Just as many were appalled at Him--His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness-- Sermons
Whatever may be the immediate and historical reference of this term "servant," of this we may feel quite sure - the full reference must be to Messiah, and to the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah. Now, it is certainly singular that no trustworthy traces of the appearance of our Lord have come down to us. Everybody may imagine for himself what were the features and expression of his Divine Master; and it is better that our free imaginations should have no limitations to the representation of any artistic genius. We remember in an exhibition observing a number of paintings of the thorn-crowned head. The faces of our Lord precisely differed according as the artist was Spanish, Italian, or English, or had made the uncertain attempt of creating a face of Jewish type. All that Scripture asserts is that, so far as face and form were concerned, there was nothing arresting about Christ; you might have passed him by as a common man. It is even suggested that, as with his servant Paul, men might have rudely said that his "bodily presence was contemptible." Dean Plumptre remarks, "These words (of ver. 14) conflict strangely with the type of pure and holy beauty with which Christian art has made us familiar as its ideal of the Son of man. It has to be noted, however, that the earlier forms of that art, prior to the time of Constantine, and, in some cases, later, represented the Christ as worn, emaciated, with hardly any touch of earthly comeliness; and that it is at least possible that the beauty may have been of expression rather than of feature or complexion" I. WHAT MESSIAH WAS - IN FACT. In no way striking. Not aristocratic-looking, or handsome, or big. Just a man, simple, undistinguished-looking. Dekker, one of our early English poets, says - "The best of men that e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer,
A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,
The first true gentleman that ever breathed." II. WHAT MESSIAH WAS - CONTRARY TO EXPECTATION. Jewish hopes fashion a hero-king, a patriot like Judas Maccabaeus, a restorer of David's line of kings. Instead, he was a simple Man, who lived a life; a Sufferer who bore a burden of peculiar sorrows; a Man who seemed to end his life in failure and shame. III. WHY WAS MESSIAH THUS DIFFERENT TO ALL EXPECTATION OF HIM? Because men are so enslaved to the literal, the temporal, the earthly. There was nothing in the Man to attract, because God would have us feel the attractions of the Divine Saviour. - R.T. As many were astonied at Thee. I. THE UNEQUALLED ABASEMENT AND SORROW OF THE MESSIAH. Unequalled —1. Because of the previous dignity from which He descended. 2. If we trace the various stages of His humiliation. Was He born? It was of no opulent parents. As He grew up he became the object of envy. When He sprang into youth, it was not to sway a sceptre or to govern millions, but to work with His reputed father. As He went on in His course He was exposed to the scoffs and malice of Jews and Gentiles, etc. Eye the Saviour's sufferings in what light you please, and you will find His sufferings were various as well as intense. He suffered as a man; from want — from fatigue — from poverty — from the crown of thorns placed on His head, etc. He suffered civilly, as a member of society. An insurrectionist and a murderer was preferred before Him. He suffered spiritually — from the thick volleys of fiery darts which were showered at Him, and from the hidings of His Father's countenance. And observe the associations which were likely to aggravate His sufferings. "They all forsook Him and fled." 3. Our Saviour's sufferings and woes derived additional poignancy and exquisiteness from the very character which He bare. "Many were astonied at Thee." The spectators were so, who smote upon their breasts, and returned, after having seen these things. Devils were astonished, when they saw how all the shafts of their malice recoiled. Angels were astonished as they ministered unto Him. So He is still a wonder unto many; and if He be not so to us, it is because of our criminal insensibility and indifference. II. THE MOMENTOUS CONSEQUENCES BY WHICH HIS SUFFERINGS AND SORROWS WERE TO BE FOLLOWED. "So shall He sprinkle many nations." There is a direct reference to the various aspersions and ablutions under the law of Moses. These were of three kinds — 1. An aspersion of the blood of atonement once a year. 2. An aspersion of water on the unclean person, called the water of separation, by which a person was separated to a holy purpose. 3. An aspersion both of water and of blood on the leper, by which he was pronounced clean, and needed no longer to remain without the camp. Combine these ideas, and they will give the two grand designs of our Saviour's death — a propitiation, and a purification. And recollect that these two great and important ends of our Saviour's death must always be associated. Here we see their superiority over the legal aspersions. () I. THE ASTONISHMENT PRODUCED BY OUR SAVIOUR'S HUMILIATION. 1. "Many were astonied at Thee" — astonished, doubtless, at the disappointment of their expectations. They had looked for a second Joshua, who should march at their head, and lead them forth from victory to victory till all their enemies should have fallen beneath their feet. They had expected another son of Jesse, who should make the name of Israel terrible to surrounding nations. And when they saw the world's Redeemer, and found Him possessed of none of those external attributes which they deemed essential to His character, they were offended at Him, and their astonishment was that of indignation and bitter disappointment. "Is not this the carpenter's son?" 2. But our text goes on to describe some special causes of this astonishment. "His visage was so marred, more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." Whilst further on the prophet adds, "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him." I do not believe that such expressions as these are intended to represent the person of the Saviour as naturally defective in comeliness or dignity, though they have been oftentimes so understood, for we may reasonably conclude that the form which God gave His own Son was one of the best and the most perfect, and that the features of His countenance were as expressive as human features could be of intelligence, of dignity, and of love. Yet there was a marvellous mixture of meekness with this intelligence, of abasement with this dignity, and of sorrow with this love. Never was there a countenance which so beamed with holiness; yet never was there one so deeply furrowed with the lines the curse had made. Unrepenting sinners, like the Jews of old, are to this day astonished "without" being benefited at. the sight, of the Redeemer's sufferings. II. The text says, alluding to the ceremonial law, He shall sprinkle many nations," etc. We here perceive THE DIFFERENCE OF EFFECT produced by that astonishment which flows from contempt, and that which is produced by reverential regard for an object of infinite worth and dignity. The first opens the lips, and the latter seals them. The first accumulates epithets of scorn. But very different shall be the result of that wonder which shall fill the breast when the Saviour begins to give convincing proof of the greatness, and universality of His triumph.. "Kings shall then shut their mouths at Him." "Seeing the progress of His kingdom," says Vitrings, "they shall revoke their edicts against it, and thus shut their mouths at Him." The wonder shall then become too great for expression. Again, "That which had not been told them shall they see." The general ignorance which prevails amongst men, even the most noble and the most educated, on religious subjects, is oftentimes most astounding. To cleanse the heart, to sanctify the soul, there is no power but of God; and so, whenever a sinner is converted from the error of his ways, he is brought to acknowledge, "this is the Lord's doing." But the true accomplishment of the prediction before us requires greater things than these. There shall be a time when high and low, rich and poor, kings and subjects, shall all stand in amazement at the triumphs of the Cross of Christ. "What they had not heard shall they consider." They shall lay to heart those things which shall arrest their attention. It will not be enough for them to be mere spectators of the Saviour's triumph; they shall become deeply interested in it; all their thoughts, affections, efforts, shall tend towards it. () II. THE SAVIOUR'S SUCCESS. () His visage was so marred more than any man I. CHRIST'S FACE BEING SO BEAUTIFUL WAS EASILY MARRED. The perfect beauty of God was the reflected loveliness of Christ. Perfection is easily blemished; the more beautiful anything is, the more easily it is injured.II. CHRIST'S FACE WAS AN INDEX OF HIS LIFE AND WORK. His face told the story of His inner life. This was the chief reason for the loveliness of Jesus' face. His heart was full of pure, white thoughts, and consequently rays of beauty shot out through His gentle eyes. There burned within Him the light of tranquillity, which found expression in His calm, peaceful countenance. All the grandest virtues of this life could be seen in Jesus' face. And yet this beauty was marred, the light from His inner light suffered a black eclipse. His face was also an index of His work. When you see a man in the street you can often tell whether he is student, artist or working-man. The employment makes a certain impression upon the face. Christ s employment must have told upon His countenance. In His compassion for souls "He sighed deeply in spirit," "He groaned and was troubled." Words such as these convey some idea of the wear and tear Jesus had to endure. III. THERE ARE SPECIAL INSTANCES GIVEN OF THE MARRING OF HIS FACE. At the grave of Lazarus, when the sisters were lamenting for their dead brother, Christ joined in the sorrow and wept, His face being stained with tears. On the brow of Olivet as He stood looking at the beloved city He began to weep, and in the garden of Gethsemane as the sweat dropped from Him in drops like blood, He fell on His face and prayed; in the judgment-hall when standing in the presence of His accusers, we read, "And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face, and to buffet Him, and to say unto Him, Prophesy, and the servants did strike Him with the palms of their hands." They degraded Jesus as much as possible, directing their blows and insults to His face; such treatment would tell heavily upon His appearance. IV. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING ATTRACTIVE IN THE FACE OF JESUS. The average man could see no beauty in Jesus; still, the children were attracted by Him, and children as a rule are either repelled or won by a look. It was by a look that Jesus won Peter from a state of backsliding. In conclusion, we like to think of God as having a face the same as that of Jesus. Scientists talk of "an essence," "a great first cause," "something in the abstract," but with such definitions we wander and cannot understand God. By faith, as Dr. Saphir says, "we see the face of our dear God and seek Him as a friend" or, like one of old, we say, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." We look forward to one day seeing the face of Jesus. ()
People IsaiahPlaces Egypt, Jerusalem, ZionTopics Appalled, Appearance, Astonied, Astonished, Beautiful, Beyond, Changed, Desired, Disease, Disfigured, Face, Form, Human, Likeness, Longer, Marred, Peoples, Semblance, Sons, Surprised, Unlike, VisageOutline 1. Christ persuades the church to believe his free redemption
7. To receive the ministers thereof
9. To joy in the power thereof
11. And to free themselves from bondage
13. Christ's kingdom shall be exalted
Dictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 52:14 2354 Christ, mission
5150 face
5879 humiliation
6231 rejection of God Library Clean Carriers
'Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.'--ISAIAH lii. 11. The context points to a great deliverance. It is a good example of the prophetical habit of casting prophecies of the future into the mould of the past. The features of the Exodus are repeated, but some of them are set aside. This deliverance, whatever it be, is to be after the pattern of that old story, but with very significant differences. Then, the departing Israelites had spoiled the Egyptians and come out, laden with silver …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Great Revival
Now, leaving the figure, which is a very great one, I would remind you that its meaning is fully carried out, whenever God is pleased to send a great revival of religion. My heart is glad within me this day, for I am the bearer of good tidings. My soul has been made exceedingly full of happiness, by the tidings of a great revival of religion throughout the United States. Some hundred years, or more, ago, it pleased the Lord to send one of the most marvellous religious awakenings that was ever known; …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858 The Vanguard and Rereward of the Church
I shall first consider this as it respects the church of God; and then, in the second place, I shall endeavour to consider it as it respects us, as individual believers. May God comfort our hearts while considering this precious truth! I. First, consider THE WHOLE CHURCH OF GOD AS AN ARMY. Remember that part of the host have crossed the flood; a large part of the army are standing this day upon the hills of glory; having overcome and triumphed. As for the rear, it stretches far into the future; some …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859 "Take My Yoke Upon You," &C.
Matt. xi. 29.--"Take my yoke upon you," &c. Christianity consists in a blessed exchange of yokes between Christ and a pious soul. He takes our uneasy yoke, and gives his easy yoke. The soul puts upon him that unsupportable yoke of transgressions, and takes from him the portable yoke of his commandments. Our burden was heavy, too heavy for angels, and much more for men. It would crush under it all the strength of the creatures, for who could endure the wrath of the Almighty? Or, "what could a man …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Jesus, the Great Object of Astonishment.
A COMMUNION ADDRESS AT MENTONE. "Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; so shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider."--Isaiah lii. 13-15. JESUS, THE GREAT OBJECT ASTONISHMENT. OUR Lord Jesus …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come If Then the Prophets Prophesied that the Son of God was to Appear Upon The...
If then the prophets prophesied that the Son of God was to appear upon the earth, and prophesied also where on the earth and how and in what manner He should make known His appearance, and all these prophecies the Lord took upon Himself; our faith in Him was well-founded, and the tradition of the preaching (is) true: that is to say, the testimony of the apostles, who being sent forth by the Lord preached in all the world the Son of God, who came to suffer, and endured to the destruction of death …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching Elucidations.
I. (Princes and kings, [154]p. 13.) How memorable the histories, moreover, of Nebuchadnezzar [1609] and his decrees; of Darius [1610] and his also; but especially of Cyrus and his great monumental edict! [1611] The beautiful narratives of the Queen of Sheba and of the Persian consort of Queen Esther (probably Xerxes) are also manifestations of the ways of Providence in giving light to the heathen world through that "nation of priests" in Israel. But Lactantius, who uses the Sibyls so freely, should …
Lactantius—The divine institutes That the Ruler Should be Pure in Thought.
The ruler should always be pure in thought, inasmuch as no impurity ought to pollute him who has undertaken the office of wiping away the stains of pollution in the hearts of others also; for the hand that would cleanse from dirt must needs be clean, lest, being itself sordid with clinging mire, it soil whatever it touches all the more. For on this account it is said through the prophet, Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord (Isai. lii. 11). For they bear the vessels of the Lord who undertake, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great The Awakening of Zion
'Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.'--ISAIAH li. 9. 'Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.'--ISAIAH lii. 1. Both these verses are, I think, to be regarded as spoken by one voice, that of the Servant of the Lord. His majestic figure, wrapped in a light veil of obscurity, fills the eye in all these later prophecies of Isaiah. It is sometimes clothed with divine power, sometimes girded with the towel of human weakness, sometimes …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Remaining Books of the Old Testament.
1. The divine authority of the Pentateuch having been established, it is not necessary to dwell at length on the historical books which follow. The events which they record are a natural and necessary sequel to the establishment of the theocracy, as given in the five books of Moses. The Pentateuch is occupied mainly with the founding of the theocracy; the following historical books describe the settlement of the Israelitish nation under this theocracy in the promised land, and its practical operation …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia.
Part I. History of the Councils. Reason why two Councils were called. Inconsistency and folly of calling any; and of the style of the Arian formularies; occasion of the Nicene Council; proceedings at Ariminum; Letter of the Council to Constantius; its decree. Proceedings at Seleucia; reflections on the conduct of the Arians. 1. Perhaps news has reached even yourselves concerning the Council, which is at this time the subject of general conversation; for letters both from the Emperor and the Prefects …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
The great event of the History of the world is the revolution by which the noblest portions of humanity have passed from the ancient religions, comprised under the vague name of Paganism, to a religion founded on the Divine Unity, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God. It has taken nearly a thousand years to accomplish this conversion. The new religion had itself taken at least three hundred years in its formation. But the origin of the revolution in question with which we have to do …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus Christ all and in All.
(Colossians iii. 11.) Christ is all to us that we make Him to be. I want to emphasize that word "all." Some men make Him to be "a root out of a dry ground," "without form or comeliness." He is nothing to them; they do not want Him. Some Christians have a very small Saviour, for they are not willing to receive Him fully, and let Him do great and mighty things for them. Others have a mighty Saviour, because they make Him to be great and mighty. If we would know what Christ wants to be to us, we …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It Bunsen's Biblical Researches.
When geologists began to ask whether changes in the earth's structure might be explained by causes still in operation, they did not disprove the possibility of great convulsions, but they lessened necessity for imagining them. So, if a theologian has his eyes opened to the Divine energy as continuous and omnipresent, he lessens the sharp contrast of epochs in Revelation, but need not assume that the stream has never varied in its flow. Devotion raises time present into the sacredness of the past; …
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World The Gospel Message, Good Tidings
[As it is written] How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! T he account which the Apostle Paul gives of his first reception among the Galatians (Galatians 4:15) , exemplifies the truth of this passage. He found them in a state of ignorance and misery; alienated from God, and enslaved to the blind and comfortless superstitions of idolatry. His preaching, accompanied with the power of the Holy Spirit, had a great and marvellous effect. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 First Ministry in Judæa --John's Second Testimony.
(Judæa and Ænon.) ^D John III. 22-36. ^d 22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa [That is, he left Jerusalem, the capital of Judæa, and went into the rural districts thereof. We find him there again in John xi. and Luke xiii.-xviii. He gained disciples there, but of them we know but few, such as Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Simeon, and Judas Iscariot]; and there he tarried with them [It is not stated how long he tarried, but it may have been from …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah
To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential difference between the teaching of the ancient Synagogue about the Forerunner of the Messiah' and the history and mission of John the Baptist, as described in the New Testaments, we subjoin a full, though condensed, account of the earlier Rabbinic traditions about Elijah. Opinions differ as to the descent and birthplace of Elijah. According to some, he was from the land of Gilead (Bemid. R. 14), and of the tribe of Gad (Tanch. on …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah "For what the Law could not Do, in that it was Weak through the Flesh, God Sending his Own Son in the Likeness of Sinful Flesh,
Rom. viii. 3.--"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh." For what purpose do we meet thus together? I would we knew it,--then it might be to some better purpose. In all other things we are rational, and do nothing of moment without some end and purpose. But, alas! in this matter of greatest moment, our going about divine ordinances, we have scarce any distinct or deliberate …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Covenanting Predicted in Prophecy.
The fact of Covenanting, under the Old Testament dispensations, being approved of God, gives a proof that it was proper then, which is accompanied by the voice of prophecy, affording evidence that even in periods then future it should no less be proper. The argument for the service that is afforded by prophecy is peculiar, and, though corresponding with evidence from other sources, is independent. Because that God willed to make known truth through his servants the prophets, we should receive it …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting How Christ is to be Made Use Of, as the Way, for Sanctification in General.
Having shown how a poor soul, lying under the burden of sin and wrath, is to make use of Jesus Christ for righteousness and justification, and so to make use of him, go out to him, and apply him, as "he is made of God to us righteousness," 1 Cor. i. 30, and that but briefly. This whole great business being more fully and satisfactorily handled, in that forementioned great, though small treatise, viz. "The Christian's Great Interest," we shall now come and show, how a believer or a justified soul …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Isaiah 52:14 NIV
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