Lesson 3  April 11, 2004

Review:

 

 

 

53:5 gives us the divine viewpoint; the significance of His suffering which culminated on the cross. 

The precise choice of words by the prophet could not express the nature of Christ's death on the cross more clearly or appropriately!

 

 

The "but He" that begins vs:5 stands in contrast to the "yet we" in the middle of vs:4. The contrast is between the error of man's evaluation of the cross, "Yet we" and the truth of the situation as given in vs:5  as Isaiah lays out here's what really is going "but He"  when Christ goes to the cross . 

 

 

 

The "healing" here is referring to God dealing with mankind's ultimate disease; one that we are incapable of dealing with on our own, no matter what we attempts to do.

 

 

The same sequence related to healing and the cross is found in 1 Peter 2:24.

 

 

Let's examine the verse more closely and see what's here.

First phrase:  But He was pierced through for our transgressions,  KJV "wounded"

 

 

Question then is why would our transgressions cause Him a fatal wound.  Why is it that we sin and He dies?

The answer flows from the for our transgressions. 

 

 

What is the penalty of sin against God? Death!

 

 

Question than that follows is how can we pay the penalty for eternal death and live?

Answer clearly from Scripture is we can't!  But He could and did!

 

Since we cannot pay the debt for our sin, God through Christ and His death for our transgressions, our sin debt,  provides the way for man to live through Him eternally.

 

 

The next phrase He was crushed [or shattered] for our iniquities  really makes the same point as the first, it was our sin that put Him there.

 

 

The third phrase is describing His work on the cross:

The discipline [musar] for our well-being fell upon Him, [our judgment was poured out on Him]

 

 

The basic meaning is peace, and the context pictures here a peace that we don't have that He is providing through His work on the Cross.

 

 

So what is the picture that Isaiah is painting here? The assumption that goes through the whole passage is that man is in a hostile state with God and the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ provides for dealing with that hostility. 

 

Do any passages that we've studied come to mind?  Rom 5:1

 

Some thoughts on Peace.

1. Peace with God is objective, whether or not we feel it or not if we have believed in Christ it is there and real.

 

2. The peace of God in contrast is subjective in that it is an experience we have as we fellowship with Christ through the Word. 

 

3. Is it possible then for someone to have peace and also to not feel peace?  What about the opposite?  Sure for both!

 

 

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being (peace) fell upon Him

 

 

 

Substitution some principles:

1. God’s righteousness and justice demand that he execute the sentence He has decreed upon sin. 

- “The person who sins will die. (Ezk 18:4; 20)  

 

2. This means that judgment must fall on every human being personally, because we are all sinners and under judgment apart from faith in Christ. 

 

3. However, we found in this passage that our judgment has, in fact fallen on another person, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

4. It is the fact of Christ’s taking the punishment that was meant for us that is known as the doctrine of Substitution.

 

5. The doctrine of substitution describes both the nature of Christ’s death and the method God uses in providing salvation for all of us.  The guilt of the sinner is never denied. 

 

6. Definition:  the sin of man was placed on Jesus Christ.

Substitution says that God has taken the guilt and penalty of sin of man and placed it on Christ in such a way that He #1 assumed its guilt and #2 paid its penalty.

All of that in full so that the holiness requirement of the Father is totally satisfied.

 

7. Substitution is taught in the Bible in a variety of ways.

The way this doctrine was taught in the  OT was by sacrifices.  Lev 1:2-4

 

Requirements:

a. the sacrifice was to be without defect, not sick or diseased in any way vs:3

b. the sacrifice is to be accepted before the Lord vs:3

c. substitution is seen in the phrase in vs:4 that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.

 

d. It was to be accepted first before the Lord and secondly for him, the one offering, that is in his place.

 

 

e. The offering is accepted when the one making the offering does what?  places his hand on the head of the burnt offering.  vs:4

 

 

f.  What we have here is often referred to as shadow Christology, because the sacrifices of Israel all pointed very vividly to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the Christ.  

 

They were a shadow, that is God through the sacrifices is showing what Jesus Christ is going to do.  They are pointing to the reality, of Christ and His death.

 

 

8. In the New Testament this important doctrine of Substitution is taught clearly by two prepositions.

a. First is anti  anti the preposition of direct exchange.  It simply means that you trade one thing for something different.     Luke 11:11;   Matt. 20:28 

 

b. Second  is the preposition huper  u`pe.r on behalf of two examples: Luke 22:19;       Rom 5:8