Why the Gospel is Such Good News!
Isaiah 52,53
October 23rd 2011 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Isaiah 1:18)
A.
There is a
reason why the Gospel is such GOOD news
1.
It is
because what is wrong with us deep down in our heart of hearts, can be fixed
2.
It is
because even the STAINS of our sins, can be washed and made white as snow!
3.
No religion,
no church, no religious order has ever been able to offer such good news as
the Gospel offers!
4.
Most people
believe that the Gospel is just a nice story to tell children
a.
That the
cross was just a mistake
b.
That it was
all just a big misunderstanding!
c.
That it
never really changes anybody!
d.
That sins
don’t really need to be forgiven – just accepted!
5.
Oh you
couldn’t be more wrong!
B.
Take a good
look at what is in your hearts – not what is on the outside, but in that
part of you that you are most ashamed of
C.
Begin to ask
yourself these questions:
1.
Is it
possible that sinful, selfish, wicked men can become right, and forgiven,
and converted, and changed for the better (Job 14:4; 15:4; 25:4; Psalm
30:3)?
a.
The world
says, people don’t change! Most women discover this truth after marriage!
b.
But God
says, He can fix anyone!
2.
Is it
possible that people are wrong about forgiveness? We will never fool God
with all our religious fakery, and we are doomed unless GOD steps in and
saves sinful men!
D.
This
morning, I want to persuade you that the Gospel is true, and that it is GOOD
news! Unbelievably good news!
E.
And it is
described in a book called Isaiah
1.
Written as a
prophecy 700 years BEFORE it would perfectly come to pass
2.
Written
about a Man who perfectly satisfy the righteous wrath of almighty God
II.
Message
A.
The Gospel is Hard to Believe
(Isaiah 53:1)
1.
The Gospel
means, “Good News!” God’s News!
a.
God has got
some very good news for people
b.
And it is
almost unbelievable! It is HARD to accept as really, totally, absolutely
true!
2.
What is this
good news?
a.
That there
is a perfect place called heaven, with no more tears, or sorrow, or pain. No
more death, no more graves, no more hospitals or surgeries, no more doctors
or medicines. No more night, and no more devil!
1)
It is
impossible to be perfect enough to go there! That is for certain!
2)
But God says
He has made a way!
3)
That is what
is so unbelievable! Not through some “back door” but right through the front
door to the very throne of God!
4)
There IS a
place called heaven – it is where God lives!
5)
And as
unbelievable as it sounds, I am going there! By God’s GRACE!
b.
That there
is a horrible place of eternal punishment called the lake of fire!
1)
Every
sinner, no matter how hard they try to be good, will stand before God and
will have to pay for all their sins… forever!
2)
But God
says, He has not dropped the temperature of hell one degree, but instead has
paid for our sins HIMSELF so that we can live forever!
3)
As
unbelievable as it sounds, I am NOT going there! I have been SAVED from the
eternal punishment of my sin!
c.
That there
is a God in heaven who cares – really cares!
1)
Not like a
politician “cares”
2)
Not a
distant, too busy kind of God
3)
But like
Someone who knows how to work everything out!
4)
A kind of
God that cares enough to saves sinners from such a place as hell!
d.
Oh, it’s all
hard to believe – but it is TRUE!
3.
Who would
have believed:
a.
That sin is
serious enough to condemn a man to hell forever!? Even just ONE sin! Not
purgatory, or to reincarnation, but a devil’s hell!
b.
That none of
us could save ourselves, but are all guilty before God!
c.
That GOD
would become a mortal man, live in flesh and blood, and actually dwell on
this dust ball of a sin-cursed planet for 33 ½ years?
d.
That THAT
God-Man would willingly yield to wicked hands and allow them to crucify Him?
e.
That Son of
God would die in the place of sinners like US so that we could live forever?
f.
That’s
pretty hard to believe!
4.
Well, The
apostle Paul spent most of his time when he preached and taught, reasoning
and opening the eyes of his hearers to just how true the Gospel is (Acts
17:1-5)!
a.
Paul taught
straight out of the Scriptures – straight from places like Isaiah 53! Almost
ALL of the Gospel is built upon THIS one chapter in Isaiah!!!
b.
Paul proved
that this amazing, meek, kind, gentle Messiah would be able to save a
sin-cursed world from the wrath to come!
1)
We expect a
maverick, an Army, a Super-Soldier to come
2)
But we find
Jesus, the adopted son of a carpenter, suffering FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS!
a)
WE are the
WRONG… And yet we are the REASON for Jesus suffering!
b)
You see,
Jesus was not being punished for any sin HE ever did
c)
He is
suffering for OTHER people’s sins!
d)
I call that
UNJUST! If someone tried to punish my son for something he didn’t do, I
would fight to defend him!
e)
Well, NO ONE
defended Jesus, even though he was perfectly innocent!
c.
This BIBLE
ought to cause people to stop and think – not just accept things they have
always been taught!
d.
Even if it
is hard to believe, we need to believe it – because GOD wrote it!
B.
It is Unbelievable that God
Would Accept a Substitute! (Isaiah 52:13;
53:1-3)
1.
Simple fact:
WE are sinners! WE break God’s laws! WE deserve to reap what we have sown
2.
Yet it
pleased God to bruise HIM (53:10)! The Gospel is all about the Work of a
SUBSTITUTE
a.
The just, in
the place of the unjust!
b.
The lamb for
the loser
c.
The
innocent, in the place of the guilty!
3.
Listen to
how God refers to this Substitute…
a.
God calls
Him “my SERVANT” and gets excited! Says, “BEHOLD!”
b.
Here is
Someone who is the STRENGTH of the Lord – the “ARM of the Lord”. He came in
strength so that he could do something great!
c.
He is
mighty, yet He is SIMPLE. He came down to the lowest level!
1)
Gentle – a
tender, fragile plant
2)
Plain – no
beauty, no fashion statement
3)
He walked
everywhere, touched people’s problems, hungered, grew tired, gave and gave
and gave of Himself
4)
Had no
certain place to lay His head from day to day
5)
Could have
been carried everywhere by angels, or slept in heaven every night
6)
Yet he lived
a simple life, HERE – He lived down at OUR level
4.
The Messiah,
the Christ came to be a SUBSTITUTE – to actually take all our place!
a.
This is why
Isaiah said NO ONE would believe any of this! It is just way too crazy to
believe that an Almighty, all holy, all righteous, all wise God would
actually waste His time down here where WE live! And yet that is just what
He did!
b.
Listen to
what Jesus did:
1)
He took upon
Himself OUR griefs, and gave us joy
2)
He carried
OUR sorrows, and left us with peace
3)
He took OUR
punishments, and gave us forgiveness
4)
He was even
REJECTED (Ps 22:1) – none of us know the rejection that Jesus experienced!
But He experienced it in our place, so that we could be ACCEPTED!
c.
When did He
do all this?
1)
When He was
wounded
2)
Bruised
3)
Chastised –
whipped (Luke 23:20-25)!
4)
It is simply
describing the horribleness of what happened on the cross!
d.
He took upon
Himself what was intended for US as a human race!
e.
And he did
it not as a KING, but as a Servant!
5.
But this was
so that GOD in the flesh, in the form of a servant could be our Saviour
(Isaiah 43:11; 45:21)!
6.
That’s
pretty good news if you ask me! Unbelievably good news!
7.
That God
wanted to save the likes of a sinner like ME!
C.
It is Unbelievable that OUR
Sins are the Blame (Isaiah 53:5,6)
1.
We love to
blame everyone else
a.
Like the
dictators and tyrants of the world – the Ghadaffi’s of the world
b.
Like our
rotten home lives
c.
Like the
economy
d.
Like our bad
friends
2.
Example:
Several months ago, a man was sitting at an air traffic controller station,
monitoring hundreds of airplanes in flight. He was tired, and he was bored.
It was late at night, and he decided to play a DVD on a portable device, and
watch a movie. Every few seconds he would glance over at his radar, and then
back to his movie. Nothing bad happened that night, but what if two planes
collided? That’s man’s disregard for his responsibilities could have cost
the lives of hundreds of passengers! Who would be to blame? He could have
tried to blame his boss for not giving him enough breaks, or the pilots for
not seeing each other. But obviously, HIS boredom would be the blame for the
death of hundreds of others!
3.
And let’s be
clear! The reason why the crucifixion happened at all was because of your
and my sins! WE are to blame!
a.
There was no
sin or even a fault in Jesus (John 18:38) “Pilate saith unto him, What is
truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith
unto them, I find in him no fault at all.”
b.
Yet there He
is – hanging alone, on a murderous cross, bleeding, dying!
4.
Why would
any man allow himself to be whipped and beaten and abused and murdered on a
cross? WHY?
a.
Because of
love – no other reason!
b.
“ALL we
like sheep have gone astray” – gotten off track
1)
Don’t tell
me you are a pretty good person!
2)
YOU KNOW you
are wicked, and have wicked thoughts, and desires, wicked attitudes, and are
rebellious towards God
3)
There is not
ONE person in this room that doesn’t start off right, and try and do right,
and not end up doing wrong, and sinning – no matter how hard we try!!!
4)
We have ALL
gone astray!
c.
“We
have turned every one to his own way!” – our PRIDE, stubbornness, arrogance!
We really don’t want to do things GOD’S way – we want things OUR way
1)
We want to
marry who WE want
2)
We want to
drink what WE want
3)
We want to
watch what WE want to watch on TV
4)
We don’t
like ANYONE telling us what to do or not to do
5)
We go to a
church that WE want to go to – that WE like
6)
It’s OUR
way, or no way at all!
7)
That’s why
some of you are so unhappy – because you have to have everything YOUR way!
d.
It’s OUR
transgressions that have to be paid for – another word for wicked sin!
1)
Breaking
God’s laws – they are still in effect
2)
Ignoring
God’s commandments
e.
It’s OUR
iniquities that have us in so much trouble!
f.
Over and
over, Isaiah is repeating that what happened to Jesus was because of US!
g.
And so, God
acts! “I” would have abandoned this planet a long time ago, but God didn’t
5.
Now you know
why Isaiah said all this was so unbelievable – because he is shocked that it
was US who did all this to Jesus! Not the Roman soldiers, or just the Jewish
religious leaders!
6.
WE deserve
what we get from God (Cf Luke 23:39-41) – NO ONE can shake their fist at God
and say the He is unfair!
7.
There is not
one person who didn’t have a part in putting Jesus on that cross!
8.
Just
remember that is GOOD NEWS!
9.
Because The
LORD God hath laid on Him (His Servant) the iniquity OF US ALL.
D.
It is Unbelievable that
Everything Worked Out Perfectly (Isaiah
52:13-14; 53:7-9)
1.
Jesus lived
perfectly – ONLY JESUS DID!
a.
Jesus was
careful – prudent – did everything right – everything!
b.
Never was
violent, never lied (53:9)
c.
Never
sinned. Never broke a single commandment of God
d.
Obeyed God
every moment of His life
e.
Obeyed His
earthly parents for the first 20 years
2.
Jesus loved
perfectly – without preference. Always sacrificially
3.
Jesus
suffered perfectly (53:7,8; 52:13,14)
a.
Oppressed
(abused), afflicted (tortured)
b.
Yet He
opened not His mouth in defence
c.
No one spoke
up for Him in His defence either (53:8)
d.
He was “cut
off” – killed, murdered!
e.
Even to the
point of being raised very high – on the cross, for all to see – all
according to plan
f.
His visage –
what was visible
g.
Was marred –
destroyed – more than any other human has ever experienced!
h.
ALL
according to God’s plan and will!
4.
Jesus died
perfectly (53:9)
a.
Died with
wicked men – between two
b.
Placed in a
rich man’s tomb – Joseph of Arimathaea
5.
Unbelievable! That He accepted such death – even the death of the cross!
Though he was mistreated and oppressed he never objected to the treatment he
received. He even said "father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
do."
6.
Again! Why
was he so willing to suffer and die? Because of love!
a.
There is no
greater love than the love of God
b.
Especially
for the ungodly, for sinners, for harlots and drunkards
c.
Remind
yourself that Jesus died for SINNERS – not good people (1Tim 1:15)
7.
Will you
finally realise that there is NOTHING more for any of us to do but to just
believe it? Accept it as a perfect gift!
a.
Our best
efforts aren’t good enough (Isaiah 64:6)
b.
None of us
could ever even HOPE of keeping the law like Jesus did (Gal 2:16)
c.
Nothing more
than to follow Jesus now, by faith (John 6:28,29)!!!
d.
Because all
that is required of us, is already finished!
E.
Jesus Pleased God
(Isaiah 53:10,11a)
1.
It gets even
better! The Gospel didn’t stop with Christ’s death!
2.
You see, the
Gospel is not ONLY about US
3.
It is about
GOD, and satisfying justice!
a.
You see, we
are in trouble with GOD!
b.
We all
deserve the righteous wrath of God
c.
Yet… When
the Roman soldiers whipped and beat Jesus… when they ripped His beard
(50:6), God was whipping and beating Him as if He were US!
d.
Wow!
Unbelievable!
4.
Jesus was
NOT some angel being beat up, or some prophet, or just some sinner off the
street – He was GOD HIMSELF in the form of a Man!
5.
GOD was
taking OUR punishment upon HIMSELF!
a.
God’s
justice bruised Himself
b.
God put
Jesus to grief and sorrow
c.
Remember,
Jesus was a sacrifice for SIN
d.
The death of
Jesus was justice for sin – equal justice – and it satisfied the Judge of
all the earth!
6.
It was the
only way!
7.
There is
nothing more amazing than the fact that Jesus’ death made it possible for
God to be pleased with me
8.
You see…
a.
You and I
can and will never please God!
b.
God was
angry with the wicked (Psalm 7:11)!!!
c.
Only Jesus
pleased God (Isa 42:1; Mt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; John 8:29)
9.
Yet now,
BECAUSE of Jesus, I please God! And any of His children can go straight to
God the Father, not because of Mary, or because of some penance that you
have done, or because of your own goodness… but because of Jesus making a
way (John 14:6)!
F.
Unbelievably, the Cross
Justifies the Ungodly (53:11,12)
1.
Something
BIG happened when Jesus died on that cross, and rose again…
a.
He forgave
the worst of us
b.
He pardoned
the unpardonable
c.
He made
righteous those that were by nature, UNGODLY
2.
Notice two
phrases (53:5)
a.
“The
chastisement of OUR peace was upon him”
b.
“With his
stripes we are healed!” – not health healing, but HEART healing!
3.
To justify
means to make someone who is guilty, righteous now! As if he or she had
never sinned!
4.
How did
Jesus do it?
a.
By
fulfilling God’s plan
1)
It is not a
religious belief, or pie-in-the-sky hope
2)
It has
always been God’s plan from the very start when Adam and Eve disobeyed God
b.
By pouring
out His soul unto death – what a way to describe the cross
c.
By carrying
on HIS back all our iniquities – and being whipped for every sin!
d.
By
interceding for SINNERS – not for good people, or religious people: “Father
forgive THEM…!”
e.
By dying AS
a wicked man, in the place of all wicked, ungodly men everywhere (Romans
5:6-8)
f.
That’s why
JESUS’ name is the greatest name – because of what He did for the whole
world – for you and me! That’s why Paul says in Philp 2 that God has
honoured Jesus with the name that is above every name!
5.
How can
someone experience such forgiveness?
a.
By just
knowing Him (Isa 53:11; Mt 7:21-23) – knowing HIM not intellectually, but
personally, intimately, desperately!
b.
By just
asking for such forgiveness!
c.
Simply by
calling upon Him by name, to come into your heart and forgive you and save
you from the righteous wrath to come!
III.
Conclusion
A.
So… Is it
possible that sinful, selfish, wicked men can become right, and forgiven,
and converted, and changed for the better?
B.
Is it
possible that our religious attempts will never fool God, and that we are
doomed unless GOD steps in and saves sinful men?
C.
I hope that
I have persuaded you that the Gospel is true, and that it is GOOD news!
Unbelievably good news!
D.
But such
good news is no good if it is not believed and obeyed!
E.
I Know the Gospel is Hard to
Believe
1.
That there
is a God in heaven who cares – really cares!
2.
That there
is a perfect place called heaven
3.
That there
is a horrible place of eternal punishment called the lake of fire!
4.
Oh, it’s all
hard to believe – but it is TRUE!
F.
It is Unbelievable that God
Would Accept a Substitute in Our Place!
1.
Yet it
pleased God to bruise HIM (53:10)!
2.
The Messiah,
the Christ came to be a SUBSTITUTE – to actually take all our place!
3.
That’s
pretty good news if you ask me!
4.
That God
wanted to save the likes of a sinner like ME!
G.
It is Unbelievable that OUR
Sins are the Blame
1.
The reason
why the crucifixion happened at all was because of your and my sins!
a.
“ALL we
like sheep have gone astray” – gotten off track
b.
“We
have turned every one to his own way!”
c.
It was
because of OUR transgressions
d.
It was
because of OUR iniquities – sin!
2.
WE deserve
what we get from God (Cf Luke 23:39-41) – NO ONE can shake their fist at God
and say the He is unfair!
3.
There is not
one person who didn’t have a part in putting Jesus on that cross!
4.
Just
remember that is GOOD NEWS!
5.
Because The
LORD God hath laid on Him (His Servant) the iniquity OF US ALL.
H.
It is Unbelievable that
Everything Worked Out Perfectly (Isaiah
52:13-14; 53:7-9)
1.
There is
nothing more for anyone to do!
2.
Jesus lived
perfectly
3.
Jesus loved
perfectly – without preference. Always sacrificially
4.
Jesus
suffered perfectly (53:7,8; 52:13,14)
5.
Jesus died
perfectly (53:9)
6.
Unbelievable
7.
Why was he
so willing to suffer and die? Because of love!
8.
Will you
realise that there is NOTHING more for any of us to do but to just believe
it? Accept it as a perfect gift!
I.
It is Unbelievable that God is
Now Pleased (Isaiah 53:10,11a)
1.
GOD took ALL
OUR punishment upon HIMSELF!
2.
Yet now,
BECAUSE of Jesus, I please Him! And any of His children can go straight to
God the Father, not because of Mary, or because of some penance that you
have done, or because of your own goodness… but because of Jesus making a
way (John 14:6)!
J.
Unbelievably, the Cross
Justifies the Ungodly (53:11,12)
1.
How can
someone experience such forgiveness?
a.
By just
knowing Him (Isa 53:11; Mt 7:21-23) – knowing HIM not intellectually, but
personally, intimately, desperately!
b.
Simply by
calling upon Him by name, to come into your heart and forgive you and save
you from the righteous wrath to come!
K.
The prophet
Isaiah used the word “WE” a lot!
1.
We all go
astray like sheep and wander from the Good shepherd.
2.
We all have
guilt and sin for the wrongs we constantly do.
3.
Can you
admit that?
4.
The prophet
Isaiah confessed that HE was among those who needed healing and payment for
our sins. He used the word "we."
5.
Do you
recognize YOURSELF among the we?
6.
Do you
recognize and admit that you yourself are one of the ones who has gone
astray?
7.
Will you
receive the Suffering Messiah's payment for sin as your own, not just as a
general payment for sin, but as the payment for your own personal sins?
8.
Will you
receive God's loving offer of forgiveness through the Messiah's suffering as
the sin offering?