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This sermon was one of eight, delivered at the 2022 Proclaim Conference, which is hosted by our Kenyan council member Ken Mbugua, Emmanuel Baptist Church, and Ekklesia Afrika. The conference’s theme and title was The Whole Christ, with each sermon making a case for the sufficiency and relevance of both Jesus’ person and work, for all of life.
Over 500 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah prophesied a Suffering Servant. One whom the LORD God would crush as an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10). Yet by his death, the prophet continues, God would make many righteous (Isaiah 53:11). Counted among sinners, he would bear their guilt so that they might be counted sinless (Isaiah 53:12). In his life, ministry and indeed his death, Christ fulfilled this prophecy. He is Isaiah’s suffering servant. The one the prophet longed to see. And he is our suffering servant too. Only, Jesus’ death is much more than the fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy. It was the righteous being offered up in the place of sinners.
The Suffering Servant
In this, the third talk from the 2022 Proclaim Conference, Ken Mbugua emphasises the gravity of our sin. So great was our rebellion against God that his Son had to redeem us by his death at Golgotha. That dark day in history is in many ways the brightest reason for our hope. The surest sign that God has kept his promise to make a people for himself. For at the cross Jesus takes on himself the judgment we deserved.
The horror of the judgment that faced us, is what is on display as we look at Christ hanging on that tree.
In Ken’s own words; “How desperately sinful were we? Answer: so desperately sinful that it required the crushing of the Son of God to redeem us. How weighty was our iniquity? So weighty that it took the Holy One of Israel to bear that iniquity on his back, on our behalf. It was a weight we could not lift by ourselves. It was a debt that we could not pay. The horror of the judgment that faced us, is what is on display as we look at Christ hanging on that tree on our behalf.”
Ken concludes his sermon on Isaiah 53 by urging believers to cling to Jesus. And as we do that, Ken invites us to treasure Christ, knowing what he has done for us.
Related Content
If you can’t listen or watch this sermon, you can always read the transcript below. You also might want to check out a few related articles:
- The Wages of Sin
- When Christ Cried, “Father, Forgive Them”
- Fasten Your Hope to the Unfailing Love of God
Text: Isaiah 52:13 – Isaiah 53:12
Date preached: 22 September 2022
Location: 2022 Proclaim Conference, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya
Transcript
Bible reading
Well saints, let’s turn our Bibles to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. I’m reading from the English Standard Version. I’m going to begin from Isaiah 52:13 – Isaiah 53:12,
“Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
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.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
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.”
This is the word of the Lord.
With the time that is ahead of us, I will be seeking to accomplish two things, which I hope will lead to one conclusion in our hearts. On the one hand, I pray that in gazing at Isaiah 53 and camping here, meditating on the words that are here, that we shall all grow a greater, a deeper appreciation for the darkness of our sins. That’s on the one hand, just how sinful are we. Yet on the other hand, I pray that at looking at the same thing – that the Christ who has suffered, this suffering servant, that we shall also grow an appreciation for the bright hope that belongs to believers – just how sure is our salvation. And I pray that by both seeing our sin and seeing our hope, as we look at the suffering servant, that we shall all cling to him all the more, that we shall treasure him all the more.
Context of Isaiah
Isaiah 53 is an exceedingly well-known chapter in the Old Testament. I would venture to argue that the Old Testament, it is generally unknown, um very broadly speaking, in Christianity. If you were to mention chapters that are familiar um to the Saints, or to Christians, when they think of the Old Testament, Isaiah 53 would show up amongst some of those chapters. And so, before we dive in, I want us to, to step back a little bit before we come back again to Isaiah 53.
The book of Isaiah, right, has, has two main sections: there’s those who argue that there’s a portion in between these two massive sections. The first portion of Isaiah is filled with judgment, it’s filled with judgment, declarations of war and judgment. If you’re flipping through your Bible, there’s multiple pages you could just thumb through, and all you would be seeing would be war upon war upon war upon and oracle against, an oracle against, an oracle against… That’s the first portion of Isaiah. It is, if you so please, a night, a dark night, where the skies covered with clouds. And yet, as you’re going through it, there will be a peep through the clouds to a bright star here and there that offer hope and offer peace to those people, the people of God, upon whom these wars and judgments are being declared.
The last half of the book of Isaiah is quite the opposite. It’s, it’s a half that is filled with hope. Declarations of promise, of a future for the for the people of God. And it is sort of, says where one is like a dark night covered with clouds, but you can see a star here and a star there, the last half is a bright day where we still see a cloud or two up in the sky. There’s no way for us to understand the seriousness of this particular chapter without glimpsing, but a little, at, at least some of that which has come before the section.
So let me ask you to go to Isaiah chapter 2. There’s multiple places in Isaiah that you could go to, to help us see or capture a sense of the darkness that is being addressed by Isaiah 53, but let’s jump right in the middle of Isaiah 2. Isaiah here is speaking about the coming days that are actually hopeful days, but as Paul Washer once upon a time turned pretty suddenly in the middle of a sermon (And that sermon ended up being called “The Shocking Youth Message. I don’t know how many of you have seen it on the internet) where somewhere in the middle he says, “I don’t know why you’re laughing; I’m talking about you!” To a pretty shocking effect.
This particular declaration in many ways sounds hopeful and good, and something that the people of God ought to be looking forward to, but right in the middle, those are from Isaiah 2:5-22 and then we keep moving. He says,
“O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord
For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob, (it’s about the day of the Lord)
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
So man is humbled,
and each one is brought low—
do not forgive them!
Enter into the rock
and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendour of his majesty.
The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
against all the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
And the idols shall utterly pass away.
And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendour of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
In that day mankind will cast away
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the bats,
to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendour of his majesty,
when he (arises; when he)rises to terrify the earth.
Stop regarding man
in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?”
Not your regular Sunday sermon, is it? Speaking about an exalted God and about a judgment day, isn’t it? That day of the Lord, where the Lord in his exalted majesty shall break out against all sin. The fury of hell is blazing in the verses we have just read. All that has gone or stood against this God being addressed. Oh, and Isaiah’s just beginning. That’s Isaiah 2.
This holy God is calling a world that has rejected him to account. And chapter, after chapter, after chapter, after chapter are people who do not have ears to hear, or eyes to see, are being confronted with the reality of a holy God who is going to break out against their sin. That’s the first half; glimpses of hope here and there, but this is the gist, this is the tone of the first half.
Hope in the midst of judgement
Well, let’s go closer to the passage that we’re going to be looking at and look at Isaiah 52. We’re looking at Isaiah 53, but, but look at Isaiah 52. All the way from chapter 40, there have been beautiful, tender, compassionate words that have been spoken to these people, who have heard these words of warning and of impending and coming judgment. Now, now, now the other half, it’s words of comfort that are being to them. Isaiah 52:1-2,
Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
Listen to Isaiah 52:7. This is the declarations of the Gospel, of the good news and it says,
“How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Go to Isaiah 52:9,
“Break forth together into singing…”
This is great news that you’re being given. This is the kind of news that when you hear of the mighty salvation that is coming, you stand up and you do a little jig! Oh yeah, the story was incredibly dark in the first half, but listen, that’s not the whole story. There’s another story of salvation, of redemption and when this story is published, when it is proclaimed, this is the reaction that they’re expecting from the people: Isaiah 52:9-10,
Break forth together into singing,
you wastelands (places) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
If you go to Isaiah 54, you’ll see the same things, beautiful words. You’ll get a glimpse of those as we’re going through Isaiah 53. Glorious words of salvation and redemption. Those of you who memorized the “no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper.” Isaiah 54:17 That one I know you’ve memorized! That is in Isaiah 54. Incredible words of promise.
Response to Isaiah’s message
These people, who in the first half sound like they are going to be utterly crushed and decimated, there are words of incredible, unthinkable hope, prosperity, a future that is being declared to them. It is within this too, if you get to look at this bright portion of the second half, that you have an Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53, Isaiah asks a question. Listen to the question he asks at the beginning of 53. We’ll go back a little bit to the 52 portion. He asks, who has believed what he has heard from us? This news that we are declaring of great impending judgment on the one hand, and of incredible salvation on the other, who has believed what we are saying?
“Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1)
Amen to let us declare this thing and let there be dancing on the streets.
Question: is that how they’re responding to Isaiah’s message? Was that the definition or description of the ministry of Isaiah to the people? We can go back to Isaiah 6 and see the definition of his calling. It was quite the opposite of that. As Isaiah the prophet is declaring these things, he is faced with a people who do not perceive, who cannot understand. The grand realities of their sin are not landing upon them, are not being responded to with a tearing of clothes and a pursuit of repentance. These declarations of hope that is to come are not being responded to in the way in which Isaiah 52 is speaking. This is a dull people. A people who do not see and do not hear.
Blind and dull
It’s a rhetorical question in some ways. Look at the words in Isaiah 52:14, “As many were astonished at you…” This, this experience, Isaiah, that you have had of a rejection from the people, a rejection of your message to the people. You’ve tasted a small rejection, if you so please, as, as many were astonished at you. “His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance…” (Isaiah 52:14) The servants of the Lord and in many ways, all of the servants of the Lord in the Old Testament, all of those prophets who came and were rejected by men. They were only those whom the owner of the vineyard was sending ahead of him, ahead of his son, who all received a rejection that was but a picture of the grand rejection of his own Son, that would come thereafter.
How blind are the people? How dull of hearing are they? Here’s how dull, here’s how blind: that when their own Messiah would come, when the very one who would come to redeem them from their sin, would show up, this is how dull they were: they would reject even him. How bleak was that sin? How far had it drawn them away from God? But the very salvation that is promised to them would be rejected by them. That is what is on display on Isaiah 53. Listen to the articulation of this particular portion in light of that context.
This one who would come would experience bitter suffering. Isaiah 53:3,
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows…”
Oh sorry, Isaiah 53:2 rather,
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.
What would this Suffering Servant look like? Why did they pass their eyes over him quickly? Why did they miss the point that, “This is actually our delivery?” Look at him. Nothing impressive about him. He’s like a young plant, a root out of dry ground. He shows up having embraced utter vulnerability. Born like a young one in Bethlehem, nothing majestic about him. No trumpets being blown to introduce him. Isaiah 53:3
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
As he has experienced with his little rejection, when this saviour, this ultimate servant appears, not only is he rejected, he is hated, he is despised by the people. They look down upon the very one who has come to grant to them their salvation.
Maybe one of the things that’s amazing about this section is that Isaiah, as Isaiah gets into this particular portion, he doesn’t just speak of them, “those guys who are not getting it,” Isaiah speaks about “we.” Isaiah is seeing himself as a part of the very people who have failed to get it. The very, very prophet. He is a part of this humanity. And more specifically in this passage, he is a part of this nation – the people of God who have so gone astray, that they reject the very one sent to save them.
Look at how Isaiah highlights their blindness. Look at verse 4. What is he emphasizing? Not just merely the saviour’s suffering. Look at where he’s going with this, Isaiah 53:4,
“Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.”
How far off are we? How deep into our sin are we? That as we gaze upon the cross, what we primarily and predominantly see is one who deserves our pity.
It was as, as Christ is going towards the cross in Golgotha, and women are crying for him and what does he say to them? What have they been thinking? “Oh, we are so sorry. This is so sad.” It’s like the emotions that can come out of watching The Passion of Christ. The primary emotion that comes out of that is, “Oh so sad.” No! Wrong emotion. Why is this happening to him?
The suffering servant takes on judgement
He is bearing our griefs. He is carrying our sorrows. To esteem him stricken, smitten and afflicted by God is to miss the point. What we are seeing in the Suffering Servant, is the weight of our sin. That dark judgment spoken of that first half of Isaiah, is what you’re going to be seeing on display in the life of the suffering servant. This majestic terror of the Lord breaking out against all who are lofty, all who have exalted themselves above him, is what is on display here. This Suffering Servant has come to redeem us from that Judgment Day, spoken in all of its terror and darkness, so that when we see him, what we are to see is not just a pitiful state of a man, we are to see, we are to behold, we are to comprehend the depth of our sin.
How desperately sinful were we? Answer: so desperately sinful that it required the crushing of the Son of God to redeem us. How weighty was our iniquity? So weighty that it took the Holy One of Israel to bear that iniquity on his back, on our behalf. It was a weight we could not lift by ourselves. It was a debt that we could not pay. The horror of the judgment that faced us, is what is on display as we look; Christ hanging on that tree on our behalf.
What’s the blindness Isaiah is concerned about? That as they see the suffering servant, they won’t get it. They will look upon him and think, “Ah, look at that man. Look at what’s happening to him.” They will deride him. They will misunderstand the very work of God on their behalf. It’s a pitiful state.
He continues, Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced…” But not for his own transgression, for our transgression. “He was crushed…” But not for his own iniquity, but for our iniquities. “…upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace….”
The suffering servant brings peace
You know again, those popular verses we have memorized. Isaiah 48 it’s just above this particular section, isn’t it? Isaiah 48:22, “There is no peace for the wicked.”
You memorize passages outside context, huh?
No peace for who? The wicked. So, so, how is it that Isaiah 54:10, next portion of Scripture right after Isaiah 53, says,
“For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
How? I thought the news is there’s no peace for the wicked, and, and now we are being told that this “covenant of peace” shall not depart from us? Because of the suffering servant.
“Upon him with the chastisement that has brought us peace.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Same portion Isaiah 54:13,
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.”
How? Great shall be the peace of your children – because of what Christ did.
Isaiah 55:12-13,
“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace…”
Peace. The shalom of God shall reign in all of its beauty, all of its intricacy. It shall conquer all evil and bring upon the earth. The will of God, in all of his Beauty. Isaiah 55:12,
“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing…”
What a world is this, people? What a world is this? Are you hearing the ridiculousness of these words? Creation itself, alive and awakened, rejoicing in the sight of the sons of God. The ultimate shalom of God has arrived. Instead of thorns, (the curse of Genesis 3) . Isaiah 55:13,
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
How shall this be accomplished? What is going on as Christ is headed to Jerusalem, not to experience peace, but war. To experience that very wrath of God declared in that first half of Isaiah. In Chapter 2, as we’re reading about the judgment day of the Lord, the terror of the Lord is what he’s experiencing. So that what might happen? So that peace may reign.
Oh, do not misunderstand, as Isaiah is warning here, what the Suffering Servant is accomplishing. On the one hand, what he’s experiencing is the full brunt of judgment that we deserve, but on the other hand, what he is acquiring is this glorious plan of God.
The suffering servant deals with sin
Oh, let me correct it this way: what the Suffering Servant is doing is he’s not paying a couple of debts you owe to the shopkeeper because it’s been a little bit of a hard month – a couple of blunders you made along the way. It’s your sin in all of its ugliness.
Will you pause and just meditate on the fact that maybe we’ve never really grasped just how sinful we are? Isn’t it a good thing to pause and meditate on the reality of hell and to think my covetousness, my lust, my laziness, all of my idolatry, all of my sins of commission and omission – what they deserve is nothing less than what you’re seeing the Son of God experiencing in Isaiah 53.
And ponder, “Have I misunderstood the gravity of my iniquity? Have I trivialized it, even as I confess it?” Even as I say, “Lord, forgive me,” but in reality, those words might be slipping out of my lips far too quickly, because I have not pondered. But that sin I’m saying, “Lord forgive me,” the only way it is being forgiven, the only way it is being washed away is through nothing less than the blood of Jesus. Not my tears, ah those are not sufficient. So great is my sin, it requires that penalty and punishment.
And yet, on the flip side, is also true: that what this punishment Christ is enduring is acquiring for us, it’s not just merely the forgiveness of our sins, but it is the coming of the kingdom of God – the fullness of the blessing that God has prepared for his people. That’ll blow your minds. Like that emoji that has brain scattered all over. It’s appropriate to be talking as Christians, often quoting verses, and putting like 10 of those emojis after that. Hills, mountains rejoicing? Ah, what manner of love is this? What type of salvation is? So that, as Christians, what we’re trying to avoid as we look at the cross, is having a small view of our sin and having a small view of our salvation. Oh saints, that will lead to a small love for a saviour.
Isaiah 53 is pointing us to something far greater. This blindness Isaiah is speaking about and he’s addressing leads him to this conclusion, Isaiah 53:6,
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way…”
Marvel at this, people. What has God done with the blindness of his people? Because that is what is being described. Here’s how blind we are: even when we saw the Messiah, when we will see the Messiah, we wouldn’t get the point. Question I ask you: is there any hope for people like that?
Here’s the answer, Isaiah 53:6,
“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.”
That’s how broad that love is. It is so broad it encompasses the failures being spoken of even in this portion. Who did Christ die for? For the very people who were nailing him to that cross. Who did Christ die for? The very people who were yelling, “Crucify him!” What does he pray? Father, do what? What manner of love is this?
With this portion, he’s removing, utterly, any dependence upon ourselves. It is describing us as humanity in all of our weakness, all of our sin, all of our blindness. The Son of Man did not come to die for the people who get it. He came to die for a people who rejected him. While we were still his enemies, he died for us.
You might want to ask: how did the, how would the suffering servant – where Isaiah is looking to the future, we are looking to the past, isn’t it? How the suffering servant react to this rejection?
Isaiah 53:7,
“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.”
Quiet. Isaiah might be highly concerned by the rejection of the people towards him. This Son of Suffering, this Servant of Suffering has come, and he has embraced, not just merely the cross but the rejection as well. He is silent to all who are raging against him. This is our salvation. What if he was, what if he was anything other than silence to our rejection of him? There’ll be no hope for us. If he wasn’t silent and instead, he called for a legion or two – it’s the end of humanity. The Suffering Servant has come, and he has embraced not only the sins that we are aware of, but even our blindness to who he is.
The suffering servant’s work
What shall be the result of his work? Isaiah 53:10-11,
“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.”
He shall prevail in the work he has come to do. Here’s how far we are from God: after having gone astray from him, we were deserving of wrath and the story is not even over. We were deserving of wrath and so lost while we, we did not even perceive our Messiah when we heard of him. It’s one thing to be a sinner and to know it. It’s another degree of sin and lostness to not even know just how lost you are. That’s how far off we were.
What did the Messiah do? The Suffering Servant came in and he pursued us to the depth of our lostness, and there he endured the judgment, the wrath that we deserved, for all of it, including our rejection of him.
What was the result of that? Those who had gone that far off, those were strayed that far off, will be redeemed and they will be brought back. The Suffering Servant had to go that far to redeem a people for himself, otherwise there’s no hope for a remnant of Israel. No salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Because this is a Salvation: that which he accomplished in there for his people will redeem our people from Israel who have rejected him. And it will redeem, not only this God’s people to whom belong the promises and the covenants, but also to the Gentiles, so that anything we’re seeing Israel do, all the way back from the Exodus coming all the way in, all we see is a reflection of us, isn’t it? We don’t see Israel and say, “Oh these people are so bad!” We like, we like Isaiah say, “We, we, we.”
We have rejected the revelation of God and yet he has pursued us, he has saved us, and he has brought us to himself. So, that then, as Isaiah is speaking about the servants of the Lord, Israel who have miserably failed at their job, it is intermingled with promises about the Servant of the Lord, who will come and he will accomplish everything that they have failed in. So that, as the ultimate servant of the Lord is lifted high and exalted for all of his victory, he carries in his train and elevates in his glory, all the servants of the Lord that have failed.
Boast in Christ alone
Let me ask you then, what is our boast? Our boast is singular, isn’t it? We will boast in Christ and him what? Crucified. There is no room for loftiness amongst us. Oh, my goodness, may we, may we never be found boasting in anything else, not even a good conference.
Our prayer as those who are teaching, preaching, praying, leading, and singing is singular: that it would all be Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ. We have nothing else to bring. Listen, good singing won’t get anyone into heaven. Great preaching, not even through the outer gate, if there is one. Christ Alone.
It’s our hope, oh saints, 35 years from now, if you remember this conference and there was something said that really blessed your heart about Jesus, that the names of the person you heard it from would have so faded, you’d be like, “Who was that guy? I can’t remember. It’s in the tip of my… (and then be like abandon that) but my goodness the truth about Christ that was preached that day, that we sang in that particular song, that was prayed there…”
Because that’s our only boast. Not in our giftedness, not in our actions, not in nothing in ourselves. Looking to the cross, looking to the Suffering Servant. May all of our pride die. May self diminish in every single way and may Christ alone be exalted.
What of our sin? Well, two things: when we look at our sin, may the Lord grow in us a deeper hatred of our sin, not informed by social standards and “people will think”, or “people will say”. No, no, no, no, no, no. May our understanding of our sins, our own sin, be informed by the cross. But as we look there, we would comprehend the seriousness of our own iniquity. For how else will we cherish Jesus if that’s not happening?
And then we flip it to the other side. May our hope for the future not be a small hope. A tiny little expectation of, “I hope there’ll be better days than the current ones.” May they, may they be as great as the sacrifice that was offered on the cross. So that, where our faith is weak and we, think of ourselves as in no way being deserving of anything good in the future, may that pride be killed, that looks to yourself to ask yourself what your future holds. And may we, in humility, look to the cross, to comprehend what God is doing for us, what God has prepared for us. It is our mighty salvation and the place to comprehend both things is by looking to our crucified Lord.
Prayer
Father, may you allow us to love him more, who lived and died for us. May you, through a strengthening of our inner being, help us all the more in the coming days – even throughout this conference, fellowship on the lawn, preaching, singing, praying, reading, workshops – may you help us together to comprehend the height and depth and length and breadth, the love of Christ, that is beyond knowledge, so that our assurance may grow deeper, so that our hatred for sin may grow deeper, so that our hope for the salvation that yet lies ahead of us, may grow deeper. We ask that you would accomplish these things for your glory in us. We ask this through Christ, amen.
Kenneth Mbugua is the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Nairobi, Kenya and is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition Africa. He is the Managing Director of Ekklesia Africa which promotes biblical resources for building healthy churches. Kenneth is married to Arlette and they have three children.
