April 5, 2023
Big Idea
He is Risen!
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.
1
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
1
53:1
Or Who has believed what we have heard?
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.
3
He was despised and rejected
2
53:3
Or forsaken
by men,
a man of sorrows
3
53:3
Or pains; also verse 4
and acquainted with
4
53:3
Or and knowing
grief;
5
53:3
Or sickness; also verse 4
and as one from whom men hide their faces
6
53:3
Or as one who hides his face from us
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.
10
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
7
53:10
Or he has made him sick
when his soul makes
8
53:10
Or when you make his soul
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
9
53:11
Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light
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,
10
53:12
Or with the great
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
11
53:12
Or with the numerous
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.
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.” 1 23:16 Here, or after verse 19, some manuscripts add verse 17: Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival
18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” 2 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus what they do And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, 3 23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, 4 23:39 Or blasphemed him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
44 It was now about the sixth hour, 5 23:44 That is, noon and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 6 23:44 That is, 3 p.m. 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.
Isaiah 53 is rich with characteristics of Jesus that extend beyond the story of His crucifixion. Today, however, we are going to focus on how Jesus was rejected, tortured, and died—all for us.
The Holy Spirit, writing through Isaiah, tells of how the Lord's servant, Jesus, would be "despised and rejected" (Isaiah 53:3), "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Through it all, Isaiah prophesied, Jesus would not protest (Isaiah 53:7). That is exactly how it played out. Through Herod's questioning, Jesus remained silent (Luke 23:9). Despite all the false accusations, mocking, and torture (Luke 23:21-33), Jesus did not fight back. He was forced to carry a heavy wooden cross until He physically couldn't and was then nailed to that very cross, where He suffered a slow, agonizing death.
The rejection did not stop there. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way . . . ." (Isaiah 53:6a). Jesus was not only rejected by the religious leaders of His day; He was rejected by me and you.
Why did Jesus leave heaven, become a man, and experience so much suffering (Isaiah 53:3-4) only to be despised and rejected (Luke 23:23) by His own creation (John 1:3)? He did it to restore the relationship between man and God! Because Jesus' death and resurrection pay the debt of our sin, we are given the gift of new life with God (Ephesians 2:4-5)!
I spent a large part of my life having accepted what Jesus did for me on the cross, but rejecting Jesus having any impact on the way I lived. Now I see that life is only found in a relationship with Him (Psalm 16:11). I still sometimes reject God's best because I believe the lie that my way is better, but that way always leaves me empty and separated from God. I pray that we all would accept what Jesus has done for us and allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify us.
This month's memory verse
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
1. In what areas of your life have you rejected God's teaching and commands?
2. What are your feelings while reading Isaiah's prophecy and the account of Jesus' crucifixion? Does it elicit feelings of anger toward the people that tortured him? For me, it's tempting to focus on the evil of the religious leaders who traded Jesus for a criminal and the soldiers who beat and mocked Him. I have to remind myself that it's my sin that necessitated Jesus going to the cross and that at one time I also rejected Him like they did.
3. There are people among us today who "know not what they do" (Luke 23:34) by rejecting Jesus. Who are these people in your life? What steps can you take to tell them about the gift of Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin?
As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Hugh Stephenson
Michael Sisson
Sue Bohlin
Michael Scaman
Michael Scaman
Amy Lowther