11-24-19 Sermon Notes
“Overwhelming – The Suffering Servant” Isaiah 52:14-16; Isaiah 53:11; and 1 Peter 2:21-25
Last week, we focused on the prophecy in Isaiah about the coming of someone who would be a healer. This week, we will examine the prophecy in Isaiah about the suffering servant and its fulfillment.
Introduction
Do you remember what happened at Chernobyl on April 26, 1986? Do you know how close half of the population of Europe came to radioactive contamination and poisoning resulting in it being uninhabitable for possibly 500,000 years?
Read Isaiah 52:14-15 New International Version (NIV)
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
14 “Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.”
Read Isaiah 53:11 New International Version (NIV)
“After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.”
Read 1 Peter 2:21-25 New International Version (NIV)
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Message
We begin this message with the backdrop of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
Chernobyl is located in northern Ukraine, about 80 miles north of Kiev. A small town, Pripyat, was constructed a few miles from the site of the nuclear plant to accommodate workers and their families.
Construction of the Chernobyl power plant began in 1977 when the country was still part of the Soviet Union. By 1983, four reactors had been completed, and the addition of two more reactors was planned in subsequent years.
On April 26, 1986. A routine test at the power plant went horribly wrong, and two massive explosions blew the 1,000-ton roof off one of the plant’s reactors, releasing 400 times more radiation than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The worst nuclear disaster in history killed two workers in the explosions and, within months, at least 28 more would be dead by acute radiation exposure. Eventually, thousands of people would show signs of health effects—including cancer—from the fallout.
A week later, it was discovered that the nuclear core was slowly burning its way through the concrete floor. Beneath the floor were chambers that could be flooded to help cool the reactor if needed. Because of the water used to put out the fires, the chambers were now flooded. In the event that the nuclear core burned all the way through the floor, there was then the possibility of a steam explosion that would destroy the three remaining reactors.
Suffice it say, this was a very toxic environment and becoming more toxic by the minute.
Now, let’s shift gears and see what this has to do with Jesus being the “suffering servant.” When we stop and think about it, God sent His Son into a ‘toxic’ world. And think about this, Jesus had a lifetime to think about the fact that He would have to take on this ‘toxicity’ by giving His very life. So, aside from the physical suffering (Matthew 26 and Matthew 27) that He endured, He also must have suffered in His soul as evidenced by Isaiah 53:11
“After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.” Further evidence of this suffering is born out in the fact as He was closing in on the cross, He asked if there was possibly some other way. And because there was no other way, He voluntarily went to the cross and endured God’s wrath in our place. Talk about a suffering servant!
Concluding Remarks and Application
You may wonder how the unimaginable nuclear catastrophe was averted. There were three workers at the plant who volunteered to go into the flooded chambers and open the valves to release the water since the automatic controls were no longer functioning. Their names were Valeri Bezpalov, Alexie Ananenko, and Boris Baranov and they were known as the ‘suicide squad.’ Alexie was the only one on that shift that knew where the valves were located. Most of the water had been pumped out by the firemen, but the remaining water posed a continuing possible disaster. So, they waded into the radioactive water with the knowledge that by doing so that they could suffer an agonizing death. They ultimately found the valves and opened them thereby draining the remaining water. Popular lore has all three men dying within weeks, but the truth is that two of them are still alive and the other one died of a heart attack in 2005.
In the hours, days and months that followed the Chernobyl disaster, hundreds of thousands of firefighters, engineers, military troops, police, miners, cleaners and medical personnel were sent into the area immediately around the destroyed power plant in an effort to control the fire and core meltdown, and prevent radioactive material from spreading further into the environment.
These people – who became known as “liquidators” due to the official Soviet definition of “participant in the liquidation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident consequences” – were given a special status that meant they would receive benefits such as extra healthcare and payments. Official registries indicate that 600,000 people were granted liquidator status who risked their lives to put out the fires and decontaminate the site.
Imagine the mental anguish that they went through in risking their lives. Take it a step further and imagine that at a very early age, they knew in advance that they would be risking their lives and in some instances dying of radiation sickness.
Once again, imagine what our Lord and Savior went through to combat the evil toxicity of sin not only physically, but mentally.
We should all come away from this message with a deeper appreciation of what our ‘suffering servant’ has done for us.
And, on a personal level, how much are we willing to suffer to serve the gospel to those who are living in this toxic world without a Savior?