The Lord’s Servant Serves You!

22nd Sunday after Pentecost, 10/24/21 Isaiah 53:10-12 The Lord’s Servant Serves You! I. By his death and resurrection II. For your justification III. Resulting in your redemption Imagine that you had the money and the need to hire a person to help you around the house—a maid, for instance. You interviewed several and hired the best applicant. At first, you weren’t certain how things were going to work out. But, as the weeks past, you grew increasingly satisfied with the work that your maid was doing for you. You began to wonder how you ever got along without her. But then you discovered something. Your maid was spending a good portion of her day serving your neighbor as well. What would you do? Well, you have two options. Fire her immediately or give her an ultimatum. Stop serving your neighbor. And if you catch her doing so ever again, she’ll be terminated on the spot. This morning’s sermon text is from Isaiah chapter 53. Many Bible scholars rank it as the most important chapter in the Old Testament. At the end of the previous chapter, Isaiah records these words of the Lord, “See, my servant will act wisely.” If you’re familiar with the Book of Isaiah, this is one of Isaiah’s “Servant of the Lord” chapters. In this chapter, Isaiah introduces us to the work of the Servant of the Lord. And, as you look at the work that this Servant does, you realize that these words are a prophecy of our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross. What Isaiah writes 700 years before Jesus is born is astounding! Yes, the Servant of the Lord, Jesus, came to this earth to serve his heavenly Father. He came to do his Father’s will, which was to carry out the plan of salvation. That’s why he’s called the Servant of the Lord. But as we read these words, we realize that the benefit of his work is all ours. In serving his Father he’s also, and most importantly, serving us. But unlike the situation with your maid also serving your neighbor, there’s no problem here. In fact, your God loves you so much that he wouldn’t have it any other way. The Lord’s Servant serves you! Given that our daily sins are acts of rebellion against the holy God, that’s an astounding truth. So, let’s join in seeing just exactly how the Lord’s Servant serves us as we focus on these verses before us this morning. Part I. When you think of what Jesus has done for you, what comes to mind? I’m guessing for every one of you, it’s the fact that Jesus died on the cross for you and then he rose from the dead. Even the children among us would answer that same way. Jesus died and rose again, for you, for me. And that’s exactly what Isaiah states the Servant of the Lord does for us. “It was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.” Isaiah states what we know so well—that it was God’s will for Jesus to suffer and die. That’s what God wanted. What makes that will so unimaginable is that the Creator sends his Son to die for his rebellious creatures. Who would do such a thing and want with all his heart to do it? Only your God. And notice what Isaiah states about the death of Jesus. It was a guilt offering. There were several types of offerings that the Old Testament Jews were required to make. Each of them had their unique purpose. The guilt offering was required to compensate for a loss. Jesus not only removed our sins by his death, he compensated for them. He made sure everything was right between us and our God. And then he rose from the dead. Did you catch how Isaiah made reference to his resurrection? “He will see his offspring and prolong his days. He will see the light of life.” Offspring? Jesus never had any children! Not physical children, but spiritual children. All who trust in him as their Savior are his children, his offspring. And, having risen from the dead, his days are prolonged for all eternity. He lives and rules forever! He’s serving us forever! But that’s backwards. We should be the ones forced to serve him. But the Lord’s Servant serves you! He serves you by his death and resurrection. Spiritually speaking, what do you struggle with most? Isn’t it guilt? The guilt you feel over past sins can crush you. So, what do you do with it? Some people try to make amends by being a better person, but that doesn’t remove the guilt. Others numb themselves in an attempt anesthetize the pain they feel. But that doesn’t remove the guilt either. So, what can you do? Find your peace in the Lord’s Servant. Jesus came to be a guilt offering for us. He offered compensation for every wrong you’ve ever committed and will commit. And then he rose again to assure you that his Father accepted his payment for you. The Lord’s Servant serves you! Part II. It’s unfortunate, but there are times when we’re not certain if the world’s great efforts to accomplish something did any good. The latest example of such a thing that I can recall is the war in Afghanistan. What did we accomplish? It pains us to see what’s been happening in that country since our military presence was withdrawn. But there is no debate over what the Lord’s Servant accomplished, which was a war that was infinitely more critical. His enemies nailed him to a cross and, by doing so, they were confident that they had brought an end to him, his ministry, and his followers. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. Listen to Isaiah describe it. “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” Isaiah connects the resurrection of Jesus with the truth that we are justified. Justification is the doctrine on which the church stands. It’s a courtroom term. We’re all guilty before the holy God and, in his court, that’s how we plead. Guilty! And yet our Judge, our God, declares us not guilty! How can that be? Because of the work that Jesus did for every sinner. God declares all sinners not guilty. And that “not guilty status” before God becomes our very own by faith in Jesus. That innocent status before God is every sinner’s greatest need. And it’s yours by faith in Jesus! The Lord’s Servant serves you. You are justified! But there are times in our lives when we wonder about our status before God. When we’re facing one difficulty or hardship after another, when our best efforts at being productive fail, when the hope of enjoying even just a few days here on earth is crushed, we wonder what our God has against us. What have we done to deserve this? Well, the truth is we deserve hell. That’s the judgment God should hand down to us. But instead, he has declared us not guilty, not because of anything we have done or could do, but because of what the Lord’s Servant, Jesus, has done for us. Our justification drives away our spiritual depression and makes us confident as we make our way to eternal life. That confidence is due to the fact that the Lord’s Servant serves you! Part III. “To the victor belongs the spoils.” The Lord doesn’t use those words verbatim, but that’s what he means when he states, “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong.” We understand that the Lord Jesus crushed Satan and his power by his death and resurrection. The victory belongs to him. But who are the “great” and the “strong” with whom Jesus shares the spoils of his victory? Well, it would be better to translate “great and strong” with “the many and the numerous.” But still you wonder, “Who are they?” They are you—you and every believer. The Lord’s Servant didn’t crush Satan so that he received the blessings. He crushed him so that you receive the blessings. You receive the blessings because, by his work here on this earth, Jesus redeemed you. He made you his own. You belong to him. Not so that he can use you to serve his needs, but so that he can bless you. As sinners, our greatest need is the forgiveness of sins. As redeemed children of God we live in that forgiveness every day. There’s no reason to hope that we are forgiven. We absolutely are. We know we are because we belong to Jesus now and we’ll belong to him forever. For Jesus, it’s all about you! The Lord’s Servant serves you, resulting in your redemption. Tell me. Do you ever lose sleep over the unknown in your future? We all do. Far too often. We worry about our future and the future of our loved ones. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, let alone next year. But our eternity is certain, secure, guaranteed. And we had nothing to do with it. It’s all the result of the work of the Lord’s Servant. He served you with his life and his death to make you his own. Because he rose again, we’re certain that his plans for our lives will take place. And those plans have you at your Savior’s side forever in heaven. Nothing can change that! I’m sure you’re not happy with at least a few aspects of your life. And there’s not much going on in our world to be happy about. But you have a joy that no one can take from you. The Lord’s Servant served you so that you could be his forever. Find your peace and joy in that amazing truth. The Lord’s Servant served you. Now serve him as you serve others. Amen.