so I invite you to come with me on a journey as we would consider just these few verses this morning. We need to pray that the Spirit would allow us to have understanding into this prophecy. Not that we're going to read some new interpretation into it, but that our hearts aren't so dull that we ignore what is plain and before us today. to say with the Apostle Paul that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead. And so really, these three verses capture these three thoughts, and these are essentially our main points. how someone so exalted, we'll see that in v. 13, could be so despised and so harshly treated, and then that to lead to such universal benefit to so many people. You'll see that in the three verses as we go through. So first of all, verse 13, Jehovah's servant will prosper and be highly exalted. Notice the very first word in the text, behold. This is a favorite of Isaiah. Take notice. Don't just read on. Pause for a moment. Take notice. And he says, behold my servant. Now who is his servant? There's various interpretations here. Well, I think it's very obvious, but some say it's personifying the Jewish people. Some say, no, it's personifying prophets in general. But it's obviously speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this particular, it's called a servant song, clearly points to that. Furthermore, the New Testament writers agree with that. John would write in chapter 12 of his Gospel, these things Isaiah said because he saw His glory and he spoke of Him. Really what John is doing is saying the One who he saw in Isaiah 6, which I'm jumping ahead, who was high and lofty, is the same One that suffers and they're both Christ. And so this particular, there's four servant songs in Isaiah, chapter 40, parts of chapter 42, 49, 50, and 53. And this is the one, they're sort of vague at first, and it builds up, and it builds up, and then it just clearly points to that this is pointing to Christ, and therefore the others were too. In chapter 42, for example, we're not going to go back and read him the first four verses. The servant is presented as one who has a mission to perform. In chapter 49, it's set forth in that there will be difficulties in carrying out this mission. Chapter 50 speaks very vividly of the suffering that he would face, but yet it leaves off in that there's no reason given why he's suffering. And then of course 53, the crowning jewel. The fourth and the final servant song not only sets forth the servant, who he is, his exaltation, his humiliation, but the purpose of all of that, substitution on behalf of unworthy sinners. And notice what he says, behold my servant, the very first thing, will prosper. Maybe your version says, we'll deal prudently. Those are good translations. Another translation would be, act wisely. The verb carries the idea of an intelligent and an effective action. So the servant's not going to be idle. The servant has a mission to accomplish, and he will do it prudently and successfully. He will ultimately prosper. It's the same verb that occurs in Joshua 1, if you're familiar with that commissioning there, and David's charge to Solomon in 1 Kings 2. So he will succeed not by inactivity, but by effective action. It's interesting that the thought that he brings up here, that he will prosper, that he'll be high, lifted up, and exalted, the prophecy doesn't come back to that theme until the very end of this section in verse 10 of chapter 53. So it sort of acts as bookends, the exaltation at the beginning and at the end of it. All of his suffering is not a failure. He is indeed exalted. He has always been exalted. And then he is exalted at the end. And we have to be careful because as we go through here and we read things like his appearance was marred more than any other man. that He was despised and rejected. That He was forsaken of men. One could come to the conclusion, this servant is suffering for his own sin. He must have done something wrong to be so cruelly treated. How could he be treated like this? It's just not fair. Men would not treat somebody that's innocent in such a cruel way. But we need to be very careful. We need to not come to that conclusion. We need to read through this and then take the totality of Holy Scripture and we see that He is innocent even as the latter portion of the prophecy makes very clear. Well, what does He say in the rest of v. 13? He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Those words are very powerful. In fact, in the entire Old Testament, this is the only place where those three terms are used together. In Isaiah 6, you're familiar with that, the vision there. In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. And what does it say? Lofty and exalted. Two of the terms are used there. Here, there's three terms. He's adding to it, even with the adjective greatly exalted on the third term here. In other words, he will rise up from that state of humiliation. The New Testament writers agree. The Apostle Paul, after writing of the humiliation of the Lord in Philippians 2, says, for this reason, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him a name above every name that every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Likewise, the apostle Peter in his preaching, as recorded by Luke in the early chapters of Acts, says this Jesus God raised up. It was God that raised him up, to which we were all witnesses, therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God. Of course, he adds, as I mentioned, the adjective, greatly exalted. So after briefly considering his exaltation in verse 13, there's a vast shift now to verse 14. Let's read it again, having set that context of that verse. Just as many were astonished at you, my people, so his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. There's different ways to look at this. Some think that there's a parathetical phrase here. Just as many were astonished, and then the parentheses being, so his appearance was marred more than the form of any man. Whether you take it like that or not, it doesn't really matter. But many people were astonished at his appearance. The prophet delights in this section in the use of contrast. And you see somebody so exalted could be so marred beyond recognition as we'll see in a moment. In other words, from the statement of the servant's high and lofty exaltation, he now plunges at once into a contemplation of the deep humiliation that he would undergo. This is why Isaiah mentions His exaltation first. Don't get it wrong. This is the sinless Son of God, the Servant of Jehovah who would come and who has come for us. Don't miss that. But then there's such a vast departure from that exaltation to this deep and degrading humiliation. You might think of it like this, just as His exaltation and glorification were at the highest high that you could possibly get, far and removed, so too His sufferings and His humiliation as low as it could possibly get. And so you see the vastness between the two clearly set forth in this short section here. The cross. The work of Christ. Being a substitute is a stumbling block for so many. The Adams Avenue street fair is going on there. The evangelism that we have with others. And when you tell them that your Savior was one who humbled Himself and came and died, it's hard for them to wrap their minds around that. They don't understand that. It's a stumbling block. It's Sterling Redforce in 1 Corinthians 1. But we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ and the power of God and the wisdom of God. Let me ask you, is the cross a stumbling block for you this morning? Have you come today with unanswered questions and you don't understand what could be so great about a man bloodied and hanging on a cross? Do you have these questions? Is it a stumbling block for you? Oh, how I pray that as we would go through this, that you would understand something of His cross works, something of His exaltation, that there was a mission to perform on behalf of unworthy sinners. motivated by the great love of God. Well, the prophet goes on, his appearance was disfigured. It was not recognized. E.J. Young in his great commentary on the book of Isaiah, he says this of this word astonish. It suggests a disconcertment being brought about by a disturbing and paralyzing astonishment. So the idea that it's something that just stops you in your tracks. You're paralyzed. You're astonished. You could never have fathomed that in a million years, and here it is before you. That's the idea here. Just as many were astonished. Those who saw and beheld the terrible disfigurement of the servant was altogether appalled and struck in awe. You might think of it as, I hesitate to use any of these illustrations, but some that have undergone massive plastic surgery to save their lives. Extreme burn victims that maybe are missing an eye and a nose and an ear and the skin has been put there and it doesn't look like a normal man. There's something that is different about that. And we're appalled when we see that. Well, that doesn't even compare to what Christ looked like. And in fact, the force of the language is very strong here. It's the idea that He didn't even look like a man anymore. so that that Messianic psalm, and I think all of them are Messianic, but Psalm 22, verse 6, the psalmist says, but I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me. Of course, we know that that was fulfilled in Christ. So as we consider these words in verse 14, It doesn't mean that he appeared more disfigured than any other man, but that his disfigurement was so great that he no longer resembled a man. You see, that's the force of the language here. He no longer resembled a man because of the harsh treatment and the beatings and the ripping out of the beard and all of those things. His form was so disfigured that he didn't even appear as a man anymore. And then look at the last phrase. And then, his form more than the sons of men. So that even his form was contorted and changed from the harsh treatment that he endured. It carries the idea here, as Moitner says, that the question that would be asked is, is this He? Is it even human? That melts my heart when I think about the extreme way that our Savior suffered on behalf of sinners. how this should magnify the love of God in His covenantal commitment, in the covenant of redemption to send the Son to be the servant, to be Messiah, to redeem His people. And to what tragic means. What painful way for Him to suffer for us. Of course, if you were the reader of Isaiah begs the question, for whom did he suffer like this? Well, I've already been alluding to it. In fact, isn't that the question that the Ethiopian eunuch asked, right? He's reading Isaiah 53, and Philip just happens to be jogging alongside in the desert, getting his exercise or whatever. Obviously, the Holy Spirit sent him out there. But what happens? He's reading from Isaiah 53, verses 7 and 8. the section of he was oppressed and afflicted, he did not open his mouth, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep who is silent before his shearers. And the question that he asked was what? Of whom is the prophet speaking? Himself or someone else? You know what the next verse says in Acts 8, verse 35? From that verse, he preached Christ. He presented the Gospel in all of its glory to that man so that at the end, he wanted to be baptized. He believed. He repented of his sins. So it's certainly speaking of Messiah. And of course, again, I mentioned it earlier, to the onlooker, the casual onlooker, you would think, well, he's suffering for his own sins. Think of the million crowds that would come around when there would be a crucifixion. The people that would look on and to sit there, and almost always, there were thieves crucified on each side of Christ, right? And so yeah, He's got it coming. That'll teach you to thieve around here. This and that. And so the insults, the accusations, the assumptions that would be made that He too is dying justly for His own sin. We know that is not true. He was the sinless One. He is the Savior. In chapter 10. Look in v. 10 of chapter 53. "...But the Lord was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief." You see, aside from all of the physical torments that he underwent and all the disfigurations and the lashings on the back so that hunks of meat were taken out of his back, besides all of that, God the Father had His unmitigated wrath poured out on His own Son. Those six hours when He hung on a cross, when three hours there were insults and jokes, and He saved others, let Him save Himself, and all of that. When darkness came upon the land, those last three hours were intense. And likely it was during that time when God the Father being holy and pure, making His Son to be an object of sin, though He never sinned, He was sinless and poured out all of His wrath upon His own Son. That was the agony of agonies. That was so much more than any physical mistreatment that He would ever undergo. And was the Father satisfied? Was it enough to please a holy God? Well, look in v. 11. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied. The Father looked on the redemption that Christ has made and was satisfied it was enough for every one of God's elect. Every one of His chosen people, He loses none. All for whom He came to die, He redeems. We sang earlier how great the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. So far, Isaiah. the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is spoken of, the exaltation of the servant, the humiliation, and now lastly, the results. Look in verse 15. And thus, he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths on account of him. For what had not been told them, they will see. And what they had not heard, they will understand. He will sprinkle many nations. The servant here performs a purifying and a cleansing work for the nations. And the idea of the term sprinkling has reference to cleansing from sin to obtain ritual purity. The verb is used 24 times in the Old Testament. 22 times just in the Pentateuch. Speaking of the sacrificial system and all that the priest would do. Several times of the priest dipping his finger in blood and sprinkling it seven times at the veil and on the altar and so forth. That's the term that is being used. Now in reference to Christ, that He will sprinkle many nations. It's a glorious truth. It's a promise to the Gentiles, isn't it? That it's not just the Jews that He came to save. Isaiah is telling us something very profound here. Somebody in such utter humiliation that was not even recognized as a man anymore does something for others. He does something for others. As their great high priest, he performs a purifying work in the work of redemption. Of course, that purpose of sprinkling to obtain ritual purity Therefore, the one who does the sprinkling must himself be pure and innocent. And we know our Savior never sinned. He was the sinless One. He was the pure One. He was the One that was made sin. And His righteousness is applied to us. It is the work of a priest that is being set forth here in beautiful terms. This priest will sprinkle many nations. A picture of purifying the Gentiles Hebrews 12 and verse 24, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel. Peter, we just spent seven months in our Sunday school class going through 1 Peter. Peter says at the very beginning of his letter, he's writing to the aliens who are scattered abroad, and he says, Christ, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. Another reference to that. Well, the result is that kings will shut their mouths in astonishment. This is fascinating. He will sprinkle many nations and kings will shut their mouths on account of him. Somebody so disfigured. Somebody so harshly treated. Suddenly, the big kings and everyone will be astonished and shut their mouths. It's speaking of a speechless astonishment. They are defounded by the fact that a tortured servant can accomplish so much. And how does he accomplish this? Well, that's what the rest of the stanzas are for. So you have homework today. Read the rest of Isaiah 53 and study it and talk about it. as you gather together as families or get together in each other's homes. It is so rich. It unpacks how that comes about. In that second servant song in Isaiah 49, it says, thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One to the despised one. to the one abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers, kings will see and arise and princes will bow down because of the Lord who is faithful and the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. So already there was a little snidbit in England in that second servant song looking forward to this. Notice it's not just anyone who is awed by Him, but this is kings. Now, what are kings used to? Kings are used to people coming before them and being speechless and falling down. Well, the opposite is true here. They are speechless in astonishment. Of course, we know throughout Christ's earthly ministry, He was continually astonishing others, right? You remember in Luke 2, he's a mere 12 years old in the temple, engaging with the leaders there. And what does it say in chapter 2 and verse 47? And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Later in Mark 6, as he would calm the sea and get into the boat with his disciples, the wind stopped and they were utterly astonished. Many other examples could be cited. This was the norm. Constantly astonishing others, but here in particular Kings being astonished. So another huge contrast Just as the servant was despised. So Kings are astounded in awe in honor of The previous prophecies of Messiah, the Messiah, or the message of salvation has been more veiled, these earlier servant songs, but now it is set forth in glorious clarity in Isaiah 53. And just a brief word about the promise to the Gentiles, which I think is evident here. Paul quotes this very verse in Romans chapter 15. By the way, a great way to understand the Old Testament is to see how it's quoted and used and explained in the New. And so the Apostle Paul in Romans 15 verse 20 says, and thus I aspire to preach the gospel, not where Christ is already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation. But as it is written, they who had no news of him shall see and they who have not heard shall understand. In Ephesians chapter three, we looked at this in some detail when we were going through Ephesians recently. There's also the promise that is being made here. I'm just going to read the last half of verse 5 and verse 6. Verse 5, which in other generations have not been made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. If you don't get it, he says, to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promises of Jesus Christ. How and why? Through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, very briefly, just a couple thoughts of application for us. We've seen the servant so exalted and yet he suffered so horribly on our behalf and then leading to such universal benefit. Has your heart been touched this morning as we've looked at this simple, short passage of scripture? If you're a true Christian here today, and you're considering what it means to participate in the Lord's Supper, and you're considering as we would look back on what He has done, right? We look back on what He's accomplished. It's a constant reminder that He has died in my place for my sins. But there's also a current now feasting on Christ by faith so that our faith might be strengthened. So that we can go out and face a lost and dying world knowing the confidence that He goes with me. And then the hope, which the Christian life is full of hope, looking forward to that day when I will be with Him at that marriage supper of the Lamb, when no longer we will participate in that ordinance, for we will be in His presence. I personally have been humbled by meditating on this section this week. And I hope you're in greater awe of what Christ has done for you individually. See, sometimes we can focus on, oh, Christ has died for the church, and we keep things all corporate. The church is vitally important, absolutely. But what I'd ask you to do is zoom in and narrow that down to just you. How has Christ's death benefited you? And what's your response been with your life? Do you think you deserve salvation? Do you think you're a pretty good person? Maybe you've done some good things this week. None of us deserve salvation. He endured such harsh treatment for us. Back to the song that we sung. Behold the man upon the cross. Ashamed I hear my mocking voice. Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. You see, in singing that very line of that song, you're admitting that had you been there, you would have been among the scoffers. There's no good within you that you might desire to choose the right thing. It's the power of the Holy Spirit that comes upon anyone when they believe. And that's why we desperately pray at our prayer meetings, and we pray in our homes during family worship, and we pray for you young people who have yet to repent and be baptized, that the Holy Spirit would come. We can talk till we're blue in the face, but the Holy Spirit must make you alive so that you can then respond to the Gospel in faith. At our elder meeting we were discussing, we're reading through Hebrews right now at the beginning just to sort of set our minds on scripture. Reading Hebrews 9 and 10 recently this verse jumped out at me. Verse 9 and verse 13, for if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. How much more those temporal atoning sacrifices that would relieve your conscience that you've taken an animal, the priest has offered it, and so forth, now to know that the blood of Christ, as it says several times, once and for all has taken away my sin. How that ought to affect how we serve the living God. See, we need to see Christ through the eye of faith knowing that He is risen indeed John Murray says, the glory of the cross of Christ is bound up with the effectiveness of its accomplishment. That's amazing. The glory of the cross isn't, you know, non-saved people wear crosses, you know, whatever. I'm not saying wear a cross, don't wear a cross. I don't wear a cross. But they wear a cross and they think it's a good luck charm or it looks nice or whatever. And most people don't even understand the cross, but John Murray, former professor at Westminster, clearly says the glory of the cross of Christ is bound up in the effectiveness of its accomplishment. What does it accomplish? The salvation of every one of God's elect. Well, how do we know that? You might say you're saved. I might say I'm saved. How do we know that? Transformed lives. Lives that were hell-bent, going after the world that have now been radically changed to where the only thing we want to do is please Him and to glorify Him. Do we do it perfectly? No. But that's our desire. And so, a transformed life is the evidence. He's conquered death forever. O death, where is your sting? If you're here today and you don't know Christ, you must understand this life is short. There's no guarantee that you'll have tomorrow. Someday you will stand before God and those books will be opened and you will give an answer for every single thing Every idle word that a man shall speak you should give an account for in the day of judgment Lord Jesus said those words and if you're not cleansed by the blood of Christ if you have not that standing before him you will answer for every one of them and alas been an eternity in hell and But the gospel promises that God demonstrates His own love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He cast away none. All that the Father give me shall come to me, and the one who comes to me I will in no way cast out. Jesus invites you to come to Him. Come to Me, all ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And after you've come to Him, then you can come and you feast on Him by faith, week by week, by enjoying the bread, remembering that body that was disfigured, that was so harshly treated, remembering the cup, that this was sinless blood that was poured out for my sins. Not just any blood, sinless, pure blood. that these things symbolize those Gospel realities. And so they're vivid reminders. And so really, as the bread and as the cup is passed out, the Gospel is on display before us, even reminding us of those very things. I invite you today to come to Christ. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you so much for your Word. We thank you, O God, for this glorious section of Scripture and how the prophet Isaiah was able to write with such precision. Lord, we pray that you would melt our hearts. Forgive us where our hearts have been hard. Forgive us where we have been cold. Forgive us for we've neglected communion with You even this past week. Oh Lord, remind us of these Gospel realities. Lord, to the end that we would have such a great appreciation of what You have done for us that it would be reflected in a life of thankfulness and a desire to glorify You in all things. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.