GIST: Our help comes from Almighty Jesus through the cross and the empty tomb.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 121:1-2, Isaiah 53
I feel like Sunrise services should provide us with an opportunity to reflect more than anything else. We’re here. It’s early. Why? This is done in remembrance of the morning when the women went to anoint Jesus’ body at the tomb...but found an empty grave instead! This moment changed the world forever. This moment should change your life forever.
So, we’re going to take a brief break from Mark (shocking, I know!) and look at the two Old Testament passages we read in opening. These were penned years before Jesus’ incarnation. Yet, they speak so clearly of why He came. The gist? Our help comes from Jesus through the cross and the empty tomb.
I. WHERE DOES OUR HELP COME FROM? (Psalm 121)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2
The Longing Of The People Of God: Help. As I was praying about what to share during this service, this passage jumped into my mind. I know this isn’t a traditional “Easter” passage like the next one, but it sets the stage for sure. This verse echoes the longings felt by the people of God throughout the entire Old Testament. Life was full of obstacles, both externally and internally, and they needed a Savior. They needed help.
And, Truthfully, Our Longing Is The Same. We are separated from the author of this text by thousands of years. But are our hearts any different? By nature, don’t we long for someone to swoop in and save the day? You guys know I’m a superhero geek. And we live in a time where we’ve seen the “superhero genre” explode on the big screen. It doesn’t seem to matter how many sequels they make. Each one is a blockbuster. Why? Sure the special effects are cool, and the acting and storytelling is sometimes good (not always 😜), but deep down I think it’s our fascination with problem solvers. We have problems. We want them fixed. So, like these people of long ago we lift our eyes up seeking help. And the answer they knew to be true is the same for us. Where does our help come from?
Our Help Comes From The Lord Who Made Heaven and Earth. That last part is so key. I think we can arbitrarily throw around the word “God” without actually associating it with anyone in particular. Just like people in our society use the word “faith” to refer to any general spirituality and the word “prayer” to mean any kind of positive thinking. But the Lord God, the One True God, is the God who made the universe! Who else is powerful enough to fix our deepest needs other than the One who knit us together!
II. HOW DOES OUR HELP COME FROM THE LORD? (Isaiah 53)
So, we know He’s our Savior. How does that work? How does He save? Many of us have heard this story so many times before, but this truth is one that never grows old. I love this passage from Isaiah 53 because not only does it lay out the Gospel so clearly, but it did so nearly 700 years before Jesus came to earth! That’s incredible. Let’s look briefly at how this is broken down. But really, let’s let the passage itself do most of the talking!
The Incarnation (1-2). 1 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.
This is the first part of what is commonly referred to as Jesus’ humiliation. Remember this is the God of the Universe--and He chose to come down and take on human flesh. Like we’ve talked about before in our Mark study, He also came to a humble family and lived “on the wrong side of the tracks”. There was nothing prestigious about His circumstances and nothing startling about His appearance. He came in the form of a “common man” though He was anything but.
The Cross (3-9). 3 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. 4 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. 7 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.
This is such a clear picture of His suffering. Honestly, if we take time to really let these words sink in, they should get to us. Why? Why did the sinless God of the universe suffer like this? For us. 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. His punishment made our peace a possibility. Amen! What a Savior!
The Resurrection (10-12). 10 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, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, 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.
And here we see His Glory! That’s what we’re celebrating today. His resurrection that made possible His intercession for transgressors! But let’s look at this phrase which is frequently overlooked when studying this passage: “10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;” Will of the Lord? Yes. Because He loves us with an undeserved and remarkable love!
That’s why we’ve gotten up early this morning.
TAKEAWAYS
1. Our help and hope come from the God of the universe!
2. And He came to earth in human flesh, lived a perfect life, died in our place, endured Hell in our place, and rose again to defeat sin once and for all...in our place.
3. Praise Him!
Let’s close by singing: By His Wounds
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