Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February 29, 2004
Introduction
I want to talk about some of the things that have been stirred up with the
movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. If
you haven’t seen the movie yet, I suggest you consider it.
I want to focus on an ancient prophecy mentioned at the beginning of the
movie, written approximately 700 years before Jesus Christ.
:3 a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief
acquainted – yada` – to know; learn to know; to know by experience; familiar by
constant contact with
Lesson
Jesus understands
Some people don’t know how to relate.
They just have a hard time understanding what you’re talking about.
Do you find yourself crying, “No one understands me!”
Look at some of the things that Jesus understands:
Temptation – in the wilderness
(Mat. 4), Satan tempted Jesus with huge things.
He was tempted to use His power and position for His own fleshly needs,
turning stones into bread. He was
tempted to tempt God by jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple. He was tempted to turn His back on God and
worship Satan in exchange for position and glory.
Pushy people – at the wedding in
Cana, Mary wanted Jesus to take care of the wine problem. Jesus said to His mom, "Woman,
what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come." (John 2:4 NASB)
Mean people challenging Him –
the Sadducees and Pharisees constantly putting Him to the test (Mat. 22),
asking Him tough questions and trying to trip Him up.
Betrayal – Judas, a close friend
sold Jesus out (Mat. 26:15; Luke 22:48).
Loss – Peter denying Him. We know it hurt Peter, but it also hurt Jesus
(Luke 22:61-62 NKJV) And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And
Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the
rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." {62} So Peter went out and
wept bitterly.
Difficult decisions – in the
Garden, Jesus struggled with what He was going to do (Luke 22:42).
Weakness – He needed help
carrying His own cross. I loved the part
in the movie where Jesus and Simon link arms to carry the cross (Mark 15:21).
(Heb 4:15-16 KJV) For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. {16} Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus has been there. He knows what
pain and sorrow are all about. And He
knows how to help too.
He was tempted in “all things”. He
may not have been tempted with a specific temptation you might face, like
things on the internet, but He was tempted in things that are equivalent.
As we begin to realize that Jesus knows exactly
what we’re going through, the proper response on our part is to then come to
Him in prayer.
:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
Even though we despised and rejected him because He was a “man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief”, He went on to take on our griefs and sorrows.
:4 yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
The idea is that the people would make
a judgment against Him, deciding that He was being punished by God for His sins, when He was being punished by
God for our sins.
:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions
Even though the people thought He deserved to be put to death, the fact was
that when He was killed, He would be wounded for the sins of the people, not
for His own sins.
wounded – chalal – to wound (fatally), bore through, pierce. It speaks of a bodily wound, not just mental
anguish. What an appropriate word to describe the One whose hands, feet, and
side were pierced.
David prophesied in 1000 BC:
Ps 22:16 For
dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Zechariah prophesied about how Israel would respond when Jesus comes back,
(Zec 12:10 KJV)
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for
him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Critics have claimed that criminals in the first century were not crucified
in this way. They have claimed for years
that if Jesus was crucified, then His hands and feet would have been tied to
the cross, not nailed. Yet recent
archaeological discoveries have found an “ossuary”, a stone box filled with bones,
dating back to the 1st century of someone who was crucified. The spike was still buried in the person’s
heal.
The Messiah would be wounded, pierced for us. Who could this be talking about? Is there any doubt? God told the Jews through Isaiah 700 years
before it would happen.
Some have made the terrible mistake through the centuries of blaming the
Jews for the death of Jesus.
What put Jesus on the cross? Jesus was dying for my sins.
If anyone is to “blame” for Jesus’ death on the cross, it is all of
us. He died to pay for all of our sins.
:5 the chastisement of our peace was
upon him
chastisement – muwcar – discipline, chastening, correction. This is the correction inflicted by a parent on a child for their
good, like spanking or a time out.
Our sins bring us into a state of war
with God. The thing that is required to
make peace, the chastisement for our sins, was put upon Jesus.
When we come to ask God for forgiveness
and we come to trust that He has forgiven us because of the sacrifice of Jesus
for us, we have peace with God.
Ro
5:1 Therefore being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
:5 and with his stripes we are healed.
stripes – chabbuwrah – bruise, stripe, wound, blow. The
marks of a whip across a person’s back.
Not only has Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be “pierced”, but he has
now said that Jesus would be whipped, or, scourged.
Mt 27:26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when
he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified.
healed – rapha' – to heal, make healthful
In the movie, I counted Jesus being whipped with the canes about 24 times
before the head man command that the soldiers switch to the “flagellum” also
known as the “cat-o-nine tails”. That
was the whip with the long thongs of leather with pieces of bone or metal
embedded at the end, specifically designed to catch and rip the flesh. I lost track of the counting in the movie at
that point because it got pretty emotional by that point.
The Jews were commanded not to ever whip a person more than 40 times, and
so their practice was to have a person receive no more than 39 lashes, just to
be sure they didn’t break God’s law. The
Romans had no such law. They could go as
long as they wanted. It was not uncommon
for a person to die during a Roman scourging.
Lesson
Healing
Physically
Mentally
Emotionally
Spiritually
We have a phrase we’ve heard, “No pain, no gain”. In regards to the cross the proper phrase is,
“His pain, my gain”.
I’ve heard Mr. Gibson state in interviews that he found himself being
healed (perhaps emotionally and spiritually) in the making of this movie.
:6 All we like sheep have gone
astray
Sheep have some good qualities about them, but this isn’t one of them. From what I understand, when sheep do not
have a shepherd, they tend to just wander and eventually go astray.
Isaiah is saying that all of us are like this. Without the right shepherd, we will wander
into places where we don’t belong.
Jesus is that shepherd.
(John 10:11 NLT)
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep.
:6 and the LORD hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
iniquity – `avon –
perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity
This was portrayed in the sacrifices of the Old Testament where the people
were to lay their hands on the animal to be sacrificed, putting their sins on
the animal.
As Jesus hung on the cross, God put upon His own Son the punishment for our
sins. This is what was happening when
Jesus cried out,
Mt 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a
loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?
God forsook Jesus when our sin was laid upon Jesus.
The tear of God.
:7 and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
I don’t think the idea is that Jesus would be totally silent, but that He
would make no great defense for Himself before His accusers (Mat. 27:11-14).
:8 for he was cut off out of the
land of the living
cut off – gazar – to cut, cut down, cut off; to be destroyed. He would die. Not the thing you’d expect from a King that
was supposed to deliver your nation from enemy oppression. Daniel also
prophesied concerning the death of the Messiah:
Da 9:26 And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:…
Lesson
Preach Jesus to them.
This is where the Philip found the Ethiopian Eunuch reading in Isaiah:
(Acts 8:30-35 KJV) And Philip ran
thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest? {31} And he said, How can I, except some man should
guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. {32}
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
{33} In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his
generation? for his life is taken from the earth. {34} And the eunuch answered
Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself,
or of some other man? {35} Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same
scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
As we’ve seen, it’s really not all that difficult to see Jesus in Isaiah
53. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?
Maybe we should learn a lesson from Philip when we talk to our friends
about the movie. “Did you understand
what you saw?”
:9 And he made his grave with the wicked
Isaiah is saying that there would be something about the Messiah’s death
that would put him in the company of wicked people. He died between two thieves (Mat. 27:38).
:9 and with the rich in his death
Here’s part of the prophecy that makes Jesus’ death and burial an amazing
prophecy. If this person was going to be
unjustly judged (vs.8) and killed, it would be appropriate for the body to be
treated like that of a criminal and not buried but just tossed in the garbage
heap, in the valley of “Gehenna”. Yet
here Isaiah relates that the Messiah’s death was also going to be somehow
linked to a wealthy person.
In fact, this would be an important part of Jesus’ death. If His body had not been properly buried, and
in fact guarded by a contingent of Roman soldiers, then it would be harder to
prove the resurrection.
Nicodemus, a wealthy ruler of the Jews took part in Jesus’ burial, having
the body wrapped with cloth and spices (John 19:39-40)
Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich man, buried Jesus in his own tomb (Mat.
27:57-60)
:9 because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
violence – chamac – violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice
Peter quotes from this to say that Jesus was setting an example for us to
follow when people give us a tough time (1Pet. 2:18-25).
:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise him;
As painful as the cross was, it was God’s plan for Jesus. In the garden, before He was arrested,
(Luke 22:41-42 KJV) And he was withdrawn from them about a
stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, {42} Saying, Father, if thou be
willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Was God “willing” to remove the cup of suffering from Jesus? No.
:10 he shall see his seed,
Who is His seed? Jesus didn’t have
literal, physical children. But He would
have spiritual children, us (John 1:12).
:10 he shall prolong his days
There is a problem here. How could
God “prolong his days” if the Messiah was to be killed as a sin offering?
There’s only one way. Through a
resurrection.
:10 and the pleasure of the LORD
shall prosper in his hand.
What was the “pleasure of the LORD”? It
was “to bruise him” (Isa 53:10).
Did God’s “pleasure” prosper in Jesus?
Was it a “good” thing for Jesus to suffer?
Absolutely. It’s what saved us.
:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
God would see the suffering of Jesus and be “satisfied” that the
requirements that our sins be paid for would be “satisfied”.
:11 by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many
Lesson
1.
Jesus died for me
(Isa 53:5 KJV) But he was
wounded for our transgressions…
(Isa 53:6 KJV) …and the LORD
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The Bible says,
2Co 5:21 For he
hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
The innocent was
punished as if guilty, that the
guilty might be rewarded as if
innocent.
When you watch the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, understand that Jesus
died for you.
When we take communion, we remind ourselves that Jesus said, “This is My
body broken for you”.
He was paying the price for my sins.
He was proving His love for me.
(John 15:13 KJV)
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends.
You need to keep reminding yourself this during the film.
Lesson
2. Jesus’ death was enough.
(Isa 53:11 KJV) He shall see
of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
On the cross, Jesus cried, “It is finished” (Joh 19:30). Jesus death for me was “enough” for God.
I don’t need to “add” to what Jesus has done for me.
Illustration
Some people grow up feeling like they were never able to please their
parents. Even as adults, there’s
something going on in the back of their minds saying, “If Mom could see you
now, she wouldn’t be happy” … or, “Dad wouldn’t like this!”
Sometimes this mentality can carry over into our relationship with God.
There is only ONE THING that can satisfy God. Only the death of Jesus.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t want to live our lives in
a manner that pleases God. But now it is
only out of gratitude that we try to live pleasing to God. We don’t need to be worried about whether God
is happy with us. He is. Because of Jesus.
There is no sin too great that Jesus cannot forgive because He paid a price
far greater than any of our sins.
(1 Pet 1:18-19 NLT) For you
know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from
your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. {19} He
paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb
of God.
Lesson
3. Salvation comes from knowing
Jesus.
(Isa 53:11 KJV) …by his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many
If you want to be right with God, you need to come to know Jesus.
(John 1:12 KJV)
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name:
(John 3:16 KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Lesson
4. Live for Him
(Heb 12:1-3 KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us, {2} Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. {3} For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds.
Sometimes life gets tough and we wonder if we can keep going.
After being reminded of what Jesus did for me, I know the least I can do is
to live for Him.