_Who hath believed our report?_ THE MESSIAH REFERRED TO IN Isaiah 53:1 By some it has been supposed, in ancient times and in modern, that the prophet was referring to the sufferings of the nation of Israel--either of Israel as a whole or of the righteous section of the nation--and to the benefits t... [ Continue Reading ]
_For He shall grow up before wire as a tender plant_ GOD ACCOMPLISHES GREAT THINGS BY UNLIKELY MEANS 1. God prosecuteth and accomplisheth His greatest designs by the most unlikely and despised means. Jesus Christ, the great Saviour of the world, was but a tender plant, which a man would be more a... [ Continue Reading ]
_He is despised and rejected of men_ THE MEAN APPEARANCE OF THE REDEEMER FORETOLD I. THE WISDOM AND GOODNESS OF GOD IN DETERMINING TO SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD IN A STATE OF POVERTY AND AFFLICTION. 1. With regard to His being a teacher, His sufferings set Him above the reach of suspicions. What... [ Continue Reading ]
_Surely He hath borne our griefs_ CHRIST’S LOVE AND MAN’S UNTHANKFULNESS I. CHRIST’S LOVE. 1. The certainty of what is averred of Christ: “Surely.” 2. The acts of Christ’s obedience, set forth in two words: He hath “borne,” He hath “carried.” 3. The objects. They are “griefs,” “sorrows.” II. M... [ Continue Reading ]
_But He was wounded for our transgressions_ THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST Three things suggest themselves as requiring explanation to one who seriously contemplates the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. 1. An innocent man suffers. 2. The death of Jesus is the apparent defeat and destruction of on... [ Continue Reading ]
_All we like sheep have gone astray_ ASTRAY FROM THE FOLD I. The first part of my text is AN INDICTMENT. “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Says some one, “Can’t you drop the first word?” And some one rises and looks off and says, “There is a man who is a blasphemer, he is astray. Yonder is a m... [ Continue Reading ]
_He was oppressed_ CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS AND HIS DEPORTMENT UNDER THEM I. THE NATURE OF THE SUFFERINGS. “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted.” II. THE CARRIAGE OF CHRIST UNDER THEM. “He opened not His mouth,” which is amplified and illustrated by two similitudes, of a lamb going, to the slaughte... [ Continue Reading ]
_He was taken from prison and from judgment_ “HE WAS TAKEN FROM PRISON AND FROM JUDGMENT:” Every word here is ambiguous. The principal interpretations are as follows-- 1. “Without hindrance and without right He was taken away, _i.e_. He was put to death without opposition from any quarter, and i... [ Continue Reading ]
_And He made his grave with the wicked_ “WITH THE RICH IN HIS DEATH:” “Rich” must mean “wicked,” just as “poor” often means godly. (_A. B_. _Davidson, D.D_.) THE SUFFERING SERVANT GIVEN A CONVICT’S GRAVE Having conceived Him to have been lawfully put to death, they consistently gave Him a convi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him_ “IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM:” The Lord’s hand was supreme in the business-- 1. In respect of His appointing Christ’s sufferings. It was concluded in the counsel of God that He should, suffer. 2. In respect of the ordering and overruling of His suff... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall see of the travail of His soul_ CHRIST’S SOUL-TRAVAIL AND ITS OUTCOME 1. The word translated “travail” has not the special force which the English reader might infer from it; it is a word of much more general use, of much less intensity and much greater variety in the notion of sorrow w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great_ CHRIST’S CONFLICT AND CONQUEST I. CHRIST’S CONFLICT. II. CHRIST’S CONQUEST. The conflict is last in the order of the words, but first in order of nature and time. (_T_. _Manton, D.D_.) THE GREATNESS OF THE SIN-BEARER It is the voice of God... [ Continue Reading ]