Ordinary Savior

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, a scrawny shipyard worker by the name of Desmond Doss resolved in his heart that he wanted to do something about it. He wanted to make a difference. And so he enlisted in the US military. But there there was a problem. He had a deep personal conviction as a result of his religious beliefs that he would never take a human life. And so as a result of that, he refused to carry a weapon in battle. He wouldn't even carry a knife. Now, this resulted in a challenging experience for him. His fellow soldiers, they rejected him. They despised him because certainly if he's not going to defend himself, how in the world is he going to belong in a band of brothers and defend his brothers? His superiors, they mocked him. But then the battle of Okinawa came. Now ,the US forces, they were given this near impossible task that they had to scale a 400 foot cliff, and then take control of the mountaintop in Okinawa. This was a strenuous battle, and it did not go well for US forces to the point that after a long day of battle there were maybe three classifications you could have, Japanese forces, wounded Americans soldiers, and little Desmond Doss. But as the commanding officers were waiting at the bottom of that ridge, and again, you can see all of this depicted in the movie "Hacksaw Ridge" that was released in 2016, which was nearly 10 years ago. And that does make my brain fry a little bit. But as the commanding officers were standing at the bottom of that ridge, they noticed what looked to be a body being lowered by rope. And they came to discover that this was a wounded American soldier, and that little Desmond Doss, evading enemy fire, was going to wounded American soldiers caring for their wounds and then carrying them to the ridge and lowering them. They had asked him, "What was going through your mind as you were going through this process?" And he said, "I just kept praying to God. Lord, please help me just save one more." At the end of that time, 75 American soldiers were rescued and cared for as a result of Desmond Doss, and he was given by our president and our nation the Medal of Honor. Now, why do I share that story with you this morning? Because Desmond Doss is not your typical war hero, not the hero that probably most would look for in terms of qualifications. He didn't have a big stature. He wasn't strong or powerful. And in the battlefield, he wasn't looking to engage in what you were there for. But I think this story of Desmond Doss is a great window into what we see about our savior Jesus Christ as depicted in a prophetic, and personal, and quite precise way as we read in Isaiah at the end of chapter 52 and in chapter 53. And so for those of you you hear at CrossPoint, maybe you're watching online, if you wanna turn to that part in your Bible, Isaiah chapter 53, or maybe you're a Bible student that has an extraordinary memory. But that's where we're gonna find ourselves this morning. But what I wanna start with is actually one of the earlier verses, but it is kind of where we're going to end or land the plane this morning. So kind of like a Tarantino film, we'll start with the end and then we will go back to the beginning, and we'll circle there. But we read this in Isaiah 52:13. It says: See, my servant will act wisely. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. There's a servant that is going to be described in Isaiah Chapter 53. And that at some point, he is going to be lifted high, he is going to be exalted, he's going to be worshiped, and praised, and adored. But that path to exaltation will be different, and Isaiah chapter 53 details that for us, and we see how Jesus Christ fulfills this. It's great to note that Isaiah was written roughly 750 years before Jesus Christ stepped into human history and was born in a manger. And so we see this Bible prophecy unfolding where things in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. But we notice three things, or I wanna point out three things we notice about this servant in chapter 53. There might be more. I don't have the time, and I'm sure you don't either, 'cause if I'm still talking at one o'clock, I may get a tomato on my shirt, and that's gonna happen in a couple hours from my daughter. So let's not do that too early. But we notice this first thing about a suffering servant. We notice his very ordinary appearance, that as he comes and as he's seen by the world, that he is very dreadfully ordinary, that he's just your average Josh. We read this in verse two. He grew up before him like a tender shoot. And like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. No beauty or majesty. Jesus stepped into human history in the town of Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. We read in the Bible that Nazareth, perhaps this might sound a bit harsh, but Nazareth could almost be classified as the armpit of Israel in that time. We read in verses like Mark 2:23 and John 1:46, that Jesus came from Nazareth. And what good could come from Nazareth? Or, there's the carpenter or the carpenter's son from Nazareth to denote just how ordinary He is. Now, on top of that, Jesus was born into poverty. We see that His mother, Mary, and His earthly father, Joseph, they didn't come from an affluent background. We see that because we see in Mark when they go to give their offering that everyone gives in that town. That offering usually consists of a lamb, a spotless lamb, and two pigeons or turtle doves. But if you were of a certain lower economic status, you could give just the two birds, and that would be okay. Others would recognize that, and that would be okay. Now, again, what's interesting in terms of the layers of the narrative of God's story is they did have, when Jesus was born, a lamb with them, just wasn't a lamb that was seen by the people around them, which should give us a clue that when we find ourselves in circumstances or experiences, quite often we can miss what might be right in front of us. And it takes faith, and trust, and seeking God, and probably a wee bit of hindsight to look and see how God's working even in our own stories. But he came from a family that wasn't well off. They weren't powerful either. There was nothing majestic about his family. He wasn't born as a blue blood. No, he was in Nazareth and probably studied under a rabbi there, and that probably wouldn't be the best of the best or what you and I would call Blue Chip or Ivy League. But Jesus says, as a child, he would go and sit under a rabbi and he would get to school and he would get his tablet. Not that kind of tablet, not a TikTok tablet. Think of a chalk tablet. But quite often on those tablets, as we read in rabbinic tradition, that it usually had the shamat on it, which is the verse that we find in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy, that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And what some of the rabbis would do, particularly with some of the lower class children, is they would put a little honey on it because those children couldn't afford honey. They would only hear of it. And he would tell the children, "Take a taste of that honey." And they would lap it up like I would do with a mint chocolate chip ice cream bowl. They would lap it up, and the Rabbi would say, "Now, just as your lips crave that honey, so should your soul crave the word of God." This is the context in which Jesus grew up in, just that ordinary carpenter son from just meager means. In John 1:10 and 11, it says that though he created the world and everything in it, the world did not recognize him. Though you and I were created in His image, male and female created in the image of God, the world did not recognize who was in front of them. My question to you this morning is, do you recognize Jesus for who He truly is? But it's also important to know that what the world values, what the world values in terms of charisma, talents, gifts, influence, power, god does not value these things. What God values is what's on the inside, and character, and integrity, and the beauty of the soul. But Jesus, the suffering servant, came in an ordinary way and very much looked like any other first century Jewish man, very ordinary. But the second thing we read about in Isaiah 53 is that though this servant looks ordinary, the mission he is on is quite extraordinary. It's the most important mission of all time. You see, in the Old Testament, but in the first few pages of your Bible, we see a problem that humanity faces as a result of their poor decisions. Humanity, Adam and Eve, make a decision to not follow God and his way and his love, but instead turn their backs on God and say, "You know what, I know you're telling me what to do, but my way is better." I wanna do my own thing. I'm justified in what I want to do. But as a result, as we read in Romans chapter five, that just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, death came to all men because all have sinned. And so we see a cycle of death that unfolds not only through biblical history, but through human history, and even in our present day. But God promised a savior, a Messiah, one who would come and save the people from their sins. And so, it's an extraordinary mission, but it's a bit graphic. It's heartbreaking. There's a lot of pain and despair, but naturally that's what comes with sin. So let's read verses four through six together. Surely, the suffering servant, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted, but He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each one of us. Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's you, that's me, that's everyone. But he came to do something. He came to bear our griefs, to carry our sorrows. He came to take the payment and punishment that sin requires. And so, Jesus, the ordinary savior, in the most beautiful of ways, lives a perfect and sinless life, and then dies a sinner's death on a cross. It's important to note right smack in the middle of that passage that he was pierced for our transgressions. Again, this was written hundreds of years before that form of execution was even invented. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians and then perfected by the Roman Empire. On Calvary that day, when he was pierced, he carried his cross, was laid down , and then nailed to it. We're not talking about a nail that you and I would think of. I just used the nail the other day because the numbers in the front of my house were glued on. And between wind and rain, the 3 blew off. And so I, not in a pretty way, nailed it back up because I'm not a carpenter, my savior is. It was your dad joke for you this morning. But we're talking about nails that I would call spikes roughly six to seven inches in length. They're not smooth, nor are they sharp like a nail you and I would see. They're dull. But right through these two bones in the wrist, the radial and ulna, I think I got that right. right in the middle of that is the median nerve in which the Romans knew caused the most pain and also would stop a hand from ripping through. And He was pierced for our transgressions, for our trespasses, for the darkness that resides in our soul. Because here's the deal, our depravity has brought about a darkness. Our spiritual bankruptcy has brought a brokenness not only to the world around us, but to the world in here. And He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, and was pierced for our transgressions. And all of the iniquity was laid on Him so that he could redeem humanity from their sins, humanity that was broken in their sin, separated from a perfect, pure, and holy God. And Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Now come by me and through me, and I will get you to the Father. I will restore what is broken and what is fractured in your relationship with your creator." This is the gospel mission. This is the great news that should change everyone's life, that should change everyone's perspective on their life. That should change everyone's day-to-day life because we are invited to live in that truth and allow that to speak into all areas of our lives. This was his extraordinary mission. But in that, some very specific things happened that are detailed in Isaiah 53. First one, this. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Jesus enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, but by Friday he's rejected and abandoned by everyone, everyone, friends who he poured his life into, close relatives. He was alone and abandoned. Have you ever felt that before? Rejected, rejected maybe by someone you love, maybe someone who you knew for quite some time, you did life with for quite some time now. They're gone. They've ghosted you. They've written you off. they've rejected you. He knows what that feels like. He knows what it's like to be rejected in his hometown. And he goes and looks to do miracles and weeps, and says, "Wow, they have such little faith that I can't even do a miracle." He was despised and rejected, but He was despised and rejected for a specific purpose, and it's this. He was rejected so you and I could be accepted by the Father. He was rejected so that you and I could receive full acceptance from the God of the universe. He did it for a reason. He didn't just suffer. He suffered for us. He suffered for you. He suffered for me. He was despised and rejected. He also experienced pain through being wounded, but He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him. And by His wounds, we are healed. He knows what that feels like. He knows what it's like to be rejected in his hometown, and he goes and looks to do miracles, and weeps, and says, "Wow, they have such little faith that I can't even do a miracle." He was despised and rejected, but He was despised and rejected for a specific purpose, and it's this. He was rejected so you and I could be accepted by the Father. He was rejected so that you and I could receive full acceptance from the God of the universe. He did it for a reason. He didn't just suffer. He suffered for us. He suffered for you. He suffered for me. He was despised and rejected. He also experienced pain through being wounded, but He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by His wounds, we are healed. His wounds represent the sin of the world and the pain that comes with it. The wounds and the scars that sin leaves in relationships, in people's mental health. And His wounds are so that you and I could be healed, so that we could receive healing. Do you understand what's embedded in that? That the wounds you have or you hide, or the scars that you look to keep from people, that Jesus healed them on the cross and wants to journey with you in that healing process. I understand healing is a process. We talk about dad hurt, childhood trauma, tragedy. We talk about all of these things that a human can experience. Things that I've experienced. Jesus says, "I've got the wounds and the scars. I've actually felt everything that you've felt." We read that in the Bible. He felt all of our pain. He was tempted in every way. And so we have a high priest, Jesus, who can relate and also heal and help us in the healing process. And so this morning, I say to you that He wants to heal your hurt. He wants to heal your wounds. He wants you to bring them to Him. He has them so he can help you. Do you believe that? Do you believe the lie that you just need to keep it to yourself? Because if someone else finds out about this, or if I were to recognize that God knows this about me, I wouldn't know what to do. His wounds bring healing to your life. He wants to step into that with you. Would you allow him to do that wherever you find yourself? We read in verse seven this, that He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent. So he did not open His mouth. When He was put on the fake trial, when He was hurled with lies, accusations, and insults, he remained silence. But that silence is the greatest love statement ever made. It is a declaration from the God of the universe that I love you. Why? 'Cause He didn't defend himself so that He could defend you and He could defend me. He continues to defend you even today. Have you ever wondered what Jesus is up to right now? Where is the son of God? Well, the Bible tells us that He's seated at the right hand of the Father. And in Hebrews 7:25, it says that He always lives to intercede for us, or to advocate for us, or to defend us from the enemy or the accuser of our soul. So Jesus, even right now, continues to defend you. When the voices pop up in your head, "Oh, a follower of Christ would've never thought that, or done that, or said that," when the voices creep up and I hear, "Wow, Pastor Jay would've never acted like that to his children that he prayed for and waited for." When I was impatient in short and a bit harsh with my children, and I think back on that and go, "Oh my goodness, how could I have ever done that?" But it's Jesus who continues to intercede and defend us. He didn't speak up for Himself so He could speak up for you. He is your great defender because He chose not to defend himself. And like a lamb is led to its death, he silently and compliantly went. See, He said, "I don't get my life taken away from me. I lay it down for the sins of the world." He did not open his mouth so that you and I could hear and experience His love today. It's the greatest love story ever told. This is the suffering servant we read about in Isaiah 53. And his path to being our savior was different, and so I say it this way. The suffering servant is the savior servant not because He came with a crown, but because He came with a cross. The Suffering Servant is the savior servant not because he came with a crown, but because he came with a cross. It's the upside down kingdom. It's the unordinary kingdom that does things different than the world does it today. But he did become the savior servant, which led to his exaltation, which we started with. And so let's revisit that. That's my my third point. The third thing we notice is his ultimate exaltation. And we'll get there back to verse 13. But before we do that, let's go back to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two, we see: Rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Now, I don't wanna spend too much time in Philippians chapter two. 'cause Pastor Jerry was there two weeks ago, and he was in his bag. He cooked. so he did every single verse in that entire chapter. But what I do want to revisit is this process of exaltation in terms of the Son of God, because he did step off his throne and this is what his throne looked like. For a minute, read with me in Isaiah chapter six. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and exalted, seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. above him were seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings, they covered their faces. And with two, they covered their feet. And with two, they were flying. and they were calling to one another. "Holy, holy, holy," which means the holiest of holies, "is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is filled with His glory." Now, what I wanna point out, as John, the disciple of Jesus points out in John 12:41 when he says this. Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus's glory and spoke about Him. John wanted to open up a framework for us and how we can view this. we would think of this incompletely if when Isaiah chapter six just went up and saw God the Father, because he didn't. We see that and read that in John 12, that Jesus was there with him. Now, can you imagine this? Can you imagine if you were an angel and you see the Son of God. He's been sitting up there. He created everything. Everything was created by Him and for Him. We read that in Colossians, and now He's sitting in His glory on His throne, and he steps up and he steps off of it. Can you imagine what the angels are thinking? "Whoa, whoa. What's the Son of God doing? What is this? Where is he going?" And then they see this unfold, that the Son of God chose to be an embryo. The Son of God chose to be born in a feeding trough for livestock, that the Son of God chose to grow up in meager means, and a lower socioeconomic status, that the Son of God prayed for and loved people who even rejected Him, that the Son of God experienced extreme torture and mutilation so much so that as we read in Isaiah that He was so disfigured you couldn't even recognize He was a man, much less which man He was. That the Son of Man on the cross didn't cry for God and the heavenly armies to come rescue Him. Instead, He said, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they're doing." The Son of God stepped into human likeness, was rejected by the humanity that He was created, and He did it all for love. There's not a story like it. And believe me when I say this to you, no one has done for you what Jesus has done for you. No one. And as a result of that, he's exalted, and so we read this in Isaiah. See, my servant will act wisely. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. He will sprinkle many nations. That's priestly language. And kings will shut their mouths because of Him that He's the greatest priest. He's the great king that all the rulers of the past, present, and future, when He is high and exalted, we read this in Philippians two, that at His name, every single knee shall bow, every tongue will confess here on earth and beyond that Jesus Christ is Lord. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Story didn't end at the cross. He's lifted up. The disfigured servant becomes the exalted king. He just does it in a way so unconventional, so unexpected that the world, in those moments, missed it. But then the gospel spread and the greatest news proclaimed to generation after generation after generation. But Jesus didn't come with applause. He didn't have a red carpet rolled out. He came humbly, suffered deeply, and now triumphs eternally. He was the ordinary savior. Why? So He could save ordinary people like you and like me. He was rejected so you could be accepted. He was wounded so you could be healed. And he remains silent so your sin could be silenced. The servant has become the king. The cross has given way to the crown. The question I have for you and for me this morning is this. Will you see him for who he really is? Will you acknowledge Jesus for who he really is? Not just a good teacher, not just a prophet, but the savior of the world who died for you? Will you worship Him not for what the world values, but for who He truly is? Have you given your life to the one who sacrificed his for you? Have you allowed his wounds to bring healing to your life? He is the suffering servant that is the savior servant. And he says, "If you would just put your faith and trust in me, received my free gift of forgiveness found in grace, that I have life, eternal, abundant life to give to you, not only in eternity, but here today because it's better than anything in this life. It's better than this life." If you would please pray with me. I appreciate your ears and your eyes, your attention and your respect, but my prayers for each of us this morning were greater than that. My prayer is that you gave your heart to God in this time, that you trusted God so much as a result of what He's done for you and what He's experienced. He's gone through all the darkness that you and I brought on. He's seen it all, and yet He's still willingly died for you, and He loves you, and He is where forgiveness is found. If you're sitting here this morning, you've never come to the place where you've given your life to the one who sacrificed his for you. My question to you is, when? And if not now, why? We have prayer partners that make their way up to the front of the stage. And when we dismiss, they'd love to have a spiritual conversation with you. Maybe you're here and you've got some wounds, and Jesus wants to heal 'em. Have you invited God into that process? Because when you start to process things with God in your life, you invite Him into that process. And I promise you, He will show up. Maybe you need someone to pray something specific for you this morning related to hurt in your life. I'd encourage you not to breeze by these moments. This is why we're a community. We're designed that way, to do this together and to carry each other's burdens for one another, just like our savior carried our sorrows. But, God, I pray for us as a whole. each person in this room, that we would experience the savior servant who suffered for us, God, that our love would grow in our hearts as we continue to reflect on all that Jesus has done just for us in the name of love. God, I pray that this would shape us, this would shape our everyday lives, how we interact with the world around us, that this would shape how we work, how we play, how we parent, how we go about being a citizen, a neighbor, God, that this truth would shape who we are because we've discovered who we are in Christ. So God, I thank you for these moments together as a church community, and I pray that you use them not only to unify us, but to build us up as we go out and live on mission, proclaiming the good news of the savior servant. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.