Crushed, Stricken, Victorious - by Robb Brunansky

Found here. Our comments in bold.
-------------------------

The author is intent on inserting a life lesson into Isaiah 53, that God is trustworthy, but this is simply not found there. Nonetheless it is the author's theme, for better or worse. And as we will discover, it is definitely for the worse. Rather than teaching about the substantial prophetic imagery here and showing us the power of this passage, somehow he seems to want it to be about something else. 

Jesus had precious little to say about trust. This is the sole example:

Jn. 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

"Trust" here is pisteuete, which means to have faith or believe, while "trustworthy" is pistoi, which means faithful, is found here:

Lk. 16:12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

It seems like the NT concept of trust is at variance with the author's understanding.

Further, the author also teaches the Reformist/Calvinist false doctrine that the Father punished Jesus for our sin. We will discuss that below.

Lastly, he writes over 1200 words, but aside from the tangential introductory Scripture only eleven words of Scripture are quoted. Astonishing. How is it possible to teach the Bible without quoting it?

We must consider this to be Bad Bible Teaching.

--------------------------

Trusting others presents massive challenges in our fallen world. Everyone has been corrupted by sin, and therefore fails to be fully faithful or trustworthy. As Proverbs 20:6 says, “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man?”

While humans prove to be both distrustful and untrustworthy, God presents Himself as the One we can supremely trust for everything in this life and beyond the grave. We see an intentional emphasis in Scripture on the trustworthiness of God, (Scripture? Where might we find this emphasis? You're not going to tell us? Oh.)

but Scripture does not command us to have a blind faith. The Lord instructs us to trust Him, (Where might we find this instruction? You're not going to tell us? Oh.)

and then He demonstrates He is worthy of our trust. (Where might we find this demonstration? You're not going to tell us? Oh.)

God never speaks, then fails to act. He always proves Himself faithful. (Term-switching. Trustworthy and faithful are not synonyms.)

Despite this truth, we often struggle to trust God, which manifests itself when we give in to sin in times of various trials and temptations. So how do we grow our trust of our Lord and His power over our sin?

We find a helpful answer to this question in Isaiah 53. Here, God reveals His Suffering Servant, the Lord Jesus as eminently trustworthy. (This is the author's stated theme, that Isaiah chapter 53 shows we can trust God. Let's find out if the author demonstrates this.)

Whether we suffer because of trials or temptations, Jesus can be trusted to see us through and bring God’s covenant promises to fruition.

There are four ways Isaiah shows Jesus’ trustworthiness in this passage.

 

First, Jesus humbled Himself when we were proud.

At the start of this chapter, Isaiah laments Israel’s unbelief. (Let's quote, since the author seems reluctant: 

Is. 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

Perhaps it is a lament, but we rather think it is a rhetorical question.)

Just before, in Isaiah 52, we learn that the Gentiles would marvel at the exalted Servant. Yet when the scene flips to Isaiah 53, regardless of the magnificent salvific (??? Salvific?)

promises of the previous passage, we observe the ongoing disbelief of people who have had a front-row seat to God’s work. What makes God’s promises so difficult to trust? (This is not about trusting God's promises. Isaiah simply asks a question of his readers then embarks on his explanation from that premise.)

Isaiah answers by showing us the Servant’s humility alongside the pride of sinners who reject God’s word. 

Isaiah gives a description of the Servant’s humility, using agricultural pictures to convey Jesus’ outward appearance as useless and unfruitful. (Let's quote: 

Is. 53:2 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.

Isaiah was creating a narrative. He first asked about who believed his message, and also, to whom was God's arm [exertion of strength] revealed. Israel is the target of Isaiah's remarks. We need to keep Isaiah's context in mind.

Asking these questions sets us up for Isaiah's answer, that God's strength was revealed in a Man, something small and frail, not noteworthy in appearance, not possessing any quality that would cause Israel to notice him.

Pay attention to this narrative, and see how the story unfolds.)

The Servant came in the humblest of ways, and His circumstances and appearance made Him look dispensable. (??? Dispensable?)

People would have contempt for God’s Messiah and suffering Servant. (Again we quote: 

Is. 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Continuing the narrative, Isaiah adds more description. He reinforces the un-noteworthy nature of this Man. "We esteemed him not," to the point that Israel even misunderstand His purpose and mission:

Is. 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

Isaiah is certain that the Man carried a great burden, using the word "surely." But then he follows with a "yet." So, There is a caveat. "Yet." Those who saw the Man thought God had punished and afflicted Him, "but":

Is. 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

"But." Isaiah corrects the false impression. The Man was not punished by God; he certainly experienced pain and death, but God didn't do it. It was at the hands of evil men, in order to bring us peace and healing.)

Thus, we see both the humiliation of the Servant and the pride of man. God in human flesh descends to us, and we despise Him because He does not meet our ideals. (No, Israel misunderstood Him because of false expectation and disbelief.)

God, however, sees us in our pride, (No, there's no pride involved in the narrative. Isaiah was describing a great work of God clothed in a very un-great human flesh. Israel failed to see the arm of the Lord and because of unbelief put Him to death.)

knows how we will respond, and still comes to save us from sin.

Jesus proves Himself trustworthy in His willing humiliation for prideful sinners. (He restates this, but doesn't provide the connect. How does His humiliation connect to his trustworthiness?)

Isaiah includes himself in those who thought little of the Servant, saying, “We did not esteem Him.” (We" is Israel. 

There is no condemnation in Isaiah's statement. He's only observing the unremarkable nature of this Man.)

We must include ourselves (Why? The author is prone to making assertions without any basis. Now of course all men are slaves to sin, which is the reason He came, but again, Isaiah's audience is Israel.)

in that we. (Odd place for a period.)

 

Apart from God’s grace, we rejected Him. Christ, though, condescended ("To stoop or descend; to let one's self down; to submit; to waive the privilege of rank or dignity; to accommodate one's self to an inferior."

Is this really what Jesus did? He sitting in glory, but the Father said to Him, "Son, you know those despicable humans? I know you don't want to, but would you go down and die for their sins? It's so beneath you, they're so undeserving, so icky, but please, hold your nose and go do this thing."

No. Jesus didn't regard us as loathesome. He Loves us. He values us. He wants us to be with Him. It's false humility to think of ourselves in a way that God does not think of us. False humility is pride.)

to save us, showing He is trustworthy. (The author is trying really hard to insinuate his theme into the narrative. But we haven't yet seen anything that suggests that our trust of Him comes to bear.)

 

Second, Jesus was faithful when we were not.

Isaiah paints a rather ugly picture of us. The Servant was carrying our griefs and sorrows, but we saw His suffering and said, “God has rightly stricken Him for His sins.” We were unfaithful hypocrites, thinking we stood blameless before God’s law as we cast condemnation on His very own Christ! (But, but. The author is offended that "we" supposedly condemned Jesus by thinking God punished Him, but in the very next sentence he will tell us that God did indeed punish Him!)

The reality is Jesus was pierced and crushed for our transgressions, our iniquities, and our acts of ungodliness! He took the punishment we deserved so we might have peace, (This is part of the false doctrine called Penal Substitutionary Atonement, the idea where Jesus is punished for our sin instead of us.

But Jesus was not punished in our place. There is no Bible verse that describes this substitution. Rather, Jesus died on our behalf, for our benefit. He was a sacrifice, not a transaction. His spilled blood is the agent of our cleansing [He. 9:14, 22], not his punishment. The blood is enough. Nothing else is required. Especially, not the Father abusing Jesus. This is a reprehensible idea.)

wholeness, and well-being. He healed us of our sins by enduring the scourging. We thought we could condemn God’s Servant, (Sigh. The author continues to make things up. He transforms a mistaken assumption about the Man into a purposeful condemnation and then personalizes it.)

but we were actually under God’s curse.

This, though, was God’s purpose and plan, according to Isaiah. That plan involved Christ suffering and dying for us. God Himself caused our unrighteousness, sins, and disobedience to fall on Jesus. (This is false.)

God imputed our sins to Jesus on the cross. (This is false. There is no Bible verse that tells us such a thing. Jesus carried our sin as a burden to the cross: 

Col. 2:13-14  ...He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

"Took it away" is ērken, which means to lift up, (by implication) to take up or away. He lifted the burden of our condemnation up and away, affixing it the the cross. He was not imputed with our sin, He bore it like someone carrying out a sack of garbage:

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

"Bore" is anēnenken, to take up (literally or figuratively) -- bear, bring (carry, lead) up, offer (up). He carried our burden of sin, but He was never imputed with it.)

Jesus stood in our place, (This  is false.)

took our sins and the wrath of God, (This is false.)

and bore our punishment so we could have shalom with God. (This is false.)

The irony here is stark. The prophet says we looked at Jesus and thought, “God punished Him because of His sin,” but God did this to Him because of our sin. (The author is now lying. Let's requote the verse: 

Is. 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 

The author is inferring the sin part. The verse doesn't say the Man was stricken and smitten because of sin, either His or ours. 

And by the way, the Jews and Romans did this to Him, not the Father.)

Jesus faithfully submitted so we could be forgiven, stand righteous before God, and be made whole again. Jesus’ faithfulness, even while we were faithless and lost, inspires confidence and trust in Him.

Third, Jesus submitted to death when we deserved it. 

(This is false. We were already dead [John 3:18]. When we believe this dead flesh is to be put to death as well [Colossians 3:5]. New life in Christ means death to the Old Man.)

Verses 7-9 are remarkable in portraying our Savior’s substitutionary death on the cross. (Is there some reason the author refuses to quote these Scriptures? Perhaps because it doesn't say what he's telling us it says? Let's quote:

Is. 53:7-9 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 her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Notice that this passage contains nothing about substitution.)

Jesus was treated with contempt, but He was silent like a sheep before shearers. He suffered horrifically, received no justice, was humiliated, and died childless, a sure sign to that culture that God’s displeasure rested upon Him. (Mt. 3:17 This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.)

His separation from sinners, even though He identified with them, was made clear in His burial. (??? Where do we find this information?)

Isaiah then inserts the phrase, to whom the stroke was due, (This is an alternate rendering, used only by the ASV and the NASB versions.)

referring to the utter condemnation God brings down upon sinners. This is another reminder of Jesus’ faithfulness. We should have suffered the wrath of God, but Jesus absorbed the condemnation we deserved. (This is false.)

Think about the ways we are tempted not to trust Jesus, Christian. Jesus took our place  (This is false.)

and bore in His own body our sins, sorrows, griefs, and condemnation; and He went to this extreme to bring us peace, to free us from the guilt of sin, and to save us from eternal punishment. The question is never, “Is Jesus going to provide everything we need to live before Him and attain salvation on the last day?” The question is always, “Do we trust Him?” He died for us when we deserved death. We have every reason to trust Him.

Finally, Jesus gained the victory over sin when we were the transgressors.

The resounding theme of verses 10-12 is the Suffering Servant, though crushed and stricken, was ultimately victorious. (Sigh. Let's quote: 

Is. 53:10-12 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 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.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Actually quoting the Bible rather than summarizing it takes no additional effort.)

We see Jesus’ victory over sin in His resurrection in verse 10. The Lord was pleased with the Servant’s suffering because Christ’s death was an offering to remove our guilt.

God was pleased because the cross was not the Servant’s end. Through His death, Jesus was fruitful, and the things that please God would flourish through Christ’s work. He would live forever, even though He died a horrific death.

Jesus’ victory over sin is assured in His success in justifying sinners. The result of Jesus’ anguish would be satisfaction for Him, and justification for us who trust in Him. Jesus was victorious over sin, not in some abstract sense, but in the very real sense that our sins are forgiven, cast into the depths of the sea, as far as the east is from the west; and we are now one with the Righteous One, so that His righteousness has become ours.

We also see Christ’s victory in His exaltation. He, who appeared to be nothing more than a cast off, was the mighty warrior who leads the conquerors in celebration over their enemies. Why? Because He bore our sin and interceded for us, the transgressors, which is the strongest word Isaiah could have used to picture someone’s wickedness.

Jesus showed Himself trustworthy by gaining the victory over sin when we were the transgressors. Through His resurrection, justifying work, and exaltation, Christ is worthy of our trust and confidence. When the apostle Peter read Isaiah 53 (??? Where do we find this information about Peter? The author just drops this little bomb out of nowhere and doesn't even bother to connect it. 

Let's once again lend the author a hand. Peter quotes Isaiah five times in his first letter. The instance the author has in mind is 

1Pe. 2:22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

Let's see what the author thinks this means...)

and saw what Jesus had done for His people, his response was to see Jesus’ suffering as a model of His faithfulness, (...so he gets it wrong. Peter was not discussing Jesus' faithfulness. He was contrasting for his readers the difference between bearing up under unjust suffering [vs. 19] and being punished for actual wrongdoing [vs 20]. Peter's point is that there is no virtue for bearing up under just punishment.  

The Peter brings in the example of Christ as bearing up under unjust punishment [vs. 23] so that "we would follow in His steps [vs 21]."

The author truly blows it on this point.)

so that no matter what we are experiencing or facing, we can trust ourselves to Him.