Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? Well, you see, Jesus could have stopped the process of his arrest, his trial and his crucifixion at any moment if he chose to do so, but he chose not to do that. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and Colin, if Jesus could have stopped all the suffering he had to endure at any time, why didn’t he do it? Well, because he chose to endure all that he suffered, that was his choice. He actually said, shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given to me? And why would he make that choice? Because it was such an awful suffering that he endured. Well, he made that choice out of love for the Father and out of love for us. And I think that gives us a wonderful glimpse of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. He actually chose to lay down his life. He says on one occasion, no one takes my life from me. I choose to lay it down. I choose to take it up again. So it’s not that the Lord Jesus Christ reluctantly was forced to do something to save you. He wanted to save you. And the reason that he came into the world was that the Father wanted to save you. The Father and the Son were at one in redeeming you. And they redeem you out of a heart of love. You are loved more than you can ever begin to imagine by God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And you never see that more clearly than in what Jesus chose to endure for you and for me at the cross. Well, let’s look at this from the perspective of Isaiah chapter 53. Today from verse 7 as we begin a message called Submission. Here’s Colin. Now, over these last weeks, we have seen that God will bring about a great restoration of everything that was lost through the entrance of sin into the world. Jesus bore our griefs and he carried our sorrows. And he did that so that we might live in a world of peace and love and joy where grief and sorrow will be no more. We saw that Jesus purchased this restoration and he did it by means of substitution. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And Jesus endured all of this because our sins were laid on him. Now, this is what happened at the cross from the perspective of God the Father. What was God the Father doing when Jesus went to the cross? Well, Isaiah tells us right here in verse 6 that we looked at last time. The Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. And we saw this is the language of transfer. This is God taking our sins from one place and putting them in another. He gathered together all of our transgressions, all of our sins, all of our iniquities. What did he do with them? He laid them on his own Son, Jesus Christ. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus was our substitute. He stood in our place. Our sins were imputed to him. They were laid on him. They were counted as his. And the sentence that would have been on us, well, it was on him. And this is how we have peace with God. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. So we’ve been learning together that Jesus purchased our restoration and he did this by means of substitution and imputation. Now every doctrine in the Christian faith has come under attack and this will continue until Jesus Christ himself puts a stop to it when he returns in power and in glory. And the truth that we’ve been focusing on from Isaiah chapter 53 over these last weeks goes to the very centre and heart of the gospel itself. And so it should not come to us as any surprise at all that this doctrine has been a focus of sustained attack. Now the assault on this truth that we’ve been looking at from the Bible really comes in three successive waves. The first wave of the assault is to deny the severity of sin. The biblical doctrine of sin tells us that there is something seriously wrong with us. Our transgressions, our iniquities, our defiance, our twistedness. But you see, this doesn’t fit well with a world of affirmation. So it’s very tempting simply to ignore the entrance of sin into the world and to replace original sin with original goodness. So you might hear someone say, well the Bible says that God made everything good. I mean sure, none of us are perfect, but is it not the case that at heart we are essentially good? And then what follows in the second wave of assault on this great truth that we’re looking at in the Bible is a denial of the reality of judgment. Jesus’ enduring punishment in our place, well that tells us very clearly that there is a judgment. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. But you see, that points to the very disturbing reality that there’s a hell as well as a heaven. And the people who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will go there. So you see, it’s very tempting then to simply ignore all that the Bible says about punishment and then replace God’s judgment with God’s acceptance. So you might hear someone say, well doesn’t the Bible say that God is love? And sure, we all need some sorting out, but is it not the case that God in the end will welcome us all into his heaven? And then after denying the severity of sin and after denying the reality of judgment, the third wave in this assault is to deny substitution itself. And you may hear people say something like this, well this idea of Jesus being our substitute, is it not simply a theory? Him paying the penalty, him paying the price, him becoming the substitute and bearing our sins. That’s just one way of thinking about the cross. And since it relates to sin and punishment in which we no longer believe, it’s a way of thinking about the cross in which we can now easily discard. But I want you to take in what Isaiah the prophet actually says. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed and it was for our iniquities. Friends, that is substitution. And speaking under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, Isaiah states it not as a theory, but as a fact. And when Isaiah says the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, he’s not speculating about what might happen at the cross, he’s declaring under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit what God has actually done. And when Isaiah speaks about the chastisement or the punishment that was upon Jesus, he’s not announcing any theory, he’s describing the brutal reality of what actually happened at the cross. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. Now, friends, it is certainly possible for people to say that they don’t believe what Isaiah says. I mean, that would hardly be surprising because if you look back to verse one, the prophet himself begins the chapter by saying, who has believed our message? No surprise if people don’t believe this. But the plain and obvious message of Isaiah is that Jesus became our substitute. He stood in our place. Our sins really were laid on him. And we have peace with God because the punishment that was due to us was on him. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message Submission. And we’ll get right back to the message shortly. How well do you know the storyline of the Bible? As Pastor Colin says, it’s a story which begins in a garden and ends in a city and the whole way through it points to Jesus. We’ve put together a section of our website called Open the Bible Story, and it can help you to see the Bible as just that, one story, Genesis all the way through to Revelation and the maps at the back. If you haven’t looked at it yet, why not do that? There are three different paths that you can take through the Bible. Right now at openthebible.org.uk, you can find The Drive, a 30-session journey through the Bible story. It’ll take you deep into the valleys of the Old Testament and up to the peaks of the glory of Jesus, along with the ups and downs of the Christian life. That’s Open the Bible Story, The Drive, at openthebible.org.uk. Let’s get back to the message now. Here’s Colin. Now today we come to verse 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. Very clearly what this verse is telling us is that when Jesus went to the cross, he did not object, he did not complain. Jesus knew that what he suffered was in the will of the Father for him, and his own will was completely aligned with the will of his Father. You remember in the Garden of Gethsemane how Jesus wrestled with us and then he prayed, not my will but yours be done. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given to me? You remember that when Jesus was arrested a short time later in that Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was ready to resist, he drew his sword and Jesus said to him, put your sword back in its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. And then Jesus said, do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? Well you see, Jesus could have stopped the process of his arrest, his trial and his crucifixion at any moment if he chose to do so. But he chose not to do that, why? Because in all that Jesus suffered, his will was completely aligned with the will of his Father. Now friends, that is the very clear point of this verse. Jesus was oppressed and he was afflicted. He was oppressed in his unwarranted arrest, he was afflicted in a supposedly legal process that was a flagrant abuse of power and yet, Isaiah says, he opened not his mouth. When false witnesses testified against Jesus in the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, Mark tells us Jesus remained silent and he made no answer. Then when Jesus was accused before Pontius Pilate, Matthew tells us he gave no answer. Pilate was amazed, said to Jesus, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. You can see Pilate looking at Jesus and he can’t make any sense of it. No one remained silent against accusations like these. Then Pilate sent Jesus off to Herod and it was exactly the same. Herod asked Jesus many, many questions and Luke records, but Jesus made no answer. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to a slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Notice that Isaiah says twice, he opened not his mouth. Now we know that Jesus spoke seven times from the cross. We know that Jesus told Pontius Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. He said I’ve come into this world to bear witness to the truth and everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. So Isaiah is not saying here that Jesus never spoke during his trial or that he never spoke during his crucifixion. The point is that Jesus said and did nothing that would save him from going to the cross. And why was this? Because the will of Jesus was completely aligned with the will of his father. Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given to me? This suffering is in the will of my father for me. It is part of his purpose. He will use it to bring about my own ultimate good and the blessing of all who will believe in me and so I will not complain, I will not object, I will not fight, I will not resist. Like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. My friends, I want to apply this very important verse of Scripture to us in three ways today. The first is I want us to see that the submission of Jesus that is the heart of this verse answers a pressing question. I want us to see that the submission of Jesus models a distinct calling and I want us to see that the submission of Jesus opens a compelling prospect. First then, the submission of Jesus answers a pressing question. Now Isaiah says in verse 5, Jesus was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He tells us in verse 6 that the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now someone will say, and you may have heard this charge being made, are you telling me that God the Father punished his dearly loved son Jesus for sins he did not commit? Isn’t that the most grotesque perversion of justice? What kind of father would do this to his own son? And you may have heard this question raised in regard, of course, to the story of Abraham and Isaac. You remember the story of how father and son went up the mountain and Abraham laid his son Isaac on the altar. He was ready to offer his son as a sacrifice to God. What kind of father would do that to his son? It’s a really important question. And I’ve been greatly helped on this by A.W. Pink who points out that Isaac would have been a young man when he climbed the mountain with his father Abraham. So please try and forget any artistic impressions that you may have seen of a young child lying helplessly strapped onto an altar. Isaac was a man in the prime of life and he could easily have overpowered old Abraham who was more than a hundred years old at this time. But Isaac didn’t do that, why? Because Isaac was ready to lay down his own life. And what you have in that remarkable and disturbing story in Genesis and chapter 22 is the story of a father who is willing to give up his son and a son who is willing to lay down his own life and they’re at one in doing what is needed to bring blessing to the world. Now of course, God did not allow Abraham to give up his own son. But God did what Abraham and Isaac could only illustrate. God the Father gave up his dearly loved son for us. God the Son gave himself for us. And that surely is the point of verse 7. And that’s why it comes here in Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 6, Isaiah has told us what happened at the cross from the perspective of God the Father. The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all. And then immediately, so that there’s no misunderstanding, Isaiah tells us what happened at the cross from the perspective of God the Son. 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. God the Father and God the Son were at one in doing what it took to redeem you and to redeem me. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Submission, part of our series taken from Isaiah chapter 53 called The Gospel According to Isaiah. And if you ever miss any of our broadcasts, you can always go online. Go back, catch up or listen again to any of our previous messages. Go to openthebible.org.uk. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners. That’s people just like you. If you feel you’d like to get involved in this way, this month we’d like to offer you a free gift. If you’re able to support the work of Open the Bible in the amount of five pounds per month or more, we’d love to send you a book called Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. It’s by J.I. Packer. Colin, who is this book for? Well, if there’s someone in your life who you would long to see come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, this book is going to be wonderfully encouraging for you. I’m thinking now about someone I would love to see come to faith in Christ. So I ask the question, now what can I do? Well, I can pray for this person. I can share the gospel with this person. But, you know, when you see that someone you care for in your life really has no openness at all and has proved very resistant, perhaps over many, many years, you have a profound sense of, you know, only God himself is going to be able to turn this person around. And that’s why the sovereignty of God is really, really good news, that God is able to take a person as hardened against the gospel as Saul of Tarsus was and literally turn him around and make him anew. God is able to do that. So grasping the sovereignty of God is actually the greatest encouragement and incentive for praying and for evangelism. I found this book to be wonderfully encouraging. It has helped to sustain in me a hope for people who’ve been long away from the things of the Lord Jesus Christ, because the sovereignty of God actually motivates us to pray and to reach out with the gospel. I think it’d be a wonderfully encouraging book for anyone who really cares about a loved one or a friend who is far from God. 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 in the amount of five pounds per month or more. For full details or to give online, go to openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. How are we as Christians expected to live when we suffer injustice and how is this kind of response to injustice possible? Find out next time on Open the Bible.