C.H. Spurgeon described this chapter as the Bible in miniature. No chapter in the Bible explains more clearly why Jesus Christ had to come into the world. And no chapter in the Bible explains more fully what Jesus accomplished in his birth, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, and in his ascension. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, what chapter did Spurgeon think so highly of? It is Isaiah chapter 53. I think this is one of the most wonderful chapters in all of the Bible. And it really is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. It points us to his whole life, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and even ends up by pointing to his second coming. And I’m so excited about taking a journey through this chapter. It is wonderful. It begins with unbelief. And that’s the theme that we’re going to look at today. It doesn’t start by assuming that everyone believes. It starts by telling us why we don’t believe by nature and what it will take to bring us to faith. And that’s where we’re going to begin today. So let’s open our Bible at Isaiah chapter 53 as we begin our message, Our Unbelief. Here’s Colin. Well, please open your Bible at Isaiah and chapter 53. We’re beginning today a new series in one of the best-known and best-loved chapters in all of the Bible. Now, C.H. Spurgeon described this chapter, Isaiah 53, as the Bible in miniature. No chapter in the Bible explains more clearly why Jesus Christ had to come into the world. And no chapter in the Bible explains more fully what Jesus accomplished in his birth, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, and in his ascension. There are 12 verses in this wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah. You’ll see if you look at the chapter that the first six verses explain why we need a Savior. They show us first our unbelief. They show us our desire, our verdict about Jesus, our sorrows, our transgressions, and our iniquity. Why we need Jesus. That’s the first half of this amazing chapter. And the last six verses of Isaiah and chapter 53 show us why Jesus is the Savior that we need. We’ll look at his silence and his submission in the face of false accusation, his death, his burial, his resurrection, his satisfaction, and then his glorious and marvelous triumph. Now, why spend all this time in Isaiah chapter 53? Well, the answer to that question is that this chapter can lead you to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know this because in the New Testament, we have the story of a man introduced as a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. So this man was the queen’s treasurer. He was the chief financial officer of an entire nation. I’m going to call him for that reason the chancellor. And a person who has a job like this is obviously brilliant. This man was clearly highly educated. He was skilled in investments. He was a master of fiscal policy. He has all the trappings, of course, that come with a successful career. He rides first class in his own personal chariot. Now, in his hand, this man has a scroll with the words of the prophet Isaiah, the words that are in front of us today. And the scroll, we’re told, was open at these verses that we’re looking at in Isaiah chapter 53. God sent a believer by the name of Philip to meet this man, the chancellor, in the desert. And Philip asked him, do you understand what you’re reading? To which the chancellor said, well, how can I unless someone explains it to me? So Philip joined the chancellor in his chariot. And here are two men then with the words of Isaiah 53 in front of them. And the chancellor asked Philip, now, who’s the prophet speaking about? Is the prophet speaking about himself or is he speaking about someone else? And then the scripture says, Philip opened his mouth. And beginning with this scripture, what we’re looking at here in Isaiah 53, he told him the good news about Jesus. So very clearly, this chapter is all about the good news of Jesus Christ. Isaiah tells us in this chapter what Jesus Christ accomplished when he died on the cross. Look at verse 5. 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. See, in the gospels, we’re told what men did to Jesus. The gospels tell us that a crown of thorns was forced onto his head, that he was nailed to a cross, that people mocked him as he hung and as he suffered there. But Isaiah takes us inside what God was doing at the cross. He tells us with stunning clarity that God was laying the sins that would have condemned us on his son, Jesus Christ. And that through Jesus, there is peace with God for us and reconciliation with the Father. And then Isaiah tells us not only what Jesus accomplished through his death, but what Jesus accomplishes through his resurrection. Verse 10. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. You see what Isaiah is telling us. Jesus is going to gather a great family. A family of people who come to be his from every nation across the face of the earth. These people are going to live forever. Their days will be prolonged as Jesus lives forever. God’s great plan to bring blessing to the nations of the world will be accomplished in and through Jesus Christ. And Isaiah tells us not only what Jesus will accomplish through his death and through his resurrection, but what he will accomplish when he returns in power and in glory. Look at verse 12. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Now we’re told in Acts and chapter 8 in the New Testament, the beginning with this extraordinary chapter of scripture. Isaiah 53. Philip told the chancellor the good news about Jesus Christ. And through what he learned about Jesus from this chapter, Isaiah 53, he came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was baptized. The Bible tells us that this man, the CFO of a nation, having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, went on his way rejoicing. Now, my prayer for this series is that what happened to the chancellor will happen for us. That we will see what Jesus accomplished from this chapter. And that seeing what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished, we will find great joy in receiving what he offers. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message, Our Unbelief, the first in our series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. And we’ll get back to the message in a moment. Open the Bible is brought to you as a result of financial donations by our listeners. If that’s something you feel you’d like to do, we have an offer for you this month, which will give you a free gift in return for your new donation of five pounds per month or more. The gift is the book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. In the book, Packer talks about what God does in salvation, what he calls us to do, and how the sovereignty of God is the best possible incentive for us in sharing the gospel with others. And that’s our free gift to you if you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible of five pounds per month or more. Full details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. Now, back to the message. Here’s Colin. Now, we begin today in verse one, where Isaiah tells us that unbelief is the natural response to the good news about Jesus. Remember that the first six verses of this chapter are all pointing to why we need a savior. The first reason that we need a savior is that by nature, none of us believes. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? That’s the verse that’s before us today. And I want us to look at it together from three distinct angles. We’re going to see first what you need to know about unbelief. Then we’re going to see through this verse what you need to know about faith. And then thirdly, we’re going to see from this verse and more broadly in Scripture, what you need to know about how to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. First then, what you need to know about unbelief. Look at this verse. Who has believed what he has heard from us? Now, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was announced by angels as good news of great joy for all people. And you would think that the greatest good news that this world has ever heard would be received in this world gladly. But across the world, in every culture, the dominant response to the gospel is unbelief. The first thing, therefore, that you need to know about unbelief is that it is normal. Think about it. A student goes off to university on a campus where there are 20,000 students. The vast majority of them are not Christians. And her closest friends don’t believe. They’re really good people. And over time, as she looks at them and ponders the way in which she’s been brought up, she begins to think, you know, I must have been brought up in some kind of a cocoon. I must have been raised in a kind of religious bubble. I mean, after all, who is there on this campus who has believed what I have heard? That’s the question at the beginning of this verse. Think about a young pastor. He’s very eager. He goes to plant a church in a town of, let’s say, 100,000 people. He wants with all his heart to win the town for Jesus Christ. And he preaches his heart out. He starts a sports ministry. He starts a children’s ministry, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, evangelistic Bible study. At the end of five years, he has a congregation of just 50 people. Most people in the town don’t want his message. And eventually, he begins to doubt himself. If this is really true, why is it that so few people believe it? What am I doing wrong? Why are people not responding? He’s asking the question of Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 1. Who has believed what they have heard from us? Unbelief should never surprise you. We live in an unbelieving world. The human heart is wired for unbelief. That is actually the first effect of sin on us. First Corinthians chapter 2 in verse 14, the Apostle Paul says, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. Seems like foolishness to the natural person. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Now you see, that is exactly what Isaiah experienced, and exactly what he is describing here in chapter 53 in verse 1. Who has believed what he has heard from us? Now I think that it would be hard to present God’s word more persuasively than was done by Isaiah. I mean, think about it. Isaiah spoke under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. And yet the dominant response to this man’s ministry was unbelief. Who has believed what they have heard from us? He says. Now these very important words in Isaiah 53 are actually quoted twice in the New Testament. And that is very significant. First they are quoted by the Apostle Paul. Romans chapter 10 and verse 14. Paul writes, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? Now, why does the Apostle Paul quote these words from Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 1? Well, very simply for this reason. Paul was the leading pioneer missionary of his day. He preached the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Everywhere he went, there were some people who came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But this man quotes the prophet Isaiah, because he also found that the overwhelming response to the gospel wherever he went was unbelief. And then even more striking is that this was the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. John says in chapter 12 and verse 37 of his gospel, that though Jesus had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him. So that the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Now try and let this settle into your mind and heart. Because you see, optimistic people like to think that the only reason people don’t believe is that they haven’t heard a sufficiently compelling presentation of the gospel. But no one could hear a more compelling presentation of the gospel than was given by Isaiah, by the apostle Paul, or by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And yet it’s clear in the scripture that the overwhelming response to the ministry of Isaiah, the ministry of Paul, and the ministry of Jesus, the overwhelming response is what? Unbelief. Unbelief should not surprise us. It is the normal human response to the gospel, however well presented. Now the second thing that you need to know about unbelief is that it is sinful. Now I wonder, you know, when you hear the word sin, what comes first to your mind? Murder? Adultery? Stealing? Lying? Well, these are all sins against the Ten Commandments. But suppose for a moment that you were able to keep these commandments, that you were always faithful, that you were always content, that you never stole, and that you never lied. Not a single time, not in your entire life. Now the Bible is very clear that even if you had been able to love your neighbor as yourself throughout your life, if you remained in unbelief, you would be lost forever. And that is made very clear at the end of the Bible in the book of Revelation and chapter 21, where we read this, the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Do you see how sinful unbelief is? The unbelieving are listed at the end of the Bible alongside murderers, idolaters, and liars. Unbelief is sinful. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and our message, Our Unbelief. It’s part of our new series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. And we’ve been hearing that our unbelief is normal, it’s sinful, and in the next message we’re going to see why it’s so offensive to God. I hope you’ll be able to join us for that. And if you ever miss one of our programs, you can always go online, go back, listen again. Our website is at openthebible.org.uk. There you can also find Open the Bible Daily. That’s our two to three minute reflection, written by Pastor Colin Smith and read by Sue McLeish. You can also get Open the Bible, both the message and Open the Bible Daily, as a podcast. Go to your favorite podcasting site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to get regular updates. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners, and we want to thank you for that. If you’re able this month to set up a new donation in the amount of £5 or more, we’d love to send you a free gift. It’s a book by J.I. Packer entitled Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. So Colin, the book is about evangelism and God’s sovereignty, but why is this book so important? Well, it has been very important in my life. I read it first many years ago, and the mark of a good book, in my view, is it’s one you keep going back to. And this is one that I do keep going back to because Packer speaks so clearly about this really important issue of evangelism and the sovereignty of God. And the issue is simply this, that the Bible quite clearly proclaims that God has done more than make salvation possible. God actually saves people. Salvation is of the Lord, and that’s the sovereignty of God. God saves, and believers know this by instinct, that though I have made a decision to follow Christ, God somehow laid hold of me and has wonderfully turned my life around. But, of course, the question that then arises is, well, if it’s God who saves, then why don’t we just leave him to do it? And, of course, that would cut out evangelism altogether. So how does our responsibility to share the gospel with people who don’t yet believe relate to the wonderful truth that God is in the business of saving people, evangelism and the sovereignty of God? Packer’s book helped me on seeing how these things don’t fight each other. They actually complement each other, and they hold together very wonderfully. It’s beautifully written. It’s very clear. And I’m really excited that we’re able to share this with folks who listen to the program. If you find it a tenth as helpful as I’ve found it, you will be greatly blessed. Well, we’d love to send you a copy of this book if you’re able to set up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible this month in the amount of £5 or more per month. You’ll be joining many other listeners who are supporting the work that we do, both online and on the radio. Full details of the offer on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I very much hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. In a world where unbelief is normal, how would God gather together a great company of people from every nation and give them eternal life? Find out next time on Open the Bible.