The Loveliness of Jesus

This is the first sermon on the final servant song of Isaiah - the first three verses. The fourth servant song, which goes from the end of chapter 52 through all of 53, is fifteen verses long, in five groups of three verses.

There is a dramatic contrast between the language of the servant acting wisely, being high lifted up and exalted is vs 13 with the disfigurement and marring in vs 14 and vs 15. The verbs high, lifted up and exalted were previously used in the vision of the throne in Is 6.

The servant is lovely in his condescension, his sacrifice for sinners, his obedience to the Father, his grace and in many more respects.

The servant will sacrificially sprinkle many nations. Kings mouths will shut. Kings eyes will open. They will understand.

In the start of the next chapter the Kings reaction is contrasted with 'who shall believe His message' and the rejection of the servant. In Is 6 angels hid their faces from Him on the throne. In Is 53, 'we hid our faces from Him'.

The five groups of verses in this servant song can be thought of as a literary chiasm. A grouping that emphasises the middle - 'all we like sheep have gone astray but the Lord laid the iniquity of us all on Him' , where one might step up each of the first groups to the middle for emphasis and then step down, outer groups 1 and 5, then 2 and 4 matching, emphasizing 3.

Another way to look at Is 53 would be to consider it somewhat of an outline of Jesus statement the son of man must be rejected, suffer, die and overcome death, all points stressed, being made at least seven times. Both Joseph and Daniel state that God repeating Himself twice is significant.