The Suffering of Christ

"The Suffering of Christ" is an expository sermon by Earl White.

Isaiah 53

The Jews are looking for a Savior King to deliver them from the oppression of the enemy. He will come again and deliver them and establish them in the world as a glorious nation. But first, He had to come as the suffering servant. Let’s notice His sufferings as recorded in Isaiah 53:

I. The Suffering of Christ FROM Men.

Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

1. He was despised of men.

The word “despised” means, “to hold in contempt; to be despicable; to be vile, and worthless.” Can you imagine the leaders of the Nation of Israel holding Him in contempt? Herod killed all the male children from two years old and downward in an attempt to kill him.
2. They despised Him not for what he did, but for what he didn’t do.

They wanted a fighting Messiah; He offered them a Messiah that was a peace maker. They wanted a Messiah that rode on a white horse; Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey. They wanted Jesus to deliver them from the bondage to Rome, but He came to deliver them from the bondage of sin.
3. He is rejected of men.

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

There is nothing more hurtful than to experience rejection. In Jesus’ case He was rejected by His special people. They accused Him of being of the devil and using his power to cast the devils out.

II. The Suffering of Christ WITH Men.

Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

1. The word “borne” means, “To carry away.”

In some mysterious way the Lord carried away our sorrows. It pleased Him to do this. He had great sympathy with hurting people.
2. “Griefs” means, “sickness” and “sorrows” means, “pain”.

Jesus in some mysterious way took on Himself our sickness and sorrows.
3. Gill comments:

“Christ not only assumed a true human nature, capable of sorrow and grief, but he took all the natural sinless infirmities of it; or his human nature was subject to such, as hunger, thirst, weariness, etc.; and to all the sorrow and pain arising from them; the same sorrows and griefs he was liable to as we are, and therefore called ours and hence he had a sympathy with men under affliction and trouble.

And, to show his sympathizing spirit, he healed all sorts of bodily diseases; and also, to show his power, he healed the diseases of the soul, by bearing the sins of his people, and making satisfaction for them; since he that could do the one could do the other; wherefore the evangelist applies this passage to the healing of bodily diseases, Matt. 8:17.

Though the principal meaning of the words may be, that all the sorrows and griefs which Christ bore were not for any sins of his own, but for the sins of his people; wherefore these griefs and sorrows signify the punishment of sin, and are put for sins, the cause of them and so the apostle interprets them of Christ’s bearing our sins in his own body on the tree.”

III. The Suffering of Christ FOR Men.

In this He atoned for man’s sins. Verse 5 says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

1. He gook our place.

He suffered for our sins. In doing this he bore the penalty of our sins away. The believer’s sins have been borne away.
2. Therefore Isaiah says, “with His stripes we are healed.”

This is spiritual healing. We all had a spiritual fatal illness until we came to put our trust in Jesus Christ our Lord. At the moment we did this our sins were atoned for. Now we are free. Praise the Lord.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

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