(Howard Crosby, LL.D.)

1. There is the devil, who is a powerful adversary. But "the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11).

2. The law was an enemy, as it condemns us (Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:16).

3. Death and hell (1 Corinthians 15:54; 2 Timothy 1:10; Revelation 1:18).

4. The flesh (Romans 8:3).

5. The world (John 16:33).

6. All the adverse powers in the world (Psalm 2:10-12).

II. THE MEANS. The weapons of this warfare are not carnal.

1. As to His death.

2. By the Word of the Cross, called the foolishness of preaching.

3. By His Spirit; a great force, but secret and undiscerned.

4. By His prayers and intercessions.

III. THE MANNER OR NATURE OF THE CONQUEST, how it is achieved.

1. The enemies are overcome and terribly broken: there is a total dissipation of all the powers of darkness.

2. Not barely overcome, but spoiled and rifled (Colossians 2:15).

3. Such a victory as endeth in a solemn triumph; as conquerors in public view carried their spoils and their enemies tied to their chariots, so Christ would expose them to open shame.

IV. WHAT SPECIAL BENEFITS WE HAVE BY THE CONQUEST OF CHRIST.

1. The banishment of distracting fear (Hebrews 2:15).

2. An encouragement to the spiritual conflict.

3. Joy unspeakable and glorious.

4. Hopes of glory; we shall conquer with Him, and reign with Him.

5. The very exaltation of Christ is a great comfort to us.

6. Christ's conquest is a token, earnest and pledge of our victory.

7. What Christ did in this conquest, He did it for our sakes. He will have nothing but we shall share in it.

8. Another benefit is usefulness and serviceableness for all that befalls us. Christ doth so effect it that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28).

( T. Manton, D.D.)

II. THE IGNOMINY OF IT. "He was numbered with the transgressors."

III. THE CAUSE OF IT. "He bare," etc.

IV. THE NOTED CIRCUMSTANCE IN IT. "He made intercession for the transgressors."

( T. Manton, D.D.)

I. THE GIFT. "His soul."

II. THE MANNER OF GIVING. "Poured out."

III. THE INTENT.

( T. Manton, D.D.)

(C. Clemance, D.D.)

2. It was most real and true. I pray you do not think of Christ as pouring out His soul, as though it made Him spend a sort of ecstatic life in dream-land, and suffer only in thought, intent, and sympathy. My Lord suffered as you suffer, only more keenly; for He had never injured His body or soul by any act of excess, so as to take off the edge from His sensitiveness.

3. See how complete it was. Jesus gave poor sinners everything. His every faculty was laid out for them. Put your trust; m Him, then, without reserve.

II. OUR LORD WAS NUMBERED WITH SINNERS. "He was numbered with the transgressors." There is a touch of nearness to the sinner about this which there is not in the first clause. He bears death for the sinner; but you could not suppose, if you had not read it, thus He would be written in the sinner s register. He was not, and could not be, a sinner; but yet it is written, "He was numbered with the transgressors." Is there a census taken of sinners? Then, the name of Jesus is written down. How was He numbered with the transgressors? This makes it the more marvellous, because it is so hurtful to a man who is pure, to be numbered with the impure.Our Lord Jesus was numbered with the transgressors —

1. By the tongue of slander. They called Him a drunken man and a wine-bibber: they even called Him Beelzebub. That was sharp enough for Him to bear, whom all the angels salute as "Holy, holy, holy!"

2. In the earthly courts of justice. He stood at the bar as a common felon, though He was judge of all. Though they could not find witnesses whose testimony agreed, yet they condemned Him (Mark 15:28).

3. Our Lord Jesus Christ, on earth, was treated, in the providence of God, as transgressors are treated. Transgression sometimes brings on men poverty, sickness, reproach, and desertion; and Jesus Christ had to take His share of all these with sinful men. All things in this world that are so keen and terrible to man, because man has become so guilty, were just as keen and terrible to Him. The nails that pierced Him tore His tender flesh as they would have torn that of the sinful. Fever parched Him till His tongue cleaved to His jaws.

4. The Holy God treated Him as if He were one of us. "It pleased the Father to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief.". God not only turned His back on transgressors, but He turned His back upon His Son, who was numbered with them.

III. The third matter by which the Lord Jesus Christ has won His victories, and earned reward of God, is this: "HE BARE THE SIN OF MANY."

IV. The last thing is this: "HE MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS." Who among us will take up the part of the guilty? Who will plead for the guilty? I know, in certain oases, the lawyer will sell his tongue to the most polluted; but if a man were perfectly pure, you would not find him saying a word in defence of the guilty. So far as the man was guilty he could not be defended. But our Lord made intercession for transgressors. When He was here on earth how tender He was with transgressors! He bore on His heart the names of guilty men. He was always pleading their cause, and when He came to die he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He took their part. He would exculpate them if He could. I dare say that He has often prayed like that for you. Now He has gone up yonder He is pleading still. Application:(1) Jesus Christ does not shrink from sinners; ye sinners, do not shrink from Him.(2) As Jesus does not shrink from sinners, do not yourselves shrink from them.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. In what sense are we to understand this?(1) He was numbered with them, in the census of the Roman empire.(2) Years rolled on, and that child who had been early numbered with transgressors, and had received the seal of transgression in the circumcision, which represents the putting away of the flesh — that child, having come to manhood, goes forth into the world and is numbered with transgressors in the scroll of fame. Ask public rumour "What is the character of Jesus of Nazareth?" and it cannot find a word in its vocabulary foul enough for Him. "This" they sometimes said; and our translators have inserted the word "fellow" because in the original there is an ellipsis, the evangelists, I suppose, hardly liking to write the word which had been cast upon Christ Jesus. They called the Master of the house, Beelzebub!(3) But to make the matter still more forcible, "He was numbered with transgressors in the courts of law." The ecclesiastical court of Judaism, the Sanhedrim, said of Him, "Thou blasphemest;" and they smote Him on the cheek. Written down among the offenders against the dignity of God and against the security of the Jewish Church, you find the name of Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified. The courts civil also asserted the same.(4) Then, the whole Jewish people numbered Him with transgressors; nay, they reprobated Him as a more abominable transgressor than a thief and a murderer who had excited sedition.(5) His name is written in the calendar of crime by the whole universe; for He is despised and rejected of men; of all men is He accounted to be the offscouring of all things, and is put to grief.

2. Why was Christ numbered with transgressors?(1) Because He could the better become their advocate. I believe, in legal phraseology, in civil cases, the advocate considers himself to be part and partner with the person, for whom he pleads. You hear the counsellor continually using the word "we;" he is considered by the judge to represent the person for whom he is an advocate.(2) That He might plead with them. Suppose a number of prisoners confined in one of our old jails, and there is a person desirous to do them good, imagine that he cannot be admitted unless his name is put down in the calendar. Well, out of his abundant love to these prisoners he consents to it, and when he enters to talk with them, they perhaps think that he will come in with cold dignity; but he says, "Now, let me say to you first of all that I am one of yourselves." "Well," they say, "but have you done aught that is wrong?" "I will not answer you that," saith he; "but if you will just refer to the calender you will find my name there; I am written down there among you as a criminal." Oh, how they open their hearts now!(3) That sinners may feel their hearts drawn to Him.(4) That we might be written in the red roll of His saints.

II. We are taught in the next sentence, that Christ "BARE THE SINS OF MANY."

1. Here it is as clear as noon-day that Christ dealt with sinners.

2. As He did bear their sins, other texts tell us that He did bear them away.

3. There is now no sin abiding upon those for whom Jesus died.

III. Our third sentence tells us that JESUS INTERCEDES FOR SINNERS. "And made intercession for the transgressors."

1. He pleads for their forgiveness.

2. He next prays that those for whom He intercedes may be saved, and may have a new life given them.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. By imputation.

2. By reputation.

(J. Trapp.)

1. As a holy, godly man; so He was to fulfil all righteousness.

2. As a mediator and public person, that was to be our High Priest, to satisfy and intercede.

( T. Manton D. D.)

2. When He prayed. In the very act of His sufferings.

3. For whom He prayed. For them that offered Him all the indignities in the world.

4. How He prayed. He pleadeth for them; "Forgive them," etc.

( T. Manton, D.D.)

I. I have to direct your attention to our ever-living Lord making intercession for the transgressors; and I shall pray God that all of us may be roused to ADMIRATION FOR HIS GRACE.

1. If you will consider His intercession for transgressors I think you will be struck with the love, and tenderness, and graciousness of His heart, when you recollect that He offered intercession verbally while He was standing in the midst of their sin. Sin heard of and sin seen are two very different things. Our Lord actually saw human sin, saw it at its worst. He saw it all, and felt the sin as you and I cannot feel it, for His heart was purer, and therefore tenderer than ours: He saw that the tendency of sin was to put Him to death, and all like Him, yea and to slay God Himself if it could achieve its purpose, for man had become a Decide and must needs crucify His God — and yet, though His holy soul saw and loathed all this tendency and atrocity of transgression, He still made intercession for the transgressors.

2. Another point of His graciousness was also clear, namely, that He should thus intercede while in agony.

3. But it is marvellous that He being pure, should plead for transgressors at all: for you and for me amongst them — let the wonder begin there.

4. Further, it is to me a very wonderful fact that in His glory He should still be pleading for sinners.

5. Again, it is gloriously gracious that our Lord should continue to do this. He hath never ceased to make intercession for transgressors.

II. I do earnestly pray that we may be led of the Holy Ghost so to view His intercession for transgressors as to put our CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF. There is ground for a sinner's confidence in Christ, and there is abundant argument for the believer's complete reliance in Him, from the fact of His perpetual intercession.

1. Because His intercession succeeds.

2. There is reason for transgressors to come and trust in Jesus Christ, seeing He pleads for them.

3. I am sure, too, that if Jesus Christ pleads for transgressors as transgressors, while as yet they have not begun to pray for themselves, He will be sure to hear them when they are at last led to pray.

4. In order that our confidence may be increased, consider the effect of our Lord's intercession for transgressors.(1) Many of the worst of transgressors have been preserved in life in answer to Christ's prayer.(2) The gift of the Holy Spirit which is needful for the quickening of transgressors was the result of Christ's intercession.(3) It is through Christ's intercession that our poor prayers are accepted with God.(4) It is through the prayers of Christ, too, that we are kept in the hour of temptation. Remember what He said to Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not," when Satan desired to have him and sift him as wheat. "Father, keep them from the evil" is a part of our Lord's supplication, and His Father hears Him always.(5) Indeed, it is because He pleads that we are saved at all. He is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."

III. I pray that our text may inspire us with the spirit of OBEDIENCE TO HIS EXAMPLE. I take the example of Christ to be an embodied precept as much binding upon us as His written commands.

1. Imitate Him by forgiving all transgressions against yourself.

2. Imitate Christ, in pleading for yourselves. Since you are transgressors, and you see that Jesus intercedes for transgressors, make bold to say, "If He pleads for such as I am, I will put in my humble petition, and hope to be heard through Him."

3. If we have been forgiven our transgressions, let us now intercede for transgressors, since Jesus does so.

4. Let us take care, that if we do plead for others we mix with it the doing of good to them, because it is not recorded that He made intercession for transgressors until it is first written, "He bare the sin of many"

5. If Christ appears in heaven for us, let us be glad to appear on earth for him.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. IN WHAT LIGHT SHOULD WE REGARD THESE WORDS?

II. WHAT IS THE REQUEST? For whom? "Forgive them," those who were the instruments and agents in His crucifixion. These were —

1. The people.

2. The chief priests and scribes.

3. The rulers.

4. The soldiers.

5. The Roman governor.

6. The passers-by, who were reviling Him.

7. Those who were crucified with Him, joining in the mockery and jests.What is the plea by which the petition is urged? "They know not what they do." Not one of them knew the full extent of the crime. Not even the disciples could have estimated the guilt of the people (Acts 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:6). There was only One, even the Sufferer Himself, who could view that sin in all its manifold complications, and hold evenly and righteously the scales of judgment.

III. WHAT A SPIRIT OF LOVE THESE WORDS BREATHE! Their self-forgetfulness is wonderful. The sin of those thus wronging the Saviour was a far greater cause of distress to Him than all the degradation, ignominy, and pain He was enduring; on these things He could be altogether silent, in order to plead for the forgiveness of others sin. We see here, too, a love which, rising above human repulsiveness and guilt, ever regards itself as sent to save; a love which would carry on a redeeming work, even when stretched in agony on the Cross. Here, too, is not only the love of One, whose saving energy could neither be repulsed nor trammelled, but of One who, though He is most fully acquainted with the greatness of their guilt, pleads before Him, to whom sin is an abominable thing, the mitigation of their crime. Truly, it is a marvel of comfort that He, who judges sin most exactly, deals with the sinner most tenderly! Here, too, is Divine love making intercession for the transgressors; not for the good, but for the bad; not for the penitent, but for the impenitent; that they may be brought to repent; showing us. how Christ's love goes after men always, under all circumstances, in the lowest depths of guilt. Nevertheless, Divine love so pleads, as to imply that if this sin had been committed with full understanding of its enormity, He dared not have asked for its forgiveness. "For they know not what they do." Thus the spirit of this prayer has its terrors as well as its comforts. "There is a sin unto death," for which the Redeemer does not intercede, and for which we have no commission or authority to pray. Where that sin lies, what is its precise character, whether this or that man has committed it, we dare not say. We can tell four things about it: — we know the region in which it lies, the sign it has been committed, the sign it has not been committed, and why there is no mercy for it. Where one who has the fullest light indulges in the greatest sin, he is getting very near the unpardonable sin. The sign that it has been committed, would be hard, final, impenitence. True repentance is a sure sign it has not been committed. It is not pardonable, because at such a stage the sinner will not repent.

IV. WHAT ARE THE DOCTRINES THESE WORDS INVOLVE?

1. They teach us that the Father saves us through the Son.

2. That sins of ignorance need forgiveness. Paul sinned "ignorantly in unbelief," and yet was the "chief of sinners."

3. Whatever palliation of guilt may be allowed, owing to ignorance, full recognition is taken thereof by the great Intercessor.

4. We are taught that the fuller the light the greater the sin (Hebrews 10:26, 27).

5. That forgiveness of sin, by God, is so precious to us, because it is made over to us in. perfect knowledge of every aggravation and mitigation.

V. WHAT RESULTS DID THIS INTERCESSION SECURE? We are sure that this prayer was answered. It did not indeed avert the destruction of the doomed city, but —

1. It secured the forgiveness of every penitent who might be, nevertheless, involved in its temporal disasters.

2. The Great Pleader's work soon proved its power in the salvation of the thief on the Cross, and shortly after of thousands more.

3. By means of the intercession of our Lord, begun on earth, and now carried on in heaven, we are "not under the law, but under grace."

(C. Clemance, D. D.)

(F. Delitzsch, D.D.)

(Prof. G.A. Smith, D.D.)The two chapters deal with the same subject from two distinct standpoints. Whatever view be held as to the Servant's personality, there is no doubt that His exaltation implies the restoration of Israel, and that His work is the indispensable condition of that restoration being accomplished. Thus while chap. 53. describes the inward process of conversion by which the nation is made righteous, chap. 54. describes the outward deliverance which is the result; and the impression is probably correct that the glowing hopes here uttered are sustained in the last resort by the contemplation of the Servant s mission as described in chap. 53.

(Prof. J. Skinner, D.D.)

(W. H. Barlow, B.D.)

I. WE HAVE A PICTURE OF THE CHURCH IN HER SADNESS. The figures used by the prophet, while easy enough to apply generally, present some points of difficulty when we attempt the detail.

1. At the first glance of the opening verses of the chapter we see that the figures are drawn from the very closest tie that nature knows, even that of the marriage relationship. This figure, so frequently used in the Old Testament, is based on a profound truth. The truth on which it is based is this: that as both male and female are incomplete without each other, so the happiness of God is incomplete without the love of the creature whom He has made to love Him, and the happiness of man is incomplete without an object above him in which his love can rest. Such a figure served a holy educating purpose to Israel, and ought still to do so to us. In one direction it shows us how holy and tender is the relationship between man and God, and how loving is the heart of God towards man; in another direction it lifts up the sacred tie of marriage into a higher and Diviner light, and lets us see it in the light of the Divine idea, as not only a union of bodies but also of spirits, in a tie which can never be broken without a rupture of the laws of God!

2. Another truth lying at the foundation of the chapter is this, that the Church, in God's eye, is seen at a glance, through all the vicissitudes of her chequered career, till her completion in the fulness of time. That Church, chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world, in Him is one. He sees that Church passing, through gloom to glory! And truly, sad enough is the picture of the Church s sorrow which is presented here. She is like one whose husband has forsaken her. She is barren, desolate, rejected, contemned; and is consequently sad, afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. The chief question is, at what period was God s Church like this, and what Church was ever in such gloom?(1) The Hebrew Church was primarily intended. Her bondage in Egypt was "the shame of her youth, her captivity in Babylon was" the reproach of her widowhood."(2) The figures would apply, to some extent, to that idea!, Gentile Church which the Saviour saw in vision when He said, "Other sheep I have, etc., including all those in the east and west and north and south who were yearning after God, but to whom the Lord had not yet revealed His love, and who were not yet brought to rest in the Infinite heart of God.(3) The description will apply also to the whole Church of God now: which, during the transition period through which we are now passing, while the great problem of sin and its treatment is being worked out, is often in shade, often mourning the paucity of those who join her ranks, often the object of the world s ridicule and scorn!(4) The passage will befit also the individual believer, in whose chequered experience of sorrow, temptation and care all the varied phases of the troubles of the Church are presented in miniature.

II. WE HAVE A SECOND PICTURE AS BRIGHT AS THE FIRST IS DARK. The second is given on account of the gloom of the first, for the special purpose of cheering the saints of God, throughout the period of shade. In the picture given with this view, an entirely different set of figures is made use of; even such as belong to the erection of a building. And there are, scattered throughout this chapter, no fewer than nine main features which go to make up the outline of this beauty and glory which, in spite of present gloom, the prophet sees far ahead. Regarding the Church of the future, then, under the figure of a building, let us observe —

1. God Himself is the Founder of it. The foundation is Jesus Christ.

2. Men from every nation under heaven will gather within it. "The God of the whole earth shall He be called." The restrictions of the past shall be done away.

3. Righteousness shall he its basis (ver. 14).

4. Close and endearing relationship with God will be its privilege (ver. 5). "Thy Maker is thine Husband." He who formed by the hand of His power, will make Himself known to you in the tenderest love.

5. Light will be its heritage. "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord" (ver. 13).

6. Peace will be its possession. "Great shall be the peace of thy children" (ver. 13).

7. Beauty will be its adornment. "Behold I will set thy stones in stibium" (ver. 11). Stibium was a peculiar dye with which the Hebrew women tinged the eyelashes, in order that, being surrounded with this tinge, the beauty of the eye might flash forth more brightly. So the stones with which this building of God was to be erected, were to be set, as it were, in cement of so rich a dye as to set forth their lustre in richer beauty. And thy battlements of rubies, thy gates of flashing gems, and all thy borders of precious stones." Thus the mineral world is made to yield its meed of illustration; its choicest gems are used as symbolic of the glory and beauty of the Church. Why? Because all beauty and glory of jasper, amethyst, ruby, sapphire, and pearl, when so set that their radiance gleams out most brilliantly, are but a reflection of that higher spiritual beauty of Him who created all.

8. Divine protection will be its safeguard (vers. 14, 15). "Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they (thine enemies) shall surely gather together, but not by Me (not by My consent): whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake" (rather, shall fall upon thee). "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall he broken." Adverse weapons shall be blunted. Adverse tongues shall be condemned — both by the force of powerful argument, and by the mightier demonstration of a holy life (ver. 16). "I have created the waster to destroy," the same power which builds the Church, has created all her foes; hence the inference is inevitable, God will not suffer those who arc opposed to Him to use their power so as to destroy that part of His work which He values most.

9. Perpetuity shall be its everlasting law (vers. 7-10). This is expressed in various forms of antithesis. Everything is wrapped up in this ninefold glory!

(C. Clemance, D.D.)

II. I now intend to use the text in reference to ANY ONE CHURCH.

1. There are some separate Churches which are in a very sad condition, and may most truly be said to be barren and desolate.

2. Brethren will ask me what is their present duty as members of such Churches? Your duty is very plain Labour to be conscious of the sad barrenness of the Church to which you belong: Spread the case before Jehovah, and be sure that you look away from everything that you yourself can do to Him, and to him alone. But mind you do not pray without proving the sincerity of your prayers by action.

III. THE POOR HELPLESS SINNER HAS HIS CASE WELL DESCRIBED BY THE PROPHET AS BARREN AND DESOLATE. "Barren! ah, that I am. I have not one meritorious fruit that I can bring before God." You are desolate, too; no one can comfort you. Your barrenness is barrenness for ever if left to itself, and your desolation is utter and helpless unless some one intervene. May I ask you to look at the chapter which precedes my text? Jesus has taken the sinner's sin upon Himself, and made a complete atonement; therefore, "Sing, O barren!" The mighty Redeemer has come out of His dwelling-place, and has fought the enemy, and won the victory. "Sing, O barren!"

IV. Does not this text belong to THE DEPRESSED BELIEVES? You and I, though we have brought forth some fruit unto the, Lord Jesus, yet sometimes feel very barren. What are we to do? "Sing, O barren, etc. But what can I sing about? I cannot sing about the present; I cannot even sing concerning the past. Yet I can sing of Jesus Christ. What is my barrenness. It is the platform for Divine power. What is my desolation? It is the black setting for the sapphire of His everlasting love.

V. Our text ought to have a special voice to THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DOING GOOD.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

1. One great use of prophecy. It can cheer when things immediately around cause depression.(1) To a sad Church the minister should speak much of unfulfilled prophecy.(2) The Christian, in the "present distress should do the same for himself (2 Peter 1:19).

2. The imagery. It rings poetic changes on the idea of childlessness. Expressive imagery to Jewish women, who so longed for children, in hope of Messiah.(1) Such should be the Church's longing. Her prayer should be, "Give me children, or I die!" Bad sign when a Church seems content to be barren or to have no spiritual increase.(2)When she remains without new births (or conversions), she should mourn. Contemplate the once barrenness of Christendom. Its comparative barrenness in vast tracts now, even in Christian England!

II. THE REJOICING MOTHER. Gentiledom for ages "unmarried" — "desolate." When Christ came, He "called her by name," and espoused her. Then how rapidly a family was brought forth. In Pentecostal times, what "multitudes were added to the Lord" (Acts 6:7; Acts 16:5). What joy this caused! (Acts 2:46, 47, etc.)

1. The great subject of the verse, the joy of the Church in multitudes of conversions. This joy of the Lord is her strength (Nehemiah 8:10). She is then encouraged to labour with fresh zeal and hope in works of evangelization. Therefore "new births should be, as it were, registered; the successes of the Gospel should be published to evoke this healthful joy. hence the reflex benefits of missionary gatherings.

2. Reasons for such joy. Not only because souls are saved, but because —(1) Increase is a sign that God's power is with His Church.(2) It confirms our own faith. The more they are who believe what we believe, the more confident we must feel in the truth of our faith.(3) It makes heaven appear attractive by the "sympathy of numbers." We may use the text as a test . How far are we in sympathy with the Church in joy over conversions to God?

(R. Glover, M. A.)

     2054   Christ, mind of
     2366   Christ, prophecies concerning
     5879   humiliation
     6682   mediation
     8611   prayer, for others

Isaiah 53:3-12

     5426   news
     8356   unselfishness

Isaiah 53:4-12

     1680   types
     6616   atonement, in OT

Isaiah 53:7-12

     8797   persecution, attitudes

Isaiah 53:10-12

     2057   Christ, obedience
     2530   Christ, death of
     5492   restitution
     6027   sin, remedy for
     6684   mediator

The Suffering Servant --iv
'It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt 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.'--ISAIAH liii. 10. We have seen a distinct progress of thought in the preceding verses. There was first the outline of the sorrows and rejection of the Servant; second, the profound explanation of these as being for us; third, the sufferings, death and burial of the Servant. We have …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Suffering Servant --V
'He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; and He shall bear their iniquities'--ISAIAH liii. 11. These are all but the closing words of this great prophecy, and are the fitting crown of all that has gone before. We have been listening to the voice of a member of the race to whom the Servant of the Lord belonged, whether we limit that to the Jewish people or include in it all humanity. That voice has been confessing …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Suffering Servant --vi
'Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.'--ISAIAH liii. 12. The first clause of this verse is somewhat difficult. There are two ways of understanding it. One is that adopted in A. V., according to which the suffering Servant is represented as equal to the greatest conquerors. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Suffering Servant-I
'For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3. He was despised, and rejected of men, a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.'--ISAIAH liii, 2, 3. To hold fast the fulfilment of this prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Jesus it is not necessary to deny its reference to Israel. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Suffering Servant-ii
'Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with 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 hath laid (made to light) on Him the iniquity of us all.'--ISAIAH liii. 4-6. The note struck lightly in the close of the preceding …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Messiah Despised, and Rejected of Men
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief. T he heathen moralists, ignorant of the character and perfections of God, the true dignity and immorality of the soul, and the root and extent of human depravity, had no better foundation, for what they call virtue, than pride; no higher aim in their regulations, than the interests of society, and the conduct of civil life. They expressed, indeed, occasionally, some sentiments of a superior kind; but these, however just …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Sin Charged Upon the Surety
All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. C omparisons, in the Scripture, are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, only one is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, Behold, I come as a thief (Revelation 16:15) , --common sense will fix the resemblance to a single point, that He will come suddenly, and unexpectedly. So when wandering sinners …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah's Innocence vindicated
He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. L et not plain Christians be stumbled because there are difficulties in the prophetical parts of the Scriptures, and because translators and expositors sometimes explain them with some difference, as to the sense. Whatever directly relates to our faith, practice, and comfort, may be plainly collected from innumerable …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah Suffering and Wounded for Us
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: ..... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. W hen our Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and conversed with Him. Had we been informed of the interview only, we should probably have desired to know the subject of their conversation, as we might reasonably suppose it turned upon very interesting and important …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

April the Second "On Him!"
"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." --ISAIAH liii. Let me tell a dream which was given by night to one of my dearest friends. He beheld a stupendous range of glorious sun-lit mountains, with their lower slopes enfolded in white mist. "Lord," he cried, "I pray that I may dwell upon those heights!" "Thou must first descend into the vale," a voice replied. Into the vale he went. And down there he found himself surrounded with all manner of fierce, ugly, loathsome things. As he looked …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Religion a Weariness to the Natural Man.
"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."--Isaiah liii. 2. "Religion is a weariness;" such is the judgment commonly passed, often avowed, concerning the greatest of blessings which Almighty God has bestowed upon us. And when God gave the blessing, He at the same time foretold that such would be the judgment of the world upon it, even as manifested in the gracious Person of Him whom He sent to give it to us. "He hath no form nor …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Crucifixion.
"He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."--Isaiah liii. 7. St. Peter makes it almost a description of a Christian, that he loves Him whom he has not seen; speaking of Christ, he says, "whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Again he speaks of "tasting that the …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Of Justification by Christ
It has been objected by some, who dissent from, nay, I may add, by others also, who actually are friends to the present ecclesiastical establishment, that the ministers of the Church of England preach themselves, and not Christ Jesus the Lord; that they entertain their people with lectures of mere morality, without declaring to them the glad tidings of salvation by Jesus Christ. How well grounded such an objection may be, is not my business to inquire: All I shall say at present to the point is, …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

Expiation
Now, Jesus Christ has been made by God an offering for sin; and oh that to-night we may be able to do in reality what the Jew did in metaphor! May we put our hand upon the head of Christ Jesus; as we see him offered up upon the cross for guilty men, may we know that our sins are transferred to him, and may we be able to cry, in the ecstasy of faith, "Great God, I am clean; through Jesus' blood I am clean." I. In trying now to expound the doctrine of Christ's being an offering for sin, we will begin …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Sin Laid on Jesus
I hear no dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three; but it is the most charming and the most full of comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned, and where sorrow reached her climax there it is that a weary soul finds sweetest rest. The Savior bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. I want now to draw the hearts of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 12: 1866

Our Expectation
But, my brothers, he is not dead. Some years ago, someone, wishing to mock our holy faith, brought out a handbill, which was plastered everywhere--"Can you trust in a dead man?" Our answer would have been, "No; nobody can trust in a man who is dead." But it was known by those who printed the bill that they were misrepresenting our faith. Jesus is no longer dead. He rose again the third day. We have sure and infallible proofs of it. It is an historical fact, better proved than almost any other which …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Death of Christ
Taking our text, then, as a guide, we propose to visit Calvary, hoping to have the help of the Holy Spirit whilst we look upon him who died upon the cross. I would have you notice this morning, first of all, the cause of Christ's death--"It pleased the Lord to bruise him." "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him," saith the original; "he hath put him to grief." Secondly, the reason of Christ's death--"When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ died because he was an offering for sin. And …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Friend of Sinners
Our text, in its threefold character, shows the intimate connection which exists between Jesus and sinners, for in none of its sentences is there meaning unless there be a sinner, and unless Christ has come into connection with him. It is this one point which I want to work out this morning, and may God bless it to many a sinner's troubled conscience. "He was numbered with the transgressors; he bare the sin of many, and he made intercession for the transgressors." It is for transgressors all the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 8: 1863

Eighteenth Day. Patience.
"He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter."--Isa. liii, 7. How great was the patience of Jesus! Even among His own disciples, how forbearingly He endured their blindness, their misconceptions and hardness of heart! Philip had been for three years with Him, yet he had "not known Him!"--all that time he had remained in strange and culpable ignorance of his Lord's dignity and glory. See how tenderly Jesus bears with him; giving him nothing in reply for his confession of ignorance but unparalleled …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

List of Authorities
CHIEFLY USED IN WRITING THIS BOOK. Alford: Greek Testament. Von der Alm: Heidn. u. jüd. Urtheile über Jesu u. die alten Christen. Altingius: Dissertationes et Orationes. Apocrypha: S.P.C.K. Commentary on. The Apocryphal Gospels. Auerbach: Berith Abraham. Bacher: Die Agada der Babylon. Amoräer. Bäck: Geschichte des Jüd. Volkes u.seiner Literatur. Baedeker: Syrien u. Palästina. Bähr: Gesetz über Falsche Zeugen nach Bible u. Talmud. Barclay: City of the Great …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

What Messiah did the Jews Expect?
1. The most important point here is to keep in mind the organic unity of the Old Testament. Its predictions are not isolated, but features of one grand prophetic picture; its ritual and institutions parts of one great system; its history, not loosely connected events, but an organic development tending towards a definite end. Viewed in its innermost substance, the history of the Old Testament is not different from its typical institutions, nor yet these two from its predictions. The idea, underlying …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Consolations against Impatience in Sickness.
If in thy sickness by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate-- 1. That thy sins have deserved the pains of hell; therefore thou mayest with greater patience endure these fatherly corrections. 2. That these are the scourges of thy heavenly Father, and the rod is in his hand. If thou didst suffer with reverence, being a child, the corrections of thy earthly parents, how much rather shouldst thou now subject thyself, being the child of God, to the chastisement of thy heavenly Father, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Believe and be Saved
It is the Holy Spirit alone that can draw us to the cross and fasten us to the Saviour. He who thinks he can do without the Spirit, has yet to learn his own sinfulness and helplessness. The gospel would be no good news to the dead in sin, if it did not tell of the love and power of the divine Spirit, as explicitly as it announces the love and power of the divine Substitute. But, while keeping this in mind, we may try to learn from Scripture what is written concerning the bond which connects us individually …
Horatius Bangs, D.D.—God's Way of Peace