Isaiah 53

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Isaiah 53:4-9
• Sermon
• Prayer of Closing

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Sermon Title: The Old and New Testaments United in the Suffering Servant

Scripture: Isaiah 53

I. Introduction: How the Two Testaments Relate to One Another

A. The New Testament invites us to read the Old Testament in light of Christ

1. Luke 24:25-27 — on the road to Emmaus, Jesus interprets all the Scriptures as being about himself
2. Luke 24:44 — the Law, Prophets, and Psalms all point to Christ and must be fulfilled in him

B. Geerhardus Vos's seed-and-tree illustration

1. The Old Testament is the seed; the New Testament is the tree
2. The relationship is organic — both are perfect in themselves, differing only in maturity
3. One divine author, one gospel message, in seed and tree form
4. This is what is sometimes called progressive revelation

II. Two Key Frameworks for Understanding the Testaments Together

A. Promise and Fulfillment

1. 2 Corinthians 1:20 — all the promises of God find their yes in Christ
2. Matthew uses the formula "so that the scripture might be fulfilled" approximately 14 times, directly linking Old Testament promises to Christ's ministry

B. Type and Antitype (Typology)

1. Defined as the study of patterned correspondences in Scripture — persons, events, and institutions in the Old Testament that point ahead to Christ
2. Romans 5 — Paul calls Adam a type of the one to come
3. Hebrews 8 — the temple, sacrificial system, and high priestly office are types pointing ahead to Christ; the Old Covenant is a copy and shadow of the heavenly and eternal things
4. The antitype always escalates the type — the fulfillment is greater than the foreshadowing
5. Example: John 19 — Jesus's bones are not broken at the crucifixion, fulfilling the Passover Lamb instruction of Exodus 12 and Numbers 9

C. The goal is not academic but doxological

1. John 1:45 — Philip's invitation to Nathanael: come and see Jesus
2. Reading both Testaments together is an invitation to see Jesus, the Word made flesh

III. The Exploits of Christ in Isaiah 53 — What Christ Has Accomplished

A. Isaiah 53:7 — Christ as the Lamb led to slaughter

1. This verse looks back to the Passover Lamb of Exodus 12, where the lamb's blood distinguished God's people from Egypt; there it is not explicitly about atonement for sin, but about deliverance
2. Isaiah 53 escalates the lamb imagery — now the lamb is wrapped in the context of substitutionary atonement (Isaiah 53:4-6, Isaiah 53:11)
3. The line runs from Exodus 12 through Isaiah 53 to the New Testament

B. New Testament fulfillment of the Lamb imagery

1. John 1:29 — John the Baptist: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"
2. 1 Peter 1:18-20 — ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot, foreknown before the foundation of the world
3. Revelation 5:6, Revelation 5:11-12 — Christ worshiped in heaven as the Lamb who was slain
4. Escalation: in Exodus 12 the lamb spares from physical death; in Christ the Lamb achieves full substitutionary atonement, so that God's justice passes over his people

C. 1 Peter 2:24 — the most condensed use of Isaiah 53 in the New Testament

1. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed"
2. Peter directly quotes Isaiah 53 to describe Christ's redemptive work

IV. The Example of Christ in Isaiah 53 — How Christ's Conduct Shapes Ours

A. 1 Peter 2:18-25 — Peter draws on Isaiah 53 for both a redemptive and a moral argument

1. Peter addresses servants and all Christians under authority who endure unjust suffering
2. Christ's humble submission to the cross becomes the pattern and motivation for Christian endurance under suffering
3. Christ is more than a moral example, but he is not less than one

B. Peter's high Christology enables him to identify Old Testament descriptions of Yahweh's activity as the activity of Jesus Christ

1. Christ as the Suffering Servant redeems a new Israel
2. That redeemed people is called to lives of godliness after the example of Christ