Declaring His Generation
SERMON STARTER
In ancient Roman Times, when a prisoner was about to be led forth to death, a crier made proclamation calling on anyone to come forward and assert his innocence, and declare his manner of life. From the Jewish Mishna it is recorded like this,
"Whosoever knows any thing of this man's innocence, let him come and declare it. "
It was customary when sentence of death was passed upon a criminal, and he was led out from the Seat of Judgment to the place of punishment, a crier went before, and spoke as follows:
'This man is going out to suffer death by - because he has transgressed by (- such a transgression, in such a place, in such a time;) and the witnesses against him are - . He who may know any thing relative to his innocence let him come and speak in his behalf.'"
Jesus was charged by the Jewish Sanhedrin with Blasphemy: Claiming to be the Son of God which carried a sentence of death.
Luke records in Acts 8:33
“In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."
In Jesus’ illegal night-time sham trial by the Jewish Sanhedrin, no witnesses were allowed to speak in His behalf. No one spoke for Him in private or in public. Fear kept the public world-be-defenders silent.
'Here is Jesus, who is called the Christ. He is going out to suffer death by crucifixion because he has transgressed by claiming repeatedly to be the Son of God and the witnesses against him are the entire Jewish religious community. He who may know any thing relative to his innocence let him stand forth and declare it!
NO ONE. . .Not one of His community neighbors in Nazareth spoke for Him.
Not one of the many people He healed and restored to life spoke for Him.
Not one of His disciples who had been with Him and heard his teaching and saw His miracles spoke for Him?
What keeps us silent in this politically-correct world of ours? Is it fear or shame? Do we fear the ridicule of our peers?
Are we fearful of what others may think of us? What keeps is in our silence? This sermon aims at loosing the tongues of silent witnesses.
Pastor Phil <><<
April 7, 2013, Sheepfold Ministries
Pastor Phil Roland
Declaring His Generation
Isaiah 53:1-8
“Nobody spoke up for Jesus as He was on His way to His Cross. We can speak up for Him in our time. Few are Evangelists, all are witnesses. God’s promised power is with us when we speak up for Him.” Pastor Phil <><<
”He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” Isaiah 53:8
Greek = marturious = MAR-TUR-IOUS = English derivative: “Martyr”
“To bear witness boldly to the point of death”
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
WE HAVE SIX REASONS TODAY FOR DECLARING HIS GENERATION
I. JESUS BORE OUR GRIEFS - Verse 4a
“Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows;
A. HEBREW – CHA-LAH – Worn down in Strength, Infirmed , Sick, Pained
1. He bears our Sicknesses with us – Matthew 8:16,17
”When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were
brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed
all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet
Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases."
2. He is actively involved with us in our sufferings
3. He calls to us to invite Him to be with us – Matt. 11:28,29
”Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
B. He is a Savior who Bears our Sicknesses with us
1. New Pope stops to hold a sick child in the crowd
a. This fulfills a Christ-Like function
b. Mother Theresa – washing sores of Lepers
2. He carries our sorrow over Sickness and Disease
”If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. . .”2 Timothy 2:12a
a. He knows about our dismay over Physical Illness
b. He never leaves us or abandons us – Hebrews 13:5
”Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with
such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.”
3. He doesn't remove all our diseases: We live in mortal bodies
4. He is with us in our Sufferings
DECLARING HIS GENERATION, Cont., p.2
II. JESUS CARRIED OUR SORROWS - Verse 4b
“Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows;
A. HEBREW – MA-KOB - To be Sorrowful, Marred, In Pain, Destroyed
1. Our Sorrows are His Sorrows - (Deep Pain)
2. He is a man of Grief: He knows about it First Hand
"He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."
B. He knows the Heartache of Disillusionment and Loss
1. Are you Angry with Him/God about what Life has brought?
2. He understands your humanity and your emotion
3. He is used to Rejection
4. He knows you personally and knows w/His help you'll heal
III. JESUS WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS V. 5a
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
A. HEBREW – "PE-SHA" - Lawlessness, Rebellion, Falling Away
1. Our "Transgressions" caused the Wounds of Jesus
2. Our "Lawlessness" nailed Him to His Cross
3. "Nobody tells us what to do!"
B. His Atonement covered our Lawlessness
1. OT Law required a "Blood Atonement" - Hebrews 9:22
"And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood,
and without shedding of blood there is no remission."
2. Blood covers sin from Adam to Jesus' Cross - Heb. 10:11,12
"And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this
Man, (Jesus) after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,"
C. HEBREW - "A-VON" - Perversity, Depravity, Generational Guilt passed on by Acts of Sinning
1. Our "Iniquities" caused Him to be Bruised - v. 5b
2. We were a Lawless, Iniquitous type of person before Jesus
3. We walked in darkness, "Just like our Fathers"
4. Jesus Set us Free from the Law of Generations - Matt. 3:10
"And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree
tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire"
a. I no longer have to live in the legacy of my father's sin
b. Jesus' axe has set me free from ALL my Past
c. Because of His Great Love I am Truly Free!
IV. JESUS' PAIN BROUGHT US PEACE - Verse 5c
"the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
A. Jesus Himself is our Peace - John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I
give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
1. Popular media brain-washed idea of Peace is the Absence of War
DECLARING HIS GENERATION, Cont., p.3
2. SLOGAN: "KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE, NO JESUS, NO PEACE"
B. Your Inner Struggles for Meaning from Life's Chaos May Cease
1. You can find your Rest and Peace in Him
2. In the arduous task of Overt Grieving, you are not alone
3. He grieves with us!
V. JESUS WAS SCOURGED TO BRING US PHYSICAL HEALING
A. Roman Half-Way Death - 39 Stripes
1. Forty could kill you
2. Thirteen Blows from a 3-Stranded, "Cat-of-Nine Tails"
B. Soldier's "Hot Hand" Game
1. Soldiers stood Him in the middle of their circle
2. Blindfolded Him and struck him in the face w/Open Hands
C. Healing for the Body and the Soul
1. Some are healed this side of the grave
2. All are healed on the grave's "Other Side"
VI. JESUS BECAME GUILT AND SIN FOR US - Verse 6
"All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
A. Can't forgive yourself? Jesus already took your guilt away!
1. Your sins were nailed to His Cross - Colossians 2:13b-14
". . .He has made (us) alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements
that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it
out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
2. Give up your self-reproach and self-condemnation:God has!
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit." Romans 8:1
B. GOOD NEWS: He gives each of us a clean slate
1. We can openly Declare His Generations without Fear
2. Can you give your witness in His Behalf?
3. Who here can Openly Declare His Generations?
Declaring His Generation
Isaiah 53
New King James Version (NKJV)
53 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they[a] made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul,[b] and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
BARNES NOTES
Some have supposed that it refers to the fact that when a prisoner was about to be led forth to death, a crier made proclamation calling on anyone to come forward and assert his innocence, and declare his manner of life. But there is not sufficient proof that this was done among the Jews, and there is no evidence that it was done in the case of the Lord Jesus. Nor would this interpretation exactly express the sense of the Hebrew. In regard to the meaning of the passage, besides the sense referred to above, we may refer to the following opinions which have been held, and which are arranged by Hengstenberg:
CLARK’S COMMENTARY
And who shall declare his generation "And his manner of life who would declare" - A learned friend has communicated to me the following passages from the Mishna, and the Gemara of Babylon, as leading to a satisfactory explication of this difficult place.
It is said in the former, that before any one was punished for a capital crime, proclamation was made before the prisoner by the public crier, in these words:
כל מי שיודע לו זכות יבא וילמד עליו col mi shioda lo zachoth yabo vayilmad alaiv,
"whosoever knows any thing of this man's innocence, let him come and declare it. "
"It was customary when sentence of death was passed upon a criminal, and he was led out from the seat of judgment to the place of punishment, a crier went before, and spoke as follows:
'This man is going out to suffer death by - because he has transgressed by - such a transgression, in such a place, in such a time; and the witnesses against him are - . He who may know any thing relative to his innocence let him come and speak in his behalf.'"
