GIST: Jesus met our needs completely through His victory over sin.
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-11
Happy Easter! I know that there is a really good chance today doesn’t feel very Eastery to many of us. Church buildings are closed. Family celebrations have been canceled. Most of our day will be spent quarantined in our homes. That’s why my title question for this morning is this: “Is Easter More Than A Feeling?” Is it more than all the stuff we often associate with the day? Obviously, we know the answer is, “yes”, but it’s still so easy to let our emotions conquer our minds. Therefore, this morning I just want to share some encouragement and perspective from Isaiah chapter 53.
This entire chapter is incredible, and I encourage you to read all of it this morning. However, in the interest of your time, I’m just going to talk through five of the verses ☺️. This is a prophecy written about the coming of the Messiah 700 years before Jesus came. That in itself is awesome! What he tells us about Jesus is even better. Let’s read verses 4-6 in opening, then I’ll give you our gist and we’ll dive in.
“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.”
I love those verses. I love those truths. So, here’s our gist for this morning. Easter is way more than a feeling because it’s a special time set aside to celebrate this ultimate truth→ Jesus met our needs completely through His victory over sin. (After last Sunday’s monster, that gist should be refreshingly brief ☺️). Let’s dive in! First, let’s look at this beautiful truth→
I. JESUS MET OUR NEEDS (4-6)
My needs. Your needs. Jesus met them on the cross. Let me read this again and draw your attention to a few words here. “4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” That part is heartbreaking. He took our griefs and our sorrows, but we missed it and just saw His suffering but not its significance. That was true for those who witnessed the crucifixion, and it has been true for so many who have considered it ever since. →
“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.” Before we can really grasp this, we have to remember that’s our→
Natural State: Sheep Gone Astray. We’re wandering without hope, stuck in the destruction of our own creation. Notice that in His sacrifice, He bears our griefs and sorrows. Does that speak to you today? In a world full of so much devastation; despair, depression, anxiety, and fear have ruled the day. Yet, Jesus came to take that. He sees your needs, and He came to meet them. That is so beautiful to me, but it’s not beautiful because it’s just a feel-good, superficial kind of compassion. He didn’t just come to try and make us feel better about our circumstances. He came to conquer the source of all of these sorrows. See, by nature we’re sheep who are stumbling. We’re sheep who need guidance. We’re lost, and we need someone to show us the way. But we’re not just innocent sheep. We’re→
Transgressors. Lawbreakers. Criminals. See, we’re in deep need, but we’re also deserving of great punishment. We’re not just victims of our circumstances but willing participants! We’re lost because we’ve chosen to go our own ways. So he came not just to make us happy, but to take our sins, to bear our iniquities. He came to really fix our core problems. And He did it→
II. COMPLETELY (4-6)
Notice, again, that the passage tells us “upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” These statements are definite. →
Our Need Was Met Completely! He brought us peace. His wounds led to our healing. That hopelessness was shattered! I don’t want to muddy these waters, so I’ll try to make this clear. His death was→
Not Just Creating A Possibility — He Secured A Reality! He took your spot for real! The Hell you deserved He endured. That’s amazing grace, and that grace is sufficient. You cannot be too far gone for His love to reach you, and you can never be good enough to save yourself. We are all sinful sheep wandering in our own despair, and He came and took our punishment and bore our shame and secured our salvation once and for all! It’s done. It’s finished! →
We Can’t Add Anything To This, But We Must Come To Him! Your salvation is completely dependent on Him. He made it possible, but you must come to Him and receive this gift. And if you do, if you believe He is who He says He is and give Him control of your life, if you stop your wandering in sin and come to Him completely, you will be saved, no question, because He has already secured everything you need→
III. THROUGH HIS VICTORY OVER SIN! (10-11)
In closing this morning, I just want to look at verses 10-11. We could camp out here for a long time, but I at least want to give you a quick look at the nature of this victory. What we see in the closing portions of this prophecy is a picture of His resurrection. Look at verses 10-11 with me. “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.” Let me just make three quick observations. First→
This Was God’s Plan. It might be striking to read that it was “the will of the LORD to crush Him”, but this is absolutely amazing. This speaks to the depth of His love. He wanted to do this, not out of some sadistic desire to cause harm, but out of a compassionate desire to save you. I’ve put it this way before. This world is all about His glory. Seeing who He really is, is our deepest need, because it’s in seeing this that we realize our sin and His salvation, because who He is, His glory, is all wrapped up in His plan to save us. That is amazing love! And→
God’s Sovereign Plan Was Victorious! Jesus didn’t stay crushed! Look at the passage again and see how this is pointing to His resurrection!
“he shall see his offspring;” That’s not possible if you’re dead. And His offspring are those who are given life because of His sacrifice. This is talking about us, those who believe and are transformed because of it!
“he shall prolong his days;” One commentary I referenced pointed out that this prolonging of His days is given no ending point. His life wasn’t prolonged temporarily, but His resurrection was permanent. He rose and is still alive today, and is still working actively amongst us.
“the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand… 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” His sorrow resulted in our salvation. That darkness led to incredible light. Because of His sacrifice, we, who are tainted by sin, are declared righteous! →
And He’s Not Done! He’s still doing this! He’s still saving people! This verse ends by telling us that “he shall bear their iniquities.” This is future tense. It wasn’t something just done at one point in time. He continues to bear our iniquities. In fact, the next verse, verse 12, ends by saying He “makes intercession for the transgressors.” Present tense. He is even now standing before God the Father in your place! That’s what Easter is about! Let me just give you a couple quick→
TAKEAWAYS
1. Easter is more than a feeling.
2. It’s a reminder of the most important truths of our lives!
- We are people of deep need. We are transgressors heading to Hell.
- Jesus came as the way!
- He did so victoriously for all eternity.
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