+ Good Friday – April 15^th, 2022 +

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12

Beautiful Savior Lutheran

Milton, WA

“All”

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is pronounced kol in Hebrew, pas in Greek, omnis in Latin, alles in German, todos in Spanish. It’s the most superlative word in any language. All. Total, complete, entire, everything.

It is the most superlative word for the most superlative section in the Old Testament, the Fourth Servant Song of Isaiah. Isaiah declares, “See, My servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.”

The Hebrew verbs translated “raised” and “lifted up” are used to describe only one other person in Isaiah, and that’s the King the prophet sees in 6:1: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne high and lifted up.” This Lord receives the cry of the seraphim in verse 3, “Holy, holy, holy.” In verse 5 the prophet calls Him, “the King, the Lord of armies.” The Servant and the Lord are one and the same. This is a mystery not fully articulated until Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” This Servant had it all.

He would need it, because the Fourth Servant Song—composed by Isaiah of Jerusalem in the eighth century—was originally intended for sixth century exiles who were singing another song, Psalm 137:4, “How can we sing the songs of Zion while in a foreign land?” They were there because of their addiction to sin.

Like Israel, we’re also addicted to sin. We become fixated on gossip, anger, worry, laziness, excuses, and selfishness. Then we find ourselves exiled, in bondage, and stuck. We join Israel singing our lament, “How can we sing the songs of Zion while in a foreign land?”

To such captives, Isaiah sings a different song, however. “See, My servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (52:13). He had it all. Colossians 2:9, “For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.” Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”

The Nicene Creed describes Jesus this way: “Being of one substance with the Father.” Very God of very God. Begotten. Not made. True God and True Man. This Servant had it all.

Not only that. This Servant gave His all. Isaiah goes on. “He was stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted . . . pierced . . . crushed . . . punished . . . led like a lamb to the slaughter . . . cut off from the land of the living . . . assigned a grave with the wicked.” “Many were appalled at Him, His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man.” This Servant gave it all; every last drop of blood.

This Servant also delivers it all. Isaiah 53:11 states, “By His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many.” The Servant delivers what captives need most—forgiveness.

Remember back in Isaiah 6, when the prophet saw the Lord and said, “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’ ”

From the altar called Calvary, our God touches us with blood-bought forgiveness. The absolution declares it. The font seals it. The table celebrates it. And we receive it all, from our Lord’s grace and mercy. As Paul writes, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” All, total, complete, everything. He had it. He gave it. He delivers it; it’s all part of His plan.

Isaiah reminds us that all of this was God’s will. Good Friday isn’t just a moving tragedy. It wasn’t a bandaid or a quick fix. It wasn’t the Father’s unexpected knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. No. It was God’s will. Jesus’ crucifixion is the Father’s plan before the creation of the world.

That means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which His cross would be carved. It means He voluntarily placed Judas into the womb of a woman knowing he would betray him. It means He was the One who set in motion the political machinery that sent Pilate to Judea and Herod to Jerusalem. And he did all of this, set all of this in motion, endured it all for you, for me, for all!

Our lament of life here in the exile of this fallen world knows only bondage, captivity, and addiction. “How can we sing the songs of Zion while in a foreign land?” This is trumped in Isaiah’s song that imparts forgiveness, freedom, and divine mercy.

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by 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 has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

On the cross, in Jesus’ death for you…all sin is forgiven…all God’s wrath is poured out on His Son…and all is finished in Jesus’ crucified for you.

A blessed Good Friday to each of you…

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.