The Satisfied Savior • 03.31.24
The Satisfied Savior
Isaiah 53:10-12, Luke 24
Rejoicing in Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice
- Jesus’ sacrifice was planned
- Jesus’ sacrifice was purposeful
- Jesus’ sacrifice was productive
How sweet our time of worship through singing has already been today… Reminding ourselves and one another of such precious truths.
- In Christ alone our hope is found.
- Jesus is the pre-existent, omnipotent God who saves the nations.
- Through Him we have a hope that lasts beyond our days.
- We praise the risen One who overcame the grave.
- We believe he is the King who was, and is, and evermore will be.
- And we have confidence in his finished work that leads us to declare his worthiness to all who will hear!
On Friday evening we gathered here to remember that Jesus was the Suffering Servant who died in our place. We were reminded again of the incredible physical and spiritual turmoil that he endured on our behalf from Isaiah 53:1-9. He endured rejection and abuse from those he came to save. He willingly drank the cup of God’s wrath for our sins, and he drank it dry! To cap off the evening, we enjoyed celebrating the Lord’s Table together as a reminder that Jesus willingly gave His life for ours and that we have the hope of redemption because of him.
Today, we gather again to celebrate that the TOMB IS EMPTY! As the angel said on that first Easter Sunday so many years ago, “He’s not here… HE IS RISEN!” Today we celebrate that Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant but also the Satisfied Savior. We will see that soon enough in our passages for today – Isaiah 53 and Luke 24.
Ushers + Bibles (Isaiah 53; page ?)
We read verses 1-9 on Friday, so for today we are turning our attention to the culmination of this chapter in verses 10-12. Listen to the incredible outcome of God’s Servant suffering for our sake.
Isaiah 53:10–12 (ESV)
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
What you’re hearing is the Suffering Servant becomes the Satisfied Savior as he successfully saves his people! (repeat) There is a lot to unpack in these 3 verses, however, before we dive in deeper, I also want to share a companion passage from the New Testament. This passage solidifies our understanding that this way of redemption has always been God’s plan. Turn with me to Luke 24, page ? Now this chapter is 53 verses long, so I’m going to read portions of it and summarize what occurs in between. Let’s start with the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus in verses 1-12.
Luke 24:1-48 (ESV)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
These verses capture Luke’s historical accounting of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The tomb is empty! Jesus has risen. He kept his word to the disciples, and it all happened exactly as he predicted it would. Yet, the men initially struggled to accept it as true!
In verses 13-24, Luke recounts how two of the disciples were on the road to Emmaus, a town about 7 miles from Jerusalem, when Jesus drew near and traveled with them. They were somehow prevented from recognizing him, and in the course of their conversation they were amazed that he didn’t know what had happened in Jerusalem over the past few days. They explained things and shared how they were grappling with their hopes being dashed and their bewilderment about what had happened that morning. After listening to them share this, likely over some time, Jesus finally spoke up. Here is what he said (captured in verses 25-27):
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Jesus began with a rebuke for their hard-heartedness in believing the Scriptures. Then he explained how it was always the plan of God that the Christ should suffer for his people before entering into glory. And where did he go to prove that to them? The Old Testament! He explained how Moses and all the Prophets, correctly interpreted, point to Him! Oh, to be privy to that conversation and hear how Jesus explained it all!
Then in verses 28-43, Luke records some more details of their traveling and how they sat down to break bread together, which is when they realized it was Jesus with them. After he disappears from their sight, they hasten back to Jerusalem to tell the others, who also have a testimony of Peter seeing Jesus as well! Then Jesus shows up to the gathered group and proves that he has a physical resurrected body. He invites them to see and feel that he is not a spirit and even eats a fish in front of them! Let me pick up reading in verses 45-49 to hear his instructions to them.
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
What did he open their minds to understand? The Scriptures – meaning the Old Testament (b/c the New Testament was not written yet). And he reminded them that it was written that the Christ should suffer and conquer death in this way. And he told them there was a message to be proclaimed to all nations in his name! Luke 24 helps confirm that Jesus has accomplished everything promised in Isaiah 53 and that Jesus has provided everything needed to accomplish God’s will. Between these passages, and others we’ll look at along the way, we have much to rejoice in this morning. Our goal this Resurrection Sunday is…
Rejoicing in Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice
As the hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow!”
As we dive into these passages this morning, I pose this question to you. What do you do with the understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice was planned? *repeat*
In Isaiah 53:10, we are told “It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.” There is no other way to understand that other than God planned for His Servant to lay down his life as a ransom for many. This was not man’s plan! God in his perfect wisdom, goodness, righteousness, and sovereignty both came up with and accomplished this plan of redemption. How incredible is that?! This was always the plan! There was no plan B. God’s plan necessitated the Servant’s sacrifice. That is clear from the earlier verses of Isaiah 53 and what Jesus himself said in Luke 24:
Luke 24:25–26 (ESV)
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
It was necessary that the Christ should suffer these things. This was the path to accomplishing the will of God and entering into glory. So, if you haven’t figured out the first reason to rejoice in Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice, here it is…
- Jesus’ sacrifice was planned
What we celebrate on Easter Sunday was not an accident! It was always the plan of God for the salvation of many sinners. One perfect Lamb for many imperfect, sinful men and women. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system was helping the people understand the necessity for a perfect sacrifice to die for them. However, as the author of Hebrews points out, the blood of animals could never suffice for taking away our sins forever. That is why the priests had to keep offering sacrifices day after day after day… The people kept on sinning!
And we are just like them. We keep on sinning. Which creates a real problem for us because God requires perfect righteousness! This is a standard that no human can meet.
Psalm 15:1–2 (ESV)
1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
Who could possibly meet this standard?! No mere man or woman! Only the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, the sinless Son of God. About him, the Apostle John testified:
John 1:14 (ESV)
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the eternal Word of God, the Son of God, who took on flesh and dwelt among us. He came to earth as the God-man, full of grace and truth. He was perfectly righteous, and He always did what pleased the Father. This is what made Him the ONLY possible One who could effectively die in our place to pay for our sins and bear the wrath of God for us. As you are hearing, Jesus’ sacrifice was planned and praise God that it was! It was the only way of salvation for many.
The term for this is substitutionary atonement. It is what is clearly taught in Isaiah 53:11-12:
Isaiah 53:11–12 (ESV)
11 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.
12 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.
He bore the sin of many. This was always the plan. We are great sinners in need of a great Savior and Jesus is that Savior. He came to take our sins and the wrath they had earned us upon Himself. Jesus knew that this was the plan, as evidenced by his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of his arrest:
Luke 22:41–44 (ESV)
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
The cup he is praying about is the cup of God’s wrath that was about to be poured out on Him at the Cross. He knew the agony of what He was about to endure on behalf of His people.
Praise God that He endured! He fulfilled the plan to be our guilt offering and the result was that “the will of the LORD prospered in His hand” just like Isaiah said it would at the end of 53:10. This begs the question “What is God’s will in this?”
The answer is revealed throughout the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. God’s will is to make a people for Himself, who would be His own possession, who would worship Him and dwell with Him in glory forever!
We’ve had glimpses of this in Isaiah 2:1-5, where we heard about the future days when all the nations shall come to the mountain of the LORD to know and worship Him. There is a beautiful passage in Ezekiel that speaks about this, as well as directly to our theme this Holy Week of turning from idols to serve God.
Ezekiel 37:23–28 (ESV)
23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
God is making a people for Himself and desires to be with those people! The New Testament also confirms this is God’s will. Hear the vision John has about what is coming at the end of this age.
Revelation 21:1–5 (ESV)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
What beautiful promises! God delights and desires to make a people for Himself who worship Him and dwell with Him in glory forever! This brings us to our second reason to rejoice in Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice.
- Jesus’ sacrifice was purposeful
Jesus laid down his life so that God’s people could be saved from their sin, delivered from God’s wrath, and made new to worship and live with the LORD forever. How did he accomplish it? By his sufficient sacrifice in our place!
Listen to how the Apostle Paul talks about it in his letter to the Romans:
Romans 5:8–11 (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 5:15–17 (ESV)
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
The Good News is, that for all who believe in Him, Jesus’ death in our place and resurrection from the grave is the MEANS of our salvation and reconciliation with God! Jesus has paid the price of our ransom. He took the guilt and punishment due for our sins upon Himself and offers abundant grace and righteousness in return. I love how Paul puts it. Through one man, Adam, many died (due to being born in sin), yet through one man, Jesus, many are made alive (due to his sufficient sacrifice in our place)!
God knew what He was doing when He sent His Son. The Son knew what He was doing when He came to die for us. Can we give the LORD some praise this morning?
Jesus’ finished work is the means of our redemption, but the method by which God has chosen for men to be saved is revealed in Luke 24. Let’s review it again:
Luke 24:46–49 (ESV)
46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The method God has prescribed for calling His people to Himself is by sending those who have been redeemed to proclaim the Good News! As Jesus says here – repentance for the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations.
Will it succeed? What will the outcome be? God has already told us in the prophecy in Isaiah 53!
Isaiah 53:11–12 (ESV)
11 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.
12 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.
I love these truths. It brings incredible joy to my heart to know that as Jesus was suffering on the Cross, bearing the wrath of God for people like me, He looked out and saw the results and was satisfied. “IT IS WORTH IT!” Through His perfect, righteous sacrifice the Suffering Servant makes many righteous. The Suffering Servant is also the Satisfied Savior!
Our third reason to rejoice in Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice is…
- Jesus’ sacrifice was productive
His sacrifice produced many who are righteous who share in His victory over sin and death! Again, I return to Paul’s writings in Romans:
Romans 5:18–21 (ESV)
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through Jesus Christ’s death many received grace and righteousness and new life! This was the hope of both Old Testament and New Testament believers. In the Old Testament days, they hoped in the Coming Messiah for salvation, but in the New Testament days, they were able to know and trust in their Messiah, the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. This is where things still stand to this day.
As we heard earlier in Luke 24, after His resurrection, Jesus empowered and sent the original eyewitnesses to testify to the need for repentance and the forgiveness of sins in His name to the ends of the earth. But this mission did not end with them. It has been delegated down through the ages to the church, all true believers who have their faith in Jesus Christ. Their mission is our mission.
And we know that Jesus’ sacrifice is still producing good fruit! God is still making a people for Himself until the day His Son returns. We have been privileged to watch as God draws men and women, young and old, to Himself here at Harvest Bible Chapel DSM. We continue to labor in love in our community trusting that God has more to call to Himself. We are driven by these very truths that we’ve heard today about Jesus’ sacrifice being planned, purposeful, and productive. We know that God is not done yet! And we eagerly anticipate what He will do in the days/weeks/months/years ahead, should the LORD tarry His coming.
We know that God is building His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Meaning hell cannot keep the church from storming its gates as we proclaim the truth about Jesus. Men and women who are dead in their sin will hear the Good News and repent as we are faithful to open our mouths and tell it to them!
Which means, Christian brother or sister, that you must be faithful. You must proclaim repentance in Jesus’ name to all nations. And that starts in the community and family God has put you in. Right here in the greater Des Moines metro. Will you be faithful to tell others of Jesus? Will you be willing to endure scorn for His name’s sake? That some might hear and believe? *pause*
Do you remember Isaiah’s response to encountering God and experiencing salvation?
Isaiah 6:6–8 (ESV)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Here I am! Send me. Because once you’ve tasted and seen the glory of God and His redemption, you can’t contain yourself any longer. You want to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is nothing better you could give your life towards.
The beauty is that we know the outcome. Though not all will hear and believe, SOME WILL. God’s plan to make a people for Himself will succeed. Listen again to John’s vision of the future in Revelation:
Revelation 7:9–10 (ESV)
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This is where history is headed! An innumerable people from every nation, tribe, and tongue rejoicing in the salvation they have received through Jesus Christ!
What a privilege to be invited to be a part of this people. What an honor to be sent as an ambassador of such a great God to call others to be a part of this people! How will you respond to God’s calling on your life?
Christian brother or sister, live boldly. Proclaim the gospel unashamedly. You carry the ONLY message of hope and salvation this world will ever know. You know the ONE who redeems. Tell as many as possible about Him! Invite them to repent and believe.
For those who are here but have not believed in Jesus Christ and turned from their rebellion against God, the call for you this Easter morning is to repent and believe. Why would you stay any longer under the wrath of God? Why would you invite your Creator and King to oppose your rebellious life? Why would you prefer to stay in the darkness of sin when you can walk in the light of righteousness? Confess your sin today and ask the Lord to forgive and save you! He delights to do so. He died to do so. If you would like to talk further about that, I would love to do so after the service. Or you can email the church, and we can set up a time to meet in the days ahead.
As we close out our time together today, I’m going to lead us in a word of prayer, and then provide some final instructions for us.
Pray
Special Closing Instructions
- We’re going to have an extended time of worship to close out our Easter service today
- If you have younger kids downstairs, please go pick them up and join us as we finish with 3 more worship songs
- After we sing Saved My Soul we are going to shout out together – “He is Risen!” in celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.
Saved My Soul
- SHOUT – He is Risen!!!
God So Loved/Power in the Blood
Thank You Jesus for the Blood
You are Loved
Invite them back to our new 8-week series in the Epistles of 1-3 John – Walking in the Truth. Remind them to take a “Satisfied Savior” magnet on the way out.
Happy Easter!